This new textbook offers students a comprehensive but engaging overview of tourism planning from a worldwide viewpoint, by covering tourism policy, planning and development in one volume.
It is written from a tourism planning perspective and designed to offer a fresh and contemporary approach to this subject by focus on several major themes along with their integration within tourism policy, planning and development:

• Community involvement in tourism planning: Places an emphasis on participatory tourism planning processes including local residents and other stakeholders.
• Enhancement of heritage and culture: Attaches a high priority to tourism policies, planning and development initiatives that enhance the unique heritage and cultural resources of specific tourism destinations.
• Environmental protection, conservation and sustainability: Integrates sustainable tourism development throughout the book.
• New consumers and new media: Recognizes that consumers are changing and so are the information sources that they use; the Internet, e-marketing, social media and mobile services are discussed throughout the book in terms of their impacts on and applications in tourism policy, planning and development.
• Priority on the planning process: Suggests that the focus should not only be on the plan that is produced, but that the planning process itself requires great attention and priority.
• Similarities and differences: Highlights the need to adapt tourism policy, planning and development approaches to particular local conditions (socio-cultural, political, legislative, environmental, development status, etc.)
• Worldwide scope of tourism and tourism planning: Uses an extensive array of international case studies and examples, to demonstrate the breadth and depth of tourism planning around the world.

The text is written in an accessible style and includes a plethora of features that engage and aid understanding. It further integrates industry and community voices to share real life viewpoints and experiences. A suite of online resources accompany the text which offer students and lecturers additional resources for class discussion or self - study including: Video Case Studies, test banks, , instructors guide, PPT’s & web links
This innovative, accessible yet academically rigorous introduction to contemporary Tourism Policy, Planning and Development is essential reading for all Tourism students.