Towards Improved Business Planning Decision Support for Small-to-Medium Tourism Enterprise Operators

Abstract

In a recent study conducted for the Australian Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre, improved business planning was identified as one of the most pressing needs of small-to-medium tourism enterprise operators. Further significant problems confronting these businesses were coping with rapid change, complexity and uncertainty. System dynamics (SD) is especially well-suited to the modelling and analysis of problem domains with these characteristics and, in this chapter, we report on the development and implementation of a “tourism enterprise planning simulator” (TEPS) based largely upon SD constructs and technologies. Scenarios in which TEPS might be used to good effect are outlined and the potential benefits of this deployment are detailed.