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Tourism Industry

CHAPTER 1: INDUSTRY AND WORKINGS

Tourism is an industry that operates on a massively broad scale: it
embraces activities ranging from the smallest sea-side hotel; to air-
lines, multi-national hotel chains and major international tour
operators. Originally, non-traditional industries such as tourism
emerged as a solution to strike a balance between ecology and
industry. The tourism industry is now one of the largest sectors earning
foreign exchange for the exchequer. In the face of such benefits, many
countries have started assigning due weightage to the tourism industry
in their national development agenda.

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 tourism industry as a whole is presently estimated to earn over

US$ 3.5 trillion worldwide.

♠ The industry creates a job every 2.4 seconds with every one of those
direct jobs creating another 11 indirect ones.

♠ Spending on tourism amounts to 5%-10% of total consumer,

spending in a year worldwide.

♠ India's share of the total market is a pittance at 0.51%. The non-

tourist countries like Malaysia and Indonesia get much more tourists
than India.

♠ However, the average duration of stay of foreign tourist in India is

one of the highest in the world. On an average, it exceeds 27 days in
the case of non-package tourists and is 14 days in the case of package
tourists.

♠ Tourism has the distinction of being the third largest export industry
after gems and jewellery and readymade garments in India.
♠ The Tourism industry's foreign exchange earnings in India are around
$3.2 billion. Tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner if we
consider the fact that net value addition in Gems and jewellery is less
than 30 % whereas, in tourism it is more than 90 %.

India: Tourism Revenues and Expenditures 1990-2010

♠ It also has one of the best employment multipliers when compared

with any other industry in India. It generates maximum job
opportunities, as it provides direct employment to 9.1 million people
and indirect employment to another 12.4 million. But these statistics
do not appear so impressive when viewed in the global perspective
and compared with that of other countries shown in the graph below.

Tourists Arrivals and Receipts From Tourism 1996

 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.

♠ Though the government has promised to give industry status to

tourism, still, budgetary support for this department is a mere Rs. 379
crore. This is despite a total tax collection of about Rs. 2000 crore in
1996 from this sector.

♠ The tourism industry currently stands 127th on the list of priorities of

the Indian government. It is true that India has yet to reach the
prosperity level where leisure activity can be included in the priority
sector but, if solving the country's unemployment and foreign
exchange problems are on the top of the national agenda, the
potential of this industry cannot be neglected.

A S.L.E.P.T. Analysis Of The Tourism Industry In

India:
Social:
Tourism was always looked upon as something that led to the
destruction of the social fabric of a place. The more the amount of
outside people coming into a place, the more the perceived risk of that
place losing its identity. A good example is Goa. From the late 60's to
the early 80's when the Hippy culture was at its height, Goa was a
haven for such hippies. Here they came in thousands and changed the
whole culture of the state. This had a ripple effect on the country.
People became cautious, especially of the international tourists.
Whenever a certain place became famous, the example of Goa was
cited to discourage the inflow of international tourists.
However some places such as Kerala and Rajasthan have been able to
strike a balance between their own culture and the demands of the
international tourists and have profited handsomely in the bargain.
People are now adopting themselves to the fact that tourism pays and
it can be a major source of income for them.
In addition, tourism as a form of recreation has really caught on.
People themselves have started traveling and are willing to travel to a
place that is out of the way and exotic. While traditionally traveling on
a holiday meant going to a hill station or a beach, now people are
willing to go in for adventure tourism and also visit places that might
be exotic and cannot really be called hospitable. For example, now
places like Leh and Lakshwadeep are mentioned in the same breath as
Goa or Kashmir.

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.

With respect to Foreign Investment in any tourism related venture,

clearance must be obtained from the Central government (RBI or
Foreign Investment Promotion Board). 51% foreign equity is
automatically approved subject to meeting certain prescribed criteria,
including having a capital base proposal below US $143 million (Rs. 6
billion). In the case of NRIs, 100% foreign equity is automatically
approved. Foreign equity holding above 51 percent are possible, but
are subject to FIPB approval. It is to be noted that the Ministry of
Industry provides final clearance of FIPB approvals.
Dividends on such investments are repatriable.

The National Policy on Tourism lays emphasis on sustainable

development of tourism. In accordance, the Government has
brought out a comprehensive Eco Tourism Policy and Guidelines.
There are several Acts and laws, which ensure sustainable tourism.
These are the Wild Life Protection Act 1972, the Environment
(Protection) Act 1986, and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Act 1986. These do not set aside any specific area for tourism, but
such areas have to be identified by the State Governments and obtain
the required approvals/relaxations.

Eco-tourism policies and Guidelines have been formulated by the

Government in consultation with the industry and are being
implemented on a voluntary basis.

