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PlanningMethodsforleisureandtourism(1)
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Introduction
Inageneralapproachtoleisureandtourismplansandstrategieswasconsidered.Inthisarticlemoredetailed
considerationisgiventotechniquesandapproachesthatmightbeusedwithintheplanningandstrategypreparation
process.Itmightbearguedthatsomeofthemoreelaboratemethodologiesforplanningforleisureandtourismare
impracticalbecausetheresponsibleagenciesparticularlylocalauthoritiesaresimplynotpreparedtodevote
substantialresourcestothisrelativelylowstatusactivity.However,itisnotnecessarilythecasethatsubstantial
resourcesarerequiredtoimplementmoreadvancedmethodologies:
severaloftheapproachessuggestedheremakeuseofreadilyavailabledataandcanbeimplementedvirtuallyona
backofanenvelopebasis.Infact,considerableresourceshavebeendevotedtoplanningforleisureandtourismin
thepast,buttheyhaveoftenbeendevotedtodatacollectionratherthananalysis:onlyamarginalincreasein
resourceswouldhavebeenrequiredtomakebetteruseofthedataassembled.

History
PlanningforleisureinBritaincanbesaidtohavepassedthroughthreephasessincethe1960s(Veal,1993).The
period19601972canbedesignatedthedemandphase,whenplannerswereconcernedwithrespondingtorapidly
increasingpopulationnumbers,risingrealincomesandrisingcarownership.
From1973to1985theneedphaseattentionwasfocusedlessongeneraldemandandmoreontheneedsof
particulargroupsinthecommunity,suchasdeprivedinnercityresidents.Fromthemid1980stothepresentthe
enterprisephaseleisureplanninghasreflectedthedominantgovernmentviewthatleisureisideallyaprivate
sectorfunction.Eacherahasspawnedplanningmethodstomeetthepolicychallengespresented.
Infact,however,successivetechniquesandapproacheshavenotnecessarilyreplacedoneanotherbuthave
complementedeachother.Thusarangeoftechniquesnowexistthatenabletheleisureplannertoassesspresent
andfuturedemand,tofocusondifferentgroupsinvaryingstatesofneed,toincorporatecommunityconcernsandto
considerthepotentialofpublicandprivatesectorprovision.Thisarticledrawstogetherinformationonavailable
techniques.

PlanningTechniquesandApproaches
Arangeofapproachestoleisureandtourismplanningareconsideredinturninthisarticle.Ineverycaseitis
assumedthattheplanningactivityisbeingundertakenforadefinedgeographicalareareferredtohereasa
planningarea.Typicallytheplanningareaisthedefinedareaofalocalauthority.Butplanningissometimes
undertakenonaregionalscaleforexample,inrelationtotourismandinfederalgovernmentsystemsthe
planningareamaybyastateorprovince.Finally,muchofthediscussionwouldberelevanttothenationallevelof
planning,althoughrelativelyfewleisureactivitiesorfacilitiesareplannedatthatlevel.
Assumingalocalcouncilareaistheplanningarea,itisnecessarytokeepinmindthegeographicalconsiderations
andflowsofpeopleindicatedinFig.7.1.Thesehaveimplicationsforthesourcesofdemandforleisureandtourism
inalocalarea.Table7.1indicatesthat,forsomeleisureactivities,dailycommuters,dayvisitorsandtouristsmustbe
takenintoaccountaswellaslocalresidents.

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PermalinkSubmittedbyAnonymous(notverified)onThu,05/14/201502:33
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6/15/2017 PlanningMethodsforleisureandtourism(1)|ETravelWeek

Therangeofplanningapproachesconsideredbelow1isasfollows:(i)standardsofprovision(ii)resourcebased
plannings(iii)thegrossdemand/marketshareapproach(iv)spatialapproaches(v)hierarchiesoffacilities(vi)
prioritysocialareaanalysis(vii)therecreationopportunityspectrum(ROS)(viii)thematrixapproach(ix)the
organicapproach(x)communitydevelopmentand(xi)theissuesapproach.Fig.7.1.Localleisuredemandsystem.

Table7.1.Spatialsourcesofdemand.

