ایجاد و استفاده از کارت امتیازی متوازن در برنامه ریزی گردشگری : مثال اسپانیایی

This paper proposes a preliminary model of a balanced scorecard for tourism destinations, with a specific emphasis on sustainable development. We begin with a review of the perspectives and critical performance variables for the traditional balanced scorecard. We then present empirical work based upon quantitative analysis techniques. A survey was completed by 1531 Spanish municipalities that are oriented towards tourism and have demonstrated interest in management issues. Based on the constructs emerging from this analysis, we then show how the balanced scorecard can be modified to support the strategic planning of tourism destinations. We conclude by discussing the advantages for long-term strategic planning and sustainable tourism management.

Strategic planning has been progressively incorporated into the different approaches to tourism planning (Getz, 1986 and Hall, 2000), encouraging a holistic analysis of the competitive environment, as well as the co-ordination and co-operation among stakeholders. Fortunately, it has also been proved easy to integrate into the management processes (Ansoff, 1988, Hall, 2000, Ivars, 2004 and Porter, 1982). Tourism planning has evolved notably in Spain since the 1960s. Numerous studies have confirmed the contribution that planning has made in terms of bringing qualitative improvements to management (Bote, 1994 and Ivars, 2004). These benefits are especially evident in areas such as strategic marketing (Bigné, Font, & Andreu, 2000), but have also noted the ever-increasing focus on sustainability. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that much works remain to improve sustainable tourist destination planning in Spain (IET, 2007), as is happening elsewhere (Pearce, 1989). This justifies the need for new family of integrated and holistic tourism planning models. In spite of the improvement in tourism planning described above, several studies have highlighted that little progress has been made in terms of monitoring and measuring sustainable tourism development as a core component of the strategic planning processes (Inskeep, 1991 and Sirakaya et al., 2001). Over the last few years, a large number of indicators have been created for tourist destinations, albeit with different objectives, perspectives, dimensions and foci (Choi and Sirakaya, 2006, Manning, 1999, Miller, 2001, Sancho et al., 2007, Valls et al., 2004 and WTO, 2004, etc.). In Spain, for example, several proposed indicator systems stand out due to their support for sustainable tourism development planning processes. These include indicators applicable to municipalities within the Integral Quality Plan for Spanish Tourism, those included in the Observatorio de Calvià, Agenda Local 211 (Ajuntament de Calvià, 1999), or the indicators set by the Government of Lanzarote within its Insular Management Plan and the Strategy Plan for Lanzarote. After reviewing these indicators from a strategic planning perspective, we detected three common limitations: - Firstly, their objective is to measure a tourist destination's sustainability or competitiveness. However, they were neither designed specifically to help monitor or measure performance, nor to help with strategic planning or strategy implementation. In the vast majority of cases, they only use result-based indicators, which do not provide any information on specific causes or on what should be done in the future. - Secondly, no direct relationship between indicators or with the destination's strategy is established. - And, thirdly, for most of these indicators, the number of proposed indicators is very high, making them complex and difficult to use. Given the advances made by tourist destinations in terms of strategic planning, and the limitations of the indicators proposed thus far, we feel that additional work on the performance measurement systems is justified. We selected the balanced scorecard designed by Kaplan and Norton (1992) from the various tools proposed and reviewed in the abundant literature on strategic management control (Atkinson and Epstein, 2000, Balkcom, 1997, Fisher, 1995, Gupta and Govindarajan, 1984, Ittner and Larker, 1998, Kaplan and Norton, 1992, Kaplan and Norton, 1996, Lingle and Schiemann, 1996, Neely et al., 2001 and Simons, 2000). Our aim is to advance in the use of this performance measurement tool to help tourist destinations implement their strategy using sustainability criteria. Towards this end, we have gathered new data in collaboration with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). Our analysis of these data has two objectives. The first is to confirm whether management practices among Spanish municipalities have indeed matured with respect to earlier measurement tools, and thereby require more sophisticated measurement tools. Our second objective is to further the study of a balanced scorecard designed specifically for tourist destinations as a strategic management tool. The goal here is to identify the critical performance variables for Spanish tourism municipalities, thereby making it easier to search for indicators adapted to each municipality. This paper continues as follows. In Section 2, we propose that tourist destinations adopt the balanced scorecard, weighing up its advantages and disadvantages. We then propose a new structure of perspectives and variables adapted to these destinations, all based on the value creation chain. In Section 3, we describe the methodology used in this study, with our primary results described in Section 4. We offer several conclusions in the last section and provide topics for further debate, which can be addressed in future research.

