Words: 2874
When it comes to Tourism, it is almost impossible to not look at the emerging economies which have ancient history ties and one of such blend Is found in the golden bird and one of the strongest and oldest care takers of human history “INDIA”. This essay will absorb all the concepts of tourism marketing in relation to heritage Tourism in India. This paper will try to make the practical link between theoretical knowledge of tourism. What is Tourism? Tourism Is travel for frivolous, leisure, or corporate purposes. According to World
Tourism Organization the definition of tourist Is as people who travels and stay In different environment for not more than consecutive 365 days for various different purposes. Tourism is vital for some countries and in some cases. Tourism helps in bringing huge amounts of income which can be done in payment for goods and services. It is accounting for 30% of the world’s exports of services, and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. (www. Wakefield. Org/wick/tourism). It not only brings In money to the country but also generates employment In the service sector which Is elated to tourism In some or the other way. Mom of the examples of such Industries are cruise ships, taxicabs and airlines; hospitality services, such as Resorts, budget accommodation and hotels; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theatres. Present Tourist Number Game There has been hike of 4% (US $1075 billion) in receipts from International tourism in 2012. Equal percentage of hike has been observed in tourist arrivals which reached to 1035 million in 2012. * The exports which were generated only from the international tourism were recorded 1 . Rolling US $ which was because of the increase In receipts from International passenger transport (US $21 9 Billion) In 2012. * In first four months of 2013 there has been arrival of 12 million extra Forecast predicts that Europe, East Asia and the pacific (including India) and America will get most of the tourist (717 million, 397 million and 282 million respectively). (Annexed l) (PR 13033, Madrid, 15th May 2013, wry. WTFO. Org) Heritage tourism industry in India The rich history, varied culture and diversity in geographical areas making it perfect International destination to any kind of traveler.
It caters the need of any traveler. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along other types of tourism. There are different castes and religion of people who resides in India who have their own sets of belief and practices which guide them through their lives. The monuments of India are since medieval time and have their own significance. Apart from the historical monuments which depict the heritage of India, there are also the religion constructions such as temple, Mosques, Buddhist tombs, Churches etc. Which are of equal old age and attract ample amount of domestic as well as international tourists.
Indian heritage and culture is quiet ancient. Indian civilization is one of the oldest of all the civilizations of the world and it requires ages go through the entire history in short time. Let’s have a glimpse on the major Indian historical eras (Source: http:// www. Madeline. Com/travel/Indiana/history. HTML) Indian Tourism Statistics * Tourism generates a huge amount $ 121 Billion which is 6. 4% of Indian’s GAP in the year 2011. * 7. 9% (39. 3 million Jobs) was dependent on tourism. * There has been a flying growth of 229% in last two decades in this sector. *
There are bright chances of this sector to expand with the soaring rate of 7. 7% in the next decade. * World and tourism Council has given 5th rank to India among the countries with fastest growing tourism industry. The organization predicted the annual growth of 8. 8% in next decade. * India ranks 38th in the world as far as tourist arrivals are concerned. (Source: http://www. Madeline. Com/travel/heritage/) Market Size Worth of US $ 6561. 78 million has been recorded as inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FAD) into the hotel and tourism industry from April 2000 to January 013.
This data has been provided by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIP), Ministry of Commerce. Fats have shown a growth of 2. 8 per cent in March 2013 over March 2012 while the growth rate in Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEES) from tourism stood at 21 per cent over the same period in rupee terms. FAT during March 2013 was recorded at 640,000 as compared to 623,000 during the month of March 2012. The Visa on Arrival (OVA) Scheme of the Government of India has registered a growth of 54. 6 per cent in February 2013. A total number of 1,947 Voss were issued last onto as compared to 1,259 Voss issued in February 2012. As of Marketing in Tourism- Apart from Kettle who introduced AS, there are various author who believes tourism being a service industry should have APS. According to Middletown the APS of services marketing are as follows:- Indian Context – Product – Focusing only on Heritage Tourism, the Monuments, Forts, Museums, Temples, Caves, gardens, Historical places are the Product offered by India to its traveler. E. G. Of such monuments are Gateway of India, India gate, Red Fort, Tag mall, Junta caves, Ramshackle, Trait Bali etc. Price – This is one of the interesting facts about Heritage tourism in India.
The entire place which comes under the heritage tourism doesn’t have any entry fees. It states that the product doesn’t have any price tag attached to it but it does have the traveling cost. For domestic tourists it’s the interstate traveling and transportation costs but for international tourists it also a visa cost to enter the country premises. Place – The location of India is such that it holds various weather conditions and environmental diversification. Indian heritage has been so wide and diverse that it scattered all round the country. Every single state has its own rich ancient history.
