WINTER INTERNSHIP

REPORT

WELLNESS TOURISM IN INDIA

done at

AYUROOMS

by

KRITIKA MALOO

MBA18C18

under the guidance of

Mr. Alykhan Alidina

CEO & FOUNDER

Winter Internship Report, Pune Institute of Business Management, Pune

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Winter Internship opportunity I had with Ayurooms was a great chance for learning and
professional development. Therefore, I consider myself lucky as I was provided with an
opportunity to be a part of it. I am also grateful for having a chance to meet so many wonderful
people and professionals who led us though this period.

Bearing in mind previous I am using this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude and special
thanks to the CEO & founder of Ayurooms, Mr. Alykhan Alidina who in spite of being
extraordinarily busy with his duties, took time out to hear, guide and keep us on the correct path
and allowing me to carry out my project at his organization and extending during the training.

I express deepest thanks to my mentor, Prof. Rajashree Gethe for taking part in useful decision &
giving necessary advices and guidance. I choose this moment to acknowledge her contribution
gratefully.

I perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use
gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and will continue to work on their
improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives.

Sincerely,

Kritika Maloo

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COMPANY CERTIFICATE

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1. PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Project Title: Wellness Tourism in India

Company Name: Ayurooms

Student Name: Kritika Maloo

Student Roll No: MBA18C18

Project Guide Name:

Project Guide Designation:

Confidential Report (Yes/No): No

Duration of project: 45 days

I worked as an “Engagement Intern” in Ayurooms. Following were my tasks and responsibilities:

1. Develop a database of all Ayurveda & yoga resorts in India, listed on competitor
websites. a. AyurUniverse b. Yovada c. BookYogaRetreats d. Others, e.g. TripSavvy

2. Develop criteria for approaching and selecting resorts that should be listed on Ayurooms.

3. Produce a shortlist of resorts that should be targeted and prioritized for tie-ups.

4. Work with the Product Developer (PD) to develop wellness packages for the Indian
market.

5. Any other tasks assigned by the CEO of Ayurooms.

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2. ABOUT THE SECTOR

Introduction

The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth
among the services sector in India. Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich
cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread
across the country. Tourism is also a potentially large employment generator besides being a
significant source of foreign exchange for the country. During 2018, FEEs from tourism
increased 4.70 per cent* year-on-year to US$ 28.59 billion. FEEs during January 2019 was US$
2.55 billion.

Market Size

India is the most digitally-advanced traveler nation in terms of digital tools being used for
planning, booking and experiencing a journey, India’s rising middle class and increasing
disposable incomes has continued to support the growth of domestic and outbound tourism.
During 2018, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India stood at 10.56 million, achieving a growth
rate of 5.20 per cent year-on-year. FTAs in January 2019 stood at 1.10 million, up 5.30 per cent
compared to 1.05 million year-on-year.
The travel & tourism sector in India accounted for 8 per cent of the total employment
opportunities generated in the country in 2017, providing employment to around 41.6 million
people during the same year. The number is expected to rise by 2 per cent annum to 52.3 million
jobs by 2028.
International hotel chains are increasing their presence in the country, as it will account for
around 47 per cent share in the Tourism & Hospitality sector of India by 2020 & 50 per cent by
2022

Investments

During the period April 2000-December 2018, the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$
12 billion of FDI, according to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Government Initiatives

The Indian government has realized the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has taken
several steps to make India a global tourism hub.
Some of the major initiatives planned by the Government of India to give a boost to the tourism
and hospitality sector of India are as follows:
 Statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, also known as ‘State of Unity’, was inaugurated in
October 2018. It is the highest standing statue in the world at a height of 182 meter. It is
expected to boost the tourism sector in the country and put India on the world tourism
map.
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 The Government of India is working to achieve 1 per cent share in world's international
tourist arrivals by 2020 and 2 per cent share by 2025.

 Under Budget 2019-20, the government allotted Rs 1,160 crore (US$ 160.78 million) for
development of tourist circuits under Swadesh Dashawn.
 Under Budget 2019-20, the government allotted Rs 160.50 crore (US$ 22.25 million) for
development of tourist circuits under Swadesh Darshan.

