Destination Development in Tourism

Destination development is important for the growth of tourism. In the future, destinations will have to undergo improvements from the influence of these three prominent factors; Environmental, Societal-cultural and Economical. Each factor has issues that relate to tourism and the future of destinations. Many of the issues raised can be distributed amongst the three factors, making the implications, gradually more important for the future development of destinations. Carbon emissions and the on-going battle with global warming are damaging effects to the environment that destinations will need to overcome to keep an increase in tourism. The rise in disposable income, the ‘age’ of the travelling generation and population increases all impact the societal and cultural factors, important for destination development. The economical side of destination development is to the rise of disposable income and government and politics associated with war and terrorism. As populations become wealthier and healthier, their wants and needs change and this influences their spending habits, tourist patterns, the environment, society and the economy. (Cooper, et al., 2005)

Nearer the end of the 1970’s, the OECD set out a study of environmental stresses associated with touristic activities. The study outlined four main classes of stressor activities including; environmental restructuring which consisted of the construction of major infrastructures e.g. Roads, airports and resorts; waste product generation and the waste that can damage fish production, cause health hazards and reduce the attractiveness of the destination; direct environmental stress like the destruction of coral reefs, vegetation, sand dunes by the presence of tourists and the effects on population dynamics caused by migration, increased urban densities and declining populations in rural areas. (Cooper, et al., 2005)
The changing of the climate allows for unpredictable weather extremes that in theory could turn