Promotion – Ministry of Indian Tourism is the sole identity running the tourism of India. It has been one the active ministries in India as tourism contributes in magnifying way to Indian’s Economy. India has been promoted as most favorable tourism destination on a global level. The ministry has been taking part in various international submits and the one’s organized by World Trade Organization. India has been running two campaigns “INCREDIBLE INDIA” and “HUMAN SE RAZOR” on global level since 2005. Source: annual report 2012-2013,Ministry of Tourism, Gobo of India).
The series of INCREDIBLE INDIA advertisements are even presently running on globally broadcasted channels. The advertisement was covered by Euro sport channel in LONDON OLYMPICS 2012. People – This is the most important factor in any service marketing. Because of the characteristic of intangibility, customers recognize or judge the product either by the person representing it or the physical evidence. There are number of people involved in Tourism marketing. The best example of physical evidence had been depicted in one of the series of Advertising Campaign TAHITI DEVON BEHAVE” (Guest is God).
It is people who can make the traveling experience of the tourist good or worst. Not only agencies but it’s also the local residents of India responsible for the memorable trip of tourists coming to motherland. India has always been a hospitable country where it has been taught to every child how to respect elders or guests. It has been in their upbringing. The People involved particularly in context to India will be explained in the coming sections. Process – Tourism Marketing of Nation also involves a Process. There are umpteen products which can be made to Brand the nation globally and attract the tourists.
The process involves :- * Identifying number of Products for nation Tourism branding * Choose Umbrella Branding or Regional Branding * Studying the behavior of market and consumer * Choose the Target costumer various agencies to Create and Package * Tie ups with various countries to promote the package * Implementing the Campaign * Marketing audit * Smooth functioning of Campaign Physical Evidence – There has been some the series of Campaign made to make the people aware to stop destroying the heritage buildings.
The initiative of CLEAN INDIA has been taken by Ministry of tourism where cleaning drives will take place in various heritage sights to keep the place clean and in good condition to visit. * S-T-P (Segmentation, Target and Positioning) * Segmentation- Segmentation in Tourism Industry can be done in two ways:- (I) Trip Descriptors- It shows the kinds of trips People are looking out for. It can be Leisure trip, Cultural trip, Adventure trip, Meeting friends and relatives, Business trip, medical trip, Wellness trip etc. It) Tourist Descriptors – The second major focuses on he person who wants to make a trip.. Some of the questions while doing this type of segmentation would be who wants what, why when where and how much? While answering these questions the factors which come into picture are as follows:- * Who – socio demographic data * Wants what – Behavioral Segmentation * When – Time, Occasion, Season * Where – Geographical Segmentation * How much – Frequency Indian Context As the Essay purely focuses on the heritage and pilgrimage as a product, the trip descriptor segmentation would be cultural Trip.
The travel descriptors for heritage ours of India are as follows:- Who – Any class/ Age up to roars/ International as well as regional tourist/ any gender Wants What – A flair for historic Places, Arts and Culture/ Spiritual When – Seasonal (As some of the Temples and monuments gives entry only for some particular season or months) Where – Any region of India How much – Any number of times. The duration could last from days to 2 months with groups which consist of people who has the above traits.
Targeting is done to narrow down the focus to the horizon which will yield maximum profit and concentrated efforts concerned only to that group. Heritage attracts almost everybody. There is no age bar when the various significant monuments are the product s but it also includes the pilgrimages. Looking internationally it won’t create any difference but domestically it is regarded as places only for aged tourist. The targeting will differ on region basis.
Internationally it will be open to all ages but domestically it will be for newly married couples, aged people or for the people with keen interest in Heritage Heritage attracts almost everybody. There is no age bar when the various significant monuments are the product s but it also includes the pilgrimages. Looking internationally it won’t create any difference but domestically it is regarded as places only for aged tourist. The targeting will differ on region basis.
Internationally it will be open to all ages but domestically it will be for newly married couples, aged people or for the people with keen interest in Heritage Positioning – There are various in which a country can promote its tourism. It can be on the basis of its natural beauty, Infrastructure, Advance facilities, Seasons, Culture etc. Positioning is the way a country wants to portrait itself in international market. Positioning can be done as umbrella branding or could also be segregated depending on the products which the sates of the country has to offer.
If the offering differs then it is decentralized. India has positioned itself as an umbrella brand showing all possible things which can be done, places can be seen, culture to be explored. From nature to culture, it has every product which anybody would like to experience. Apart from the INCREDIBLE INDIA campaign there is also other State branding. As India is so diversified, the states have different offerings and therefore it makes logic to market heir unique selling points which will lose its essence in umbrella branding.