Tourism planning has developed notably both in Spain as well as internationally. Despite the advances made, however, there are still gaps and limits in tourism planning fundamentally due to tourism's cross-cutting nature and the distribution of competencies among the different public administrations. The gaps mentioned in Spanish tourism planning also include the indicator systems used. This justifies the need to cultivate the use of supportive tools in integral tourism planning. This study is oriented towards the introduction of the balanced scorecard in tourist destinations. A performance measurement model such as Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard is a feasible alternative if the necessary adaptations are made, an option its creators recognise. The model we propose consists of six perspectives based on the value chain: Infrastructure and Resources, Activities and Processes, Relationships, Environmental Results, Economic Results and Social Results. It includes three perspectives that emphasize that sustainable performance must be measured in terms of environmental, economic and social dimensions, and not just financial results as is generally the case in the scorecards used by private companies. Our model overcomes the limitations of previous indicator systems, as the latter are too focused on immediate results, and not very useful to planning and strategy implementation processes. In addition, they generally do not help to coordinate the different agents' actions and interests. The model proposed here measures results but also the inputs and processes which are linked to the results. Thus, it seems adequate to evaluate the effectiveness of actions and their impact on performance. In addition, linking these indicators to the established strategy by means of strategy maps is a step forward compared to other models in which the indicators are a general list without any apparent connection between them nor with the strategy. The model helps us answer “how” more than just “what.” Lastly, we would like to highlight that the balanced scorecard reinforces a focus on the value chain among tourist destinations, a necessary step within the strategic planning process. Our aim is to advance on the use of this performance measurement tool to assist the tourist destination in implementing its strategy by using sustainability criteria. For this reason, we have gathered new data in collaboration with the FEMP with two objectives. The first was to confirm if tourist destination management among Spanish municipalities had in fact matured as the literature suggests. The second objective was to further the study on a balanced scorecard designed specifically for tourist destinations as a strategic management tool. We analysed the data obtained from 215 completed questionnaires from a selected sample of 1531 leaders in Spanish municipalities with a focus on tourism and with a proven interest in its management. In terms of the first objective, we can effectively confirm through the data obtained that tourism management within Spanish municipalities has progressed favourably if we compare it to previous studies. Management has developed rapidly, especially in basic aspects such as co-operation with the private sector. An increase is also noted in the number of municipalities declaring that they have a specific organization devoted to tourism management (77.8%). Nevertheless, public administrations still hold a pre-eminent position, though several mixed-management formulas are seen, thus opening the door to the private sector and other public–private entities, non-profit organisations or consortiums. Although the weight of public involvement is still overwhelming, in the immediate future we will be able to evaluate the progress of public/private structures as they emerge. The active participation by approximately a quarter (26.6%) of municipalities in quality, dynamisation and other programmes also reveals their strong interest in improving tourism management. Regarding the second objective, our aim was to further the study on a balanced scorecard designed for tourist destinations as a strategic management tool, identifying the critical performance variables for Spanish tourism municipalities from a list of variables which have been previously contrasted. We can affirm from our analysis that the set of six perspectives we propose for a balanced scorecard, specifically for tourist destinations, seems to be adequate. Furthermore, some of the proposed variables were identified as critical by survey participants. The critical performance variables for the global sample included: Infrastructure development, Tourism planning, Satisfaction of tourists and visitors, Cultural and historic heritage, Tourism activity's economic impact and Safety. These were the variables receiving the highest scores in each perspective. It must be said that these variables will vary between destinations because they depend on each municipality's individual strategy. For the sample analysed, the only factors that significantly affected the critical performance variables are having a plan of excellence and the municipality's specific focus. Both factors allowed us to find two possible cluster solutions. The similarities and differences between clusters should be analysed in future research. To conclude, we would like to highlight that this study is an in-depth exploration of an instrument with great potential for the tourism industry though not currently used in managing destinations. It represents a contribution to knowledge regarding performance measurement among tourist destinations. It also proposes a tentative model of variables to manage these destinations, particularly in terms of sustainable development. Though clearly a model for reflection rather than one to be applied immediately, we are certain that the performance measurement system we propose will help systematise strategic planning models among tourist destinations. Awareness of the proposed general variables may be useful when initially designing a balanced scorecard for specific destinations. The next step in the use of a balanced scorecard should be, on the one hand, to select the indicators associated to each of these variables and, on the other, to determine the strategic map showing the relationships between the variables to explain the destination's strategy. It is important to point out that the proposed model also has its limits and that its applicability depends on the effective existence of unified management in the broadest sense. This includes the existence of a planned strategy, a clear structure between the different agents participating, a management style and culture, and the destinations having their own co-ordination and integration mechanisms. The present-day reality is far from this situation, especially if we bear in mind the current distribution of power and competencies in terms of public administrations, an issue which will continue to make it difficult to make the most of the model. Nevertheless, the advances made thus far are hopeful and lead us to believe that it will be achieved. Reflection is needed on how to move forward while finding effective co-ordination mechanisms between administrations and private companies and improving how planning is carried out at the different territorial levels.