Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tourism statistics:
♠ Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries at present
and holds the status of the world's no. 1 industry.
♠ The industry creates a job every 2.4 seconds with every one of those
direct jobs creating another 11 indirect ones.
♠ Tourism has the distinction of being the third largest export industry
after gems and jewellery and readymade garments in India.
Source:
1. Report, World Tourism Organization - 1996.
2. Study by Mahajan and Aibara, Consultants to the Tourism and Hotel
Industry, 1997.
♠ Tourism has been a neglected sector in India. Though it was
recognized as a priority sector in the Seventh Five Year Plan, hardly
anything was done to promote this industry.
Legal:
The laws that govern the industry are not the same in all the parts of
the country. Many of the laws that are in effect are old and archaic,
and not geared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
With respect to taxation, the World Travel and Tourism Council has
observed that
“Tax paid by tourists in India is the highest in the world. Indian
hotels charge about 40% tax compared to other Asian countries where
it varies between 3% and 6%".
Such high taxation renders the tourism sector as a whole
uncompetitive. Further, there is considerable disparity between state
level taxes, especially on food and beverages. In fact, the sales tax on
imported beverages varies widely, e.g. 63% in Karnataka to 28.75% in
West Bengal.
Political:
The political factors are the main driving force of the industry. The
Indian tourism industry is built on the backbone of Government
support and the industry cannot sustain itself without it. The various
archaeological sites and the places of historical importance, the roads
and the railways are all in the hands of the Government. All the
support services like the hotel industry, the airlines industry and the
tourist operators to name some are heavily dependent on the support
and the cooperation of the Government.
The major reason as to why tourists visit India is for the vast and rich
heritage that our country has. That is under the control of the
Government, through the Archaeological Survey of India. Any
policy change that comes into force can have dramatic effect on the
way the industry players perform. For example, the Government
charges high rates of taxes on the luxury and the star category hotels
and this has always been a cause of disagreement between the hotel
associations and the Government. There are many areas where the
growth of tourism has not been rapid or has seen dramatic fall because
the political environment has not been conducive. Examples are the
North East for the former and Kashmir for the latter. The neglect of the
Government in developing the North-East has led to a situation where
there is practically no tourism in the seven states.
Technological:
Although technology does not seem to be a major influence at first
glance, it plays a major part in the promotion of a place. Better
communication facilities are one of the first prerequisites for growth in
the inflow of tourists. This has been made possible with technology.
Improved technology in the field of communication at cheaper costs
has resulted in many remote and inaccessible areas of the country
getting connected to the rest of the world. This connectivity has made
these places visible to the world. Better communication means access
to media. And that is very important if any place wants to be on the
world tourist map.
Similarly better transportation facilities have lead to a dramatic
increase in the number of tourists visiting any particular place. The
presence of an airport and the availability of frequent flights are a
great convenience to any traveler.
Swot
Analysis:
STRENGTHS
d. Manpower costs in the Indian hotel industry are one of the lowest in
the world. This provides better margins for the industry.
e. A very wide variety of hotels is present in the country that can fulfill
the demand of the tourists. There are international players in the
market such as Taj and Oberoi. Thus, the needs of the international
tourists and travelers are seen to while they are on a visit to India.
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
C. Segmentation
Though there are a number of bases for segmentation of tourists, one of
the most important is Lifestyle. Traveling decisions are fantastically
influenced by changing lifestyles. They are also affected by other factors
such as level of income, availability of leisure time, etc.
BASE OF CATEGORIES
SEGMENTATION
Holiday Mass market
Popular market
Individual market
Demand Primary
Secondary
Opportunity
Geography International
On the basis of regions,
cities, etc.
Psychography Lifestyle
Personality motive
Knowledge
Demography Age
Sex
Religion
Socio-economic Rich, Poor
Rural, Urban
Literate, Illiterate
Purpose Business Travel
Cultural Tourism
Common Interest
Convention
Age Teens
Youth
Seniors
Transportation
Tourism industry is heavily dependent on the transportation
industry which comprises of airlines, cruise and ferry lines, passenger
railways, coach and bus travel, car hire. Thanks to the increase in
tourist traffic, over the years, the range of airline services has
considerably, not only in terms of frequency of flights and number of
destinations, but also in terms of different services, and differing levels
of service to meet different passenger needs. This shows the important
role marketing plays as competition and demand intensifies.
Passenger rail services have also changed, and their role in
tourism is as wide as with, for example, Euro rail tickets allowing
extensive international travel at basic(service) standard for students
and budget tourists, to the luxury of Palace on Wheels – where the
train voyage is the holiday.
