Film Tourism Planning 36
For the past decades, planning has been informed by various economic, social and political ideologies, and planning approaches in the past have evolved from an economic approach, to physical/spatial planning approach, to a community approach. The current dominant planning paradigm is integrated sustainable tourism planning central to which is a concern for the long-term future of resources (Hall, 2008). This approach is holistic in its nature as it takes all impacts into account, sees tourism as one element within the overall economy of the destination and as an element of the overall destination develop- ment plan. Long-term planning, public–private partnerships, continuous monitoring, and cooperation among all stakeholders affected by tourism within the destination are the key features of sustainable tourism planning. Working closely with a wide range of stake- holders means that all planning and operational management in the sector is governed by the needs of host and visitor communities within the destination. In connection with film-induced tourism, planning has received only limited attention, as the subjects of studies so far focus more on marketing, image, and tourist experience. Beeton (2005) investigated film-induced tourism in the context of community planning, stressing the importance of the inclusion and participation of local communities when it comes to tourism planning and therefore echoing scholars in the field. Using case studies from Kangaroo Island, Australia, and Iowa, USA, she identifies the key problems of film-induced tourism planning—that even if community participation is encouraged and attempted “tourists will often come to see a famous site regardless of the immediate community’s wishes” (Beeton, 2005, p. 149). However, in light of sustainable tourism planning the key role that all stake- holders play with regard to film tourism planning is to be discussed in the following sections by assessing film tourism in the context of stakeholder theory and sustainable tourism planning and development.