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The purpose of this article is to suggest a framework to be used as a strategic planning tool for culinary tourism projects at destination level.

Based on theoretical background of strategic planning and Leiper’s tourism model, a conceptual tool is suggested. Its value is investigated through an empirical study that was performed, which employed a qualitative research method (discussion groups of experts).

The article suggests a framework to be used as a strategic planning tool for culinary tourism projects. The empirical study identified the merits, drawbacks and limitations of the framework to be taken into account. It can be used only in combination with other tools to achieve a comprehensive approach to designing, managing and marketing culinary tourism assets strategically.

Because of its exploratory nature, the study has inherent drawbacks. The suggested framework should be finalised. Future studies could explore the perspective of visitors deeply and should also investigate the appropriate tools to be implemented at operational management level.

In the fields of strategic management and marketing, the study enhances a comprehensive approach. It contributes to positioning and analysing culinary tourism within the context of a whole destination system. It provides an additional tool for destination planners and managers to be used along with other tools in performing their tasks at strategic level.

It is the first study that suggests and empirically investigates a strategic planning tool at destination level, based on the theoretical backgrounds of strategic planning and tourism system. It provides an integrated approach incorporating the main issues to be dealt with in the field of culinary tourism.

Social media has fundamentally changed the leisure travel behavior of Singapore residents. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Facebook and its impact on travel behavior. The study focuses on Singapore residents.

A total of 16 input and five output variables were tested, with a sample of 203 Facebook users residing in Singapore. Primary data modeling was done using ADANCO, a structural equation modeling tool that uses composite modeling approach for hypothesis testing. The analysis performed an estimated structural model and then determined the best model fit by measuring reliability, validity and path analysis and estimating model parameters.

Research findings indicate that Facebook has had a strong behavioral influence on the frequency of travel, itinerary planning and social sharing, while it had no impact during the destination-selection stage of travel planning.

Facebook’s influence on leisure travel behavior confirms the theory of planned behavior proposed by Icek Ajzen. From Facebook’s perspective, the outcome of this study is helpful in recommending the best use of the platform for destination providers.

Survey respondents are compared on strategic tourism planning issues in Banff, Alberta, and Niagara Falls (Ontario and New York). Findings reveal areas of consensus and disagreement in perceptions of issues and preferences for strategies. Three specific issues are considered: the destination life cycle concept, capacity, and destination image. Conclusions are drawn on how public and private‐sector cooperation on destination planning can be fostered when significant differences in perception and preference occur.

Drawing upon an analysis of resident and visitor survey data and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) press releases in 2012, the purpose of this paper is to understand the tourism destination image for this tourist historic city produced by these three key stakeholder groups in Macau.

This is achieved using a new stakeholder analysis tool, developed from previous studies, which compares the perspective of the MGTO, the city’s destination marketing organization, with that of its residents and visitors. This study examines the perceptions that residents and visitors have about the general images projected and generated in Macau.

This research highlights the multiplicity of images and producers of images in Macau.

The lesson from this case study is that public sector agencies need to acknowledge more clearly the tourism planning role of the host community in particular. The possibility of detecting disconnections and misalignments of shared destination imagery by residents and visitors has implications for the public sector in Macau and other destinations in relation to managing and developing a destination and contributes to a greater understanding of stakeholders and sustainable tourism development overall.

County strategic tourism marketing plans have appeared as a relatively new instrument in the conceptualisation of the development of tourism destinations in Croatia. This paper illustrate methodology issues and problems that emerged from drawing up the plans (internal and external). The methodology elaborated upon is based on several basic footholds: multidisciplinary approach, state‐of‐the‐art in destination marketing, applicability, simplicity and straightforwardness, bottom‐up approach and unique methodological framework (taking specifics into account). The current experiences of the Institute for Tourism (Zagreb) point out the importance of the continuous monitoring of the SMPs implementation in practice and further methodology improvements.