Cruise lines are operating different services tailored to
consumers’ budgets, and other shipping lines involved in the tourist
industry, especially the ferry operators, are broadening and upgrading
their range of services and facilities to meet consumer expectations,
and to remain competitive.
Coach and bus companies have acted in a similar fashion and so have
the car rental companies.
Accommodation
Accommodation includes hotels, ranging from the biggest
international chains recognizable worldwide such as Hilton and Holiday
Inn to small independent establishments. In order to gain recognition
in an increasingly competitive marketplace, many smaller independent
hotels have grouped together, adopting a consortium approach. Under
a central brand name, they can offer central reservations services, for
eg. and present a recognizable identity to consumers which enables
them to compete against the larger, more established chains. Other
types of accommodations are also well established in tourist markets,
notably self-catering apartments and club type complexes.
Tour operators
Tour operators are the firms which specialize in providing the whole
holiday package, incorporating travel and accommodation needs for
the consumer. They range from highly specialized operations such as
Indianvisit.com, who customize every kind of trip that you can dream
of, to large operators offering services at all different levels to cater for
budget, family, or singles holidays to ‘near’ or ‘faraway’ destinations.
Thomas Cook is one of the best known of such operators; they also
offer travel agency and financial services to their consumers. An
independent local coach firm may also be a tour operator, and many
transportation companies also offer holiday packages.
In today’s competitive market and with the increased bargaining
power of the consumers there is only one way to survive in the rat race
and that is by segmenting the market and offering different products
pertinent to the demand of that segment.
Backwater Tours in India: Cruising along the backwaters of Kerala is an ideal way to
discover the real Kerala. The placid backwaters that stretch for over fifteen hundred
kilometers are covered with swinging palm trees. The tourists are left spell bound by the
tranquility of the backwaters while riding the Houseboats, it's the most authentic and
unexplored way to explore the beauty of the backwaters. The Houseboats that float on the
backwaters are the improved version of the Kettuvalloms. The frequently visited tourist
destinations amongst the backwaters in Kerala comprise of Kovalam, Alappuzha,
Kottayam and Ernakulam. The tourists may indulge into tourism activities like
boating, fishing and sightseeing while exploring the backwaters of
Kerala. The backwater cuisine, which comprises of delectable fresh fish
like pearl spotted fish, barramundi, crabs, mussels and prawns is finger
licking good.
All these tours have been designed keeping in mind the requirements
of travelers coming from different parts of the world.
Apart from these, there are some organizations which specialize in
custom made tours. Some of these tours offered are:
Special theme parties: Under these the following options are
available
Moonlight Boat Cruise on the Backwater of Kerala:
Guests are ferried aboard a spacious, specially decorated boat for a
delightful moonlight cruise on the backwater of Cochin. South Indian
culinary surprises are served. There is also a thrilling firework display.
Rajput Wedding:
A traditional Rajput wedding ceremony where the group members
participate as 'Baraati' (the bridegroom's family and friends who form
the wedding party) and the bridal party.
Bollywood:
Guests in garish costumes, some posing as directors, some as action
heroes, romantic leading ladies, ruffians live their dreams of becoming
a star.
Corporate incentive tours:
In today's world incentive travel is one of the most effective marketing
and motivational tools especially in the corporate sector. After all those
long hours at work let the corporate employee get the much-deserved
break in the form of an incentive. The various corporate incentive tours
that are offered have been planned in a manner to rejuvenate and
refresh the employees for the forthcoming assignments.Along with the
corporate incentives tours arrangements can be made for conferences,
conventions, seminars, board meetings, client presentations, training
programs, workshops, dealers meet or any other relationship building
activity in any destination in India.
Dream Marriages:
Tie the knot with your knight in shining armor in the most royal way.
Celebrate the biggest and the best occasion of your life - Marriage- in
the most beautiful style. Get married at any of the captivating castles,
pulsating palaces or the happening hotels and make your dream come
true. At your dream marriage there will be fun and festivity all around
backed by the music of your choice and decorations with your favorite
flowers. The feast to your eyes and ears will be equaled by the
sumptuous food that will treat the taste buds at the dream marriage.
From champagne bottles and confetti to photographers we can
arrange it all for the special you and the very special occasion of your
dream marriage. The setting for the realization of your dream will be
splendid and the arrangements will be spectacular for your marriage
that will bring smiles on every face and heart!
