TRAVEL AGENCY OPERATIONS

UNIT-IV

What is Tourism Management?

It involves the management of multitude of activities such as studying tour destination,
planning the tour, making travel arrangements and providing accommodation. It also
involves marketing efforts to attract tourists to travel to particular destinations.
There is a subtle difference between just travelling and tourism.
 Travelling is going from the place of residence or work to another distant or a
neighboring place by any means of transport. Routine commutation can be
termed as travelling.
 Tourism is travelling with an objective. All tourism necessarily include travel
but all travel does not necessarily include tourism. We can say, travelling is a
subset of tourism.
One similarity between travel and tourism is, they both are temporary movements.
Tourism has turned out to be an economic booster contributing to the economic
development of many countries over the last few decades. People see holidays as a
necessity, and not as luxury in the present scenario. Tourism calls for coordination
and cooperation between travel agents, tour operators, and tourists. Tourism has a
few major elements − destinations, attractions, sites, accommodation, and all
ancillary services.

What is Tourism?
Tourism involves the activities of people travelling and staying in a place away from
their home environment for leisure, business or other purposes.
Mathieson and Wall (1982) define tourism as follows −
"The temporary movement of people to destinations outside their usual places of
work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations,
and the facilities created to cater to their needs."

Tourism was mainly been traditional in its early form. With the evolution of cultures,
economies, and knowledge, tourism took a different form called sustainable tourism
with the aspect of well-planned tour, well-studied destination, and conservation of
destination.
Factors that Motivate People to Travel
The most common reasons for the people to travel away from home are −

 To spend holidays leisurely

 To visit friends and relatives
 To attend business and professional engagements
 To get health treatment
 To undertake religious pilgrimages
 Any other personal motives

Important Types of Tourism: International and Domestic

Tourism!
Different types of tourism can be recognized depending on length of
stay, mode of transport used, distance travelled, purpose of trip and
price paid by tourists. Broadly speaking, there are four major types
of tourism namely: (i) international tourism, (ii) domestic tourism,
(iii) long distance tourism, and (v) short distance tourism.
(i) International Tourism:
An international tourist crosses the boundaries of many countries,
uses different currencies, faces different languages and meets
different types of people. Usually international tourism involves
longer distances although crossing small countries or travelling in
the neighbourhood of international borders may involve short
distances.

(ii) Domestic Tourism:

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It is concerned with travelling within the country. It does not need a

passport and visa or conversion of one currency into another.
Domestic tourism has greater scope in countries of large
dimensions such as India as compared to smaller countries. From a
geographical viewpoint, domestic tourism may range from local
excursion, regional trips to national level travels.

On the basis of purpose of tour or the motives of tourists, tourism is

of three types, viz., (a) common interest tourism, (b) holiday
tourism and (c) business tourism. In case of common interest
tourism, the purpose of visiting and the visited persons in common.

Visiting friends and relatives in this type puts very low pressure on
the provision of tourist facilities at the destination. Holiday tourism
is the most popular type. A fine weather favourable for sightseeing,
touring, recreation and going round different cultural sites are
sought after by incoming tourists of this category.
Business tourists travel to boost their business, attend trade fairs
and conferences pertaining to commerce or professions. They
combine business with recreation using same facilities as provided
for holiday tourists.

What are the Tourism

Regulations in India?
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Those in the tourist trade should know all the legal and quasi-
legal regulations which concern the tourist trade. A traveller who is also a tourist is
governed by the laws and regulations in force in the country which he visits.

1. Passport and Visa Requirements:

It is important for all visitors from abroad to possess a valid passport issued by their
respective countries before they enter Indian Territory either by land or sea or air.

Visa is an essential requirement for all people of all nationalities for entering India.
There are several types of visas available to foreign nationals as follows:

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1. Entry Visa

2. Tourist Visa

3. Business Visa

4. Long term Visa (maximum duration of 5 years)

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5. Collective Landing Permit (group tourists from abroad).

Indian consular offices in different countries issues Indian Visas. The fee for this visa
is US $5 per person. But nationals of Britain pay a Visa fee of £23.

The maximum duration for which tourist visas are issued is 180 days. The
requirement is the submission of passport photographs. There is also a provision for
the extension of visa beyond 180 days.

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Visas can be renewed in all State capitals and district headquarters on an application
made to the district t Police Chief e.g. SP. Visa renewals and extension cases in the
cities of New Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta are handled by Foreigners Regional
Registration Offices.

