Three Lenses of Analysis for the Study of Tourism Public Policy: A Case from Northern Australia

Abstract

The main emphasis of this paper is directed to the interplay of three conceptual perspectives to the study of tourism public policy. To understand the tourism policy process in general, from demands via the policy-making system to outputs and feedback, Easton's model (1965) of the political system is employed as a basic conceptual framework. With the adoption of a temporal dimension, which takes into account the dynamics of the tourism policy process, the policy cycle model is then applied as a heuristic structural frame. As an additional, third level of analysis the policy network concept is then discussed. This approach identifies the various and multiple ways in which the actors participate in tourism policy-making as well as the complexity of their interactions. It is argued that the interplay of these three models provides an adequate methodological framework, particularly process-oriented in focus, to better understand the complexity of tourism policy-making. The case study of the specific geographical and social formation of the Northern Territory of Australia illustrates the usefulness of this analytical approach.

The Quagmire of Stakeholder Engagement in Tourism Planning: A Case Example from Australia

“…The set up of the Project Team can also be seen as a missed opportunity to capture potentially valuable contributions from outside the machinery of government, leading to particularly parochial public servants' view. Interestingly, this approach seems to be in contrast to the measure taken by the former CLP government, where a specific Task Force representing a cross section of various government agencies assisted in the preparation of the previous Tourism Development Masterplans (Pforr, 2001(Pforr, , 2009). …”

“…As the largest employer and important revenue generator (second only to the mining industry) at the turn of the millennium the tourism industry was one of the Territory's most important industry sectors (Pforr, 2001(Pforr, , 2008(Pforr, , 2009. Figures from 2000/2001, the time point of analysis of this article, aptly illustrate these developments.…”

“…In a déjà vu of inquiries on tourism policy and planning processes, which underpinned the development of previous tourism plans in the Northern Territory (Pforr 2001(Pforr , 2006b(Pforr , 2009, again a traditional top-down government arrangement that involved a very narrow range of policy actors prevailed, and a shift towards more inclusive systems of governance continued to remain a work in progress. This is despite establishing public participation in decision making as a key feature of tourism planning and also as a widely accepted criterion of sustainable development (e.g., Bramwell, 2010;Bramwell & Lane, 2011;Graci, 2013;Healy et al, 2012).…”

“…PFORR AND BRUECKNER that has long been pursued across Northern Australia and represented only an updated version of the earlier tourism plan (Pforr, 2001(Pforr, , 2006b(Pforr, , 2009. The defeat of the CLP by the Northern Territory Labor Party in 2001 marked the end of a 27-year period of conservative rule in the NT.…”

Tourism to religious sites, case studies from Hungary and England: exploring paradoxical views on tourism, commodification and cost-benefits

“…It is important to recognise that there are multiple and subjective interpretations amongst the stakeholders (Dredge, 2009) and this is where the tensions outlined in the literature are to be found in the sites being studied. Most of the previous approaches to these sorts of policy making studies have taken a rationalist approach (Pforr, 2005) which, in our view, have often failed to explore or explain change and we support Bramwell and Meyer (2007) when they call for a holistic approach that captures both context and power. As Stevenson et al (2008: 734) observed thick descriptions can "include investigation into the irrational and less tangible aspects of policy making.…”