Развитие мест посещений (дестинации) на примере озера Myvatn
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1.Introduction.
There are many wonderful places in the world. Various attractions make these places potential tourist destinations. Still, it is very seldom that some destinations become popular among tourists without a lot of planning work behind it. In order to optimise the benefits of tourism for a destination and prevent or at least mitigate any problems that might be generated, good planning and careful management of tourism are essential. (Inskeep 1991:16) To achieve success in destination development we should learn to analyse the situation. We should always think about what stage we are on now, where we want to go and how we can get there.
In this paper I will
show the development over time of a small destination in
In the first chapter I will review the theory about destination development.
In the next chapters I will talk about the planning and development work which stood back Myvatn as a destination. I will also show the result of this development.
2. Destination development.
2.1 Butler
Several researchers have noticed that destinations go through definite phases in their development. The idea that destinations experience a process analogous to birth, growth, maturation, and perhaps decline or even death is embodied in the concept of the destination life cycle, suggested by Butler in 1980. Butler sequence is a S-shaped cycle model, which proposes that tourist destinations tend to experience five distinct stages of growth under free market and sustained-demand conditions (Weaver 2002:309):
·Exploration
·Involvement
·Development
·Consolidation
·Stagnation
Figure 1. The
According to
In the involvement stage the visitor numbers begin to increase slowly. The local entrepreneurs begin to provide services and facilities for tourists. They usually consist of small accommodation places, eating places, few small semi-commercial attractions and some simple guiding service. Still, at this stage the destination maintains local control over the situation. The economic status of tourism is insignificant for the destination. The impacts on the society and the environment are little. The area is just beginning to integrate into the tourism system.The factors that trigger a destination into the involvement stage can be either external or internal. Internal forces are the ideas and enthusiasm of the local entrepreneurs who realising the profit that tourists can bring start building and advertising facilities and services. External forces can be travel publications, recommendations of the tourists, who have been to the place, or just the promotion by tour agencies that for some reason begin to work with this new destination.
The development stage is characterised by rapid tourism growing and dramatic changes in all aspects of the tourism sector in the region over a short period of time. Local community loses control over the situation; larger, non-local companies gain control over the process, attracting tourists from all over the world. Large-scale accommodation places are built, attractions oriented for tourists appear. The destination is losing its authenticity and uniqueness.
The consolidation stage is characterised by a decline in the growth of the visitor arrivals and other tourism-related activity. The level of the tourism development begins to exceed the environmental, social and economic carrying capacities of the destination. The non-authentic attractions dominate, the tourism product is deteriorating. Tourists are losing interests for the destination.
Stagnation is characterised by further product deterioration. This stage can theoretically persist for an indefinite period, but it is more likely that the destination will experience either decline or rejuvenation. Decline happens when tourists are no longer satisfied with the product and the destination stakeholders do not make attempts to attract new groups of tourists or revitalise the product, or do not succeed in this. Besides, new competitors appear in the market. Scenarios of rejuvenation can be different. The most important is to change the product or to find other market segments for the existing product. In this paper I will not discuss the relevance and applicability of this model but I will use it to show the development over time of the destination Myvatn.
2.2 Planning process
Independent which stage the destination has reached, we need to plan thoroughly every next step. Tourism planning is necessary for the following reasons:
- Tourism has both positive and negative impacts on the economy, society and the environment.
- Tourism involves many other industries and planning is necessary to insure that every industry gets profit of its development.
- Tourism is still a new type of activity and many entrepreneurs have no experience in how to develop a destination.
In fact, according to Haywood, the evolution of tourist destinations can perhaps be anticipated and through planning, marketing and management techniques not necessarily decline. (Inskeep 1991:17)
The strategic planning is a complex process, which explains the steps a company should undertake to gain the desirable position. Here is a model illustrating it:
The strategic planning process
The
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External analysis
Where
Gathering information are
Internal
analysis we now?
Strategic analysis and choice Decisions Where do we want to go?
Short term operating
strategies How
do we get there?
Implementing of strategies Action
Control and evaluation
Did we get there?
Figure 2. Source: Lecture notes from Nordplus course in
tourism planning, 2003,
First of all we should formulate the aims of the organisation in a mission model. Then we should analyse the situation in the market and the product itself, or the resources we have if we don’t have any product yet. The following techniques are usually used to understand the present situation( lecture notes from NordPlus course in tourism planning):
- The analysis of the trends in the market
- The analysis of our competitors
- The product analysis with respect to the markets and the competition
- Consumer analysis- characteristics and behaviour of the customers and consumers.
- SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats) –sums up and present the information collected and processed in the analytical process.
I will use these planning process models to show how the Sel Myvatn Hotel worked with the development of the destination Myvatn.
3. Development of the destination Myvatn
3.1 Presentation of the area
In my paper I want to study the
development of the destination
Myvatn has about 470 inhabitants, of which approximately 200 live in the village Reykjahlið. Before people used to live on the proceeds of the land farming and fishing for trout in the lake but it has changed radically in the last few decades. A diatomite factory was established in the late sixties and soon became the biggest source of employment in Myvatnssveit. The geothermal power plant at Krafla also provides for quite a few positions for the locals and tourism is a steadily growing business.
