VISITOR MANAGEMENT

Understanding tourists’
behavior and its
impact on the
community/nature

How to manage impacts

of tourism in a
SUSTAINABLE way
First question, is it necessary to
control numbers?
Useful tourism maps
 What is Visitor Management ?
To attract the visitor in order to achieve their
objectives and at the same time making profits
and continue the attraction.
There are different approaches which
stakeholders may chose or are enabled to take
care of..
To find a balance to make an attraction
available for tourists while protecting the core
attraction in a sustainable and ethical way
 Supply-side management
❧ Physical management strategies
❧ Regulatory
❧ Queu management
❧ Enlarging capacity
❧ Site hardening
❧ Restrictive ticketing and quota’s
 Demand side management
Price incentives
Marketing
Education and interpretation
Definition interpretation:
- Make clear or bring out the intended meaning of a character,
composition, display
- Understand in a particular way

❧ A clear message gives the right information for the correct

interpretation (=responsible) marketing

❧ What messages do we want others to know?

Information to tourists
By word of mouth
Tourism fairs in generating countries
Written information
Audio-visual information
Media, websites
Pictures/posters, displays
Signposts, information boards
Information to tourists
In home country (friends, tour operators)
In Nepal (travel agents, KEEP etc)
In travel guides and books
In tourist information offices
Museum
In destination area, by signposts and signboards,
cultural performances etc.
By the tourist guide
Role of the tour operator

Inform tourists before choosing the destination

Inform tourists before travel
Tour operator chooses travel agent and guide
Travel agent in Nepal provides information
Travel guide is able to provide tourist information
about the area, culture and code of conduct
It is in the tour operator’s interest to have satisfied
clients
 Role of the Tourist guide
Tourist guide tells tourists what to do/not to do and where to go/not go

Tourist guide has to internalize appropriate behavior him/her self

Expectations from tourist guide and group should be clear

 Education/intrepetation of
tourism for local communities
Tourism awareness and knowledge
building programs
Information Boards
At places of interest, cross roads or entrances
Often combined with village/area maps
Information is important for all users
Relatively large in size, no uniform design
Can contain Do’s and Don’t’s, regulations
Information about risks
Can contain tourist information of attractions but
also local business
Designed and managed by ? (communities, with
government support)
Can include direction, altitude, distances etc.
Tourist signposts
Along the tourist trail
at cross roads
To show direction, small in size
Should be in clear uniform design (logo, color)
Designed with the local community and with local
resources
Managed by the local community, with support of
the local government
 CONCLUSIONS
The message should be clearly communicated
Using all the senses
Accessible to all users, multiple-use if need felt
Information dissemination does not have to be
expensive
Use mix of information tools in destination
Involvement of all tourism stakeholders from the
beginning to assure ownership and sustainability
Involve tour operators, tourist guides
Feasible