An Analysis of the Tourism

Master Plan for the Town

of Drumheller, Alberta

http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/6304892

Maria Legault (ID# 20266913)

Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Professor Sanjay Nepal

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Table of Contents
1.0.

Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 3

1.1. Context of Alberta Tourism ................................................................................................................ 4

2.0. Types of Modern Tourism Planning....................................................................................................... 7
2.1. Collaborative Planning ...................................................................................................................... 7
2.2. Community Planning ......................................................................................................................... 8
2.3. Strategic Planning ............................................................................................................................. 9
3.0. Analysis of Drumhellers Tourism Master Plan .................................................................................. 11
3.1. Future Vision ................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2. Degree of Local Involvement ........................................................................................................... 13
3.3. Provision of Innovative and Achievable Objectives......................................................................... 14
4.0. Limitations of Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 18
5.0. Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 19
6.0. References ............................................................................................................................................ 21

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An Analysis of the Tourism Master Plan for the Town of Drumheller, Alberta
1.0.Introduction
The purpose of a Tourism Master Plan (TMP) is to enhance the social, economic, and
environmental benefits of tourism while also preventing negative consequences (Malone Given
Parsons Ltd. [MGP] 2011). A TMP which is based on this good planning theory and
implemented in the real world is considered to be successful (Eagles, et al. 2004). Communities
are meant to be the primary beneficiaries of these efforts; thus, stakeholder input from local
businesses, institutions, and community groups is critical during plan development (Eagles, et al.
2004). Stakeholders are defined as those who are directly or indirectly affected by tourism
(Butler and Waldbrook 2003). In the Town of Drumheller, Alberta, tourism has been a
significant driver of community change since the mid-1980s (MGP 2011). Given the increasing
importance of tourism to the local economy, city council commissioned a new TMP in 2010 to
guide community change in a desirable direction (MGP 2011). Alberta communities, such as
Drumheller, are interesting studies of tourism master planning because of the strong provincial
support for TMP development and the diversity of stakeholders involved (Getz and Jamal 1994).
This paper provides an analysis of the recently released TMP for the Town of Drumheller
in the Canadian Badlands of Alberta. First, information is provided on the Alberta Tourism
branch of the Alberta government, and the impacts of this organization on Drumhellers TMP are
evaluated. Next, three types of tourism planning paradigms are discussed because of their
importance for the future of Drumhellers TMP. Paradigms are similar ways of thinking
amongst individuals at a certain point in time, and can provide a model for evaluating and
understanding human values and behavior (Morais, et al. 2010). Drumhellers TMP is then

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analyzed for barriers that could be encountered during its implementation in the community;
these include its future vision, engagement with local residents, and provision of innovative yet
achievable objectives. Limitations to this research are acknowledged in Section 4.0, with overall
conclusions for tourism researchers and practitioners given in Section 5.0.
1.1. Context of Alberta Tourism
The actions of Alberta Tourism, the provincial tourism authority, may have contributed to
the positive intentions of Drumhellers TMP development. However, planning practice in
Alberta still has some problems which have negatively affected the TMP. In 1985, Alberta
Tourism created the Tourism Action Committee to coordinate and facilitate the development of
provincial tourism opportunities (Go, et al. 1992). Two years later, the committee released a
Community Tourism Action Plan Manual to set down the guidelines for tourism master planning
in Alberta (Getz and Jamal 1994). This manual greatly aided Alberta communities in
understanding the complexities of tourism development; it gave them a foundation for
developing TMPs which could protect environmental and cultural resources while still providing
tourists with adequate facilities and various services (Go, et al. 1992). It illustrated how best
practices in tourism planning involve: 1) quantifying existing socio-cultural and environmental
features of the area; 2) setting guidelines for limiting the pace of tourism development to suit
these resources; 3) determining the type of tourism which best fits with the target market and
local population, and 4) creating policies to guide the expansion of tourism (Butler and
Waldbrook 2003). Lastly, the manual was responsible for stimulating the development of TMPs
throughout the province. By September 1st, 1990, most communities in Alberta which had the
necessary population to sustain a tourism industry had registered a TMP with the Alberta
Tourism organization (Go, et al. 1992).