Tourism Destination Operators/ Destination
Management
This is new category in many senses, as it is an area of the
tourism industry which has seen a massive growth in the development
of theme parks and other types of artificial tourist destinations in the
recent years. However Disneyland and Disneyworld in America were
the forerunners of this development in tourism marketing, and they
have been well established for decades.
It is due to the recent growth, and the continuing trends, which
make it area which should be considered separately as a tourism
industry. The new EuroDisney theme park in France is an example of a
tourism destination operation. On a smaller scale, heritage parks which
being developed from Britain’s industrial wasteland such as Wigan
Pier, which attracted over half a million tourists in 1991, and similar
attractions now represent a significant amount of tourism activity.
Chapter4. Some Players
Some of these players mentioned in the above graph can be explained
as follows:
Govt. of India (GOI): The Govt. is the most important player
since the land is owned by the Govt. and they also have a lot of
resources at their disposal in comparison to pvt. players. In the
following part we have considered the case of Rajasthan Govt. which
has marketed well and the second case of Sikkim Govt. which in spite
of having a lot to gain by tourism has a very lackadaisical attitude.
Rajasthan-The Land of the Kings
LuniaHavelia-Aadreamainaredasandstone
Luni is a small village some 30 km from Jodhpur and the haveli is at
least two centuries old. No one lived there after 1860, save bats and
sundry reptiles. In 1992-93 it all changed, extensive renovations were
carried out and today the Luni Haveli is one of Rajasthan's more
impressive heritage hotels. The property extends over two and a half
acres, has 19 rooms and will soon offer its guests a swimming pool. It
has achieved a 50% averageaoccupancy.aIt is run by 27 years old
Vikram Singh and Yamini his wife who till date thank a certain hotel
chain who approached them to develop the property. However, the
deal could not be made but the idea was implanted and today Luni
Haveli is beginning to find itself on tourist itineraries.
DeraaDundlodaKila
Narainaniwasapalace-
Aaarestahouseaforacamelacaravans!
Today the palace in the golden city of Jaisalmer has a yearly turnover
of a neat Rs 70 Lakhs. Also the local crafts are finding a new lease of
life with the increase in their demand. The various local arts are also
reviving due to the same. Thus we see that if managed properly
tourism is beneficial to all.
Sikkim- AnaIgnoreda Land
Sikkim the tiny Himalayan state and one of the smallest of the Indian
union has the potential of becoming a large tourist attraction. Nestled
in the magnificent Himalayas this state is nature at its most beautiful.
In addition, the untouched air of this state takes one back to the time
when man and nature coexisted harmoniously.The pure air and clean
water does wonders for one's senses. Everywhere one marvels at sites
of a spring stream orchard bloom. Despite being endowed with virgin
resources, which could turn it into a major international destination for
special kinds of high-value tourism, the state remains in the
backwoods of such activities. The tourism in the state is virtually
absent, the reasons sited by the office bearers are -the security-
oriented approach of the centre, which virtually throttled the
development of the state, is tourism. To visit this state one has to go
through number of clearances and if one is a foreign national then this
number increases exponentially. But this seems to be a silly excuse by
the government to hide its inefficiencies. The infrastructure in the state
is so poor that the locals would not rely on them, what of the
international tourists. Basic facilities like roads are absent what to talk
of the rest. One could really question government's decision about
security here when it is itself encouraging tourism in border states like
Rajasthan. It has cities like Jaisalmer and Jodhpur open to tourism
which share border with Pakistan. Whatever the reasons this jewel of
the Himalayas lays wasted when India is crying out for international
tourists.
Apart from the Govt. players there are pvt, tour operators. We
have taken the case of an online tour operator, Indianvisit.com, its
profile is as follows:
Other Services:
School and college group tours:
College and school group tours are probably the most difficult one to
handle as the young boys and girls expect and demand far more from
their travelling experience than other travellers and they have and an
insatiable appetite for enjoyment. Even a small problem in the tour can
dampen their enthusiasm or can drive them crazy so everything has to
be absolutely perfect for such tours. their meticulously planned and
well executed tours have won a number of young friends for them.
City sightseeing and tour excursions:
They can arrange city sight seeing tours for individual / group traveller
in any of the touristic destination. The city tour can be provided in an
a/c and non a/c car or coach. A four hour half day trip would not give
the tourist short exposure, to the city and a full day city tour is there if
they have more than 04 hours to spare. Beat area of all the cities are
covered with a variety of excursions, all organized in such a way that
they start in the morning and after an experience to remember, they
would come back to the place where they started from, in the evening.
