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INTRODUCTION
The Context
has emerged as the most important contributor to job creation and income
generation. In fact tourism has already reached the status of the world’s
largest industry and also the world’s largest generator of jobs. Tourism is an
A tourist who loves nature and has a natural desire to explore unique
experiences will find all that he ever wanted in Kerala, better known as God’s
Own Country. The land is blessed abundantly with beaches, backwaters, hill
and every other tourist attraction, all of which can be covered in just 18 hours.
And better, yet, every locale are just about two hours from the other, a
and Tourism Council (WTTC) “travel and tourism has a greater impact on
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world and national economies than even previously thought. The findings
strategic priority”. The news of travel and tourism’s comes at a time when job
creation is at the top of government agenda’s world wide. (Dominic Jose, The
share is 0.58% in the year 2008. Yet despite this insignificant share of India,
tourism has already emerged as the country’s largest net earner of foreign
exchange.
More than the growth in the market share which is still meager in a
global context, the state has been identified as being a destination with the
Europe. Thus the widely accepted conclusion is that for Kerala tourism could
be a most powerful engine that could move the state’s economy. In fact if we
are honestly analyse the limitations and weakness of many of our other
has been recognized in both developing and developed countries. This can be
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India is not a country but a continent as far as the tourist attractions are
the cynosure of the tourists owing to the efforts of the government and public
to realise the full potential of its vast and varied topographical, cultural and
landscape which could vary from a tea plantation to a fishing village. From
the hardy mountain tops in Ladakh to the natural backwaters of Kerala, the
countryside. There is music and dance. The cuisine is authentic and richly
conducted by the British magazine Conde’ Nast Traveller with tiny countries
like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia already major tourist destination, India
Year Book 2008) For a long time, tourism has been treated as a leisure
activity of the rich and a somewhat unnecessary distraction for the poor in
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national policy makers have shifted their priority to the promotion of intra
campaigns include “ See America” in the United States “ Get going Canada”
growth in tourist arrivals from India. In terms of the growing travel and
tourism economy and the real growth rate of travel market, India is the
Statistics 2006) In the year 2008 India represented 0.58% of the world market
share. But there is another angle to India’s tourism story. For instance, the
days in India, according to the official data, and 12 days according to the
India Tourism Industry Among the leisure tourists who arrive in India, those
from the far East stay for roughly six to eight days, the Dutch and the French
stay for about 18-22 days, the British, German and Swiss average at 10 days.
The Americans like to stay for longer for about 14 days.(Business Standard
2.Feb. 2007)
wide range of tourist products and experiences, which include among others-
of the foreign exchange, vast employment generation, it can play a major role
world travel industry. Kerala came to existence, legends say, when the God
Parasurama hurled his axe far into the turbulent sea forcing it to retreat. The
land thus uncovered was Kerala – “The God’s Own Country”. A land
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whisper.
explanation. Kerala was originally Cherala, meaning the land of cheras, but
cher can also mean “added”. Kerala would thus mean the land which was
The present state of Kerala was created in 1956 from the princely
states of Travancore and Kochi and part of Madras State – Malabar. Its flora
and fauna, art and culture, cleanliness, health-care etc. have given her a name
among the developed and developing countries in the world. The art forms of
stations, waterfalls, wild life, ayurveda, year round festivals and the diverse
flora and fauna make Kerala quite distinct from the other Indian states. The
has been made to define it. All definition explains in the context of
movement. It is precisely the significance of the word ‘tour’ which forms the
The word ‘tourism’ consists of all those trades which together satisfy
of phenomenon and relationship arising from travel and stay of non residents,
in so far as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
visits and is variably defined for particular purposes of the journey, its
from his home. There are two kinds of tourist i.e., foreign tourist and
domestic tourist.
as:
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place other than his usual place of residence and stays hotels or other rented
places, uses the sight seeing facilities for a duration of not less than 24 hours
So tour means journey to various places and coming back in the end to
place the journey started from. Tour can be of many types such as package
tour, guided tour, and holiday tour. Strictly speaking a tour is undertaken for a
BEACH TOURISM
tourism. Beaches have a serene and deep beauty in themselves. Shores have
always been an attraction. The wonder on the fathoms of the seas, their
contents, the sea, the wave and the surf, man has always gone to beaches.
