Tourism in Rajasthan: An exploratory study of marketing & policy
A Dissertation by
Ritu Shukla PPM-24
Towards Partial Fulfillment of PGDPPM Program 2008-10 Under the Guidance of
Dr. Avinash Kapoor
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE
Management Development Institute Gurgaon, India 1
DECLARATION This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “Tourism in Rajasthan: An exploratory study of marketing & policy” is a piece of original bona-fide research done by me, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management (PGDPPM) 2008-10 at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. This work has not been submitted in part or full to any other Institute or University, in India or abroad, for any degree or diploma. My indebtedness to other works has been duly acknowledged at the relevant places.
(Ritu Shukla)
Supervisor: Dr. Avinash Kapoor Assistant Professor Management Development Institute Gurgaon
2
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ritu Shukla has carried out her dissertation work in partial fulfillment for the award of the PG Diploma in Public Policy & Mangement on the topic “Tourism in Rajasthan: An exploratory study of Marketing & Policy” during June 2009 to Feb2010. The work presented embodies the original work of the candidate to the best of our knowledge. Date:
Signature of the Supervisor
Signature of the Chairperson, School of Public Policy, MDI
3
Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge here the guidance I received from my Guide, Dr. Aviansh Kapoor who took such keen interest in my efforts and helped me in finding the way through the maze. I would also like to mention the constant encouragement & support from my parents, Yashpal and Shakuntla Shukla who always encouraged me to aim for the best, and also my family members especially my brother Kapil and bhabhi Mamta, without which this work would not have been completed. My special thanks to my friends Kesat and Dinesh who helped helped me in collection of data. data. I would also like to thank Vishal, Preeti and my uncle Arun Shukla for their help in collating the data.
4
Table of Contents
Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review 3. Research Methodology 4. Observations and Analysis 5. Conclusions/ Recommendations 6. References 7. Annexures A 1 :India Tourism Statistics, 2008 A 2: National Tourism Policy, 2002 A 3: Rajasthan Tourism Policy, 2001 A 4: Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy, 2007 A 5: Adopt A Monument Scheme, 2005 A 6: Questionnaire for Tourists A7:
Questionnaire
for
resort
owners/hoteliers/tour
operators/travel agents etc A8: Schedule for interviewing Govt. officials
5
Abstract
Rajasthan, the land of chivalry, royalty, rich art &culture, traditions, heritage, a wide platter of tourist spots, music, rustic as well as royal beauty to savour the tastes of a variety of tourists. It has the potential to offer most menorable life experiences to those who have wander lust. The state has been one of the few states which have been aggresively promoted by the Incredible India Campign.The state was one of the first few states to come out with a state Tourism Policy in 2001. It has the advantage of being close and part of the National Capital Region and also on the Golden Triangle Circuit. But does this all translates into the magnitude of growth the state should have achieved. The study is an effort to find out whether the state has been able to tap its full tourist potential or not. It also studies the marketing policy adopted by the state government. Are the promotional efforts undertaken by the state supply driven or are customer centric? It also studies the perception of the varius stakeholders to the various government policies. The study is basically an exploratory study aimed at exploring the inititiativs for tourism promotion. Finally, the author draws certain
6
conclusions based on the analysis of primary data collected by the author and gives her suggestions.
7
List of Tables 1. Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism in India (1991 to
2009) 2. Number of Foreign Tourist with Percentage Share of
Rajasthan (2001 to 2005) 3. Number of Foreign Tourist Arrival in Rajasthan (1971 to
2008) 4. Domestic Tourist Statistics (2004-2006) 5. No. Of Tourists visiting Rajasthan in 2004-05(country wise) 6. Country-wise Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Rajasthan (2001 to
2005) 7. Number and Percentage Share of Top Ten States in Foreign
Tourist Visits in India (2008) 8. Infrastructure
Requirements/investment
for
Tourism
Infrastructure in Rajasthan (2001 to 2020) 9. State-wise Number of Recognised Tour Operators, Travel
Agencies, Tourist Transport Operators, Adventure Tour Operatorsand Domestic Tour Operators in India (As on 31.12.2007)
8
List of symbols/abbreviations
AAM AMA ASI Aus AID DMO DOT FAR FEE FTA GOI GSA IL&FS
RRW RTDC SPV TAF
Adopt A Monument American Marketing Association Archaeological Survey of India Australian Agency for Interantional Development Destination Marketing Organization Department of Tourism Floor Area Ratio Foreign Exchange Earnings Foreign Tourist Arrival Government of India General Sales Agents Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited Indian Tour Operators Promotion Council Jaipur Development Authority Ministry of Environment & Forests Ministry of Tourism Palace on Wheels Rajasthan Institute of Tourism and TravelManagement Royal Rajasthan on Wheels Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Special Purpose Vehicle Tourist Assistant Force
TIB
Tourist Information Bureaus
TRC
Tourist Reception Centres
ITOPC JDA MoEF MOT POW RITTMAN
9
UNWTO
United Natins World Tourism Organization
10
11
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A routine world where everything is predictable makes life monotonous and boring. Human beings have always looked for ways and means to break monotony in their life. This probably has taken man to distant places and, thus, has evolved the concept of tourism. In general terms, tourism is defined as travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization(WTO) defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited”. Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism can be considered as one of the most remarkable socio-economic phenomena of the twentieth century. From an activity “enjoyed by only a small group of relatively well-off people” during the first half of the last century, it gradually became a mass phenomenon during the post-World War II period, particularly from the 1970s onwards. It now reaches larger and larger numbers of people throughout the world, and is a source of employment for a significant segment of the labour force. Importance of Tourism Over time, an increasing number of destinations have opened up and invested in tourism development, turning modern tourism into a key driver for socioeconomic progress, through the creation of jobs and enterprises, infrastructure development, and the export income earned. Tourism has become one of the major international trade categories. The overall export income generated by international tourism including passengers transport reached US$ 1.1 trillion in 2008, or US$ 3 billion a day. Tourism exports account for as much as 30% of the world’s exports of commercial services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. Globally, as an export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, 12
chemicals and automotive products. For many developing countries it is one of the main income sources and the number one export category, creating much needed employment and opportunities for development. The worldwide contribution of tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at some 5%. Tourism’s contribution to employment tends to be slightly higher and is estimated in the order of 6-7% of the overall number of jobs (direct and indirect). For advanced, diversified economies, the contribution of tourism to the GDP ranges from approximately 2% for countries where tourism is a comparatively small sector, to over 10% for countries where tourism is an important pillar of the economy. For small islands and developing countries, or specific regional and local destinations where tourism is a key economic sector, the importance of tourism tends to be even higher. Incredible India India has a huge potential for tourism and has been marketing its tourism potential aggressively during the last one decade. Prior to this, we were following a policy of tourism (1982) in an environment of closed economy with strict licensing procedures. The then policy did not emphasize any role for the private sector and foreign investment was also not envisaged. As a result, there was not much development of the sector. The National Action Plan for tourism announced in May 1992 had thus set the target to increase India's share in the world tourism market to 1% by 2000 AD but unfortunately this is yet to be achieved. To be a part of the tourism revolution taking place across the world, India came out with its National Tourism Policy in 2002. The policy recognized the need to change its strategies and tools of its machinery of implementation to partake in the global tourism revolution as with the existing policies India’s share of world tourist traffic had remained static through out the decade at 0.38%. The policy of the Centre and the sustained efforts of the various tourism rich states
13
borne some result as by 2008 India’s share in the world tourist arrivals increased to 0.58% and its ranking increased to 41. As far as the world tourism receipts are concerned, India’s ranking rose to 23 and its share to1.28%(India Tourism Statistics, 2008). Rajasthan – Padharo Mere Des Amongst the various states with great tourist potential, Rajasthan occupies an important place. Rajasthan with its rich historical, cultural and environmental treasures, coupled with colorful fairs and festivals and friendly people has become a favourite destination for tourists from all over the world. Except for a sea-beach and snow-clad mountains, it offers everything to tourists. No tourist itinerary is complete without inclusion of the tourist spots of Rajasthan. So whether it is the Pink City of Jaipur – which has the additional advantage of lying on the Golden Triangle Circuit comprising of Delhi-. Agra- Jaipur- or the picturesque sand dunes of Jaisalmer and Jodhpur (now the favorite of celebrities such as Maddona, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolly and many more) or the Pushkar lake and the Ajmer Sharif or the City of Lakes, Udaipur, the state has something or the other to offer to everyone. The eco tourists can admire the widelife and take the tiger trail – yes, the tigers are still there (some 40 of them have been reported in and around Ranthambore National Park and Sawai Madhopur wildlife sanctuary as per a census conducted in May 2009 says a relase of the Raj. Forest Dept, Feb, 2010) - or you can simply sit back and indulge in bird watching in the wetlands of keoladeo bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur. The state government had given priority to this sector and the allocation in the Five years Plan for tourism is constantly increasing. In Rajasthan, tourism is the third largest employer after agriculture and textiles sector. As per the present data available from the Ministry of Tourism, Rajasthan occupies the 4 Th position (with 5% share of the total domestic tourists) and 5 th position (with 10.5 % share of the total foreign tourists) respectively as far as the numberof domestic and foreign tourist arrivals in the country is concerned.