Economic:
The tourism industry not unlike the other industries grows with the
increase in the spending of the people. The more the people spend the
more the industry grows. The spending power of the people has been
increasing in the country and all over the world. Since we are
concentrating on the international tourists, the large increase in the
spending power in most developed countries has left a large amount of
idle cash in their hands. This has led to a tourism boom the world over
and India has been no exception. There have been more people
coming into the country with more cash than ever before. This has lead
to an increase in the demand for better hotels. People who previously
used to come to the country on a shoestring budget and hunt around
for the cheapest accommodation can now afford to go in for luxury
hotels. This has led to an increase in the number of hotels in the
country. However, an increase in spending does not only limit itself to
accommodation. The increase in the spending is also evident in the
increase in the number of people traveling by air. Even the number
domestic tourists traveling by air has dramatically gone up.

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.

Similarly, the political turmoil in the state of Kashmir and now in

Gujarat has caused a virtual decimation of the flourishing tourism
industry. However, there has been a change in many of the policies of
the Government with regard to the tourism industry. The hotel industry
has been getting many incentives and many State Governments are
encouraging the growth of major hotels in their states. After years of
tight control over airport infrastructure, Government has finally taken
the decision to privatize the airports.

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
a. India's geographical location, a culmination of deserts, forests,
mountains, and beaches.

b. Diversity of culture i.e. a blend of various civilizations and their

traditions.

c. A wealth of archeological sites and historical monuments.

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

a. Lack of adequate infrastructure. The airlines in India, for example,

are inefficient and do not provide basic facilities at airports. The road
condition in India is very bad.

b. A xenophobic attitude among certain sections of people.

c. No proper marketing of India's tourism abroad. Foreigners still think
of India as a land of snake charmers. There are many places where the
image of India is one of poverty, superstition, and diseases. The case
of Plague in Surat in 1994 led to a decrease of 36% in arrival of foreign
tourists in India.

OPPORTUNITIES

a. More proactive role from the government of India in terms of

framing policies.

b. Allowing entry of more multinational companies into the country

giving us a global perspective.

c. Growth of domestic tourism. The advantage here is that domestic

tourism and international tourism can be segregated easily owing to
the difference in the period of holidays.

THREATS
a. Economic conditions and political turmoil in other countries affects
tourism.

b. Political turbulence within India in Kashmir and Gujarat has also

reduced tourist traffic.

c. Aggressive strategies adopted by other countries like Australia,

Singapore in promoting tourism.

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CHAPTER 2: TYPES OF CUSTOMERS & SEGMENTATION

A. Users Of Tourism Services

The users of tourism services can be categorized in a number of
ways.

One such way of classifying the users is by dividing them into

categories such as General, Sex, Region, Education, etc.

1. General: Domestic, Foreign

Kids, Teens, Youths, Seniors
 Students, Executives, Artists
Politicians, Movie stars
2. Sex: Men, Women
3. Region: Rural, Urban
4. Education: Literate, Illiterate
5. Status: Rich, Poor
6. Profession: Executives, Academics, Sportsmen, Artists
7. Occupation: White collar, Blue collar

Another method of classifying users of tourism services is on the

basis of the frequency of usage of services.

1. Non-users: They lack the willingness, desire and ability (income

& leisure time).
2. Potential Users: They have the willingness but the marketing
resources have not been used optimally to influence their
impulse.
3. Actual Users: They are already using the services generated by
the tourist organizations
4. Occasional Users: They have not formed the habit of traveling
5. Habitual Travelers: They have formed a habit and avail of the
services regularly.

B. Need For Segmentation

Consumer behavior can be defined in psychological terms as the whole
range of the generation of wants and their transformation into buying or
using decisions. Users have values, perceptions, preferences and
expectations which are the result of environmental influences. There are a
number of factors that influence the behavioral profile of consumers.
In recent years, the users have become more discriminating in their
using habits and therefore their needs for different services, products and
brands change constantly. This makes it essential that the marketers
analyze their behavioral profile and undertake segmentation so that they
know the level of expectations.
In a nutshell, tourist organizations need to undertake segmentation in
order to simplify their task of creating and stimulating demand. In this
way they can identify the potential tourists, transform them into actual
tourists and further into habitual tourists.

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

Such segmentation is useful when deciding the offerings to target a

particular segment. For example:
♠ The mass market consists of vacationists that travel in large groups
and prefer all-inclusive tours. They are generally conservative.
♠ The popular market consists of smaller groups going on inclusive or
semi-inclusive tours. This group includes pensioners and retired
people.
♠ The individual market consists of chairmen, senior executives, etc.
♠ As the lifestyle changes, consumption of services might change. For
example, a newly married couple might prefer romantic holidays, but
once they have children they would prefer family vacations where
there are plenty of activities to entertain kids.
♠ Teens and youth might prefer adventure holidays whereas senior
citizens would probably prefer more relaxing vacations.

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Chapter 3. The Tourism Industry

The tourism industry comprises of the following main and distinctive
sectors:
 Transportation
 Accommodation
 Tour operators
 Tourism Destination Operators/ Destination Management

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.