Reviews of scientific publications in the area of tourism continuously find commonalities and repeatedly applied criteria in conceptualizing destination image. Much emphasis has been placed on investigating the image components (dimensions) and potential impacts as perceived by the consumer. Publications on the image formation and change, however, do not disclose many details on the process and impacts of change agents. Hence, this study aims to look into the initial stages of destination image planning and how these plans are implemented through projecting onto the official destination websites.

The text-based content analysis builds on a random sample of one-third of the tourism development plans and the respective official tourism websites of sub-provincial prefectures in China. Terms (originally phrased in Chinese language only) were extracted that could be classified as image components considering the context where they appeared.

Results exhibit a sparse application of varied and imaginative image elements in both the tourism development plans and the official websites. Deviations between intended and projected destinations are substantial. An overwhelming majority of prefectural destination management organizations (DMOs) appears to be distant from a professional implementation of an image positioning strategy.

Due to resource limitations, only a random sample of one-third of the 365 sub-provincial prefectures in China could have been screened. To draw a complete, though structurally most probably not very different, picture on the scope and variety of image elements, a complete investigation would be necessary. The projection of image items on the official websites represents a restricted view on possible image formation agents. For a more comprehensive understanding, other information channels (e.g. printed advertising material, travel catalogues and guide books) would complement the perspective on induced image agents.

From a managerial perspective, it appears to be an easy job to position a destination along one or two main appeal characteristics, particularly when the majority of these are factual aspects of geography, landscape, history or culture. Whether such a positioning strategy materializes in view of an increasing competition among destinations is questionable. The condensed image profiles identified in this study can act as blueprints for developing more pronounced positioning profiles. The variation across groups of destination image profiles and the composition of prefectures for each group reflects the potential competitive pressure that prefectures may excel unless the DMO representatives decide to go for an adapted target position.

This study is a rare attempt to analyse the intended/planned and projected image elements of a multitude of tourism destinations simultaneously. Such a comparison is usually done on a case-by-case basis only. Thus, the insights of this study go beyond the limits of an individual destination enabling structural comparisons across neighbouring and nation-wide regions.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of a sound and participatory strategic planning process for the management of tourism at national and regional levels and its contribution to the sustainable development of destinations.

The case study presented in this paper is based on an academic/industry project, launched to support the practical learning of strategic tourism planning and the strategic management of tourism destinations by MBA students. The Open Academy of Tourism, a partnership between the Institute of Tourism, and the Portuguese National Association of Tourism Regions, was created to support the development of strategic plans for Portuguese tourism regions, while allowing students to test and fine tune a model for strategic planning and managing tourism destinations. To better understand the applicability of this model, 13 case studies based on the same number of strategic plans were developed.

The paper reveals that the effective management of any tourist destination can be enhanced by following a carefully developed tourism strategy which contemplates the involvement of all stakeholders. It also demonstrates that academia can work closely together with public tourism organisations to develop meaningful plans of action for destinations.

The paper highlights the potential and importance of strategy development in tourism, while alerting for the need of a clear vision and leadership of the process to improve success.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the planned urban renewal and re-scripting of Riyadh’s downtown as part of the capital’s aim to become a globally recognized city. Specifically, this paper examines in how far internationally established values and narratives are leveraged in the creation of an urban mega-destination that seeks to attract a transnational class of knowledge workers and tourists. The question is explored, in how far and to what extent urban heritage sites and iconic architectural projects are used as strategic tools to promote a process of cultural and economic transformation and in how far the resulting symbolic capital is leveraged to create a status of singularization that appeals to a national and international audience. This study investigates several neighborhoods in the area, analyzing how these will be transformed by Riyadh’s plan to turn the downtown into a commercially viable mixed-use destination by means of designated heritage destinations and iconic architecture.