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Its importance could also be seen from the fact that the state was one of the few states which had come out with its state tourism policy in 2001. Tourism has a significant multiplier effect on the economy. It is estimated that every rupee spent by a tourist changes hands 13 times, and that every hotel room generates direct employment to three persons and indirect employment to eight persons. With its rich cultural heritage, Tourism is a focus sector in Rajasthan. Keeping this in view, Government of Rajasthan granted status of the industry to tourism sector in 1989, therefore, all the facilities and concessions available to industries in the State are also available to tourism units. Besides the department of Tourism, the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC)
is
developing the tourist centers (by strengthening the infrastructure facilities in terms of accommodation, catering transport services and boating and sight seeing facilities) in Rajasthan since 1978. The growth in the sector is led by private sector with majority of resorts, luxury hotels, and heritage hotels being opened in the recent years in the state coming up in the private sector. With a view to bridging the gap between current demand and supply of hotel accommodation in Rajasthan and in view of the projected growth of tourism in the coming decade, 'Hotel Policy-2006' was announced by the State Government in June 2006. “Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy 2007” has replaced this policy. Under 'Hotel Policy 2006', concessions were available to the Star category of Hotels only whereas under new policy concessions will also be available to other categories of hotels, heritage hotels and other tourism units such as camping sites, holiday resorts and restaurants etc. Rajasthan has a developed tourism infrastructure, with over 6,000 hotel rooms in more than 150 hotels. Of these, over 1,400 rooms (54 hotels) belong to the heritage category. Prominent tourism industry players with strong presence in Rajasthan include the Indian Hotels, ITC-Sheraton, the Oberoi and Holiday Inn. Rajasthan, the land of unending tales of glory and valor, is dotted with a number of architectural marvels. These erstwhile residences of the Maharajas of the bygone era nowadays serve as the Heritage hotels in Rajasthan. The
15
spectacular architecture, beautiful interior and awestruck exterior of these forts, palaces and havelis act as ideal destinations to spend the time in the royal ambience. The state has the largest number of heritage hotels in India. The hospitality you will get in the heritage hotels of Rajasthan will leave you speechless. To further give boost and to protect the monuments, Rajasthan Government
has
launched’
Adopt-a-Monument’
scheme
for
heritage
conservation in 2005. The scheme envisages adoption of a monument by any person with a view to restoring and maintaining it for a period of 10-30 years.
To propel the growth of the tourism sector, the state government has realized the need for a strong infrastructure in the form of roads, airports, urban infrastructure. Due to the significant nature of the investment required and paucity of funds available with the State Government, private sector participation in infrastructure projects is essential to fructify the investments. To facilitate the development, the state government has invited private sector investment in Roads, Power, Tourism, Urban Infrastructure, and Industrial Infrastructure etc. Purpose of the study Various policies have been introduced by the state government for the promotion of tourism in the state and also promotion efforts undertaken by the Union Government. But whether they have borne the desired results or not. The study is an effort to find out whether the full potential of theTourism sector of Rajasthan has been tapped or not; how successful has been the Tourism Policy and marketing strategy as adopted by the state in this regard; and how it is perceived by the various stakeholders. It will also dwell on some of the questions such as: Has Rajasthan fully exploited its tourism potential or there is plenty of beautiful, rustic and royal beauty of Rajasthan that still remains untapped and unexploited? Has the Tourism policy being able to provide the required environment for the rapid growth of tourism in the state? Is it making the required progress in the right
16
direction? Is the reality the same as envisaged by the policy? What is the response of the implementers of the policy? Are there service delivery and implementation problems? What are the perceptions of the various stakeholders, has the approach being participatory. How is the private sector participating in the development scenario? What is the hidden treasure that needs to be unraveled? Are there gaps in the potential and its realization? What has been the marketing strategy of Rajasthan for the tourism sector? What are the promotions measures taken to strengthen the brand Rajasthan.
Significance It is expected that the research would help in better understanding of the growth of the tourism sector of Rajasthan. It would help in identifying the gaps in the implementation of the Government’s policies and also bring out the requirements as felt by the various stakeholders. It may provide a sound board to the authorities. The marketing potential of the state as a tourist destination was explored and the study would provide an analysis of the marketing strategy. This would make it possible to understand what appeals and is favorable to the growth of the sector. As part of the study, an effort has been made to find out how tangibles and intangibles have to be marketed and how the promotional and branding strategies can make a difference. The author has also attempted to give suggestions to bridge the various gaps in implementation. Flow of the study The Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the subject as to what tourism means. It also gives an over-view of the tourism scenario worldwide, in India and in the study area i.e the state of Rajasthan. It mentions how the tourism industry is now on the road to revival after suffering due to the western economic melt down. It also briefly gives an over-view of the rich tourist potential of the state of Rajasthan and briefly mentions the policy interventions undertaken by the state governemnt. It also states the purpose of the study as “to find out whether the full
17
potential of theTourism sector of Rajasthan has been tapped or not; how successful has been the Tourism Policy and marketing strategy as adopted by the state has been in this regard and how it is perceived by the various stakeholders.” The chapter ends with what the researcher believes will be the significance of the study. The Chapter 2 covers the literature review undertaken by the reseracher to study the problem. This includes the various policies of the Government of India (National Tourism Policy2002, Tourism Policy of Rajasthan, 2001; Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy, 2007) and also new initiatives undertaken for the growth of tourism in the state- including niche tourism areas such as caravan tourism, adventure sports, golf tourism. The structures implementing the various policies were also reviewed. The various studies undertaken by the government such as for collecting the Rajasthan Tourism Statistics undertaken by AC Nielson ORG Marg in 2004-05, Rajasthan Infrastructure Vision 2025 were also reviewed. The marketing principles, the various marketing concepts such as marketing mix, SWOT analysis etc were also reviwed in the light of the literature available. The Chapter 3 gives the methodlgy used for the research. It gives step-by-step account of what the reseracher undertook as part of the research design. The Research problem, the research questions are all covered under the chapter. The theoretical framework for the reserach, the identification of the dependent and independent variables and also extraneous variables are given in details. It also gives an account of how the primary data was collected, the sample size, use of the Likert scale for assessing attitudes of the respondents. The Chapter 4 is an account of the observations and analysis, which are drawn after the process of data collection. This includes anlaysis of the data that has been collected from all the three stakeholders under three different heads.