With the innumerable dream destinations India offers the best of

the accommodation facilities to the travelers to the land. There are
plenty of hotels and resorts in India that cater to the needs of tourists
of all kinds. The hotels and resorts in India provide high standards of
quality of accommodation, facilities and comforts to satisfy the client’s
at the most reasonable rates. The variety of hotels and resorts in India
ranging from Luxury Hotels, Standard Hotels, Budget Hotels to the
Heritage Hotels In India. Then there are several Indian & International
Hotel Chains in India. The services and the facilities are such that the
hospitability of India gets revealed always. Throughout the length and
the breadth of the country that is dotted with tourist destinations the
hotels and resorts are available to make your experience of India
unique.

The incomparable and incredible land of India offers plenty of

accommodation options such that the visit to the wonderland suits all
pockets. The country where tradition and trends fuse to give you the
best the range of possible accommodations is vast. There are the
exclusive hotels and hotel chains that boast of luxurious amenities and
world-class décor.

Hotels in India have been categorized on different parameters all

of them taking into account the factors such as service provided,
infrastructure, location, heritage value, and types of guests
accommodated. Like many other countries worldwide, these
categorizations help the common travelers zero down on the
accommodation option he can afford or wanted to stay at during
his/her visit.

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.

With this in mind, what does a holiday in India symbolizes? This

is a question that every traveler to this vast subcontinent of human
beings, dust, chaos, and religion asks himself at least once. For many
of them India is the exotic orient where you can find only the snake
charmers or sadhus. For few who have gone through contemporary
literature on the country, India is an organized chaos (as described one
of the renowned writers and sociologists). For the ones who have seen
the exploitations of Indian expats in Silicon Valley might consider the
country as a future hub of knowledge economy.

For a quintessential vacationer in India, the country presents

itself in the plethora of colors, hues, and shapes. With its inexhaustible
range of culture, traditions, wildlife, beaches, and mountains India is
huge. The country is not only about chaos and ways to control them; it
is about life, the civilization and continuity of it that makes people look
beyond the obvious. But obvious, we believe, is not the choice that you
are going to make while visiting India. What you need is something
different, something that is new, and something that is exciting.
Concept tourism is one exciting option that a few tour operators like
Indianholiday.com believe is worth taking interest in. These operators
give you a number of exciting options categorized according to the
interest and concept to tour India.
Wildlife Holidays
Heritage Holidays
Pilgrimages
Ecotourism in India: India, the land of geographical varieties offers
several tourist destinations that not just de-stress but also rejuvenate
you. There are several ways to enjoy Mother Nature in most pristine
way. There are series of eco tours for India that provide the coolest
hangouts to take pleasure in indulging oneself into the God gifted
environs.
Beach Holidays: Has the combination of Sun, Sand, Sea and Surf ever
tempted you to take a break from the daily monotonous chores that
you perform so religiously? Then we have just the right package for
you with the sure-shot itinerary to relax you completely. The balmy
beaches of India are perfect escapade for the fun loving holiday
tourism seekers. India with its long coastline of 7500 kms, offers some
of the most exotic beach holidays and beach tourism destinations in
the world. The great peninsula with the Indian Ocean in the middle and
accompanied by the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal on each side
besides the two archipelagos of Lakshadweep and Andamans is perfect
for beach holidays for tourists the world over. The young state of Goa
certainly happens to be the Beach Capital of India. It offers the perfect
spot for the novice divers. The blaze of glory, the beautiful waves, the
swinging palms and the many hues of the sky, the nature is for sure at
its best at the beaches. India boasts of many beaches of Goa in the
West, Kovalam in the South and Gopalpur in the East. So you may
head towards any direction of the Indian peninsula and be invited to
the sun bathed beaches. The never-ending shores and the untouched
oceanic horizons seem to be mesmerizing. The photogenic dawn and
dusks at the beaches are sure to be repetitive visitor to the shores.