Limousine/luxury car/ coach services:
They always have a large fleet of cars and coaches at their disposal
and can provide the same at any part of the subcontinent for
sightseeing tours, for airport transfers or for any such purpose. The
operations of their Transport department are incredibly swift and silky
smooth - thanks to the large and luxurious fleet of air- conditioned,
well trained and dressed chauffeur driven cars and coaches at its
disposal. Their quality control concept allows us to not to use more
than 03 years old cars / coaches on longer drives. Their chauffeurs are
well aware of the basic ethics of the travel trade and hospitality
industry thus a personalized service to all the valued guests is
guaranteed, even if they are traveling only along with the chauffeur.
Discounted Tours:
Indianvisit.com your complete travel guide to the incredible land of
India offers tours at the lowest discounted expenses. Opt for any of the
discounted tours presented to you and end up saving while you spend.
Besides the discounted tours are the special packages and custom-
tailored tours are available for various tourist destinations they provide
services including accommodations, sightseeing tours, optional
excursions, guides and personal drivers, ground transportation,
package tours, combined in the discounted package tours and low
transportation charges. The accommodation on the discounted tour will
be of the tourist’s choice and as per their budget.
The five approaches or paths are as follows to ensure the above are:
2. Knowledge Support: so that the employees have the skills and the
knowledge to analyze situations and make proper decisions.
Company:
The company in the Tourism Sector can be the Central Government,
the State tourism Corporations, Tour Operators such as SOTC, ITDC,
etc. The company carries out ‘External Marketing’ as well as.
‘Internal Marketing’
Providers:
The Providers include all the entities that finally fulfill the Company’s
promise to the Customers. They undertake ‘Interactive Marketing’,
because they are in touch with the final customer. Thus in the case of
the Malaysian government, this would include the transportation
providers (Malaysian Airlines, Air India, local bus transportation, local
trains in Kuala Lumpur, car and two-wheeler rentals), the different
hotels within Malaysia (Tanjam Putri), souvenir outlets at tourist areas,
tourist spots (Genting highland, KL Towers, Twin Towers, etc.),
restaurants (KFC Joints, Mary Brown, Pizza Hut), etc.
Chapter8. Unique Characteristics Of The
Tourism Industry
There are four main characteristics which distinguish the tourism
industry from other service providers:
Inflexibility:
Perishability:
Fixed location:
The end user for Tourism Services is always the CONSUMER, and
therefore on the basis of the end user, Tourism Services fall under the
category of ‘Consumers’. However these consumers may vary, which
is why Tourism Services also differ.
EXPERTISE
Thomas Cook offered 3 tier sales promotion based on price and one
more novel technique as detailed below:
• Cook agreed to match the price of any holiday they sold which
was known as price promise.
• Money back guarantee to the clients who purchase the product
or any tour operator known as trading charter.
• Matching of customers need with a particular holiday known as
formal guarantee.
• A business travel challenge in which the details of expenditure
on staff business travel booked through other agents over a 3
months period were submitted by companies to Cook, specially
to calculate expected savings, provided the bookings are made
through them.
Place
Place or distribution management is concerned with two things –
availability and accessibility.
Researchers in tourism must determine how and where potential
customers prefer to buy tourism products and services.
Most tour operators sell their services through travel agents, however
some deal directly with the consumers and eliminate middlemen.
Other companies may also utilize more than one method of
distribution. Airlines, for example, sell tickets through travel agents,
and sell seats on flights to tour operators, and also offer travelers to
book seats themselves through their own booking offices.
Transport also plays a major role in the tourism industry. It makes the
destinations accessible to people from around the world. Also, in the
case of tangible products in tourism such as souvenirs and cuisine,
transportation becomes a major logistical component.
People
We can’t deny the fact that sophisticated technologies have been
successful in accelerating the pace of development. We also agree
with this view that new generation of information technologies have
simplified the task of decision makers. At the same time we also have
to accept the fact that the sophisticated technologies can’t deliver
goods to the development process if the employees operating and
maintaining these technologies are not of world class. Technologies
need due support of human resources who invent, innovate and
develop technologies.
In the tourism industry the travel agents and the travel guides are the
two most important people who speak a lot about the industry. Hence
it is imperative that they have to be at their best at all times. Travel
guides especially, are expected to have a lot of patience, good sense
of humour, tact to transform the occasional tourists into habitual ones,
thorough knowledge of the places, linguistic skills etc.