18
The Chapter 5
gives conclusions that emanates from the analysis and
observations from the data that the researcher had collected. Basd on this, the researcher had given her recommendations. The Chapter 6 gives a list of the references and the chapter 7 is a compilation of the annexures.
19
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Tourism Various authors have defined tourism. While Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a good working definition of tourism as "the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their their needs." Macintosh and Goeldner Goeldner (1986) have defined tourism is "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors." But the widely used definition is the one given by the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is defined by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) as comprising the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. The WTO further explains that “Tourism” refers to all activities of visitors including both “tourists (overnight visitors)” and “same-day visitors”. Tourist Destination Many new destinations have emerged alongside the traditional ones of Western Europe and North America. A tourist destination is an amalgam of tourist products, services and public goods consumed under the same brand name, thus offering the consumer an integrated experience (Buhalis, 2000; Leiper, 1995). Rather than describing it in terms of a well-defined geographical area such as a country, island or town (Davison and Maitland, 1997; Hall, 2000), contemporary definitions view a destination as a blend of consumers’ space and tourism products providing a holistic experience which is subjectively interpreted according to the consumer’s travel i inerary, cultural background, purpose of visit, past experience, etc. (Fuchs and Weiermair, 2003).
20
Growth in Numbers Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and diversification to become one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world .As growth has been particularly high in the world’s emerging regions, the share in international tourist arrivals received by developing countries has steadily risen, from 31% in 1990 to 45% in 2008. As per WTO, International tourist arrivals have continued to grow – from 25 million in 1950, to 277 million in 1980, to 438 million in 1990, to 684 million in 2000. In 2007, there were over 903 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 6.6% as compared to 2006. Despite the uncertainties uncertainties in the global economy, international tourist arrivals during the first four months of 2008 followed a similar growth trend as in the same period in 2007.However, as a result of the economic crisis of 2008, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months, while growth from January to April 2008 had reached an average 5.7% compared to its 2007 level. However, growth returned to international tourism in the last quarter of 2009 contributing to better than expected full-year results, according to the latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. International tourist arrivals fell by an estimated 4% in 2009 to 880 million. This represents a slight improvement on the previous estimate as a result of the 2% upswing in the last quarter of 2009. In contrast, international tourist arrivals shrank by 10%, 7% and 2% in the first three quarters respectively. Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East led the recovery with growth already turning positive in both regions in the second half of 2009. Prospects have also improved with arrivals now forecast to grow between 3% and 4% in 2010.This outlook is confirmed by the remarkable rise of the UNWTO Panel ofExperts’ Confidence Index. WTCC has predicted that the number of world travelers would go up to 1600 million by the year 2020 AD. Tourism Results
The WTO ‘s 2009 International
and Prospects for 2010 presents a hopeful picture for the
tourism industry worldwide. Similarly to the situation in previous crisis,
21
consumers tended to travel closer to home during 2009. Several destinations have seen domestic tourism endure the crisis better and even grow significantly, often with the support of specific government measures aimed at leveraging this trend. This was the case among many other countries, of China, Brazil and Spain, where the domestic market, representing a large share of the total demand, contributed to partially offsetting the decline in international tourism. Tourism in India As per
Indian Tourism Statistics 2008(released by the Ministry of Tourism,
attached at Annexure A1), number of foreign tourist arrivals in India is 5.37 million and the annual growth rate is 5.6%. India’s share of international tourist arrivals is 0.58%. India’s Rank in World Tourist Arrivas is 41. The share of India in International Tourism Receipts is 1.24%and India’s rank in World Tourism Receipts is 23. The number of domestic tourists visits to all states and UTs in 2008 was 562.92 million and an annual growth rate of 6.9%. As per the statistics available from Ministry of Tourism, the foreign exchange earnings from Tourism In India from 1991 to 2009 are given below. Table 1 Foreign
Exchange
Earnings
from
Tourism
in
India
(1991 to 2009#) Year
Foreign
Exchange %
Foreign
Exchange %
Earning (Rs. in Million) Change Earning (in Million US $) Change
1991
43180
-
1861
-
1992
59510
37.8
2126
14.2
1993
66110
11.1
2124
-0.1
1994
71290
7.8
2272
7.0
1995
84300
18.2
2583
13.7
1996
10046#
19.2
2832
9.6
1997
10511#
4.6
2889
2.0
1998
12150#
15.6
2948
2.0
22
1999
12951#
6.6
3009
2.1
2000
15626#
20.7
3460
15.0
2001
15083#
-3.5
3198
-7.6
2002
15064#
-0.1
3103
-3.0
2003
20729#
37.6
4463
43.8
2004
27944#
34.8
6170
38.2
2005
33123#
18.5
7493
21.4
2006*
39025#
17.8
8634
15.2
2007*
44360#
13.7
10729
24.3
2008$
50730#
14.4
11747
9.5
24693
-4.4@
5007
-21.6@
2009# (JanJune)
Source: Ministry of Tourism Govt. of India.
Tourism in Rajasthan Rajasthan has emerged as one of the top states as far as tourism is concerned. As per the Indian Tourism Statistics 2008, Rajasthan occupies the 4 th (with 5% share of the total domestic tourists) and 5 th position (with 10.5 % share of the total foreign tourists) respectively as far as the number of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals in the country is concerned. The share of Rajastahn in the total tourist arrivals have declined in the years 2002 and 2003 (because of the effect of 9/11 bombings in the US and overall world-wide dip in the sector). It has picked up again from 2004 onwards as could be seen from the table below.
Table 2 Number
of
Foreign
Tourist
with
Percentage
23
Share
of
Rajasthan
(2001 to 2005) Foreign
Tourist
Year Visits to all States (in Lakhs)
Foreign Tourist Visits %
6.08
11.2
2002 51.58
4.28
8.3
2003 67.08
6.29
9.4
204
9.72
11.7
11.31
11.4
2005*99.34 2005* 99.34
of
to Rajasthan (in Lakhs) Rajasthan
2001 54.36
82.97
Share
Note: * : Provisional. Source: Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question Question No 836, dated 01.08.2006.
The overall number of foreign tourists in the state from 1971 onwards to 2008 is given below. The numbers have risen from a mere 42,500 in 1971 to 6,23,100 in 2000 but then due to the WTC attacks it fell to 4,28,437 in 2001 but it picked up after two years and has now reached 14,77,646 a more than two fold increse in the course of 6 years. Table 3
Year 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Number of Foreign Tourist Arrival in Rajasthan (1971 to 2008) Foreign Tourist 42500 48350 54611 55781 66207 92272 125112 160134 195837 208216 220440 237444 266221 259637 24
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
268774 291763 348260 366435 419651 417641 494150 547802 540738 436801 534749 560946 605060 591369 562685 623100 608283 428437 628560 971772 1131164 1220164 1401042 1477646
Source: Department of Tourism, Govt. of Rajasthan
As far as the domestic tourits in Rjasthan are concerned, the table given below gives the three-year data from some of the states including Rajasthan.
Table 4 Domestic Tourists Statistics
25
Year Rajasthan Delhi Goa Kerala 2004 1,60,33,896 18,66,552 20,85,729 58,72,182
Tamil Nadu UP 4,22,79,838 8,83,71,247
MP 86,19,486
2005 1,87,87,298 20,61,782 19,65,343 59,46,,423 4,32,13,228 9,54,40,947
70,90,952
2006 2,34,83,287 22,37,130 20,98,654 62,71,724
5,83,40,008 10,55,49,478 1,10.62,640
Source:IT0PC (collated from data from states & UT tourism departments) As per the Tourism Policy of Rajathan 2002,the world famous "golden triangle" comprising of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur has put Jaipur on the world tourism map. 60% of international tourists visiting visiting India visit visit these places. The report also says that every rupee spent by a tourist in the State, changes hands thirteen times and every hotel room generate direct employment to three persons and indirectly to eight persons. According to a pilot survey conducted by ACNielsen ORG-MARG for Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in 2005-06, the highest number of tourists coming to India comes to Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu in the said period. As per another international survey that rated the world's top 133 tourist places, places, conducted by National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations, in 2009, Rajasthan is considered the world's 19th dream destination, the backwaters of Kerala have been rated 23rd.The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri together have found 30th place in the survey.One of the panelists has opined that Rajasthan is India's Tuscany, a region in North-Central Italy known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy.According to the survey, Rajasthan has a 'strong sense of cultural identity' and 'remarkable appeal and mystique'.However, the survey expressed its concern about the tourism benefits not reaching the local communities.
