ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out the foundations of planning and alerts the reader to the common pitfalls that the proponents of tourism encounter when planning for tourism development, particularly at the local and community levels. To accomplish this goal, I will review, to a limited but sufficient extent, the major negative impacts tourism development often generates today and the positive outcomes through planning that are possible in the future. Although this entire text deals with impacts, both positive and negative, there are some specific issues that impinge directly on the planning process. This chapter views planning in the context of a complex and fast-changing society. For these reasons, it will stress the human interactions in, and the community educational value of, planning. This type of planning is commonly referred to as ‘transactional planning.’ Simply put, transactional planning, as the name implies, stresses inclusiveness and the processes of human interaction in the plan activity, rather than focusing solely on the tangible outputs produced by it. It is thought that, by emphasizing the planning process, the appropriate outputs will follow naturally. Additionally, and perhaps just as important as the outputs of the plan, is the education of those involved in its construction. Transactional planning is community-centered and places great value on the dialogue among the participants in the exercise, and on the issues most pertinent to them. The chapter will draw on previous work by this author, mainly from Tourism, Globalization and Development: Responsible Tourism Planning (2003) and Social Policy and Planning for the 21st Century: In Search of the Next Great Social Transformation, (2017).
