A Community Tourism Planning Tool
Roger Merchant, Extension Educator
University of Maine Cooperative Extension

University of Illinois Cooperative Extension hosts an online Community Development Toolbox at http://www.communitydevelopment.uiuc.edu/toolbox/. The key topics on this site provide access to additional information and planning tools. You must provide your email login to use the online planning tools.
Under Tourism you can access information and planning tools for:

Assessing and Developing Tourism Resources
Tourism Capacity Index
Retention and Expansion Program for Travel and Tourism Businesses

A planned, organized approach helps communities manage tourism. The UIEXT site also has an online strategic planning tool. From the UIEXT Tourism Toolbox, The 7 Key Steps to creating a community-county based tourism strategy and plan of action are:

1. Organize Tourism Action Committee
2. Establish Timetable for the Process
3. Identify Tourism Resources
4. Evaluate Tourism Resources
5. SWOT Analysis
6. Establish, Goals, Objectives ad Strategies
7. Measure Your Progress

These resources give rural communities and counties, tools for guiding and managing tourism development activity. The UIEXT module is designed to "empower a committee and a community to approach tourism development in an organized and informed manner."