This document outlines 7 approaches to tourism planning: continuous and flexible, systems, comprehensive, integrated, environmental and sustainable development, community, and implementable. The continuous and flexible approach involves continuous monitoring and feedback. The systems approach views tourism as an interrelated system. The comprehensive approach analyzes all tourism development aspects. The integrated approach plans tourism as an integrated system within itself and the overall development patterns of an area. The environmental and sustainable approach maintains natural and cultural resources on a permanent basis. The community approach maximizes local community involvement. The implementable approach formulates realistic and implementable policies and plans.

1. Chapter 4
APPROACHES TO TOURISM
PLANNING

2. Learning Objective
• Create awareness on the range and types of
tourism planning approaches .

3. Planning Approaches
• Continuous and flexible approach
• Systems approach
• Comprehensive approach
• Integrated approach
• Environmental and sustainable development
approach
• Community approach
• Implementable approach

4. Continuous and Flexible Approach
• Planning should be done with continuous
monitoring and feedback on previous
development and evaluation of new trends.

5. Systems Approach
• Tourism is viewed as an interrelated system
and should be planned as such, utilizing
systems analysis techniques.

6. Comprehensive Approach
• All aspects of tourism development including
its institutional elements and environmental
and socio-economic implications are analyzed
and planned comprehensively.

7. Integrated Approach
• Tourism is planned and developed as an
integrated system within itself and also is
integrated into the overall plan and total
development patterns of the area.

8. Environmental and Sustainable
Approach
• Tourism is planned, managed and developed
in such a manner that its natural and cultural
resources are not depleted or degraded, but
maintained as viable resources on a
permanent basis for continuous future use.

9. Community Approach
• There is a maximum involvement of the local
community in the planning and decision-
making process of tourism and there is
maximum community participation in the
actual development and management of
tourism and its socio-economic benefits.

10. Implementable Approach
• Tourism development policy, plan, and
recommendations are formulated to be
realistic and implementable, and the
techniques of the implementation are
considered throughout the policy and plan
formulation with the implementation
techniques, specifically identified.