• Cultural Holidays: Ever wondered at the cultural diversity of

India? The enticing unity represented by the people of the
country who display a wide range of religions, culture, customs
and languages. The rich and varied heritage happens to be one
of the many sources of pride of the nation. The mysterious ways
of the people, their lifestyles and the inseparable culture cannot
be done solved in words but can surely be enjoyed with
experience.
• Adventure Holidays: Ever felt the waves of a river on your
face, wish to see to the land and everything on it from a height
of 18,000 feet? Fancy trotting from one palace to another riding
a camel or perhaps get a better view of the jungle sitting smart
 on an elephant? Well if any of them is an affirmative, the
adventure holidays and tourism in India are just for you. Try out
the aerial, aqua or land adventures and enjoy. The quest to do
the uncommon, the desire to meet challenges makes people
take up any of the adventure activities and rejuvenate
themselves. India is the land of variety and diversity. The terrain
of the sand dunes and long stretches of barren land is ideal for
desert safaris, the queen of rivers, the fun of watching the
wildlife at the Corbett National Park gets multiplied when
enjoyed riding an elephant, the Ganges is irresistible for the
water sports and the scenic beauty of Jammu is picture perfect
for the paragliding. You name the adventure and India has
the right spot for it.
• Ayurveda and Rejuvenation: India adheres to the age-old
philosophy of Ayurveda - in a traditional way - that's what makes
India a different locale to visit. Ayurveda recognizes that each
individual is different and so treatment too should be
customized. Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine
holds out to the world the promise of a healthy long life. step into
the world, where healing is a ritual and nurturing life a tradition,
i. e. experience the magical power of Traditional Ayurveda.
Ayurveda and Rejuvenation programs include a few programs
combining Ayurveda along with sightseeing and other aspects of
tourism in India. An extensive and well - crafted out Ayurvedic
treatment package that would rejuvenate your body and mind
and make you face the hustle and bustle of the city life again.
• Golf Tours: If Golf, is what you are passionate about and you
happen to be an avid traveler then the 21 day Golf Holidays
package of India being offered is something you cannot refuse to
go ahead with. The perfect break from the stressful routine
religiously followed otherwise. Just catch up with the Golf fever
that has caught the entire country in a big way. Add that extra
touch of versatility in you by playing the different surfaces in the
various golf clubs developed in several cities of India. The turfs,
the mounds, the climate, the yards of green all make golf better
than ever before.
• Handicrafts Tours:
• Festival Tours
• Museum Tours
• Railway Tours: Kuuuuu& Chuk Chuk !!! Doesn't the whistle of
the luxury train. Be onboard the luxury trains of India, the Palace
on Wheels, the Royal Orient and the Toy Trains are the pride of
Indian Railways, the largest passenger train service in the world
seem to invite you. The Palace on Wheels lives by its name and
is no less than a fort on the swing. The lavish lifestyle, the
facilities, the décor, the comfort and the style have made the
 first tourist train of India the most sought after. The marvelous
train that today is a joint effort of the Rajasthan Tourism
Development Corporation and the Indian Railways. During this
excursion, the tourists are overwhelmed with the beauty at the
major stations of Jaipur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur
and Bharatpur, and Agra chugging through the culturally colorful
states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. You may even opt for a voyage
onboard the Royal Orient, the train offering both style and
comfort. It is a project of the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat
Limited along with the Indian Railways. The rainbow of cities
trotted by the royal extravagance of the bygone era include
Delhi, Chittaurgarh, Junagarh/Veraval, Somnath/Sasan,
Gir/Ahmedpur, Mandvi/Palitana/ Sarkhej, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
Besides the Royal trains, the toy trains of India have attracted
many a tourists. The ride on the train with a 4500 kilometers
track chugs through the popular hill stations of the country like
Shimal, Darjeeling, Ooty/ Udagamandalam or Ootacamund and
Matheran. The toy trains are called so because of the narrow
gauge railway lines they ride on. The wondrous miniature of rail
engineering that offers the most scenic beauties of the
Himalayas from Kalka to Shimla and another from Jal Pai Guri to
Darjeeling.
• Yoga Tours in India: India has been the land of saints and
sages who meditated and practiced yoga. The spiritual city of
Rishikesh happens to be the Yoga capital of India. Tourists and
travelers flock to contemplate and practice Yoga and meditation
in the lap of Himalayas. The city hosts the International Yoga
Week every year in the month of February attracting several
experts and participants.

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.

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 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

Rajasthan, the Land of the Kings, is India at its exotic and

colourful best. It is the home of the Rajputs, a group of warrior clans
who have controlled this part of India for 1000 years according to a
code of chivalry and honour akin to that followed by medieval Europe's
knights. Although the fortunes of its former rulers may be in tatters,
the culture of Rajasthan, with its battle-scarred forts, amazing palaces,
riotous colours and sense of gallantry,aisastillaveryamuchaalive.
The harsh Rajasthani landscape and tribal customs have
fashioned a people and culture which are visibly different from those
found in the rest of India - from the huge, pastel-coloured turbans and
soup-strainer moustaches sported by the men to the bright mirrored
skirts and chunky silver jewellery of the women. They have also
endowed the state with a magical air of romance, speckled with desert
forts, lush oases, and exotic cities that rise out of the landscape like
shimmering backdrops to Tales of the Arabian Nights. No-one visits
Rajasthan without taking home superb memories, a parcel of
Folk art and a lot of sandainatheaeye.Though these resources are
there, so what? They are also present in other states like
MadhyaaPradesh.aThenawhataisadifferentaforaRajasthan?
Before deciding what to offer to the international tourist, a state should
first find out that what is it that this tourist wants? Rajasthan seems to
have found an answer to it and thus
hasabecomeaaafavouredadestinationsaofatourists.
What Rajasthan offers is not a mere site-seeing tour like any
other historically significant place, but treats the tourists to an
experience of times bygone. It may be a ride aboard 'Palace on
Wheels' or a stay in any of the Heritage hotels strewn across the state,
for the right price Rajasthan makes you royalty for your stay there and
this is what attracts the people. This has not been any easy task to
accomplish. The combined efforts of the public and the state
government has made it possible for desert state to triumphantly
march in the country's otherwise funereal tourism scenario. Some of
the noteworthy state government actions are wholehearted
endorsement of private investment in the hotel industry leading to the
number of hotel rooms growing at a fair rate. The loans and subsidies
are being given on liberal terms to owners of forts and palaces to
convert their properties into hotels. The other side also embraced this
idea fully as it gave the royalty a chance to once again play kings and
queens. There are 17 heritage hotels recognised by the department of
tourism, 30 other operating heritage properties and 12 are in the
planning stages. And as many as 56 properties have expressed
interest in offering themselves for the heritage status.
A few of these turnaround stories are:

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
 Dera Dundlod Kila, a 250-year-old fort in the heart of
Shekhawati. Its reins are in the hands of Thakur Raghubir Singh and his
dynamic son, Kunwar Raghavendra Singh, better known as Bonnie. The
father-and-son duo decided to convert the property into a hotel with a
dual purpose in mind: it would, on the one hand, save the sprawling
fortress from turning into a ruin and, on the other, generate some
badly needed income for the family. Today, with 27 rooms and an
annual turnover of Rs 10-12 lakh, the Singhs are reaping the rewards
of their sagacity.

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:

D. Indianvisit.com - Presenting India in a Way Never Seen Before

Indianvisit.com is a part of Indian Holiday Pvt. Ltd. (earlier

known as TRAFFORD TOURS & TRAVELS), a proactive travel
organization in Indian tourism industry for the last 10 years. They are a
professionally managed closely held agency and management control
is vested with the first generation promoter entrepreneurs. Transaction
level operations are executed by a team of professionally qualified
professionals, who are well versed with the complexities of Travel &
Tourism Trade. Their guest service team has a cumulative experience
of 100 man-years in tourism industry. The team is well aware and
equipped to cater to requirements of various market segments and
understands the nuances of tourism in India.

Services
Tours
They have been operating a variety of tours for their Groups and
Individual tourists and have been able to mastermind their tours with
great deal of efficiency. The company specializes in inbound tours and
offers a host of tourism related services to inbound tourists in the India
and neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and Srilanka.
Various tours they offer are as below. Tailor-made packages, cultural
tours, adventure tours, religious tours, yoga & meditation tours,
Rejuvenation & Ayurveda tours, safaris, special interest tours,
conferences, incentives and much more in the Indian Subcontinent.
Apart from above other various travel related services they provide are
as below:
Hotel Booking:
Individual or group booking in any hotel of any category and in any
part of Indian subcontinent can be provided instantly. Owing to their
very good connections with the hotels in almost every part of the
country, they are always in a position to offer very lucrative discounted
rates to their clients. Enter their hotel query form and just let them
know the name of city and category of hotel and wait for sometime.
Their professionals will get back to you in no time with a number of
suitable options.
Air Booking:
Their exceptionally good relations with the Domestic and International
Airlines enable them to come up with very good discounts for their
clients. Their online reservation system - Abacus helps us in
confirming the bookings instantly even in the veryabusyasectors.
Itinerary Planning and Tailor Made Holiday:
IndianVisit have long been helping their guests with necessary
arrangements in many exciting programs. Just tell them the time of
arrival & departure, the total duration of travel and your approximate
budget. Rest all leaveatoathem.
Transport:
They have a large fleet of cars / coaches at their disposal, and having
the fleet itself is not enough, they need to see that they use best
transport for their clients, and provide them a good value for their
money, hence they have maintained a separate department taking
care of all their transport requirements.

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.

Multilingual Guides & Professional Experts:

Sight seeing without guides serves no purpose and can just be a dull
and boring experience. They provide guides who with their eloquence
and immense knowledge about the city and the monuments make the
sightseeing a gratifying, memorable and enjoyable experience. They
provide not only the English speaking guides but also arrange the
guides who speaks French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish etc on
prior request. On special request, the professional escort from the
company accompanies the guests during the entire tour at a very
nominal cost and help in making their trip all the more interesting,
comfortable and entertaining. An accompanying escort would not only
ensure the smooth movement of tours, but with his / her vivacity would
add to the enjoyment and would keep on appraising the tourist with
the inner and deep beliefs of the local residents.

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.

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 Chapter5. Internal Customers
The image of the company begins with each and every employee
and is reflected in his or her attitude about the company. The
employees are a first market, an internal market for the firm's offerings
as well as for its external marketing programs. An emphasis has to be
placed on the need to view people, functions and departments internal
to the firm as internal customers, to whom internal services have to be
provided in the same customer-oriented manner as to external
customers. Everything that the service provider does for its customers
is first perceived and received by its own personnel. If employees do
not believe in the promises given by external marketing activities then
they will not be able or willing to perform as effective part-time
marketers and contribute to a good interactive marketing impact.

The five approaches or paths are as follows to ensure the above are:

1. Create a collective pride in the mission and values of the firms

among employees (the mission and pride path)

2. Make everyone's tasks, why they are important and how

performance is measured, clear to employees and follow up results in a
consistent manner (the process and metrics path).

3. Give employees personal freedom and opportunities for earnings,

but also significant personal risk , with few rules about behavior (the
entrepreneurial spiit path).