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This background of proper tourism planning in Alberta may have contributed to the
positive intensions of the consultant group in charge of Drumhellers TMP. Malone Given
Parsons Ltd. (2011), the external consulting company paid to write the plan, details its efforts to
avoid the traditional, static master plans created for tourism during the early 1980s. Traditional
master plans were problematic due to their simplicity and subsequent failure to recognize the
connections between tourism and other economic sectors (Medina 2003). These early plans were
also short-term and inflexible; few of them suggested adaptation methods for changes in
community circumstances (Go, et al. 1992). Drumhellers TMP tries to avoid these problems
with a comprehensive list of implementation priorities and recommendations which are aimed at
directing the community over the long term (MGP 2011). Malone Given Parsons Ltd. (2011)
also discusses how they attempted to avoid top-down management approaches to tourism in
Drumheller by soliciting the opinions of community members. This involved a single public
workshop held with 47 local residents (MGP 2011, pp. 4). Top-down management approaches
generate conflicts between tourism planners and communities because the instructions provided
by planners often ignore local needs, perspectives, and values (Marcouiller 1997). Malone
Given Parsons Ltd. therefore tried to emulate the long history of positive tourism planning in
Alberta by crafting the plan using a long term and bottom-up approach.
However, on-the-ground tourism planning in Alberta remains in many ways inferior to
broader planning theory (Getz and Jamal 1994; Eagles, et al. 2004). This has created several
problems for Drumhellers TMP. Planning theory states that tourism planners should not focus
only on individual projects, nor should they develop an exclusive interest in advancing economic
growth within a community (Butler and Waldbrook 2003). An economic focus in planning
could promote harmful development over environmental preservation, while a single-project

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approach could prevent certain cultural groups or ethnic minorities from joining public
consultation efforts (Butler and Waldbrook 2003). However, government officials in charge of
implementing the TMP tend to hold office for short time periods; this puts pressure on tourism
planners to focus on issues that can be dealt with quickly and which are economically profitable
(Bishop and Davis 2002). Drumhellers TMP uses the economic value of tourism as a rationale
for the plan, but this also causes it to prioritize local business growth. For example, the plan
discusses how the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller contributed $36.2 million to Albertas
economy in 2007 (MGP 2011, pp. 9). This emphasis on economics could lead to the degradation
of Drumhellers environmental or socio-cultural resources.
Planning theory also states that adaptive planning is a desirable way to address the
increasing complexity of tourism activities. Adaptive planning takes on-going learning
experiences and feeds these back into management styles (Harper 2009). Each time that there is
a failure in the system, managers take the lessons derived from this failure and alter their future
behavior accordingly (Harper 2009). However, adaptive planning is more expensive than static
planning and sudden changes in management structure or leadership can deter its use (Butler and
Waldbrook 2003). Drumhellers TMP is a single plan created at one point in time, despite its
attempts to guide long-term community change. Periodic plan revisions based on available data
and qualitative information are important to help the plan evolve; however, this will only occur if
locals feel ownership towards the plan (Marcouiller 1997). A community takes ownership of a
plan when they have equal control in decision-making processes (Eagles, et al. 2004).
Thereafter, the community will work to ensure that tourism planners and city council undertake
the necessary research and related activities to keep the plan up-to-date (Eagles, et al. 2004).
This section has detailed how Alberta Tourism has contributed to Drumhellers TMP by focusing

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it on long-term and bottom-up approaches, but its economic focus and lack of adaptive planning
are problematic. Next, three types of modern planning paradigms are used to evaluate the future
development of Drumhellers TMP.