Achievements

Following are the achievements of the government during 2017-18:

 During 2018-19, a total of seven projects worth Rs 384.67 crore (US$ 54.81 million)
were sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.
 As of July 2018, 14 states had deployed tourist police. In November 2018, Nagaland also
deployed a separate tourist police in the state.

Road Ahead

India’s travel and tourism industry has huge growth potential. The tourism industry is also
looking forward to the expansion of E-visa scheme which is expected to double the tourist inflow
to India. India's travel and tourism industry has the potential to expand by 2.5 per cent on the
back of higher budgetary allocation and low cost healthcare facility, according to a joint study
conducted by Assocham and Yes Bank.

Note: *in US$ terms

Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.0139 as of Q3 FY19.

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3. ABOUT THE COMPANY

About Ayurooms
Ayurooms is an aggregator of Ayurveda and yoga resorts in India, focused primarily on premium
and luxury properties. We currently have 15+ partner resorts that have excellent facilities, caring
doctors, amazing food, and, most importantly, effective treatment. Our mission is to help people
overcome chronic pain, ill health and obesity. We work tirelessly to ensure that every client has a
wonderful experience in India and finds a cure to his or her health problem. Our customers are
mostly foreigners. The company was registered in August 2016 and is currently bootstrapped.
“Ayurooms” is a combination of two words: Ayur and rooms. In the ancient Indian language
called Sanskrit, “Ayur” means “life”.  In English, the word “room” generally refers to a physical
“space”. It can also mean “scope” or “opportunity” for something to happen, as in the expression
“there is room for improvement”. Thus Ayurooms is define as “spaces for life” and “life
opportunities”, where physical and mental transformations and improvements can
unfold. Ayurooms is a handpicked collection of India’s top wellness resorts. These resorts
typically offer Ayurveda, yoga, and other natural therapies for addressing and preventing the
problems of ageing. Many of these resorts specialize in anti-ageing treatment, detoxification,
slimming and pain relief. All of our partner resorts are in India, although Ayurooms has plans to
expand its geographic locations and offerings in the near future. Ayurooms is an emerging
authority on Ayurveda resorts and yoga retreats in India. It aspires to become the world’s most
trusted platform for accessing Ayurvedic healthcare and yoga experiences in India and beyond.
Ayurooms was formally incorporated as Ayurooms and Wellness Private Limited in August
2016. It is registered in Mumbai, under the laws of India.
 
Ayurooms has two active directors – Alykhan Alidina and Anusha Sachdeva – who started the
company on the basis of a shared love for India as well as a shared passion for Ayurveda.
Vision
We envision a global ecosystem of support services that will empower our clients to manage and
maintain good health, long after leaving an Ayurooms resort.
Mission
Our mission is to transform lives by helping people to access the world’s best resorts for health
and wellness.
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Idea of Ayurooms
1. Discoverability
People don’t know where to go and why.
2. Visibility
There was no authoritative platform for showcasing India’s best wellness resorts.
3. Standards
Huge variation in quality, inclusions, treatments, yoga, hospitality, etc.
4. Booking Process
Pricing is never “all inclusive”. Payment options are usually limited.

Products Themes

1. Pain Relief
2. Detox
3. Slimming
4. Beauty Care
5. Anti-ageing
6. Yoga Retreats

Partner Resorts

Luxury Resorts

1. Atmantan Wellness Resort

2. Niraamaya Retreats Surya Samudra
3. Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort

Premium Resorts

1. Anantya Resort
2. Niraamaya Retreats Cardamom Club
3. Manaltheeram Ayurvedic Beach Resort
4. Nattika Beach Ayurvedic Beach Resort
5. Indus Valley Ayurvedic Center

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6. Somatheeram Ayurveda Village

7. Ayurvedagram Heritage Wellness
8. Dr Franklin’s Panchkarma Institute
9. Mekoksha Ayurveda

Budget Resorts

1. Athreya Ayurvedic Center

2. Nagath Ayurveda

Competitors

Direct Competitors

1. AyurUniverse
2. Yovada
3. Tripaneer
4. Bookyogaretreats.com
Indirect Competitors

1. Iescape
2. Enchanting Travels
3. Oyo
4. Make my trip
5. Luxury Escapes
Packages Involves

1. Accommodations
2. Personalized Diet
3. Ayurvedic Treatment
4. Group Yoga
5. Ayurvedic Medicine
6. Pre-trip Planning Support
7. Airport Transfers
8. Support in India