Tourist Arrivals For the Indian Tourism Sector, the year 2008-09 has been a year of challenge
26
and response. International tourist arrivals continued to deteriorate due to the impact of global economic crisis with the growth of overseas tourists visiting India slowing down to 5.6 per cent in 2008 as against 14.3 per cent in 2007(Annual Report, Ministry Of Tourism). Tourist footfalls had further declined in the aftermath of the co-ordinated terror-strike at Taj, the premier hotel in Mumbai, and several other places in the city. The chain of events had an impact on the tourist arrivals in India. This coupled with the May 13 th, 2008 series of bomb blasts that claimed more than 80 lives in Jaipur also had its impact. Nevertheless, Indian tourism sector outperformed the global growth of 2 per cent in international tourist arrivals in 2008.Foreign Tourist Arrivals( FTAs) during 2009 were 5.11 million with a growth rate of(-)3.3% as compared to theFTAs of 5.28 million and growth rate of 4% during 2008.Though the growth rate for 2009 is (-)3.3%, it is better than UNWTO’s projected growth rate of (-)6% to (-)4% for the world.FTAs during the Month of December 2009 were 6.46 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.34 lakh in December 2008 and 5.97 lakh in December 2007.The growth rate in FTAs in December 2009 over December 2008 works out to 21% which is highest positive growth registered in any month of 2009. As per the ACNielsen ORG-MARG survey,the survey, the total visitors (overnight visitors*+day tourists**) to the State of Rajasthanfor the period of April 2005 – March 2006 was 17549628, out of this, 9231132were Domestic, 1010904 were Foreign and 7307592 were Day tourists. Out of this, the highest number of tourist visiting the state were from France(in the said period) but in the total bed night spend tourists from UK and US were at the top and also for other years as could be seen from the table 5 below this table.
27
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Govt. Of India
The table below gives a nationality wise distribution of freign tourists coming to Rajasthan. Tourists from France, UK and US top the list. Table 6 Country-wise
Foreign
Tourist
Arrivals
in
Rajasthan
(2001 to 2005) Country
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005*
U.K
74776
48925
63950
91336
120169
France
89948
50890
94500
139565
169485
Italy
33359
22380
38122
59505
84780
Canada
15237
10720
22221
33731
52873
USA
41768
27873
41684
68535
105074
Germany
47761
30920
50006
71978
94056
Australia
24611
15830
23840
41090
61921
Switzerland
17147
20397
17211
29320
45662
28
Japan
29654
12564
18794
24811
29979
Srilanka
701
1439
2023
3263
311
Others
233321
186499
256209
408638
366854
Total
608283
428437
628560
971772
131164
*Provisional. Compiled from the statistics released by: Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No 836, dated 01.08.2006
However, as far as foreign tourists are concerned, Rajasthan continues to be among the top ten states in the country. Table 7 Number and Percentage Share of Top Ten States in Foreign Tourist Visits in
India
(2008) Foreign Tourist Visits * in 2008
States
Number Percentage Share (%)
Delhi
2339287
16.6
Maharashtra
2056913
14.6
Tamil Nadu
2029410
14.4
Uttar Pradesh
1610089
11.4
Rajasthan
1477646
10.5
West Bengal
1133671
8.0
Andhra Pradesh
789180
5.6
Kerala
598929
4.2
Himachal Pradesh
376736
2.7
Goa
351123
2.5
Total of Top 10 States
12762984 90.5
Others
1349606
Total
14112590 100.0
*Provisional
(Figures
for
Maharashtra
&
9.5
Chhattisgarh
have
been
estimated)
Source: Ministry of Tourism Govt. of India.
29
Tourism Policy Policy The word "policy" is not a tightly defined concept but a highly flexible one, used in different ways on different occasions. Anderson (1975) defines policy as a purposive course of action followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern. Policy comprises decisions taken by those with responsibility for a given policy arena, and these decisions usually take the form of statements or formal positions on an issue, which are then executed by the bureaucracy (Keely and Scooones 2003). Schneider and Ingram (1992) provide a seemingly comprehensive definition of policy, when they state “Policies are revelaed through texts, practises, symbols and discourses that define and deliver values including goods and services as well as regulations, income, status and other positively or negatively valued attributes”. National Tourism Policy, 2002 A NationaI Policy on Tourism highlighting the importance of the sector and the objectives of tourism development in the country was presented in the Parliament in 1982. The policy did not emphasize the role of private sector, and foreign investment was not envisaged. The policyaIso did not lay adequate emphasis on domestic tourism and the need need for product development. As such, the Ministry Ministry of Tourism
had
prepared
a
draft
National
Tourism
Development
Policy,2002(attached as Annexure A2) with the objective of positioning tourism as a major engine of economic growth and to harness its direct and multiplier effects for employment and poverty eradication in an environmentally sustainable manner. It was felt that at the institutional level, a framework would have to· be evolved that is Government-led, private sector driven and community-welfare oriented. Sustainability was envisaged to serve as the guiding star for the new Policy. The development and management strategies was to be so worked out as to ensure that tourism largely acts as a smokeless industry and its ecological footprints remain as soft as possible. No one engaged, directly or indirectly, in the tourism industry, is to be allowed to secure short-term gains by resorting to
30
what has been called the darker side of tourism. Neither over-exploitation of natural resources should be permitted nor the carrying capacity of the touristsites ignored. Special thrust was to be imparted to rural tourism and tourism in small settlements, where sizeable assets of our cultural and natural wealth exist. It was also envisaged in the policy that a section of the State police should be earmarked to act as tourrist police and special training should be imparted to it. Broadly the policy attempted to: -
•
Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth;
•
Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism for employment generation, economic development and providing impetus to rural tourism;
•
Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth.
•
Position India as a global brand to take advantage of the burgeoning global travel trade and the vast untapped potential of India as a destination;
•
Acknowledges the critical role of private sector with government working as a pro-active facilitator and catalyst;
•
Create and develop integrated tourism circuits based on India's unique civilization, heritage, and culture in partnership with states, private sector and other agencies;
•
Ensure that the tourist to India gets physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched, spiritually elevated and "feel India from within".
The Tourism Policy of Rajasthan, 2001 Recognising the potential attractions that Rajasthan has to offer to domestic and foreign tourists, the Government has accorded Tourism a special status. Tourism was declared industry in Rajasthan in the year 1989.A new pragmatic policy, taking into account the changing socio-economic and investment scenario in the State of Rajasthan and the emerging trends in the tourism phenomenon was thus announced in 2001(attached as Annexure A3). A3 ). The policy was announced with
31
the following objectives: •
Increase employment opportunities, especially in rural areas for uemployed rural youth.
•
Optimum utilisation of rich tourist resources of the State in order to attract the maximum number of domestic and international tourists;
•
To facilitate the growth of tourism in the State and to further involve the private sector in the development of tourism in Rajasthan;
•
Preservation
of
rich
natural
habitat
and
bio-diversity,
historical,
architectural and cultural heritage of Rajasthan; special emphasis on conservation of historical monuments in Rajasthan; •
To develop a ready market for the rich and varied handicrafts and cottage industries of Rajasthan; ensure welfare of artisans/ artistes;
•
To promote inter cultural understanding through religious / pilgrim tourism and fairs and festivals;
•
To promote socio-economic development of Rajasthan through Tourism with special thrust on backward areas;
•
To make tourism a "People's Industry" in the state;
•
To minimise the negative impacts of tourism and promote sustainable tourism;
•
To open new vistas in tourism like Adventure tourism, Eco-tourism, Camel/Horse safaris, River and Canal cruise, House boats in Rajasthan (Palace-On-Waves), Educational Tourism, Caravan Tourism and Village Tourism.
