Tourism
Tourism has been one of the fast-growing sectors in Asia. It is one of the significant contributors to the globalization as well as local development as it is able to connect different cultures as tourism activities act as a bridge between all Asian countries (Smith, 2000). There is a need to involve the diverse stakeholders for the growing recognition of the sector to have the right planning measures for the Asian countries.
Having a collaborative arrangement of planning brings together a range of interests to develop and implement the set tourism policies. Having many interest groups in Asia, there is needed to have a collaborative arrangement of planning that involves face to face interactions of different stakeholders. The key actors that would successfully execute the proper planning would include the public, private, and different voluntary sectors that have interests in the tourism industry (Timothy, 2011). The collaboration of these stakeholders would enhance dialogue, negotiation, and the formulation of mutually acceptable proposals.
The partnership of the mentioned actors in planning will bring together the interests of the tourism destinations. One of the main advantages of having collaborative planning is the high probability of gaining an extended competitive edge as it is likely to bring together knowledge, expertise, capital, and other resources of different actors (Henderson, 2012). Participatory planning in the region is imperative as its broad context of the cross-border partnership will ensure the proper management of the destinations.
Top-down tourism planning can be enhanced by assessing the tourism sector across Asia, gauging the relevant trends in the industry, and segmenting the sector in terms of its readiness to offer its services to different tourist interests (Wang and Wall, 2007). Based on the trends, the strengths and weaknesses are easily assessed; thus, the actors are able to implement the appropriate strategies.
Tourism is an essential economic sector in Singapore, where the different governmental agencies have been involved in the development and implementation of tourism policies. The Singaporean government has continually considered the integrated approach. Thus, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) relies on other government institutions to implement the different tourism policy and also its management.
STB depends on the ministry of transport to implement its policy in relation to the movement of tourists through different means of transportation. Without the right policy applied by the ministry, the tourism sector would be negatively impacted as tourists in and from outside the country (Victor and Agamuthu, 2014).
The safety and security of tourists is a significant concern for tourism. It has implications for the mobility and movement of different visitors (Edgell et al., 2008). Thus the ministry involved in internal security and safety has a responsibility to ensure that the country is secure as well as the safety of all tourists in different destinations across Singapore. Therefore, STB applicable policies of security and safety rely on the ministry of security.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore has a responsibility to implement some of the STB policy. These policies are based on the issue of mobility and movement of foreign tourists as well as outbound flows. STB and ICA have to cooperate closely to facilitate the movement of legitimate travelers and reduce any avoidable barriers to travel. Also, STB relies on the Ministry Of Environment and Water Resources to implement the policy of providing a quality living environment, high standard public health, and general environmental conservation (Lee, 2010). Additionally, the ministry of environmental issues is actively involved in the management and maintenance of tourists’ sites.
In conclusion, STB relies on different government agencies to ensure all activities run as planned. Other interventions in the implementation of the policy include the Ministry of Finance that offers the funds required to run tourism. The coordinated efforts of the government ministries ensure compliance and goal achievement of the tourism policy.
The formulation and implementation of the tourism sector at the international level is essential. This is because IT requires different government and non-government cooperation for it to run smoothly. For instance, there is a need to have airline negotiations, decisions in the provision of various facilities and services, and interaction with other sectors across the globe (Henderson, 2015).
The involvement of international organizations has different benefits for the sector. The organizations have equal interests for the entire globe, and thus they may not be discriminatory in any way. They ensure mutual understanding, societal development, and cultural interactions (Kimbu and Ngoasong, 2013). For instance, the World Tourism Organization being a distributional allocation, has an objective to promote and develop the sector as it fully understands the economic development of different countries. It considers universal respect concerning human rights and other fundamental freedoms without any form of distinction (Olender, 2018). Also, states involved in a particular policy are likely to follow the formulated guidelines as they understand that a given policy is not made under one specific interest group or country. Therefore, the entire sector becomes equivalent based on the set policy that aims to ensure growth and development.
For example, in Asia, Singapore has been involved in the partnership with other nations in the formulation of policy through the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism. The partnership has been collaboratively engaged in tourism improvement and fostering the application of the suggested strategies and guidelines. Besides, Thailand is a member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), where all the member states are under one umbrella of tourism policy. The main aim of international organizations of tourism is to enhance economic development, prosperity, peace, and universal respect for all the members.