4. Show respect for the individual achievements of the employees and

recognize quality performance (the individual achievement path).

5. Offer reward and bonus system to support accomplishments (the

reward and celebration path).

Empowerment and enabling employees

These two concepts are to be understood as not only they motivate the
employees but also are important for the effective implementation of
internal marketing. Empowering employees means to give employees,
who come into contact with customers the authority to make decisions
and take action in a large number of potential problematic situations.
But there has to a limit as to how far this authority can go, and these
limits must be carefully determined. If empowerment is correctly
implemented as a part of an internal marketing process then it can
have a decisive impact on the satisfaction of employees.
Empowerment does not mean a static relationship but a continuous
nurturing of trusting relationships between management and
employees. Empowering employees means:

1. Providing them with information about the performance of the

organization
2. Rewarding them based on the organization's performance
3. Creating a knowledge base that makes possible for employees to
understand and contribute to the performance of the organization and
4. Giving employees the power to make decisions that influence
organizational directions an performance.

But empowerment cannot function without simultaneously

enabling employees so that they are prepared to take the
responsibility that goes with the new authority. Enabling means that
employees need support to be able to make the independent decisions
effectively in the service process. If this support is not provided
properly then proper conditions for empowered employees do not
exist. Enabling includes:

1. Management Support: so that supervisors and managers give

information an also take over decision-making when needed but do not
interfere unnecessarily with the decision-making authority of
employees.

2. Knowledge Support: so that the employees have the skills and the
knowledge to analyze situations and make proper decisions.

3. Technical Support: from support staff, systems, technology and

database that provides contact employees with information and other
services required for handling situations.

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 Chapter 6. TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT

Augmented Product

THEME TOURS

CUSTOMIZED
Formal Product
TRANSPOR- SPECIAL INTEREST
A. TOURS
TATION TOUR GUIDES
DIFF.
HOTELS
ACCESSIB-
ILITY (5 STAR, 3
TIME
STAR,
SHARING Core Tourism Pdt. LODGES ETC)
B. DESTINATION/
TOUR PACKAGE
LOCAL THEME
SPECIALITY SAFETY HOTELS
FOOD
MULTI CUISINE

BASIC
SOUVENIERS TRANSPORTA-TION

MEDICAL MULTI LINGUAL

INSURANCE GUIDES AND
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTS
 CHAPTER 7: MARKETING PROCESSES

(SERVICE MARKET TRIANGLE)

“THE SERVICE INDUSTRY TRIANGLE”

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’

External Marketing: It makes promises to the customers, for e.g. the

Malaysian government’s advertisement “Malaysia, Truly Asia” that
promises a veritable cultural paradise to the customer.

Internal Marketing: The Company enables the Providers to fulfill the

promises made by it to the customers. For example, the Malaysian
Government maintains the local transportation within the country,
maintains the tourist spots such as KL Towers, etc.

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:

The tourism industry is highly inflexible in terms of capacity. The

number of beds in a hotel or seats on an airplane is fixed so it is not
possible to meet sudden upsurges in demand. Similarly, restaurant
tables, hotel beds and airplane seats remain empty and unused in
periods of low demand. The seasonal nature of tourism activity
exacerbates this problem.

Perishability:

Tourism services are highly perishable. An unused hotel bed or an

empty airplane seat represents an immediate loss of that service as a
means of earning profit. This has an impact on overall industry
profitability.

Fixed location:

Tourism destinations are fixed locations so effort must be concentrated

in communicating the facility to the potential consumer. A consumer
can conveniently watch a Hollywood movie at the local cinema but has
to be persuaded to travel to India to see the Taj Mahal.

Relatively Large Financial Investment:

Every modern tourist establishment and facility requires large

investment, frequently over a long time scale. This means that the
level of risk and the rate of return are critically important to tourism
management.
 Chapter 9: Classification Of Services

ON THE BASIS OF THE END USER

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.

SERVICE PRODUCT CONTINUUM

As per the Product-Service Continuum, Tourism Services fall under the

category of “Goods + Services”. The core product is the destination,
which is purely intangible. However, tourism is linked to a number of
tangible goods such as souvenirs, cuisine, etc which constitute an
important part of any vacation or holiday any consumer might take.
Therefore it cannot be classified as only services, and falls under the
category of “Goods + Services”.

PEOPLE BASED SERVICES

Tourism Services are high contact services, as people interact with

people at virtually EVERY stage of the way. Tourism services are very
people-oriented services, and the service people are plenty and have
high contact with the consumers. The consumer interacts with a
myriad of service people starting from when he books his ticket and
throughout the course of his holiday.

EXPERTISE
Tourism Services are mostly professional services. The service
people include travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers, caterers, tour
guides, etc. Almost all of these people are trained and are
professionals. They might be trained by professional institutes (IATA,
IITM, etc.) or by the agency/company they are working for (SOTC).

ORIENTATION TOWARDS PROFITS

All Tourism Services are commercial, and are undertaken with a view
to earn profits.

