Approaches to monitoring change in the business environment of tourist attractions

All businesses require information about the environment in order to make operational and strategic decisions. As suppliers at the end of the distribution line, attractions need information about their customers, competitors and other tourism industry sectors to inform decision-making. To compound this need for information, many attractions are small businesses, often lacking the personnel or resources to conduct elaborate environmental scanning and evaluation projects. This paper explores the environmental scanning approaches used by tourist attraction managers when gathering information for strategic purposes. A mixed methods approach is used to explore the type and number of sources used by attraction managers, as well as the impact of organisational characteristics and environmental complexity on the information sources consulted. The results suggest that primary research is the major source of information for attraction managers. It also appears that organisational characteristics such as size, growth and employee numbers may be linked with higher levels of environmental scanning. The paper has both practical and theoretical implications. It proposes a model of environmental scanning in tourism businesses and at a practical level provides some evidence that managers who spend more time collecting information about the environment may reap the benefits of a more robust business.