The outbound travellers will seek visas from embassies or consulates of respective
countries they wish to visit. Most of these offices are located in New Delhi.

2. Special Permits:
Normally there is no restriction on Indian and foreign nationals for movement within
India. But in case of Border States and the two groups of island (Andaman and
Lakshadweep), a visitor requires a special permit. This permit is valid for 15 days
only.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

Foreigners visiting the islands require prior permission. This can be obtained from
Immigration officer, Port Blair on arrival. Permits can be obtained in advance from
Chief Immigration Officers at Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai.

Arunachal Pradesh:
All foreign nationals intending to visit Arunachal Pradesh require restricted area
permits issued by Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India,
Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, and New Delhi. Indian nationals (domestic
tourists) can obtain permits from Arunachal Bhawan, New Delhi, Calcutta, Guwahati
and Tezpur.

Assam:
Only Guwahati, Sibsagar, Halflong and Kaziranga are open for foreigners. To visit
these places, permits are issued by Assam State Tourist Information Centers at
Delhi and other parts of the country.
Gujarat:
Border regions of the Runn of Kutch are restricted areas. Permits to visit Banni
region and areas beyond the India Bridge are issued for both foreign and Indian
nationals by DM, Bhuj.

Himachal Pradesh:
Lahaul and Spiti and the district of Kinnaur are restricted areas for which entry
permits are granted to a group of 4 or above, sponsored by a travel agency for a
fixed itinerary. These permits are issued by Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Kullup,
Keylong and Rampur.

Lakshadweep:
Only the island of Bangaram (which had no habitation) is open to foreign tourists.
Permits are issued by Foreigners’ Regional Registration officers. For domestic
tourists, entry permits and travel arrangements are handled by the Commissioner’s
Office in New Delhi.

Manipur:
Foreign nationals require an inner line permit from the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of
Home Affairs, Government of India, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi.

Meghalaya:
Foreigners intending to travel in groups of 4 or more can obtain restricted area
permits from Meghalaya House at Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta.

Mizoram:
Mizoram is a restricted area for foreign tourists. Permits may be obtained from the
Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. Indian citizens can obtain inner line
permits from Resident Commissioner of Mizoram at Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and
Chennai.

Nagaland:
Foreigners cannot enter without a special permit which can be obtained from the
Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Sikkim:
Foreigners can get permit for Gangtok, Rumtek, Penayangtfe and Thodong from
Sikkim Tourist Information Centre at Delhi, Kolkata and Siliguri.
Tripura:
Tripura is a restricted area. Foreign tourists visiting Tripura are required to obtain a
permit from the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Uttar Pradesh:
Foreigners must have permission from the Government of India to enter the Tehsil
Dharchola and Tehsil Muspari areas near the border of Tibet.

West Bengal:
Parts of Sunderbans area are restricted for tourists. Conducted tours by West
Bengal Tourism Authorities require no prior permission.

3. Customs Regulations:
The usual duty-free regulations of one bottle of liquor and 200 cigarettes apply for
India. If the tourist brings in more than $ 1,000 in cash or in traveler’s cheques, it
must be declared.

A tourist can clear goods up to Rs. 2,400 in value duty free. Goods brought in excess
of this are chargeable to duty as per prevailing law.

4. Economic Regulations:
The inbound as well as outbound tourist is subject to the following economic
regulations:

(a) Currency:
Tourists are not allowed to bring Indian currency into the country or take it out of the
country. However, there is no restriction on the amount of foreign currency or
travellers cheques that may be brought into India.

On arrival, visitors should declare all foreign currency above $1,000. They are
supposed to exchange currency only at banks and through authorized dealers.

With each exchange of currency, they are issued an exchange certificate which
should be retained to re-exchange unused rupees on leaving the country. It is also
their proof that they exchanged currency through legal channels.

The foreign tourist must not exchange currency in black-market. Foreigners are not
allowed to leave India with any local currency. For their convenience, banks at
international airports are open 24 hours daily to convert unused rupees.
(b) Income Tax:
If a person not domiciled in India intends to stay in the country for more than 120
days, an Income Tax Clearance Certificate is required in order to leave the country.
This document will prove that the person’s stay in India was financed by his own
money and not by working or selling his goods.

The foreign sections of the Income Tax Department at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and
Mumbai issue these certificates on the basis of the person’s passport, visa and
currency exchange receipts which have been used by the person.

(c) Foreign Travel Tax:

For international travel from Indian airports Rs. 150 must be paid for travel to
neighboring countries and Rs. 300 for travel to all other countries.