DOMESTIC OR FORIEGN TOURISM

As per 1998 figures, Domestic tourists traveling through the country

were 167 million approximately. Tourist arrivals in India for the year as
on March 2002 were 23,70,784 (Inbound Tourism). The number of
Indian citizens traveling abroad was 38,10,908 (Outbound Tourism).

Chapter 10: How To Market Tourism

(The 7 Ps)
The Product Mix:

Components of a tourism product

The tourism product is essentially an intangible thing. Also, because

tourism is a multi-segment industry, the task of formulating a product
mix becomes more difficult & challenging.

Selling a holiday is ‘selling dreams’. The way to win the customer’s

heart is through the peripheral services provided along with the core
product. Thus a tourism product is quite a complex one, including the
destination, airline seat, hotel room, occasional tangible products such
as souvenirs, a free bag or bottle of whisky, etc.

Innovation in the tourism industry helps to raise the sensitivity in this

regard. There is nothing fixed or fundamental about the tourism
product. The content factor is within the jurisdiction of the government
that undertakes the maintenance, development and conservation of
tourist attractions such as parks, museums, beaches, historical
treasures, etc. Unless these factors are developed in the right fashion,
the marketing professionals would never be successful in making the
marketing resources productive.
Thus the direct or indirect patronage of the government is essential to get a positive
response. The government and private tourist organizations work together to undertake
activities such as developing infrastructural facilities such as transportation, water,
banking, Medicare facilities, etc., and also developing and maintain hotels, cottages,
havelis, lodges, etc.

The Price Mix

In pricing decisions, the product or the service mix of the tourist
organization is important. They have to set prices in line with the
quality of services to be made available to the customers. Pricing
decisions are influenced by internal and external factors. The tourism
professionals are supposed to watch the emerging trends in both the
markets. They are required to think in favour of discounting price.
These may include discounts for cash payments, seasonal discounts,
trade discounts etc. But while offering the discounts, it is not to be
forgotten that it may also create image problem since some of the
value sensitive tourists may doubt the quality.

The Promotion Mix

Creation of awareness has a far reaching impact. The tourist
organizations bear the responsibility of informing, persuading and
sensing the potential tourists in a right fashion. The marketers need to
use the various components of promotion optimally so that they
succeed in increasing the number of habitual users. Promotion helps in
maximizing the duration of stay, frequency of visit by offering new
tourist products in the same country to areas which hitherto have
remained untapped or partially tapped. The various dimensions of
tourism promotion are as follows:

Advertising: Advertisement helps in furnishing important information

to the actual and potential tourists. Its coverage is wide. Advertising is
aimed at the public to create awareness of the travel offers available
on a resort and its attractions to influence their business decisions.
Intangibility can be compensated with the help of visual exposure of
scenes and events. We can project hotel bedrooms, well arranged
restaurants and cafeterias, swimming pools etc.

Publicity: It focuses attention on strengthening the public relations

measures by developing a rapport with media people and getting their
personalized support in publicizing the business. It helps in projecting
the positive image of tourists organizations since the prospects trust
on the news items publicized by the media people. Eg. Kumarakom in
Kerala after Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s visit. The publicity
programme include regular publicity stories and photographs to the
newspapers, travel editors, contact with magazines on stories etc.
There are different groups in publicity, such as advertising publicity,
projected publicity, structural publicity and personal publicity.

Sales promotions: Sales promotion measures are the short term

activities seeking to boost sales at peak demand periods to ensure that
the firms obtain its market share and are used to help launch a new
product or support an ailing or modified one. The tool of sales
promotions is designed to appeal particularly to those customers who
are price-sensitive. There are a number of techniques to promote sale
and the tourist professional need to use them in the face of their
requirements vis-à-vis the emerging trends in the business. Eg. In the
tourism industry, a travel company offers give-aways to their clients,
such as flight bags, wallets for tickets and forex and covers of
passport. The hotels offer a number of facilities like shoe shine clothes,
first aid sewing kits, shower caps and shampoo. Further, the VIP clients
also get fruits and flowers in their rooms.

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.
Word-of-mouth Promotion: Most communication about tourism
takes place by word-of-mouth information which in a true sense is
word-of-recommendation. In the tourism industry it is found that the
word-of-mouth promoters play the role of a hidden salesforce, who
instrumentalize the process of selling. The high magnitude of
effectiveness of this tool of promotion is due to high credibility of the
channel, specially in the eyes of the potential tourists. The sensitivity
of this tool makes it clear that tourist organizations need to
concentrate on the quality of services they promise and offer. The
marketers or the tourist organizations need to keep their eyes open,
identify the vocal persons or the opinion leaders and take a special
care of them so that they keep on moving the process of stimulating
and creating demand.