2.0. Types of Modern Tourism Planning

2.1. Collaborative Planning
Collaborative planning is increasingly important for communities, such as Drumheller,
that want to plan tourism around their unique brand (Getz and Jamal 1994; Mair 2009). It is a
theory that allows researchers to understand the dynamic and changeable conditions under which
joint decisions are made in multi-stakeholder situations (Getz and Jamal 1994). With the
increasing number of stakeholders involved in the tourism industry, uncoordinated planning
efforts and confrontations between participants have become common (Jamal and Getz 1995;
Butler and Waldbrook 2003). Value conflicts between stakeholders in tourism planning could
lead to the fragmentation of the brand advertised to tourists.
Drumhellers TMP focuses on the development of a single brand for the community. It
defines a brand as an image that is projected onto the mind of the target market, as well as an
asset that can be measured and used to generate financial return (MGP 2011). Brands are
increasingly important for communities seeking to differentiate their product in a world of
greater choice for tourists (Gale and Botterill 2005). However, actors with a high stake in
tourism development are likely to prevent other groups from contributing to the development of
a tourist brand (Jamal and Getz 1995). This situation could very easily happen in Drumheller,
where prominent and prosperous community stakeholders, such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum,
could take control of tourism marketing to the detriment of other groups (MGP 2011). Groups
who feel that their views are not being respected or supported may protest against new tourism

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development (Go, et al. 1992). This could delay or destroy movement towards the
implementation of Drumhellers TMP (Go, et al. 1992). Collaboration planning should therefore
be used in Drumhellers future brand development so that tourism planners can try to predict
how various actors will react during this process.
2.2. Community Planning
Community planning tries to outline a process for communities, such as Drumheller, to
work together towards a defined goal (Getz and Jamal 1994). This type of planning is very
careful in its identification of stakeholders and integration of their input into the tourism plan
(Marcouiller 1997). It was created in response to a backlash against traditional tourism plans
which only considered the design of physical infrastructure for tourists, with no consideration for
related social or environmental impacts (Butler and Waldbrook 2003). Community planning
goes beyond getting the public involved in planning through token gestures and enters into the
realm of true citizen empowerment (Arnstein 1969). It forms partnerships with and between
local groups to enhance their contributions to the planning process (Arnstein 1969).
Communities are not, however, homogeneous, and their diversity complicates community
planning (Harrill 2004). Drumheller and other municipalities like it are challenged to understand
how all relevant stakeholder groups perceive tourism development (Butler and Waldbrook 2003).
The community context and form of tourism makes every situation different, but some
researchers have determined the variables which contribute to community acceptance or
resistance towards tourism (Mason and Cheyne 2000; Williams and Lawson 2001; Andriotis
2005; Jamal and Watt 2011). Harrill (2004) provides an overview of some of the most
influential factors in determining community perspectives:

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1. Spatial: the distance that residents are located from tourist developments infer their
attitudes towards this activity;
2. Economic: the degree to which residents benefit financially from tourism affects their
perspectives; and,
3. Personality: the profile of the resident, including their attitudes and values, can be used to
predict the degree to which they will react positively or negatively towards tourism.
Although these variables can provide tourism planners with a general idea of what to
expect from the community, there are likely to be exceptions in every case. Drumhellers TMP
does not provide an analysis of community perspectives for tourism planners to use during the
implementation process (MGP 2011). This could be because community perspectives are
intangible (thus, very hard to measure) and tend to evolve over time in response to external and
internal factors (Williams and Lawson 2001; Andriotis 2005). Community perspectives can also
be influenced by: 1) powerful, charismatic stakeholders who hold sway over community opinion;
and, 2) large minority groups, such as aboriginals, who demand that their rights by respected
(Dyer, et al. 2002). Harrill (2004) noted that cultural minority groups tend to view tourism
development in a negative light. This illustrates how future community planning in Drumheller
should develop ways to understand resident perspectives and avoid conflict between them.
2.3. Strategic Planning
Strategic planning should be used by communities, such as Drumheller, to implement
TMP recommendations. Strategic planning is necessary when public, private, and nongovernmental stakeholders cannot reach consensus on key decisions (Getz and Jamal 1994;
Butler and Waldbrook 2003; Eagles, et al. 2004). Strategic plans use quantitative and cost-

