Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, tourism has evolved into a major global activity, and tourism planning has become a specialized type of development planning in a destination. The main aim of tourism planning is to increase, develop, and stimulate tourism in/for a destination. With the evolution of destinations, a more balanced relationship between environmental and social aspects is required along with balancing economic considerations. One of the biggest challenges for destinations however is planning tourism development in a balanced and equitable manner which is the starting point of tourism development. Basically, developing and implementing tourism strategies is primarily motivated by generating cash, which will eventually boost the national or regional economy. Additionally, it offers good facilities for tourists and residents. A tourism plan will move through different phases, including the Exploration Phase, the Planning Phase, the Feasibility Phase, the Zoning Phase, the Design and Implementation Phase, and the Operational Phase. The tourism planning approach has evolved over time in terms of several techniques, principles, and models. As a result, tourism is analyzed from transport to support industries in detail. Though ecocentric, ultra-cautious ecotourism will protect the environment but fail to provide economic benefits to all except a few. Therefore, planning for eco-tourism is needed through a variety of strategies for improving economic benefits. Additionally, innovation in the form of digitization has led the tourism sector to expand into the arena of digital tourism. It has a significant impact on profit and growth. Tourism planning needs to be collaborative from a multi-stakeholder perspective to be sustainable and competitive. To determine the most effective forms of tourism development for all types of areas, research and experimentation are needed. The purpose of this section is to describe the problems associated with the tourism development/planning phase and how they can be resolved. Because there are many undesirable consequences associated with inadequate tourism development.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Prof. Sarat Kumar Jena 

Section Editor