The timelines of planning theory and the approaches to tourism planning are compared from the early twentieth century to the present. The researchers address two specific questions; what are the links between these two timelines and what are the contributions to tourism planning knowledge? Unlike general planning theory, a distinctive business and profitability ethos influenced foundation tourism approaches until the impacts of the sector prompted attention to the need for more stakeholder communication and attention to sustainability concerns. Now, communication based planning and sustainability imperatives tend to co-exist in both domains with strong roles for stakeholder involvement and compartmentalized plans in tourism. Disciplinary contributions from geography and politics are more marked in general planning theory, while business and marketing orientations infuse the tourism perspectives. Tourism planning knowledge is usefully contextualized and advanced by considering generic planning theory, but remains very substantially influenced by tourism industry issues and shocks.

Introduction

Planning can be conceived as a set of ideas and principles that seek to control the spatial distribution of human activities over time (Gunn & Var, 2002; Hall, 2008; Inskeep, 1991). In the present work, attention is directed to the origin and ongoing development of tourism planning in relation to the broader field of planning theory. In broad terms, tourism planning can maximize the benefits of tourism for the local communities and economies and promote the sound use of resources (Ampong, 2018; Gibson, 2009). Further, effective tourism planning can assist in dealing with the negative consequences of the sector, notably environmental and community impacts (Almeida, Costa, & da Silva, 2017; Bianchi, 2018; Lew, 2017). Several broad questions shape our interest in the evolution of tourism planning. Is tourism planning theory evolving in the same way as more general planning theory? Further, how do external forces and academic disciplines shape planning theory and tourism planning? The researchers seek to address these kinds of questions by providing an overview of the temporal phases of planning theory and locating tourism related efforts within that broader context. In one of the few studies to address the origins and forces shaping tourism planning, Dredge and Jamal (2015) propose that the disciplines of urban and regional planning influenced the development of tourism planning and development. Some studies have suggested that tourism planning was born from the need to grow business opportunities (Bianchi, 2018; Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009; Lohmann & Netto, 2016). In this view, planning is seen as the key process to maximum long term profit for travel businesses (Bianchi, 2018; Gibson, 2009). Arguably, much tourism planning with a business focus has been largely projectoriented and directed towards a development growth model that fails to respond to social issues and change (Lew, 2017). If indeed tourism planning is strongly based on problem solving, such planning practices should be able to offer conceptual insights due to the value of considering contextual issues..