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benefit studies to evaluate cumulative tourist impacts and to suggest alternatives to the status-quo
(Marcouiller 1997). Key aspects of a strategic plan discussed in Getz and Jamal (1994) are:
1. Situation analysis (what is the current situation?)
2. Creation of mission or vision (what is the desired future?)
3. Environmental scan (what resources are available?)
4. Issues analysis (what problems must be overcome?)
5. Strategic response (how will this plan be implemented and monitored?)
Strategic planning involves a careful assessment of economic, social, and environmental
impacts of tourism relative to other forms development (Marcouiller 1997). The diversity of
plans generated from this process can help tourism planners to analyze tourisms connections to
other economic activities in a community (Marcouiller 1997). Without considering this broader
vision, tourism can deter regional development and inflict harm on local communities
(Marcouiller 1997). Drumhellers TMP recommends that city council authorize a variety of nontourism-related plans (e.g. transportation, signage) to complement tourism (MGP 2011). This
form of planning is extremely comprehensive and can reduce incidence of planning failures, but
is also more expensive to carry out (Getz and Jamal 1994). Drumheller may therefore have to
raise money for the development of multiple strategic plans to augment tourism development, or
create them slowly over time to offset immediate community costs.
This section has illustrated how three modern planning paradigms are relevant to
Drumhellers TMP. Collaborative planning theory should be used during the development of
Drumhellers brand to avoid having it preempted by more powerful societal groups, thereby
creating community conflict. Community planning, with special consideration given to resident

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perspectives, should also be used to deter conflict between stakeholders. Lastly, strategic
planning should be used by Drumheller to comprehensively determine all issues faced by the
community as city council implements its TMP recommendations.

3.0. Analysis of Drumhellers Tourism Master Plan

3.1. Future Vision
The TMP for Drumheller contains eight strategic priorities. Disagreements in council
over these priorities and a heavy reliance on a single organization for action could deter their
implementation. These priorities, designed to be implemented according to a timeline over five
years, define the roles of private and public sector stakeholders, develop the tourism product
further, and state which variables require monitoring (MGP 2011). Recommendations are the
practical portion of these broad priorities, and are outlined in the documents Master Plan,
Development Strategy, and Development Plan (MGP 2011).
First, the priority to strengthen the leadership role of the tourism industry is a point of
contention in the Town of Drumhellers Council. This priority recommends that development
for a Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) is begun immediately (MGP 2011). Two councilors,
R. Romanetz and R. Telford, have been influential in supporting the development of the TMP
(Town of Drumheller [TOD] 2011). This is excellent news; a TMP with support in council is
more likely to be implemented, as it will be provided with the necessary financial and personnel
resources (Go, et al. 1992). However, the Town of Drumhellers (2011) Council Meeting
minutes also indicate some level of opposition against Romanetz and Telford. Councilors are
hesitant to implement the priority to strengthen tourisms leadership role without first having a
Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) in place (TOD 2011). This opposition could stymie
attempts to implement this and other priorities in the TMP (Eagles, et al. 2004). Strategic

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planning for the various recommendations in the TMP may aid councilors in making a decision
about the BRZ in downtown Drumheller. This is because strategic planning would present
councilors with a quantitative, cost-benefit analysis of available options.
Second, the priorities in Drumhellers TMP may not be realized because of the heavy
reliance on a single organization, the Drumheller Valley Buying Group (DVBG), for
implementation (TOD 2011). The DVBG is positive for community planning because it brings
together multiple stakeholder groups, including: the Town of Drumheller, the Chamber of
Commerce, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Reptile World, CanAlta, Golf Club, Rosebud Theatre,
and the Atlas Coal Mine (TOD 2011). However, it is unknown whether this group will have any
real management power or funds provided to them for implementation of the TMP (TOD 2011).
It may have been more realistic for councilors to create communication networks between each
organization and facilitate them through the provision of necessary funds and personnel
resources (Jamal and Getz 1995).
This power sharing and communication between and amongst stakeholders, as in
community planning, would have allowed participants to make joint decisions with ample
resources (Jamal and Getz 1995). As the situation stands, the DVBG is reliant upon the
champions of Drumhellers tourism planning, Romanetz and Telford (TOD 2011). This could
create a top-down approach in which power relations are unbalanced between Drumhellers
political and public spheres, subsequently marginalizing certain groups and creating significant
tension during tourism development efforts (Jamal and Getz 1995). Therefore, the priorities of
Drumhellers TMP may not be implemented because, despite having two champions in council,
some of its priorities are a point of contention amongst council members. Implementation could

