Rationale: This assessment exposes you to the concept of a discussion paper. A discussion paper is an important consultation tool used in tourism planning and policy development and in workplaces. Familiarity with discussion papers is a key employment skill. A good discussion paper addresses all elements of the policy cycle. While the tool itself is used as part of the consultation stage, it addresses the early parts of the policy cycle by identifying the issue, providing context and analysis, and identifying potential policy solutions & instruments. It also addresses the latter parts of the cycle by outlining some alternatives and providing suggestions regarding implementation and evaluation. Thus Assessment 2 gets you to actively think about all parts of the policy cycle while preparing you for Assessment 3. 

Task: You are to assume the position of an independent tourism planning expert and are required to source, critique and compare two publically available tourism discussion papers on topics of your choice. These may be found online via a search of the internet or specific government sites. The policy planning cycle (p. 196 of your text) provides the framework for your critical evaluation of each individual paper and the comparison between them. Your assessment piece will conclude with a reflection section on lessons you learnt through doing this critique and how it might assist you in writing your own Discussion Paper (Assessment 3). 

In order to complete the task you are required to: 

 Identify and introduce two relevant tourism related discussion papers and highlight the key issues they address (6 marks).  Critique the structure of the discussion papers against the framework of the policy planning cycle (6 marks).  Critique the content of the discussion papers with regards to sufficiency for relevant stakeholders (6 marks).  Succinctly compare & contrast the two discussion papers with regards to structure, quality and effectiveness (i.e. your perception of the paper’s effectiveness in communicating with the target audience) (6 marks).  Reflect on what you have learnt from this critique and comparison; how this assessment has/has not improved your awareness, professional skills and knowledge relating to tourism planning environments; and how it might benefit you in writing your own Discussion Paper (Assessment 3) (i.e. you need to engage with the Task for Assessment 3 for this) (6 marks). 

word limit: 1500