Hills and mountains divide human beings, rivers and seas bring them together
from time immemorial, human beings crossed the seas and reached beaches.
Beaches afford good sunshine and sprinkling breeze. It is good for sunbath
and sea bath that is why a large number of beach resorts are arranged in all
parts of the world. Beach tourism fulfills all aspects of tourism- sun, sea and
sand.
beach. It also combines water and land resources usage. Water usage
comprises swimming, surfing, sailing and other water sports. Land use
recreational areas, car and bus parking areas, entertainment and shopping
make them delightful places to rest, relax and watch the sun. There are
tourists who leave on holiday for a change of climate, enjoy good scenery and
Sea bathing with access to a beach (sandy) and good weather (sunshine) is an
New fashion concept also dictates the craze for a suntanned skin over the pale
coast, usually defined as lying between the highest point reached by the storm
waves and the low water spring tide line. It is the outcomes of the coastal
features of deposition and is the most dominant form of the construction work
of the sea.
from land, is transported along the shore in several distinct ways. That is the
long shore drift which comes obliquely to the coast, carries the material along
the shore in the direction of the dominant wind. At the same time, the
backwash removes part of the materials seawards along the bed of the sea and
deposits it on the offshore terrace and even beyond. Finer materials such as
silt and mud are deposited in the shallow waters of the sheltered coast. The
constant action of the waves automatically sorts out the shoreline deposits in a
graded manner. The coarser materials (cobbles and boulders) are dropped by
the waves at the top of the beach. The finer materials (pebbles and sand
grains) which are carried down the beach by the backlash are dropped closer
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to the sea. On smooth lowlands beaches may continue for miles such as West
Malaysia, but in the upland regions where the land descends abruptly into the
7500 km. Thus we find beaches both along the western and eastern coast of
India. However more developed beaches, particularly useful for tourism are
found along the western coast because of a stronger wave action there and a
regular coastline. Thus water sports is a regular feature of the beaches on the
western coast where as beaches along the eastern coast are more noted for
the Mediterranean and Caribbean now extends to the beaches of Asia and
pacific. The beaches along the Arabian Sea coast are ideal for bathing, surfing
and sailing. The white sand beaches and warm conditions along the Puri-
Konark region in the east can draw millions of tourists from freezing Europe.
The Andamans and Lakshadweep are ideal for scuba diving and snorkeling.
backwaters and lagoons, bays and rough lava – rocked seas, marine estuaries
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with fish, crashing surf, powdery golden sand and palm fringed shores -
Kerala is blessed with beautiful beaches which are the most important
tourist attractions. The state has about 550 km. long coastlines, studded with
world’s best string of beaches. Well maintained, neatly kept and securely
guarded, the beaches of Kerala are turning into an ideal beach vacation
destination in India. Touring the beach sites of Kerala can make any beach
holiday a delightful one, as Kerala’s beaches are renowned for the gentle surf
and blue waters. People from all over the world has acknowledged,
everybody’s mind and body and releases the senses and souls of those who
Analysis of the economy reveals that the future of Indian economy will
depends on two major industries, viz, the tourism industry and the IT
Unlike other industries, the nature itself contains and creates tourism
beaches. We can only utilize the available beaches to the optimum possible
extend. Analysis of the industry reveals that we haven’t utilized the potentials
of our beaches. Hence, the present study makes an attempt to explore the
have resulted in rising standard of living, increase in income, faster and better
means of transportation and more awareness. The man on the other hand is
forced to live under tension, fatigue, polluted atmosphere due to ill managed
urbanization and industrialization. All this resulted in the need for leisure
which may be defined as the state of being free from the necessity of work
and recreation is that which one does when at leisure. Recreation gives
relaxation, peace, sound mind and body, pleasure, excitement. This ultimately
international forums. Almost all the states in India have placed tourism on a
priority platform, making efforts to exploit the tourism resources and potential
offered by the state. With the passage of time tourism has grown into a full
together satisfy the various needs of the travelers, where every penny spent by
the traveler contributes to the prosperity and the development of the travel
linkages. The travelers spend money to enjoy a variety of goods, services and
and income than those generated by the same investment in other important
sectors of the economy. The tourism industry is able to bring about benefits
wealth and further, it is the only smokeless industry that can generate sizable
foreign exchange.