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also be deterred by the heavy reliance on the DVGB and the fact that members of this group have
not been empowered to act independently.
3.2. Degree of Local Involvement
Despite the public workshop hosted by Malone Given Parsons Ltd. to promote public
participation in Drumhellers TMP, Aboriginals appear to have been ignored and the degree of
true local empowerment is questionable (TOD 2010). Malone Given Parsons Ltd. is a consultant
group with over ten years of experience working with tourism in Alberta (TOD 2010). On May
25th, 2010, the Town of Drumhellers (2010) council decided to pay Malone Given Parsons Ltd.
$160,469 for the creation of a tourism master plan (pp. 4). It was chosen over the alternative
consultant because it had many employees and contacts located in and around Drumheller (TOD
2010). This situation may have caused certain groups to be ignored during the consultation
process of the TMP, as it would have been easier for Malone Given Parsons Ltd. to talk to
existing contacts rather than forming new ones (MGP 2011).
Aboriginal groups, although mentioned in the TMP, did not appear to have any direct
consideration in the documents priorities. Many of the TMPs strategic priorities suggest
further action on the part of different stakeholders, but make no efforts to address the needs of
marginalized groups (MGP 2011). For example, the plan recommends that independent,
industry-led, and not-for-profit organizations consult with minority groups to advance the
regions tourism product (MGP 2011). This failure of Drumhellers TMP could be due to the
tight deadlines of the consultants and the low fee provided for their almost full year of plan
development (Go, et al. 1992; MGP 2011). However, the limited mention of Aboriginals and
other minority groups in the plan could create friction between them and dominant groups during
the plans implementation.

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Local empowerment throughout the public consultation process conducted by Malone

Given Parsons Ltd. is also questionable. In community planning efforts, citizens are empowered
to be partners with the organizational body directing the program (Arnstein 1969). Malone
Given Parsons Ltd. only conducted one public consultation workshop throughout its
development of the TMP (MGP 2011). The consultant companys other sources of information
were also limited to academic studies, site orientations, and key community contacts (MGP
2011). Stakeholder input from all community members could have been beneficial at each stage
of the TMPs development, from the collection of tourism data to the shaping of priorities
(Eagles, et al. 2004). Local empowerment would also have involved creating a leadership
organization to guide the process of tourism development. This project was instead left up to the
Town of Drumhellers council. Consideration for Aboriginal minorities and local empowerment
was therefore lacking in Drumhellers TMP because consultants were overly reliant on existing
community contacts, had tight deadlines, and were paid a low figure for plan development.
3.3. Provision of Innovative and Achievable Objectives
Although Drumhellers TMP has objectives which are not overly innovative, the clear
and simple language of these statements could encourage plan implementation. Also, the
economic focus of the plan both contributes to its potential for implementation and directly
contradicts sustainable planning principles. Drumhellers TMP states objectives which are
primarily descriptive, rather than prescriptive, of the communitys problems. Vague and
uninspired goals are typical of TMPs because they are meant to provide a broad, overarching
guideline for the community (Bishop and Davis 2002). Consequently, these goals can be
compared to a Yellow Pages directory for local government officials, allowing them to look up
key people and critical events required to make projects a reality. Some example priorities

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drawn from Drumhellers TMP which provide government with a general overview of required
actions include (MGP 2011):

Priority #2: Drumheller council should develop local research capacity to better
track tourism performance; and,

Priority #8: Need to amend the Municipal Development Plan to foster highquality tourism business development.

Drumhellers TMP does not recommend ways to implement these priorities in a

meaningful manner within the community. Instead, it suggests that city council fund a
Drumheller Tourism Summit conference or workshop to achieve this goal (MGP 2011).
Stakeholders at this event would be provided with a forum to debate their ideas, brainstorm
innovative new futures, and state methods to achieve these objectives (MGP 2011). The lack of
novel news ideas for community tourism development puts the value of Drumhellers TMP into
question. Perhaps the money spent on the TMP would have been better invested in workshops
for stakeholders to come together in a collaborative or community planning context.
Drumhellers TMP is problematic because it leaves this future up to Drumhellers City Council.
Drumhellers TMP does use clear and straightforward language to encourage the
implementation of its stated objectives. The plan is available online to the public, and its
readability makes it very accessible to the average individual. Such benefits could contribute to
the popularity of the plan amongst residents and ensure that they push government for its
implementation (Butler and Waldbrook 2003). For example, the plan plainly illustrates the
benefits of tourism to the community, states how to build a proper tourist brand, shows how to
cater to an increasingly selective tourist market, and describes how to protect local cultural and