This paper examines the views and experiences of governmental agencies, architects, developers and residents who are directly or indirectly involved with the planned restructuring of Riyadh’s historical downtown. In total, 40 semi-structured interviews were drawn from this stakeholder group to investigate their current understanding of the downtown associated with the effort to convert Riyadh’s historical downtown into a profitable urban destination. Five of these interviews were conducted with involved planning offices, and 35 with current residents in the area. In addition, a detailed site survey was conducted through a series of maps to reveal existing land uses, building typologies, states of disrepair, activity levels, pedestrian and car circulation patterns, as well as landmarks, and public spaces in each of the areas.

The subsequent data show that despite many positive outcomes in terms of commercial redevelopment, the adaptive reuse of the existing urban fabric is not considered, nor the preservation of underutilized or abandoned buildings along with its resident diverse communities, activities and milieus, many of which carry on evolving traditions.

This is significant because this paper presents a massive case study that ties into a larger debate on cultural globalization where similar practices around the world entail a spatial reorientation of urban districts to attract a transnational cosmopolitan middle class along with a simultaneous displacement of diverse and migrant communities, albeit on a much larger scale. While highlighting the rationale and effectiveness of this approach to create a well-packaged commodity, this paper also underscores the ambiguous consequences of this strategy, which entails the loss of a layered urban fabric that documents the city’s evolution through different economic periods, along with the dispersal of migrant communities and their vernacular practices.

Within this context, the current cultural value of the downtown as a heterogeneous, dynamic and multilayered fabric is debated, which documents the socio-economic conditions of the times in which these layers were formed. Departing from the UNESCO’s 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape and globally accepted sustainability standards, this study contrasts the proposed top-down tabula rasa approach proposed by the local authorities with an inclusive bottom-up approach, which would focus on the adaptive reuse of existing structures by taking into consideration the social meanings of belonging that heritage has for contemporary communities while fostering a more inclusive understanding of heritage as an ongoing cultural process.

The implications of the planned conversion of Riyadh’s historical downtown into an urban destination have not been previously explored and as a result, there is a conflict of interest between the creation of a marketable image, the preservation of heritage values, sustainable urban practices, social inclusion and Riyadh’s aim to become a globally recognized city.

This paper explores the employment of urban renewal and city branding within the context of Riyadh’s aim to become a world city. Within this framework, the paper examines the capital’s plan to convert the historic downtown into a mega-destination for the country’s middle class and national and international tourists.

The purpose of this paper is to first outline the central thrust of two currently non-convergent but intrinsically related streams of research – urban management and destination management – and explore the links between them. Both require an approach which coordinates and integrates multiple actors and functions in dynamic settings.

The paper then analyses empirical examples from three New Zealand cities to illustrate relationships between destination management and urban management in practice.

These cases show that without being labelled as such, quite a lot of activity takes place which reflects dimensions of both destination management and urban management, especially in terms of integration and coordination. This raises questions of just what constitutes destination management, a series of discrete ad hoc actions or some broader vision and framework.

Empirical evidence from the three New Zealand cities shows that, with the exception of Dunedin, destination management is not a term or a concept that is explicitly used there. Nevertheless, without being labelled as such, in practice there is quite a lot of activity taking place which reflects dimensions of both destination management and urban management, especially in terms of integration and coordination.

The purpose of this study is to investigate benefits tourist seek when visiting a nature-based tourism destination to develop a benefit segmentation framework.

The study used quantitative research methods, with 400 self-administered survey administered to a sample of 400 tourists visiting the Kruger, Panorama, and Lowveld areas in Mpumalanga.

Cluster analysis produced two benefit segments. Binary logistic regression benefits that emerged from the cluster analysis were statistically significant predictors of the attractions tourists visited and the activities in which they participated during their stays in Mpumalanga. Factor-cluster analysis and binary logistic regression results were used to develop a benefit segmentation framework as a marketing planning tool.

The study was only based on Mpumalanga Province and therefore, the results cannot be generalised. The study was conducted over one season, the Easter period

The proposed benefit segmentation framework provides a tool that destination management organisations can use to plan effectively for marketing.

Effective marketing may lead to increased tourism growth which can have a multiplier effect on the destination.

This article is based on a master’s study conducted in Mpumalanga and results are presented on this paper.