*SeeFig.7.1.Standardsof

provisionStandardsofprovisiongenerallyrelatetoleisureplanningratherthantourismplanning,somostofthe
discussionbelowrelatestotheleisurefacilityandservicerequirementsoflocalcommunities.However,whentourists
constituteasignificantproportionoftheusersofcertaintypesoffacility,itwouldmakesensetotaketheirdemands
intoaccount.Thisissueisdiscussedattheendofthesection.Inthepast,standardswereprobablythemost
commonlyusedmethodinplanningforleisure.Inrecentyears,however,othermethods,suchasthosediscussed
laterinthisarticle,havecometothefore.Astandardinplanningforleisurecanbedefinedasaprescribedlevelof
provisionoffacilitiesorservicesrelatedtosomecriterion,typicallythelevelofpopulation.Suchstandardscanbe
developedatlocalleveltoprovideguidancefortheproductionoflocalplans,butafeatureofleisureplanningisthat
suchstandardshavebeendevelopedbyanumberoforganizationsatnationallevel.Sothereisatendencyforlocal
plannerstousesuchnationallypromulgatedstandardsratherthandeveloptheirownatlocallevel.Inanumberof
cases,standardsdevelopedforuseinaparticularlocalityforexample,alargecityoranewtownhavebeen
adoptedbyothersasiftheyhadbeendevelopedfornationaluse:examplesaretheGreaterLondonCouncilopen
spacehierarchy,discussedlaterinthisarticle(GLCPlanningDepartment,1968)and,inAustralia,thestandards
developedforthenationalcapital,Canberra(NationalCapitalDevelopmentCommission,1981).Examplesof
nationallypromulgatedstandardsusedinBritainaresummarizedinTable7.2.Thetableincludesanexampleofthe
applicationofthestandardstoacommunitywithapopulationof50,000,indicatingthattheapplicationofstandardsis
averysimpleexercise.

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Table7.2.Leisurefacility/serviceprovisionstandards.

Sources:1.NPFA,19712.NPFA,

19713.SportsCouncil,1972,1975,19774.SportsCouncil,19775.SportsCouncil,1972,1977,19786.Sports
Council,19727.MinistryofEducation,n.d.NPFA,NationalPlayingFieldsAssociationDES,Departmentof
EducationandScience.Standardshavebeenwidelycriticizedinrecentyearsandalternativeapproacheshavebeen
putforwardtoovercometheirdeficiencies,asoutlinedintherestofthisarticle.Despitethiscriticism,however,they
havesurvivedasoneofthetoolsoftheleisureplanner,becausetheyhaveanumberofadvantagesaswellas
disadvantages.ThesearesummarizedinTable7.3anddiscussedinturnbelow.Table7.3.Standards:advantages

anddisadvantages. Advantage1.SimplicityStandardsaregenerally

easytounderstand.Thiscanbeparticularlyimportantwhencommunicatingwithnonexperts,suchasmembersof
thepublic,otherprofessionalsorpoliticians.Advantage2.EfficiencyStandardsavoidduplicationofeffort.Itisnot
necessaryforeverylocalauthoritytoundertakedetailedresearchtoarriveatadecisiononanappropriatelevelof
provisiontoreinventthewheel.Theresearchandconsultationnecessarytoestablishtherequiredlevel,whichcan
becostlyandtimeconsuming,aredoneonceonly,byacentralorganization.

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PermalinkSubmittedbyGuest(notverified)onThu,05/14/201502:33

Advantage3.AuthorityInmakingacasetodecisionmakerswithinanorganizationforprovisionofservicesitcan
beusefultobeabletorefertoexternal,authoritativesourcesinsupportofthecase.Otherprofessionalsandelected
membersofcouncilsmaybereassuredthattheexpenditureofresourcesisjustifiedifsomeexternalagencyis,in
effect,sanctioningit.Thisaparadoxsince,normally,whengovernmentstrytotelllocalauthoritieshowtoorganize
theiraffairsthereareoftencomplaintsofthreatstolocaldemocracy.Andyet,inleisureprovision,oneofthefew
areaswherelocalauthoritiesarerelativelyfreefromgovernmentinterference,theyfrequentlylooknervouslyover
theirshoulderstoensurethattheyaresanctioningtheiractivities,byprovidingstandards.Theyarenotnecessarily
thegovernmentassuch,butsomenationalorregionalbodywhosepronouncementsatleastsoundauthoritative.
Advantage4.MeasurabilityProgresstowardstheachievementofstandardsisrelativelyeasytoassess,partly
becauseoftheirsimplicity,butalsobecauseofthewaytheyareexpressed,whichisusuallyinmeasurable,
quantitativeterms.Policiesbasedonstandardscanthereforebeeffectivelymonitoredandprogresstowardstheir
achievementcanberelativelyeasilyassessed.Advantage5.ComparabilityMeasurabilitymakesitpossibleto
comparelevelsofprovision,inoneareaovertime,betweendifferentsubareaswithinajurisdictionorbetween
jurisdictions.Thisenablesprovidingauthoritiesorgrantgivingbodiestoestablishwheredifferentsubareas,
jurisdictionalareasorcommunitieslieinaleaguetableofprovision.ThisisrelevanttotheMercer/Bradshawideaof
comparativeneed.Advantage6.EquityIfimplementedeverywhere,nationalstandardswouldensurethat,
regardlessofwherepeoplelive,theycouldexpecttofindasimilarlevelofprovision.Thisideaofgeographicalequity
isrelatedtotheideaofleisurerightsorrightsofcitizenshipasdiscussed.Suchanotionisacceptedinservicessuch
aspublichealthoreducation,butisanunfamiliaroneintheareaofleisure.Itcanbeparticularlyimportanttonational
governmentsoragencieswhenmakingdirectprovisionorgivinggrantstolocalproviders:suchnationalbodieswould
wishtoappearevenhandedintheirtreatmentofdifferentareasofthecountry.Disadvantage1.Validityissues
Thewaysinwhichstandardshavebeenderivedareoftenopentoquestion.Itmaybethatthosewhodrawthemup
usethebestavailablemethodsanditmaybethatthedocumentssettingoutthestandardsmakeanylimitationsin
themethodveryclear.Butsuchqualificationsarefrequentlyignoredbyusersofstandards.Asaresult,thestandards
areofteninvestedwithgreaterauthoritythanisjustifiedandareusedwithinsufficientcare.