Personal Selling: Personal Selling is based on the personal skill of an

individual. The oral representation in conversation bears the efficacy of
transforming the motivation into persuasion. The travel and hotel
business depend considerably on the personal selling. The
development of travel and tourism has been possible due to well
educated and trained sales personnel. The development of tourism
business has been influenced by the services rendered by the travel
agents and travel guides since they work as information carriers.
Personal selling is the personal presentation of a tangible product or
intangible services or ideas to the personal customers. It is important
to mention that in the tourism industry, the personnel who attend
tourists form an essential ingredient of the product, such as sales
personnel are found responsible for dealing with customers behind the
counter, the resort representatives cater to the need of tourists when
they reach the destination etc. all of them play a vital role in ensuring
that the tourism products satisfy the tourists. The phrase- the
customer is always right applies specifically to the tourism industry. No
reduction in price would compensate for impolite and indecent travel
guide, a solvent waiter and a surly or a haughty coach driver. These
facts are testimony to the proposition that the travel business is linked
with the performance and behaviour of sales personnel or travel staff.

Telemarketing: it is a method of selling in which a professionally

sound telemarketer expands the business. The quality of technology
and the communicative ability of the telemarketers determine the
magnitude of success of this component. In tourism, the travel agents,
offices of airways, receptionist, secretaries can’t work efficiently if the
telephonic services are not up to the mark. This makes a strong
advocacy in favour of recruiting a person considered to be
professionally sound, personally-committed sales personnel having an
in-built creativity, innovation and imagination.
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.

There exist, however, a number of intermediaries in the tourism

marketing channel. It depends largely on the channel type. The
intangibility feature in the service sector prevents intermediaries from
taking possession or ownership of goods. Tourism, however, proves an
exception where cuisine and souvenirs are goods and ownership is
possible for the intermediaries.

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.

Like other industries, the tourism industry depends substantially on

management of human resources. The tourism industry is an amalgam
of the services of a lot of people and hence this industry cannot work
efficiently if the travel agents, tour operators and travel guides lack
world class professional excellence. Of course the offices of travel
agents depends on the new technology but after all employees and the
other staff contribute significantly to the process. The travel guides
need professional excellence since the projection of a positive image
regarding a destination in particular requires their due cooperation,
failing which even the world class services offered by the travel agents
are found meaningless. The tour operators also need to manage
human resources efficiently.
In the management of people, the related organizations are
required to think in favour of developing an ongoing training program
so that we find a close relation between the development of
technologies and the quality of personnel who are supposed to operate
and maintain the same. They need a lot of credentials to fulfill the
expectations of the customers. The organization has to make the
environmental conditions conducive and focus has to be laid on the
incentives to the employees for energizing the process of performance
orientation. Employee orientation requires due weightage to efficiency
generation, value-orientation and perfection.

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.

The Government plays an important role in providing the right kind of

people for this industry. As such there are a lot of Govt. and Pvt.
Institutes which offer training for the same. At present, the Ministry of
Tourism is running 21 Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs) and
Catering Technology and 14 Food craft Institutes (FCIs). The IHMs
provide 3-year Diploma in Hotel Management, 1- 1/2 year Post-
Graduate Diploma in Accommodation Operations, 1-1/2 year Post-
Graduate Diploma in Dietetics and Hospital Food Science, 1-1/2 year
Certificate course in Food Production, 6- month Certificate course in
Food & Beverage Services, 6- month Certificate course in Hotel and
Catering Management, 1-1/2-year Post Diploma in Hotel Administration
and P.G. Diploma in Fast Food Operations. The FCIs are engaged in
providing the craft Diploma in Cookery, Food & Beverage Service/
Restaurant & Counter service, Reception & Book Keeping, House
Keeping and Bakery & Confectionery. The training courses run by the
Institutes are designed to suit the needs of the various target groups.

Apart from this The Indian Institute of Travel Management (IITM),

established in 1983, by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is
filling the vacuum for an institute that develops manpower exclusively
for the tourism industry. The institute has successfully undertaken
major initiatives for developing human resources required for the
tourism industry. The institute took its shape after the National
Committee of Tourism, which comprised members of Parliament,
recommended that an institute catering to the requirements of tourism
industry be set up immediately. The purpose of the institute is to
provide academic opportunities to graduates and undergraduates
directly and in collaboration with the leading institutes and universities,
for successful careers in Holiday and Leisure Management, tour
operation, transportation, accommodation and interpretation services.
The institute is working with the objective of total professionalism of
human resources engaged in business of tourism through diplomas
after graduation, specially designed practical training and field
research, foreign language training programs, executive development
programs for retired defense service personnel, workshops, seminars
and conference, tourism orientation talks at school and college levels
and tourism promotion competition among young generation. A
student who graduates from IITM is absorbed in the middle level
executive positions in travel agencies, with tour operators, transport
companies, hotels, domestic and international airlines, cargo services,
besides getting into government jobs. The institute is also offering
courses in computer applications and software studies, basic course of
air travel fares and ticketing, basic course on airlines, travel agencies
and tour operation management, basic course in air and sea cargo
service management, basic course on computer application in travel
and tourism industry, diploma in tourism and travel management and
foreign language. Apart from IITM there are other institutes like The
Institute of Hotel, Cargo and Tourism Management (IHCTM), another
one run by World Tourism Organization and various other private
institutes catering to the needs of the industry.

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