Tourism Strategic Plan for Lewis-Clark Valley: A Full Analysis

Introduction to Lewis-Clark Valley

Lewis-Clark Valley is the scenic region encompassing Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington. The historical background of this valley is rich in cultural stories and its own heritage dating back to the 18th century. The area was long inhabited by the Nez Perce people, who traveled to and settled throughout the valley and along its rivers. The valley takes its name from the 1805 visit of Corps of Discovery explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who arrived here and were welcomed warmly by the native people. This meeting and warm welcome fostered good relations with the land and its people, and the valley was eventually named after the two explorers. Lewis-Clark Valley is historically the land of miners, merchants, railroaders, millworkers, and farmers. Its geographical location is approximately 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean, at the convergence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers.

The cities of Lewiston, Clarkston, and Asotin are in modern times recognized as gateways to Hells Canyon, North America's deepest river gorge. The region offers a wide range of recreational activities, including jet boating, white-water rafting, swimming, fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping. Lewis-Clark Valley is considered a recreational paradise enriched with cultural heritage and natural beauty. Because of its mild winter climate — which allows year-round golfing, snow skiing, and snowmobiling — the area has also been nicknamed the "Banana Belt" of the Pacific Northwest.

Because of its unique geographic location combined with natural beauty and a broad array of recreational activities, Lewis-Clark Valley has long been a center of tourism and visitor attraction. Economic surveys indicate that in 2004 tourists spent $126.1 million in the Lewis-Clark Valley. This high volume of tourism supported many businesses, created employment opportunities by generating 2,040 direct jobs, and contributed approximately $7.75 million in state tax revenue (Valley Vision Economic Development Lewis-Clark Valley, 2007). Tourism promotion has improved the valley's infrastructure, providing a high quality of life for its inhabitants and spurring new and creative business opportunities.

The Lewis-Clark Valley is full of remarkable tourist sites with great potential for growth in recreational activities and tourism promotion. The following strategic plan critically analyzes the tourism vision for 2012 by reviewing goals and strategies, evaluating responses to those goals, and providing recommended solutions for the valley's tourism development in view of its geographic and demographic identities, responsibilities, and resource allocation.

Strategic Planning Process and Literature Review

Literature Review

Strategic planning is the process through which strategies are made and resources — both material and human — are allocated according to those strategies. Strategic management is the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to attain its objectives. Strategic management focuses on integrating management, marketing, finance and accounting, production and operations, research and development, and information systems to achieve organizational success (Markides, 1999). When the strategic management process is implemented on a country-wide scale, all functional areas of the organization are similarly affected by the economic, socio-economic, financial, and managerial capacities of the country.

The strategic management process comprises three stages: strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation (David, 1999).

The first stage — strategy formulation — requires developing a mission, identifying external opportunities and threats, and determining internal strengths and weaknesses. This analysis is conducted through a tool called SWOT analysis. The focus of this stage is on establishing long-term objectives, generating alternative strategies, and choosing particular strategies to pursue. The second stage — strategy implementation — requires establishing annual objectives, devising policies, motivating employees, and allocating resources to make the formulated strategies operational. Strategy implementation also includes developing a strategy-supportive culture, creating an effective organizational structure, redirecting marketing efforts, preparing budgets, developing and utilizing information systems, and managing effective work teams. Strategy implementation is the action stage of the strategic management process; successful implementation pivots on management's ability to motivate workers, which is more of an art than a science. A strategy that is formulated but not properly implemented serves no purpose.

The third stage — strategy evaluation — enables the team to determine which strategies are working and which are ineffective. All strategies are subject to future modification because external and internal factors change continuously. To evaluate strategies effectively, it is important to review the external and internal factors that form the basis of current strategies, measure performance, and take corrective action where needed. Strategy evaluation is a critical stage because a successful strategy today does not guarantee success tomorrow. Success always brings with it a new set of problems and opportunities, and strategists must overcome problems while capitalizing on opportunities.

The Strategic Management Model

The strategic management process is dynamic and continuous. Because the process requires interrelated activities, a change in any one component can necessitate changes in one or all of the other components. Setbacks that may trigger alterations in the model include the following:

a) Economic changes that require long-term objectives to be reshaped.

b) Failure to accomplish annual objectives, which may enforce a policy change.

c) External factors such as a competitor's move, which may force a revision of the mission.

The strategic management process thus never fully ends; it is continuous and constantly evolves. It allows organizations to be proactive rather than reactive in structuring their future plans. The process is not limited to responding to external activities but focuses on taking initiatives, exerting influence, and maintaining control over the organization's own destiny.

Benefits of Strategic Management

The primary benefit of strategic management is to help organizations make better strategies through a more systematic, logical, and rational approach to strategic alternatives. The success of strategic management lies in the art of communication — involving all key members, teammates, and group associates in supporting the achievement of common objectives. Dialogue, discussion, and participation are important elements of the communication process in strategic management. Beyond the model itself, the manner in which strategic management is carried out is equally important. Managers' abilities are judged by how committed team members are to the process and how motivated they are to achieve the highest possible results.

The potential of strategic management to produce desired results also lies in the act of empowerment (Langley, 1998) by top management. Empowerment creates a sense of encouragement and reward among team members in the decision-making process and fosters increased initiative, creativity, and cooperation among participants. When a sense of responsibility is heightened among group members, there is less conflict, and work teams are better managed toward strategic objectives. It has been reported in The Wall Street Journal that approximately 40% of U.S. manufacturers have adopted empowerment through the formation of self-directed teams (Aepel, 1997).

