Tourism planning and public management entities in the development of major cities: The models of Barcelona and London

Abstract

In order to develop tourism in any area or destination today, a great deal of planning is
required. Until only a few decades ago, this instrumentation was not used properly, or simply did
not exist. As a result, the development of the tourism sector, which has always to some extent been
subsumed into spatial development, failed to reach adequate standards of growth. This is all the
more shocking given the abundance of raw material or items necessary for this necessary
development to have handled more appropriately.
Fortunately the idea of tourism planning arose. Its practical application by the authorities, initially
acting independently, barely counting on any input from the various stakeholders involved in
developing tourism, and subsequently with their cooperation and even with the involvement of
other public authorities, has gradually shown that it has extraordinary qualities when it comes to
fostering appropriate development of the sector. Planning is has made it for a significant boom in
both quality and quality to be achieved in recent years.
The participation, or rather intervention, of public authorities in tourism planning has been led at
tourism resorts either by direct intervention via specific local entities for tourism development, or
through mixed management entities whose composition is heterogeneous depending on the
particular characteristics of each resort.
As occurs in many other economic and social sectors, in tourism there is a need for planning. Owing
to the major economic, social, cultural and environmental impact, etc. of tourism, planning it allows
the most important issues as well as the potential benefits involved to be identified. For issues, the
purpose of planning will be to minimise them, and with benefits to maximise them.