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environmental resources (MGP 2011). The TMP also makes it clear what steps are required in a
comprehensive implementation plan, including (MGP 2011):
1. Prerequisites which must be in place initially;
2. Actions required to reach stated goals; and,
3. Organizations or bodies responsible for actions.
These steps can be easily understood by the community of Drumheller, thus making it
more likely that they will pressure government to provide the necessary financial, personnel, and
technical assistance (Go, et al. 1992). Leadership organizations, managed through either the
government or private industry, must organize, allocate, and manage these interactions on all
different scales (Go, et al. 1992). Consequently, collaborative planning strategies should be used
to create communication networks between stakeholders throughout this process.
Although the economic focus of Drumhellers TMP could contribute to its
implementation, this focus directly contradicts the sustainability focus of planning. As has
already been mentioned, the economic value of tourism is used in the plan as the rationale for its
writing and implementation. The plan also discusses how tourism is beneficial for residents
quality of life because it can increase the number and quality of facilities available for residents
(MGP 2011). This is a remnant of the concept of boosterism, which was common in tourism
plans from the early 1980s. In boosterism, tourism master plans would promote tourism as the
ideal economic growth model for communities without acknowledging its underlying
consequences (Jamal and Getz 1995). These consequences can include degradation of
environmental (e.g. forests) and cultural (e.g. performances) resources which tourists find
attractive, leading to the overall decline of the destination (Jamal and Getz 1995). Lastly, the

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plan has an economic focus in the variables it suggests that the community monitor to determine
improvements in the tourism product (MGP 2011). These variables include visitation,
expenditures, overnight stays, and return visits (MGP 2011). Although the economic focus of
the TMP makes it achievable within its tight, five-year timeline, it also puts the environmental
and cultural sustainability of the destination at risk.
Ideally, planning for tourism should be focused on sustainability. Sustainable planning is
equal parts protection of environment, social, and economic features of the community (Burns
1999). However, this concept has remained at the level of mere rhetoric for many years in the
planning field; due, in part, to the tensions between alternative and mass tourism (Burns 1999).
Alternative tourism is environmentally and socially viable, but not economically so (Burns
1999). In contrast, mass tourism only brings in money while degrading the local natural and
human worlds (Burns 1999). The Town of Drumheller has recently begun work on a Municipal
Sustainability Plan, as indicated on their website (http://www.dinosaurvalley.com/). Money and
personnel devoted to the creation and implementation of this plan could eclipse the importance
of the TMP. The new sustainability plan might also fulfill the requirements of strategic planning
by showing the community how to achieve this goal alongside tourism development.
The purpose of this section has been to illustrate the reasons that Drumhellers TMP may
not be implemented over the next five years. Disagreements between council members could
deter implementation of the plan. Over-reliance on a single organization which has little
independent power could also prevent certain objectives from being reached. Friction between
marginalized Aboriginal groups and dominant cultures, as well as low local empowerment, could
also prevent action from being taken on this plan. Tight deadlines, low payment for creation of
the plan, and reliance on existing community contacts were given as the reasons behind this

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failure of Malone Given Parsons Ltd. Lastly, Drumhellers TMP has objectives which are not
overly innovative and which focus too much on economic priorities to be sustainable. However,
clear and simple language used in the plan could contribute to its implementation.