•
Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur and other cultural institutions will be associated with Tourism development.
32
Other policies of Rajasthan Government promoting tourism t ourism Land Bank Schene The Rajasthan Govt. with an objective for easy establishment of Tourist Units has launched an innovative scheme of Land Bank. This is in in accordance to the policy directives as laid in the Tourism Policy document.Under this scheme, such Govt. Land / Nazool properties which are being selected for establishment of Tourism units by the department be transferred to Land Bank for further disposal at level of DoT and RTDC. Such selected property are available for disposal in the "Land Bank" established in RTDC, so that entrepreneurs can invest in tourist units in the State. The disposal of the properties of Land Bank is by open two-stage bidding sanction. In the first stage, bids are evaluated on the basis of bidders experience in hotel industry, its financial standing and management capability etc. In the second stage, financial bids are invited from the short listed bidders of the first stage and thereafter the property is awarded as per the decision of the committee, which is communicated to the successful bidder. Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy, 2007 The Glorious Heritage and colorful culture of the state is a special attraction for Foreign Tourists. Heritage assets, found all over the state can be utilized for development of Tourism. During the last few years, there has been tremendous increase in the number of tourists to the State. However the infrastructural facilities have not kept pace. Presently there are 36,000 rooms available for Tourists and by year 2012 an additional 20,000 Hotel rooms would be required for tourists in the State. With this objective, the State Govt. had in 2006 announced a New Hotel Policy proposing several concessions. The concessions in the hotel Policy 2006 were to be extended to the Star category of Hotels only, whereas several other categories of hotels, heritage hotels and other tourism units such as camping sites, holiday resorts and restaurants etc. are also providing accommodation for tourists.
33
In this regard, Tourism unit as defined in rule 1AA of Rajasthan Land Revenue (Industrial Area Allotment) Rules, 1959, and Rule 2 (r) of Rajasthan Land Revenue (Conversion of Agricultural Land for Non-Agricultural purpose in Rural areas), Rule, 2007, includes all types of hotels, heritage hotel, holiday resorts etc. In view of the new definition of Tourism Unit, it has become essential for Tourism development not only to include classified hotels in the Hotel Policy but also to include all other category of hotels, heritage hotels and other tourism units in the New Policy. With this objective Rajasthan New Tourism Unit Policy 2007(attached as Annexure A4) was announced. The following concessions
and facilities have been made applicable applic able for all types of Tourism Units: – •
In
Rule
2(r)(d)
of
Rajasthan
Land
Revenue
(Conversion
ofAgricultural Land for Non-Agricultural purposes in rural areas), Rule, 2007, a restaurant having investment of Rs. 10.00 lacs or more, has been included. This investment will be increased to Rs.1.00 crore. •
Considering the new developments taking place in the Tourism sector and the possible need for inclusion of new definitions in the policy to avail of the benefits, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Principal
Secretary,
Urban
Governance
would
define
and
recommend to the concerned departments to include such activities as Tourism Units in applicable rules. •
Health Spa or other medical health related activities such as Yoga etc. attached with Tourism Units, Golf Academy, Golf Course, other Sports related activity would be included in the definition of Tourism Units in applicable rules.
34
Other Incentives available for establishment of Hotel Industries in Rajasthan The following incentives are available for establishing Hotel industries in the state: A.There A.There will be no conversion charges for conversion of Agriculture land in urban areas and conversion of agriculture land for non-agriculture purpose in rural areas under Tourism Unit Policy2007. B. Maximum land area for allotment of land has been increased and special reserve price has been kept from 10% to 50% of the commercial reserve price of the area for various Tourism Units under Tourism Unit Policy 2007. C. Regularization of residential land and buildings which are running as hotels or other tourisms units without permission and are also operational the same shall be regularized on merits basis on payment of 25% of regularization fees under Rajasthan Municipality Rule 2000 under Tourism Unit Policy 2007. D. FAR (Floor area ratio) for hotels already established will be increased from 1.75 to 2.0 to allow construction of additional floor under Tourism Unit Policy 2007. E. For new Hotel projects under Hotel policy 2006 (FAR) has been increased up to twice within scheme area subject to the condition that over all FAR of the
scheme
area
shall
not
exceed
1
(one).
F. Fifty percent of the conversion charges shall be charged in case of conversion of land for development of Tourism Hub as declared by the Tourism Department Government of Rajasthan under the provisions of Tourism
Hub
Policy.
G. 50% concession in Stamp Duty and in conversion charges for developers
35
of amenities around monuments (amenities- toilets, communication, and restaurant, parking facilities) under the provisions of Tourism Hub Policy. H. Heritage Property which is converted into Heritage Hotel having minimum of 10 rooms has been exempted 100% from conversion charges. I. 75% concession in Stamp Duty on conversion of old Heritage properties (more
then
100
years)
into
Hotels.
J. 50% Remission in Luxury Tax during the off-season i.e. April to July.
Incentives available for new Tourism units under Rajasthan investment promotion scheme, 2003 of Industries Department, Govt. of Rajasthan. A. Exemption in Luxury Tax: (i) 100% of Luxury Tax for a period of 7 years B. Exemption in Stamp Duty: (i) 50% in stamp duty for a period of 7 years C. Other Incentives: (i) 50% of entertainment duty for 7 years (ii) 50% of electrical duty for 7 years (iii) 50% from conversion charges D. Interest subsidy to Tourism Units such as Hotel, Motel etc. (i) 5% interest subsidy to and wage/employment subsidy. (ii) An additional 1% interest subsidy for SC/ST entrepreneurs. However, these exemptions were available from f rom 1.7.2003 to 31.3.2009.
Adopt a Monument Scheme Realizing the potential and value of the legacy of the past, the Government of
36
Rajasthan launched the scheme for ‘Adopt a Monument’ (AAM), as an instrument for public-private participation for preserving the State’s rich heritage. It was expected that a large number of NRIs, specially those of Rajasthani origin, NRRs and corporate entities from within Rajasthan may become interested in participating in this mammoth task. AAM scheme (attached as Annexure A5) A5) has been framed keeping in view this objective. The scheme envisages adoption of a monument by any person with a view to restoring it and to maintain it after restoration for a period upto 10 years. The project will constitute conservation of Heritage monuments. The conservation shall comprise of expenditure viz. capital and recurring to be incurred on conservation, restoration, face-lift and maintenance of the monuments including landscaping, signage’s, conveniences etc. It shall also include the recurring expenditure to be incurred every year for maintenance of the entire complex for upto ten years. The following are the salient features of the scheme: a. Identification of the monument by the government : The State Government shall identify monuments that can be offered for adoption. The monuments may be protected by the State Archeology Department under the Act or may not be protected. However, if it is protected monument, it shall be listed for offer only after the Department of Archeology has taken necessary steps to permit private parties to conserve it. State Archeology Department shall prepare a master plan for each of such existing heritage monument. Each master plan shall comprise of the details of identified activities and works to be undertaken for the conservation of the monument concerned. b. The conservation plan upto 10 years shall be approved by the State government at the level of Administrative Department of Art & Culture. The conservation plan shall include the following: i. Detailed designs for conservation works, public conveniences, landscaping etc. ii. Detailed plan for maintenance. iii. Estimates for one time expenditure on conservation works, construction of
37
public conveniences, landscaping etc. iv. Estimates for year-wise expenditure on maintenance including lighting, security etc. for a period upto 10 years. c. The donors will donate the funds to an SPV, a no profit society formed under Societies Registration Act, 1958. This Special Purpose Vehicle society (SPV) would operate a Heritage Fund in which these donations shall be deposited and drawn from in accordance with the plan approved by the Department of Art & Culture. The SPV shall maintain separate accounts for each of the monuments and these shall be audited every year. A copy of the audited account shall be sent to the donors on annual basis. d. The conservation works would be carried out by the government agency. However, in case the donor wishes to carry out the works himself he would be allowed to do so only after an approval from the AAM Steering Committee. In such a case, the donor shall carry out the conservation works under the supervision of the Art & Culture department. AAM Steeringcommittee shall review the progress of such cases periodically. It may be of interest to note that a similar scheme was launched in 1987 in New York. The scheme is relaization if one of the objectives as laid in the Tourism Policy, 2001.
