Strategic Plan Formulation for the Tourism Sector of Bankura District using the SWOT and AHP Techniques

The strategic plan is important for the management of tourism resources in the particular region. However, the strategic planning for the Bankura District is still very far from being accomplished. The study was aimed to formulate the strategic plan for the Bankura District by combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats) techniques. The methodology involved a five-step approach, which included the identification of SWOT factors, formulation of pair-wise comparison matrices and the strategy formulation using the TOWS (Threats-Opportunities-Weakness-Strengths) matrix. The data was collected both from the primary and secondary sources. The purposive sampling technique was used to interview the key stakeholders (800 tourists, 120 souvenir people and 87 tourist guides and hotel managers) and the non-participant observation technique were utilized to observe the nature of tourism in the study area. The findings of the research showed that the strength (S) and opportunity (O) factor obtained the highest priorities within the group. Therefore the S-O combination dominates in the strategic planning and management in the study area. The development of tourism may significantly contribute to the community members' feeling of pride in their area and culture by offering a supplemental source of revenue and livelihood with careful planning and implementation.