A spatially integrated approach for tourism planning and marketing in rural mountainous areas : the Montagu region

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to identify marketable tourism products in rural mountainousregions, specifically the Montagu region. These products could stimulate economicgrowth, because it would provide the means for integrated regional tourism planning andimproved marketing strategies. An integrated approach was adopted, implying thatenvironmental, economic and entrepreneurial components were considered in theresearch. The environmental component refers to the identification and spatial locationof existing and potential tourism resources. The economic component involves theselection and combination of resources for the construction of specific tourism packages.The entrepreneurial component refers to consideration of the opinions of the localcommunity.The gathering of environmental data involved the identification of potential tourismresources in rural mountainous regions. Economic data was collected through aquestionnaire survey among tour operators, tour brokers and marketers to determinewhich resources should be grouped together to create marketable tourism products. Dataselection on entrepreneurial matters involved a survey among farm owners to determinetheir perceptions with regards to agri-tourism.Analysis of the data encompassed the creation of a spatial data base by using the rastercapabilities of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Each thematic layer in the database represented the approximate location of a specific tourism resource in the Montaguregion. Values were then allocated to different layers according to the importance ofeach resource within a specific tourism package (average rating as determined by touroperators, brokers and marketers). This enabled the creation of a map for each type oftourism package, as well as a regional map showing the spatial location and concentrationof highly rated tourism resources.It was found that, by following this process, the spatial representation of resourcepreferences for specific packages did not reveal as much variability as would be expected. This was due to the tendency that certain resources were consistently ratedhighly important for inclusion, notwithstanding the type of package. It was also due tothe fact that a number of resources, irrespective of its rating, sometimes occurred in areaswith close proximity. However, these maps still provided a good spatial representation ofimportant resources, making it useful for the production of marketing brochures onspecific packages. The regional map is useful for tourism planning and marketing in theregion as a whole. It gives a spatial interpretation of the geographical concentration ofimportant tourism resource areas in the region. It also facilitates the identification ofspecific areas where highly rated tourism resources occur, but where tourism has not yetbeen developed to its full potential.The collection and analysis of environmental, economic and entrepreneurial data made itpossible to determine which resources are required to construct marketable tourismproducts. Ultimately, important tourism resource areas in a specific rural mountainousregion were identified through a scientific process of quantification and map production.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University