In 2007, the world tourist arrivals were 904 million and in the year
2008, it increased to 922 million representing 2.0% change over the previous
year. In India the foreign tourist arrivals in the year was 5.08 million and
increased to 5.37 million in the year 2008 showing an increase of 5.71% over
the previous year. The foreign exchange earnings from tourism were Rs
44,360 crores in the year 2007 and increased to Rs 50,730 crores in the year
2008, showing an increase of 14.4% over the previous year. (India Tourism
Statistics, 2008).
and foreign tourist visit was 5,98,929 constituting 4.2% of the total tourist
visit both domestic and foreign tourist in India, in the year 2008.(Kerala
Tourist Statistics 2008) Kerala, Gods own country, the share of foreign and
generated from tourism. It is found that the foreign exchange earning during
the year 2008 is Rs.3066.52 crores which recorded a growth of 16.11% over
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the previous year. The total revenue generated from tourism comes to
Rs.13130 crores, showing an increase of 14.84% over the last year and the
Through out the world, the beaches of Kerala are renowned for their
breath taking beauty. The blues of the sky and the blue waters of the beaches
the popular beaches of Kerala are the Kovalam beach and Varkala beach. The
other much visited beaches of Kerala are Thangasseri beach, Cherai beach,
Bekal beach and Kappad beach. Holidaying on the beaches of Kerala is great
tourist can savor sumptuous food too at the beaches of Kerala. The water
sports facilities at the beaches of Kerala bring out the child everyone. The
ayurveda, yoga and meditation centres on the beaches of Kerala are the other
tourist attractions.
especially Kovalam and Varkala. The flow of tourist to other beach centers is
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of negligible. Even in Kovalam and Varkala the statistics shows that, the total
domestic tourists, the total number visited to Trivandrum was 9,48,579 but the
visited Kerala during the period was 5,15,808 foreign tourists and 66,42,941
domestic tourists. This shows that, the nature gifted beach centers of Kerala
tourism has not been able to draw the attention of researchers. Tourism is still
interdisciplinary by nature, each of its aspects being too complex and too
complicated and hence any amount of knowledge may still leave much quarter
TO BEACH TOURISM”.
including the beach sand, the waves and the depth along these areas, security,
the sights visible and ability to set up eco-friendly cottages are all important
The present study has been designed with the following objectives.
Kerala.
4. To identify the critical factors and areas demanding attention for the
Hypotheses
Methodology
The present study is analytical in nature. The study has been identified
beach tourism potentials of Kerala. The present study uses both primary and
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secondary data. Due to the special nature of the study the qualitative data has
Study Design
tourism and analyses the problems and possibilities of the beach tourism in
Kerala.
Data Collection
In the present study primary and secondary data were collected for
The secondary data necessary for the study have been collected from
Primary data
The primary data necessary for the study has been collected from the
tourists (both foreign and domestic) and natives of various beach centers in
Kerala.
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The following tools were used for the purposes of data collection.
1. Interview Schedule
2. Questionnaire
The following techniques have been adopted for collecting the data.
1. Document analysis
2. Field trips
The investigator conducted field trip in almost all beach tourism spots
of Kerala as part of the study to get first hand experience and collected data
3. Interview
Interview has been conducted with the various officials in the tourism
4. Survey
factors of tourism.
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Sample Design
The area of study involves the entire state of Kerala. The investigator
has visited each and every beach tourist destinations of the state. For
selecting the tourist visiting the beaches the investigator adopted the
required for the study has been selected by adopting accidental sampling
Table 1.1
Break-up of the sample
Foreign Domestic
Natives Total
Tourists Tourists
1. Percentage analysis
3. Chi-square test
To find the association between the variables chi-square test has also
has been selected from the beach tourists arrived in Kerala beaches during
the period of the study. As most of the tourists are reluctant to spare their
2. The secondary data used for the present study relate to the last ten years
from 1999 to 2008. Because data of ten years will depict the profile of the
introduction chapter which gives the need and significance, objective of the
study, hypotheses of the study, research design and the statistical techniques
used.
industry and the significance of the tourism industry in the present economic
The analysis of the data collected from primary and secondary sources
are presented in the fourth and fifth chapters. These chapters present the
collected data in tables and graphs and also present the results of statistical
analysis of data.
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