For e. G. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadia, Kraal have their Branding and campaigns running. India has positioned itself as an umbrella brand showing all possible things which can be done, places can be seen, culture to be explored. From nature to culture, it has every product which anybody would like to experience. Apart from the running. Social * Culture diversification * Social class differentiation * Prevalence of caste system * Increasing level of knowledge about international norms * Political scenario of India
Political * Amendments in rules and regulation in relation to tourism association with international countries and agencies Technological * Frequency in transportation medium * Introduction of digitally available information * Gadgets with new route finding and browsing applications Economic * Strength or weakness of Indian rupee * International Inflation * Level of inflation in transportation medium * Level of inflation in food and beverages * Level of inflation in accommodation and infrastructure * Tie ups and Agencies and their role in running the tourism industry Challenges faced by Indian Tourism
Potential for the travel and tourism industry in India is enormous. However, at the same time, the industry faces numerous challenges, of which the most critical is lack of proper infrastructure.
Various challenges/issues faced by the domestic travel and tourism industry in India: Lack of proper infrastructure Human resources Service levels Lack of adequate marketing and promotion Taxation Security Regulatory issues Infrastructure needs for the travel and tourism industry range from physical infrastructure such as ports of entry to modes of transport to urban infrastructure such as access roads, electricity, water supply, sewerage and telecommunication. The sectors related to the travel and tourism industry include airlines, surface transport, accommodation (hotels), and infrastructure and facilitation systems, among others.
Human resource Availability of skilled manpower is a major challenge faced by the travel and tourism industry, one of the largest employment generators in the country. To sustain growth in the travel and tourism industry, trained manpower/ workforce is required at every level ?? managerial, supervisory, skilled or semi-skilled. Challenges faced at each bevel are different. Attrition, shortage of tourism training infrastructure, qualified trainers, and lack of proper strategies and policies for human resource development also affect the industry.
The industry needs to address these problems at the earliest. Service level In addition to tour operators and hotel staff, tourists interact with persons from different backgrounds, occupations and experience. Such people include staff at bus/ railway station, immigration staff at airports, taxi/coach operators, ticketing/ travel agencies, small hotels, Dhabi/roadside eateries, staff at heritage sites, and tour dudes, among others. The degree of service offered by these various stakeholders tourist destination.
Marketing and promotion Marketing and promotion of India as a major tourist destination is critical for the industry to achieve its potential. Lack of adequate budgetary support for promotion and marketing, compared with competing tourist destinations, is a major reason for India lagging behind as a tourist destination. Travel and tourism in India is a high-taxed industry, which makes India expensive as a tourist destination. This is affecting the growth of the industry in India and India is going out to other low-cost destinations. Inbound tourism is the one most affected.
Various taxes are levied across the entire industry right from tour operators, transporters, airline industry to hotels and these include service tax, luxury tax, tax on transportation, tax on aviation turbine fuel (airline industry), and various taxes on transportation. In addition, these tax rates tend to vary across different states in the country. Security has been a major problem as well for growth of tourism for a number of years. Terrorist attacks or political unrest in different parts of the country have adversely affected sentiments of foreign tourists.
Terror attacks at Iambi in November 2008 dealt a strong blow to tourism in the country. The terror attacks raised concerns of safety. In addition, insurgency in different parts of the country also mars Indian’s image as a safe destination. Cybercaf?? is another major challenge the travel industry faces. Use of Internet in the travel and tourism industry has increased rapidly in recent years and has emerged as one of major segments for online spends. However, some of the biggest frauds have been detected in this segment and the issue of online security has assumed significant importance.
Regulatory issues For inbound international tourists, visa procedures are seen as a hindrance. A number of countries competing with India for tourists provide visa on arrival. India should provide visa on arrival for more countries or for certain categories of tourists for a specific duration. Forecast of Indian Tourism The Tourism 2020 Vision forecasts show that international tourist arrivals are expected to reach over 1. 56 billion by the year 2020. This demonstrates an annual growth rate of 4. 1 per cent over the period 1995-2020.
Long-haul (interregional) travel accounted for 18 per cent of all international trips; by 2020 this is expected to increase to 24 per cent. Conclusion This essay has given a clear picture of tourism industry as a whole and Heritage tourism of India in particular. It has also compared the overall scenario of tourism with the one in India. The theories of services marketing have been best suited to define the Indian tourism market. Also getting broader picture by incorporating the growth factors, Challenges, Market size and forecast. Like India, Tourism industry in total and in India is also emerging and expanding.