Jal Mahal Project In Rajasthan, several famous places of tourist importance have fallen in disuse because of various reasons such as apathy of the conservation authorities, funding problems etc. One such example was the Jal Mahal Lake in Jaipur. Jal Mahal is an 18th century pleasure palace located in the middle of the Mansagar Lake. Mansagar Lake is a 300 acre lake surrounded by the Nahargarh hills. The Jal Mahal Project Area falls in the Jaipur – Amer tourist corridor and is the only
38
major waterbody in Jaipur. The project location is in the close vicinity of key tourist attraction viz. Amer, Jaigarh and Nahargarh Forts and the walled city of Jaipur. Almost every tourist, visiting Jaipur passes through this area. The project area has the potential to be transformed into a major tourism destination. The lake and the project area was an ecological disaster, with the dumping of untreated sewage from the city and poor upkeep. The monument itself was poorly maintained with no formal access possible for tourists During the past, several attempts have been made by Government of Rajasthan to restore the ecological and environmental condition of the lake and its adjoining area. However, none of these attempts yielded any positive result because of paucity of funds and non-incentivised approach to take up restoration. In addition, these measures were not able to provide a sustainable lake restoration and maintenance program of the area on a long term and continuous basis .IL&FS was entrusted the job of finding a permanent solution to the development requirements of the project in the year 2000. Through its joint-venture company with Government of Rajasthan, PDCOR Ltd. IL&FS institutionalized a careful process of project development and structuring. It was able to design a restoration initiative, source the resources for project implementation and innovatively involve the private sector in sustainable development of the project area As of date, most of the lake restoration program has been completed and the identified private sector partner for area development is in the process of the full area. The project has set a benchmark in sustainable development of the urban water bodies with private sector participation
As part of financing effort, lake restoration funds of Rs.180 million was arranged for renewal of the lake eco- system from MoEF, GoI, as a grant under the National River Conservation Program. The State Government through its nodal agency, Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), is providing the balance fund
39
This is the first lake conservation project sanctioned by MoEF, GoI for the State of Rajasthan. Further, while sanctioning the grant amount, MoEF, GoI has been quite appreciative of the sustainability model, and has recommended that a similar structure be considered for restoration of Udaipur Lake and other such environmentally sensitive restoration projects. Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) was appointed as the nodal agency for lake restoration part of the project. As of date most of the lake restoration components have been implemented .The project for tourism development has been awarded to a consortia led by M/s. KGK Enterprises The tourism products which are proposed to be developed in the site include: (i) Convention Centre and Art Gallery (ii) Multiplex and Entertainment Centre (iii) Craft Bazaar (iv) Arts and Craft Village (v) Resort Hotels (vi) Restaurants and Food Court (vii) Public park and gardens The developer is also responsible for restoration and maintenance of the Jal Mahal. The lease rental paid by the private sector developer would be used to discharge the maintenance obligations of the lake on a continuing basis. Report on Collection of Tourism Statistics for the State of Rajasthan Ministry of Tourism, Government of India initiated pilot surveys in ten states including Rajasthan state on a plan to outsource collection activity of tourism statistics for the different states. ACNielsen ORG-MARG Pvt. Ltd. was entrusted with collection of tourism statistics for the State of Rajasthan. The pilot survey was for a period of 12 months with the purpose to gain experience for future. The main aim of the proposed survey was to collect relevant tourist related statistics for understanding subtle trends related to visitors (both domestic as well
40
as foreign ones) in the State. Additionally it was also intended to provide comprehensive listing of available accommodation infrastructure in prime tourist destinations in the State, including those of the unorganized sector, for a period of 1 year (2004-05). The survey along with an assessment of the direct employment generated by the tourism sector, estimate the expenditure patterns of tourists, tourist needs, preferences and satisfaction levels with regard to the various available facilities in the State.
Fairs & Festivals The Department of Tourism organizes fairs, festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Some of the important ones are: • Summer Festival, Mount Abu • Teej Festival, jaipur World Tourism Day •
• Marwar Festival, Jodhpur • Pushkar Fairs, Ajmer • Chandrabhaga Fair, Jhalawar • Bundi Festival, Bundi • Sharad Mahotsav, Mt. Abu. • Desert Festival, Jaisalmer • Baneshwar Fair, Dungarpur • Elephant Festival, Jaipur • Camel Festival, Bikaner
New Initiatives
41
Golf Tourism Today Golf Tourism has been pivot in the field of Tourism. It makes tourist to stay form more at a place. Expertise is being hired for preparation of Project Project Report for making international standard Golf Complex in Rajasthan. Caravan Tourism In an effort to promote niche tourism prodcts, the central goverenment is promoting caravan tourism. Considering the diverse tourism products and the multitude of landscapes in India, Caravans and Caravan Parks have a potential to add an exciting new facet to tourism in Incredible India and would attract a wide range of market segments including young people, families, senior citizens and international tourists. Under the guidelines issued by the Central govt, the Caravans would be popularized and promoted by developing Caravan Parks in public private and PPP mode. The Caravan Parks would be approved by the Ministry Ministr y of Tourism once they develop the minimum required facilities such as parking bays, tourist amenities centre, landscaping, toilets and adequate measures for safety and security of tourists. The caravan parks will also provide electricity, water and sewerage disposal facilities to the Caravans which are parked. The caravan parks shall maintain environmental friendly and responsible practices. Ministry of Tourism shall provide central assistance, which could be upto Rs 5 crore per destination to State Governments/U.T. Admn under its existing scheme of product infrastructure development of destination/circuits for development of caravan parks in Government sector. Assistance to the level of 25% of the cost can also be provided for procurement of caravans in public sector corporations.