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Disadvantage2.LocalconditionsDocumentssettingoutstandardsusuallyindicatethattheyshouldnotberigidly
appliedandparticularlythatlocalconditionsarelikelytovary.Butrarelyisanyguidancegivenonjusthowstandards
shouldbevariedtoaccommodatetheselocalvariationsinconditions.Evenwhensuchadviceisavailableitisoften
ignoredbythoseapplyingthestandards.Variationsinlocalconditionscouldsuggestthatprovisionshouldbeabove
orbelowthestandardforexample,anareawithahigherthanaverageelderlypopulationmightrequirefewer
squashcourtsbutmoregolfcoursesthanthestandardsspecify.Butstandardstendtobetreatedasthefixed,
requiredlevelofprovisioninallcircumstances.Disadvantage3.PrioritiesStandardsareisolatedpiecesofadvice.
Inthemselvestheytakenoaccountoftherealworld,inwhichalldesirablefacilitiesandservicescannotalwaysbe
provided.Decisionsonprioritieshavetobemadewithintheleisureserviceareaandalsobetweenleisureservices
andotherareasofpublicexpenditure.Disadvantage4.QualityandcapacityissuesMoststandardsinleisure
provisionfailtotakeaccountofthequalityofprovisionand,inmanycases,itscapacity.Goodqualityprovisioncould,
insomecircumstances,compensateforalowlevelofprovision.Inaddition,apparentlysimilarfacilitiescanvarya
greatdealintheircapacitytoaccommodateleisurevisitsasaresultofeitherdesignormanagementfeaturesfor
example,awelldrainedormaintainedsportspitchcanaccommodatemoregamesthanapoorlydrainedor
maintainedone.Disadvantage5.SubstitutabilityVerylittleisknownaboutsubstitutabilitybetweenleisure
activities.Iftherearenosquashcourtsinanarea,willpeopleplaybadminton?Ifthereisnotheatre,willtheyattend
thecinemamore?Itispossiblethatconcentrationonafewgoodfacilitiesandalimitedrangeofactivitiescould
producemorebeneficialresultshoweverassessedthananattempttoprovidefacilitiesacrosstheboard.For
example,inanurbanareawherelandcostsarehigh,goodindoorsportsfacilitiesmayrepresentbettervaluefor
moneythanavainattempttoincreasetheareaofopenspacetobringituptostandard.Disadvantage6.Spatial
distributionStandardsusuallypresentsomegrossassessmentofrequirementsanddonotofthemselvesprovide
guidanceontheappropriatespatialdistributionofthefacilitiesprescribed.Spatialaspectsarediscussedindetail
laterinthisarticle.StandardsthekeyproblemThemostseriouscriticismofstandardsliesinthefirst
disadvantagementionedabovethatis,thattheirvalidityissometimesquestionable.Thisisexemplifiedbythemost
commonlyusedstandard:theopenspacestandardoftheNationalPlayingFieldsAssociation(NPFA).Thestandard
datesfrom1925,whenitwasobservedthat,forevery1000population,500werebelowtheageof40oftheseitwas
assumedthat150wouldeithernotwanttoplaysportorwouldbeunabletobecauseofinfirmity.Afurther150would
useschoolfacilities.Thus200peopleinevery1000wouldneedtobecateredfor.Giventhesizeofsportsteamsand
frequencyofplay,itwasestimatedthattheneedsofthese200peoplecouldbeaccommodatedon:1seniorfootball
pitch1juniorfootballpitch1cricketpitch1threerinkbowlinggreen2tenniscourts1childrensplaygroundof0.5acre
(0.2ha)1pavilion

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Thefacilitieswouldoccupy2.4ha:hencethestandardof2.4haofopenspaceper1000population.Thestandard
excludedschoolplayingfields,militarysportsgrounds,verges,woodlands,commons,gardensandparks,golf
courses,largeareasofwaterandindoorfacilities.

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