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Pricing at Ayurooms

Ayurooms has partner resorts all over India. Each resort is unique and independently owned and
managed. The quality of rooms, treatments, facilities, food and yoga varies from place to place.
Similarly, there is wide variation in pricing. In general, the cheapest time to visit Ayurooms is
between April and September. Pricing is the highest from October to March. Our resorts fall into
three categories:

1. budget-friendly resorts
2. premium resorts
3. luxury resorts

Budget-friendly resorts are less than US$125 per day (per person). Premium resorts range from
US$125 to US$ 400 per day. Luxury resorts range from US$400 to $2,000 per day. Ayurooms
offers a “best price guarantee” — if you can find a better price online for the exact same package
as ours, we will beat it by 5%.

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4.INTERNSHIP SUMMARY

The task given as an intern in Ayurooms was to work on growing the number of partner resorts
listed on the Ayruooms website. For this the landscape of Ayurveda and yoga resorts across
India needed to be studied; developing criteria for the types of resorts that should be listed on
Ayurooms; selecting resorts to approach for tie-ups; drafting emails to potential partner resorts;
procuring the necessary information for listing a resort on the Ayurooms website.

Work Done

1. Developed a database of all Ayurveda & yoga resorts in India, listed on competitor websites.
a. AyurUniverse b. Yovada c. BookYogaRetreats d. Others, e.g. Trip Savvy

2. Developed criteria for approaching and selecting resorts that should be listed on Ayurooms.

3. Produced a shortlist of resorts that should be targeted and prioritized for tie-ups.

4. Developed a database of channel sales partners (yoga teachers) teaching yoga out of India in
order to promote ayurooms through the yoga teachers.

5. Created a property registration form for resorts who were going to tie up with ayurooms.

6. Recommended five resorts to CEO which ayurooms should go for.

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 6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Project Title: TO STUDY ABOUT CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS AYURVEDA

THERAPIES.

Objective of the research:

1. TO STUDY MEDICATION PREFERENCE OF PEOPLE.

2. AWARENESS AMONG PEOPLE REGARDING AYURVEDA THERAPIES.

Methodology:

This section looks at the methods used to achieve the objectives of the study. The research design
used is Descriptive Research Design, the sources of data is Primary data and the methods that was
used in the data collection is questionnaire. The target population for the study is people above 20
years of age; the sample size is 50, sampling technique used is random sampling and learning and
findings are shown through graphs.

Research Design

This research is an explanatory and a cross-sectional study that is mainly aimed at examining
people perception towards various ayurvedic therapies. Explanatory research design is used to
identify the factors which affect the people preference towards various medications available.

Sample Size

Sample size is taken as 50

Sampling Techniques

Random Sampling Technique has been used in order to define sample size.

Data Collection

Primary Data is collected through questionnaire.

Winter Internship Report, Pune Institute of Business Management, Pune

6. LEARNING/ FINDING

Followings are the findings from the questionnaire:

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7. FINDINGS

Following are the findings from the research:

 If given chance people would like to go for Ayurveda for treatment followed by Allopathy
and homeopathy respectively.
 People first preference is Ayurveda but only 24% people are regular customer of Ayurveda.
 The main reason for people to go for Ayurvedic therapies is no side effects followed by
permanent healing.
 People do not prefer Ayurvedic therapies because of its long process and lack of
knowledge.
 People got to know about Ayurveda through Word of mouth mainly.
 Only 38% people are aware about Ayurooms products and services.

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8. SUGGESTIONS

Following are the suggestions for Ayurooms:

 The organisation can adopt advertisement techniques such as television advertisements,

newspaper advertisements etc. to create awareness about the products among consumers.
 Ayurooms only target foreigners it should also start targeting Indian citizen, this will
increase the target audience for Ayurooms.
 It can use yoga teachers in order to promote Ayurooms because people listen to yoga
teacher advice. It will help bring in more business to the organization.
 It should include more budget friendly resorts which will help the organization to attract
new customers.

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9. REFERENCES

1. ibef.com
2. ayurooms.com
3. Research Paper: Consumer perception towards ayurvedic products with special reference
to megha’s herbo care ayurvedic pharmacy.
4. Research Paper: Perception and practice of ayurveda among users and non-users: A
comparative study.

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