3.2 Development of the destination
In 1974 the lake was declared a national conservation area, and since then Icelandic tourists has begun to go there.The period of the exploration started then. The lake is very unique and there are lots of tourism resources. Still, at the beginning the region was not known. The few visitors, drawn to Myvatn by its natural attractions, were mostly geologists, biologists and other scientists. A number of Icelanders also came to the region to enjoy the nature. But the area was not adjusted for tourism. Accommodation could be only found in the nearest towns. Tourists had to arrange the trips on their own (from the interview with Sel Myvatn Hotel manager).
In the 1990’s the
involvement stage began. I could not find any information about the outer
trigger factors, like presentation of the area in media in that period. But I
hold to the opinion, that the inner trigger factors were determinant. The local
people saw the possibilities of tourism and started to build hotels,
restaurants, camping sites. There were open car rentals, grocery shops, petrol
stations with car washes, swimming pools. Simple sightseeing possibilities
appeared. These are the first signs of the involvement stage in the destination
development, according to the
Although there are several companies offering accommodation, catering and sightseeing tours around Myvatn, I am going to base my study on the Sel-Myvatn Hotel. This company is the most responsible for the development of tourism in the region. I could say this company is the most successful one in the region. Their activities allow getting to know the whole area of Myvatn.So I believe the activity of this hotel and the statistics of their tourist arrivals reflect the development of the destination on the whole.
In 1997 the future
management of the Sel-Myvatn Hotel in co-operation with Sport-Tours (Sportuð)
in Akureyri,
Ansoff’s model
|
Existing markets |
New markets |
|
|
Existing products |
Penetration |
Market development |
|
New products |
Product development |
Diversification |
Figure 3. Source: Kotler 2003:88
It is natural to start with product development if a completely new product is to appear. The work of Myvatn hotel staff is a part of the destination development because the activities they have introduced attracted tourists to Myvatn. Their mission was to attract tourists to Myvatn.
Having analysed the situation the company saw the following resources:
· Unique nature in the Myvatn area
· Snow and ice in winter season
· Northern Lights
· A special race of horses, Icelandic horses, which look like pony
·
Spa
resources like silica mud, clean air,
·
Marimo,
unique lake balls which can only be found in
As we see one can
develop several tourist products based on these resources. The company’s
strategy is formulated in this slogan “From hotel to activities”. They decided
to become the best company offering activity tourism in
Myvatnssveit, the
neighbourhood of
It is possible to rent
ice-skates, skis and snowmobiles at the hotel, where the headquarters of the
3.3 Situation today
During the last 5 years
the company has developed a number of tourist products both for the summer and
winter seasons. (see attachment) The number of arrivals has increased
significantly. The mission to attract tourists was fulfilled. The destination
Myvatn is becoming popular. 85% of the hotel guests are foreign tourists, which
is due to summer guests. In low season it is mostly Icelandic tourists,
although there are coming more and more guests from
I presume that
destination Myvatn is coming through the involvement stage, according to the
§The rate of growth in visitation is relatively low for the region. The destination is still not widely-known in the world
§The attractions are mainly natural, authentic.
§The local actors are controlling the situation
§The tourism is a supplementary industry in the region. The most important industry for the region’s economy is still the silica fabric, producing silica algae.
I have also noticed some signs of the
development stage, which means that the next stage is not far off.Although the main emphasis is the natural
attractions of the
To show the situation today I have made the SWOT analysis.
The strength of the destination:
- Myvatn is a unique area because of its nature and geology.
- There is a variety of tourism products in the area for different groups of people.
- The area is safe, quiet and relaxing
- The weather in summer is very mild
- The local people have knowledge of the area
- Myvatn is a new place for most people
- The service quality is good
The weakness of the destination:
- Accessibility: Myvatn is a far away place for foreigners. Lack of efficient transportation to the lake.
- The activities on Myvatn are not for everyone, because of the weather. This is more tough- guys- holidays than family holidays.
- The local actors are not well educated in tourism
- Changing weather in winter
- There is little cooperation between the local actors.
- The marketing is left to the travel agencies, lack of promotion from the local actors.
- There is no environmental policy in the region.
- The activities depend on snow too much
The opportunities:
- People today prefer activity tourism
- Icelandair is lowing prices for transportation from abroad
- Co-operation with the bus companies in the neighbouring Akureyri
- Holidays
for Icelanders who are getting tired of the resorts near
- Using Icelandic history as a resource for new activities/games
The threats:
- The
policy of the Icelandair (cheap packages for foreigners including the
flight and staying at a hotel in
- Approaching the carrying capacity of the area, what will lead to extra protection in the region
- Changing weather and global warming. Last winter was almost without snow in the area. The winter activities were not possible.
- Competition
with the destinations in the south
This is the situation for today. How the region will develop in the future is an open question.
4. Conclusion.
I have shown the development of the destination Myvatn over the time.The destination has come through definite changes, from a place known only to specialists to a popular tourist destination, especially in winter season. Still, tourism in the region has some problems. The competition is growing and the transportation to Myvatn is complicated. I think that the next step is to define market segments and offer them different product ranges. It will be another strategy according to the Ansoff’s model: market penetration. It is also possible to promote the product to new markets (market development), like business people or schoolchildren. Development of new products is an alternative as well. I suppose such activities as ice-hockey or curling in the open air would be popular. But how the destination will be developing depends on the tourism actors.
[1] The restaurant was almost ready built last winter but all the snow melted off in the region due to the mild weather in February-March.