Title: Addressing tourism in county-level planning documents: a pilot application of the community capitals framework

Authors: Xinyi Qian; Felipe Barroso; Cynthia Messer

Addresses: University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 433 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA ' The Democracy Collaborative, 4201 31st Street South, Apartment 707, Arlington, VA 22206, USA ' University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 433 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

Abstract: Using the community capitals framework (CCF) (Flora, 2004), we examined county- level comprehensive plans within a Minnesota region to identify opportunities for future tourism planning and development. We asked two research questions: Do county-level comprehensive plans elaborate on different types of community capitals relevant to tourism development? If so, how are they elaborated upon? We used directed content analysis to analyse the comprehensive plans. The frequent mentioning of natural capital indicates strong potential for nature-based tourism in the region. Tourism-related built capital is the second most frequently identified, suggesting its importance to tourism development-related efforts. Analysis also identified two approaches towards a capital: 1) preserving or developing a capital critical to tourism; 2) devoting a capital to develop tourism. Findings suggest applying the CCF to policy documents can help identify opportunities for future tourism planning and development.

Keywords: community capital; tourism development; rural; directed content analysis; policy; tourism planning; comprehensive plan; community development; Minnesota.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2019.105493

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2019 Vol.9 No.4, pp.282 - 299

Received: 30 Oct 2018
Accepted: 28 Nov 2019
Published online: 02 Mar 2020 *

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