42
Adventure Sports The terrain in Rajasthan is tailor-made for most adventure sports, with its Aravalli hills, the open desert tracts, the vast lakes and rivers, the wildlife parks, and little villages abandoned by the march of civilization as is known, but no less hospitable for it. And threading these together, a landscape where the paths and trails weave through a history rich with forts and palaces, mansions and cenotaphs. And a culture that binds these together into a fascinating journey. One can choose from a number of adventure sports options. Tourists can relax with golf, go vintage, or practice archery, go boating - in the Chambal river through the gorges of the plateau of Hadoti, or, go up in the air, for a bit of aerial sightseeing over heritage cities by small aircraft aircraft or in hot air balloons. Recently department has organised adventure sports activities at Jaipur and Kota. For identification of adventure sports tourism sites in the State, a Project Report is being prepared. Infrastructure Preparedness of the state With Rajasthan aiming high on the tourism front, what is the prepardness on the basic infrastructure and tourism infrastructure front? Does the state have adequate number of hotels, hotel rooms, airports, quality roads, urban infrastructure etc? The Rajasthan governnmnt had come out with its requirement for infrastructure and investment from 2001 to 2020. Table 8 Infrastructure Requirement/Investment for Tourism Infrastructure in Rajasthan (2001 to 2020) Particulars Hotels Restaurants Airlines Facilities Air Taxis/ Charters/ Helicopter Services Taxis/ Tourist Coaches Wayside Facilities
2001 93 3 45
2005 177 11 133
2010 210 9 84
12 76 12
23 105 41
28 145 80
(Rs. in Crore) 2015 2020 203 300 13 17 42 36 37 165 92
37 212 60
43
Monuments Conservation Sanctuaries Amusements/ Theme/ Water Parks Others
6 4
14 14
20 21
28 11
42 8
9 11
15 18
21 20
28 22
32 25
271
551
638
641
769
Cumulative Total 271 822 Source: Department of Tourism, Govt. of Rajasthan
1460
2101
2870
Total
It was also envisaged in the Rajasthan Tourism Policy, 2001 that in order to develop infrastructure, the Government will prepare an Area-based Master Plan outlining the infrastructure necessary in each such area. The plan will be based on the potential, which each destination holds for development of Tourism. An investment plan will be evolved from this Master Plan. The Investment Plan was to be further translated into an Annual Action Plan in order that the goals set in the Master Plan will be achieved in a time bound manner. An important part of this infrastructure is the number of tour operators, adventure tour operators etc. As far as the recgnised tour operators, travel agencies in the state is concerned, Rajasthan doesn’t score very high as is visible from the table given below: Table 9 State-wise Number of Recognised Tour Operators, Travel Agencies, Tourist Transport Operators, Adventure Tour Operators and Domestic Tour Operators in India (As on 31.12.2007) Tourist Adventure Domestic Tour Travel Transport Tour Tour State/Uts Operators Agencies Operators Operators Operators Andhra Pradesh 6 11 4 Arunachal Pradesh 1 Assam 4 Bihar 2 3 Chhattisgarh Goa 13 4 Gujarat 5 8 2 Haryana 5 4 -
44
-
Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir 5 Jharkhand Karnataka 9 Kerala 17 Madhya Pradesh 1 Maharashtra 40 Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa 5 Punjab Rajasthan 5 Sikkim Tamil Nadu 22 Tripura Uttar Pradesh 9 Uttarakhand West Bengal 3 Andaman & Nicobar Chandigarh Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman & Diu Delhi 285 Lakshadweep Puducherry 1 India 438 Source: Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
1 22 5 2 77 3 2 47 5 1 15 2 1 121 3 337
13 22 2 12 2 24 3 1 1 73 1 160
1 1 22 24
2 2 3 5 7 19
Wayside Amenities Rajasthan has a geographical mass of 3.42 Lacs Sq. km. and spans more than 800 Kms. from East to West and North to South.The Air and Rail links are still not well developed resulting in more use of surface transportation. This necessitates the creation of suitable wayside amenities at appropriate places in order to provide commuting tourists an opportunity to relax and refresh themselves. As per the Rajasthan Tourism Policy, such facilities were to be developed both in the public and private sectors at intervals intervals of 100 100 to 125 Kms. Along
the
important road-routes in the State,the concept of having various conveniences
45
integrated in such way- side facilities was to be promoted. For this, a survey of all spots was to be undertaken throughout the State and facilities were to be developed in the next five years. Private investment was to be encouraged in this sector and public investment was to be limited to areas where private initiative is not forthcoming. Still, the wayside amenities remain a policy and its
implementation is awaited. Policy for Promotion & Marketing of Tourism in India The Incedible India Campaign The first marketing initiative of its kind by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Incredible India was conceptualized in 2002 by Ministry of Tourism. The primary objective of this branding exercise was to create a distinctive identity for the country. This resulted in the iconic ”Incredible !ndia” logo, where the exclamation mark that formed the “I” of India was used to great effect across all communications. The campaign successfully established India as a high-end tourist destination, generating a 16% increase in tourist traffic in the first year. In the second year, the Incredible India campaign focused on spiritual tourism, resulting in a 28.8% increase in tourist traffic and a no.1 ranking in the Travel & Leisure readers survey. In 2003, Condé Nast Traveller selected India as one of the top ten preferred destinations for the discerning traveller. “India’s results are very exciting and show the country’s increasing popularity amongst sophisticated travellers. It also reflects very positively on the individuals involved in promoting India as a premium tourist destination.” Sarah Miller, Editor, Condé Nast Traveller, 2003. In January 2004, Lonely Planet conducted a survey in 134 countries to select the world’s favourite destination for individual travellers. India was ranked among the top five favourite international destinations in the global survey (the other four were Thailand, Italy, Australia and New Zealand). According to Lonely Planet,
46
“the respondent for the survey was today’s independent traveller – professional, with a degree or post-graduate qualification who is aged 25 to 34.” The 2003/04 campaign went on to win many prestigious awards, including Gold at PATA and the Bombay Ad Club. After a break of one year, the original team of Incredible India collaborated again. In 2006, Delhi based creative agency (A), founded by V Sunil, and was called in to create the new global campaign for 2006/07. The print and outdoor executions combined spectacular images with a wry, self-assured tone – a far cry from the bowing and scraping of past campaigns. The campaign went on to win the PATA Grand Award 2007 for Marketing, and was one of only four ‘best of show’ Grand Awards out of a total of 339 entries from 132 organizations. ITB Berlin,2007-In Berlin,2007- In March 2007, the global brand campaign (an evolution of the ‘Incredible’ theme, which was unprecedented in terms of quality and scale) was extended to the Internationale Tourismus Bourse (ITB) Berlin – the world's largest travel and tourism show – where India was participating as the Partner Country. The campaign used the entire city as a canvas - covering it with large billboards, branding on taxis and buses, vibrant graphic art and 3D installations. Signaling a new level of sophistication in India's branding strategy, the ITB campaign overwhelmed the international media and trade. India Now, London- India Now was a three-month long campaign designed to showcase India’s accelerating economy and ever-evolving culture. It was organized from July to September 2007 in London and featured events, activities and festivals across the capital dedicated to Indian art, film, food, theatre, music and fashion. As part of the campaign, buses and taxis plying along the main routes in London wore vibrant Incredible India colours and messages. Outdoor panels in 150 bus shelters featured images of India that corresponded to the names of famous London Underground stations, creating a dramatic and
47
amusing contrast. An estimated one million Londoners and visitors to London participated in these events. There was also a 16% jump in inbound tourism from the UK. Cannes 2007- This special campaign was designed to attract a global film crowd at the International Film Festival at Cannes. Large outdoor posters showed off India’s diverse and picturesque locales - from the golden beaches of Kerala to the Tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh - with cinematographic-themed headlines such as ‘Location for Hire’ in French. India @60, New York- The year 2007 not only marked the 60th year of independence for India but also celebrated the arrival of India on the global platform. The Incredible India@60 campaign was launched in New York from 23rd-26th September 2007 to coincide with the UN General Assembly session. The combination of the four-day event and the General Assembly created the perfect opportunity to showcase the best of India to world leaders, top international business moguls and the public. Incredible India@60 took India’s extraordinary energy and cultural diversity to the watching world. Billboards at Times Square, taxis, buses, bus shelters, TV and radio announced the arrival of a brand new India. With eight ministries, eight overseas partners and 41 events – including four gala dinners, 13 conferences and panel discussions, nine cultural shows, seven receptions and eight ongoing events – it was a grand show that maximized India’s presence and visibility to the world. 2007-08 campaign-The campaign- The Colours of India campaign emphasized India’s diverse cultural spectrum. Featuring breathtaking images and colour-based headlines such as Coffee Brown and Red Hot, the campaign was launched globally in 71 leading newspapers and magazines. Using traditional and interactive media print, outdoor and the internet - India was positioned as a unique and vibrant destination for tourists.
