The "Tourism City Network"

Tourism concerns several different sectors of society and economy. For planners, tourism is very important. It is a relative new type of activity that influence the development of a city or even a country. Referring to Giuliana Quattrone, The World Tourism Organisation has provided that there are several important specific benefits of undertaking national and regional tourism planning. These are:
1. Establishing the overall tourism development objectives and policies what is tourism aiming to accomplish and how can these aims be achieved.

2. Developing tourism so that its natural and cultural resources are indefinitely maintained and conserved for future, as well as present, use.

3.Integrating tourism into the overall development policies and patterns of the country or region, and establishing close linkages between tourism and other economic sectors.

4. Providing a rational basis for decision-making by both the public and private sectors on tourism development.

5.Making possible the coordinated development of all the many elements of the tourism sector. This includes inter-relating the tourist attractions, activities, facilities and services and the various and increasingly fragmented tourist markets.
Optimizing and balancing the economic, environmental and social benefits of tourism, with equitable distribution of these benefits to the society, while minimizing possible problems of tourism.

6.Providing a physical structure which guides the location, types and extent of tourism development areas that are consistent with, and reinforce, one another, and Laying the foundation for effective implementation of the tourism development policy and plan and continuous management of the tourism sector, by providing the necessary organizational and other institutional framework.

7.Providing the framework for effective coordination of the public and private sector efforts and investment in developing tourism.

8.Offering a baseline for the continuous monitoring of the progress of tourism development and keeping it on track (WTO, 1994)

Source: Giuliana Quattrone, 2002, URBAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES: THE “TOURISM CITY NETWORK”, EURA Conference Urban and Spatial European Policies: Levels of Territorial Government. PP. 1 - 12