4.0. Limitations of Analysis

There are several limitations to the discussion presented in this paper. First, the Town of
Drumhellers TMP was only released in February 2011 (MGP 2011). The recent release of this
plan means that other external or internal factors may change to affect its implementation.
Analysis of this plan may be more valuable in five years, when the plan is no longer valid and
any possible implementation measures have already been taken. However, this research was
treated as a baseline examination of where the plan is now and how it might proceed. This
should provide future researchers with a baseline for understanding a snapshot of the plan and
its context at a single moment in time. Researchers should therefore consider returning to
Drumhellers TMP later in time to evaluate its success in light of this and similar articles.
Second, the author of this paper was not familiar with the case study area. This limited
the analysis because she was not able to consider various contextual factors affecting the plan,
such as: personality conflicts between stakeholders not reported in the common media or Council
Meeting minutes, implementation of other plans at the same time which could eclipse the TMP,
economic slowdowns in the local economy, etc. Such an analysis could only have been carried
out by unstructured or semi-structured interviews with council members. To overcome this
limitation, the author evaluated a range of secondary sources, from websites to peer-reviewed
journal articles.

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5.0. Conclusions

The purpose of a TMP is to balance ecological and cultural imperatives with a

communitys need to remain economically viable as a tourist destination. This ideal theory is not
always implemented in practice, especially when external consultants are hired to design the
plan; their focus is often on ensuring the survival of local tourism businesses in a world of
increasing choice for consumers. Tourism plans should be implemented to be successful, and
communities must benefit from TMP goals. This paper has analyzed the Town of Drumhellers
TMP with regards to the internal and external factors affecting its future success.
Alberta Tourism, the branch of the Alberta government in charge of tourism
development, contributed to the vision of Drumhellers TMP as a long-term and bottom up
process. In the analysis of Drumhellers TMP, however, this vision was found to be flawed. The
tight deadlines and restricted budget of Malone Given Parsons Ltd. meant that collaboration with
and empowerment of the public was limited to a single session with a select group of existing
community contacts. The needs of Aboriginals and other minority groups were not addressed
within the plan. The long-term sustainability of the plan was also problematic. Although
economic sustainability was a central focus of plan objectives, this excessive focus on economics
left little room for consideration of environmental and cultural priorities.
Three modern planning paradigms were also used to evaluate how the plan might proceed
into the future. This section illustrated how collaborative planning theories could be used by
tourism planners to predict the actions of stakeholders during the formation of a community
brand. Community planning could also help individuals and groups in Drumheller to work
together towards the objectives defined in the TMP. Although these objectives are not overly

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innovative, their clear and simple language makes them accessible to the general public. This is
an important factor in tourism planning, as locals who are knowledgeable and feel involved in
plan development can push government to implement the plan and help it to evolve over time.
Strategic planning should also be used by planners in Drumheller to ensure that all relevant
issues are covered, thereby reducing the possibility of planning failures. Lastly, plan
implementation of Drumhellers TMP could be deterred by disagreements between council
members and over-reliance on a single organization which has not been provided with
independent autonomy from city council.
This analysis has illustrated for both tourism planners and practitioners how tourism
issues are extremely complex. Multiple stakeholders interact in a variety of different contexts,
with both internal and external factors affecting their behaviors. External consultants who enter
communities and specify future actions through static tourism plans are problematic because
some key factors will inevitably be left out of the analysis. This leaves tourism plans with
various flaws and limitations. The alternative of directly empowering the community to manage
their own tourism product is a challenging, expensive, and under-utilized approach. Future
research should determine how tourism planning might become a more practical, hands-on
endeavor in which the final product is not a static document. The alternative would be to create
a unified mosaic of community organizations which have strong interconnections and are
completely empowered to research, vision, and achieve tourism goals desirable to the entire
community.

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6.0. References
Andriotis, K. 2005. Community groups perceptions of and preferences for tourism development:
Evidence from Crete. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 29(1): 67-90.
Arnstein, S.R. 1969. A ladder of citizen participation. JAIP 35(4): 216-224. Retrieved November
3rd, 2011 from http://www2.eastwestcenter.org/environment/CBFM/2_Arnstein.pdf
Bishop, P. and Davis, G. 2002. Mapping public participation in policy choices. Australian
Journal of Public Administration 61(1): 14-29.
Burns, P. 1999. Paradoxes in planning: Tourism elitism or brutalism? Annals of Tourism
Research 26(2): 329-348.
Butler, R., and Waldbrook, L. 2003. A new planning tool: The tourism opportunity spectrum.
Journal of Tourism Studies 1: 25-36.
Dyer, P., Aberdeen, L., and Schuler, S. 2002. Tourism impacts on an Australian indigenous
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