Financial Benefits: Organizations that follow strategic planning are more financially sustainable than those that ignore the process. Outlined financial benefits include: (a) systematic planning to prepare for future external and internal environmental fluctuations; (b) more informed decisions with a thorough understanding of both short- and long-term results; (c) the ability to measure weak performance on controllable internal factors — such as capital-intensive investments yielding undesirable results — and uncontrollable external factors such as a poor economy, technological advancement, foreign competition, and rising costs of funds in financial markets; and (d) the ability to analyze project sustainability using various financial indicators, enabling firms to halt strategies before they become unprofitable.

Non-Financial Benefits: Along with financial benefits, strategic management also provides material benefits to the organization. These include: (a) recognition, prioritization, and utilization of opportunities; (b) problem solutions provided through continuous process and feedback mechanisms; (c) proactive minimization of the effects of adverse conditions and changes; (d) well-managed allocation of human, material, and time resources; (e) a framework for internal communication; and (f) fostered creativity through forward-looking, systematic problem-solving.

Research Methodology

Secondary research methods are used to evaluate the strategic planning of Lewis-Clark Valley. All information and data were collected through extensive literature review. Secondary research was chosen given limited financial resources and time constraints. Various data and information are available regarding the tourism history of Lewis-Clark Valley and the steps taken by government officials to develop an effective and efficient strategic plan for the valley's tourism industry. A detailed analysis of the literature review was conducted to derive results and findings and to provide appropriate recommendations.

Strategic Management Tools and External Factor Evaluation

Systematic methodologies for performing internal assessment — analyzing strengths and weaknesses — and external assessment — analyzing opportunities and threats — are critically important to the success of the strategic management process. The EFE Matrix, Competitive Profile Matrix, IFE Matrix, and a clear mission statement together provide the basic information needed to formulate competitive strategies successfully. Performing internal and external audits creates an opportunity for managers and employees throughout the organization to help determine the future of the enterprise.

Industry Analysis: The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix

An External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix enables strategists to summarize and evaluate economic, social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political, governmental, legal, technological, and competitive information. The five steps involved in developing the matrix are:

1. Listing key external factors. These factors are identified in the external audit process. The list comprises 10 to 20 factors, including both opportunities and threats. Opportunities are listed first, followed by threats. Factors are stated specifically and precisely, using percentages, ratios, and comparative numbers where applicable.

2. Assigning weights to each factor. Weights range from 0.0 (least important) to 1.0 (most important) and reflect each factor's relative importance to success in the industry. The sum of all assigned weights must equal 1.0.

3. Assigning a rating of 1–4 to each critical success factor. This rating indicates how effectively the firm's current strategies respond to the factor: 4 = superior response, 3 = above-average response, 2 = average response, 1 = poor response. Ratings are company-specific, whereas weights are industry-based.

4. Determining the weighted score by multiplying each factor's weight by its rating.

5. Summing the weighted scores to determine the organization's total weighted score.

Application of the EFE Matrix to Lewis-Clark Valley Tourism

The following table applies the EFE Matrix to evaluate how effectively the valley's tourism program capitalizes on its opportunities and mitigates its threats.

Table 1 — External Factor Evaluation Matrix for Lewis-Clark Valley Tourism Program

Opportunities

1. Sporting events in existing facilities — water sports, swim meets, triathlons, bike races, softball/soccer tournaments, and equestrian events. Weight: 0.15 | Rating: 3 | Weighted Score: 0.45

2. New business development in the area of waterfront development. Weight: 0.05 | Rating: 2 | Weighted Score: 0.10

3. Main Street programs focused on enhancing the liveliness of surrounding districts. Weight: 0.05 | Rating: 1 | Weighted Score: 0.05

4. Systematic and organized transportation through air services, water taxis, and public transit. Weight: 0.10 | Rating: 3 | Weighted Score: 0.30

5. Tourism interlinked with other economic development efforts, including marketing Valley business opportunities and support systems to visitors. Weight: 0.10 | Rating: 3 | Weighted Score: 0.30

6. Valley tourism managed through a single tourism bureau. Weight: 0.05 | Rating: 2 | Weighted Score: 0.10

Threats

1. Federal policies discouraging funds for Hells Canyon, rivers, levees, and national forests, resulting in increased restrictions. Weight: 0.10 | Rating: 1 | Weighted Score: 0.10

2. Increased competition from other destinations. Weight: 0.10 | Rating: 3 | Weighted Score: 0.30

3. Lack of marketing and aggressive promotion of the region. Weight: 0.15 | Rating: 2 | Weighted Score: 0.30

4. Unavailability of workforce and necessary skills. Weight: 0.10 | Rating: 2 | Weighted Score: 0.20

5. Aging population that resists change and discourages tourism. Weight: 0.05 | Rating: 1 | Weighted Score: 0.05

Total: Weight 1.00 | Weighted Score 2.25

Regardless of the number of key opportunities and threats listed, the highest possible total weighted score in an EFE Matrix is 4.0 and the lowest is 1.0, with an average of 2.5. Lewis-Clark Valley's total weighted score of 2.25 falls below average, indicating that the valley's current strategies are underperforming in capitalizing on external opportunities and avoiding threats. It is important to note that a thorough understanding of the factors used in the EFE Matrix is more important than the specific weights and ratings assigned.