48
Campaign 2008-09- The India Tourism 2008 campaign was based on the experiences of those who came to visit India as tourists and stayed back to make India their home. It takes a special bond with the country and its people to give up everything you know and set up home, take roots in India. These are the people who’ve truly embraced the culture and assimilated it into their being. As opposed to those who’ve simply being ‘bitten by the India bug’. Staying back is prompted by a decision that will change their lives forever. It is not a mere whim or adventure. It is the commitment of a lifetime. There are several people like this in India and the campaign went through a careful process to select the ones who they felt could be ambassadors of Indian culture. The creative idea employed a simple device that stated their country of birth, followed by text that said ‘Motherland: India’. Atithi Devo Bhavah Campign (2005) A pioneer initiative by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India aimed to tap the full potential of tourism in India. Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has introduced “Atithi Devo Bhavah Program”- A nation wide campaign that aimed at sensitising key stakeholders towards tourists, through a process of training and orientation. 'The guest is God' is Indian tourism's version of the customer satisfaction slogan, 'customer is king', once preached by Peter Drucker. 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a Social Awareness Campaign aimed at providing the inbound tourist a sense of being welcomed to the country. The campaign targets the general public as a whole, while focusing mainly on the stakeholders of the tourism industry. The main components of the campaign are training and orientation to taxi drivers, guides, immigration officers, tourist police and other personnel directly interacting with the tourists, while simultaneously creating brand equity for the trained persons.
49
"Atithi Devo Bhavah" involves Sensitisation, Screening, Induction, Training & Orientation, Certification and Feedback of key stakeholders of the Tourism industry in India. It is a symbolic representation of India's age old hospitality and with this campaign, an effort was made to re-install in the stakeholders a sense of pride and responsibility towards tourists, while positioning India as a popular tourist destination worldwide. The Ministry of Tourism through it was thus looking at both the macro and micro perspective by promoting destinations on the one hand and bringing about a sea change in the mindset and behaviour of people, on the other. Components of the Atithi Devo Bhavah Program This included training programme, Mass Media camapign and PR Road shows. The key stakeholders (of the tourism industry) were traned in terms of changing their attitude and behaviour towards foreign tourists. The programme covered 4 areas:
•
Hygiene - This include personal hygiene of the person and also that of the product / service.
•
Conduct and behaviour - Politeness and basic courtesies in interacting with the foreign tourists.
•
Integrity - This implies that the person does not cheat the tourists and charges him a fair price for the service.
•
Safety and security - Person look after safety and security of the foreign tourists.
50
Key stakeholders being covered in the training included taxi drivers, baggage handlers at airport, tourist guides, hotel staff, employees of tour operators, immigration and customs officials etc.Since these segments have diverse backgrounds, education and levels of sophistication, the training is divided into 2 categories: •
Level 1: Covers taxi drives, tourist guides and baggage handlers and porters.
•
Level 2: The tour operators, shop owners / staff, hotel staff, immigration and customs officials.
This training program was first initiated at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra, Aurangabad, and Goa. In the 2006-07, the programme was rolled out to other important cities in India. A Mass Media Communication was carried out in newspapers, TV, cinema and outdoors to create general awareness about the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme and to communicate to key stakeholders as to how it is in their own interest that foreign tourists be treated well and should go back happily from our country. The India Tourism offices of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Goa and Hydrabad have a crucial role to play in the campaign. They act as nodal agencies to facilitate and coordinate the essential part of the program ie. Training.
Policy for Promotion & Marketing of Tourism in Rajasthan As far as promotion of tourism in Rajasthan is concerned, there is no specific policy as such. It merely finds a mention in the tourism policy of the state 2001. The Tourism Policy mentions the following:
51
•
In order to facilitate dissemination of information to the tourists from foreign and domestic market, the State will cause such literature, films, videos and other material published and produced as is necessary.
•
A multipronged strategy will be evolved to make optimal use of the media for promoting Rajasthan as an attraction for tourists. Sufficient literature will also be distributed to important Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Airlines, and Hotel groups for discrimination among important people connected with tourism industry.
•
High quality tourist literature would be published in foreignlanguages like French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Arabic and of course English.
•
Special efforts would be made for overseas publicity about Rajasthan as a tourist destination. Private marketing and publicity linkages would be established with the help of travel agents and tour operators to promote tourism in Rajasthan in the world tourism market.
•
Special drive would be launched to publicise tourism highlights of Rajasthan in electronic media with the help of e-mail, Internet and latest means of communication available for e-commerce.
•
Efforts would be made to device interactive tourism information packages, CD-ROMs and online reservation facilities for goods and services in tourism sector would be made available in private and public sector.
Accordingly, the Tourism Department has taken the following efforts for tourism promotion,
1. Printing
publicity
of
Tourism
and
Publicity
marketing:
Literature
2. Advertising 3. International Conferences 4. Film,
Photos,
VHS,
CD’setc.
5. Exhibitions 6. Seminar&Conferences
52
7. Hospitality 8. Library 9. Souvenirs.
The Department also participates in the various international and national exhibitions, seminars, marts and conferences. Road shows conducted in the country and abroad. Department has represented Rajasthan in overseas at WTM, London, TAAI, Malaysia and PATA, Singapore and for tourism promotion it has participated in different International / national level conferences, seminars, exhibitions etc. Department has made efforts through Print Media by releasing advertisement in the prominent magazines and newspaper for tourism promotion and
publicity.
As per the Tourism Departmnt website, the department in order to facilitate dissemination of information about tourist places, department annually publishes brochures, folder, booklets posters etc of tourist places. The literature published is being distributed in the country and abroad, so that the tourist can gain precise information. It is also being circulated to the tourism trade related personalities and organisations. Tourist can have these literatures available through the Tourist Reception Centres / Tourist Information Centres run by the department.
Supporting the emergence of Tourism as a significant industry in Rajasthan are the initiatives of the state government viz. organizing new festivals to promote Rajasthan as an 'Year Round Tourism Destination', introducing Public Private Partnership model in key tourism projects in the state, offering historical monuments for adoption to private sector etc. Rajasthan Tourism Department The Department of Tourism is working as a separate entity for the execution of national and state level policies, programmes and also as a coordinating agency
53
for the Central - State Government Department/ Offices and Private sectors activities for promotion of tourism in the state. At the directorate level, two Additional Directors, one Joint Director, 2 Deputy. Director, Sr. Accounts Officer, AD (Planning and Stat.), Assistant Directors, Assistant Accounts Officer and Tourist Officer are working under the Commissioner, Tourism. The field offices of the department at the 4 prominent metropolitan cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are also functioning. At the regional level, in the two divisions of State Viz Kota & Jodhpur, Deputy Directors are heading Offices, apart from Tourist Reception Centres & Tourist Information Bureaus at other prominent tourist places/ entry points of State. Under the control of Tourism Department, two public sector entities viz Rajasthan Tourism Dev. Corporation Ltd. and Rajasthan State Hotel Corporation Ltd. and one society viz Rajasthan Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (RITTMAN) are also operating. Luxury Trains The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation operates two luxury trains bringing the splendor, royalty and the heriage of the state in the lap of luxury. The two trains Palace on Wheels (POW) and Royal Rajasthan on Wheels (RRW) are the two attractions for those who want to live and travel the royal way. The Palace on Wheels The Palace on Wheels was India's first train luxury train. It was launched by the Indian Railways in 1982 to promote tourism in Rajasthan, and has been highly popular since its launch. Following its success, other luxury and tourist trains have been started on other routes in the country. It is a joint venture of RTDC and Indan Railways.The concept of the Palace on Wheels was derived from the royal coaches, which were originally meant to be the personal railway coaches of the erstwhile rulers of the princely states of Rajputana, Gujarat, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Viceroy of British India.
54
There are 14 coaches in the train. Each of them is named after former Rajput states and matches the aesthetics and interiors of the royal past. Facilities include a bar with the choicest Indian and international spirits, a lounge with a good collection of books and televisions and DVD players.Cabins are airconditioned with twin beds, channel music, intercom, and attached toilets running hot and cold water. The train has two restaurants, "The Maharaja" and "The Maharani", with a Rajasthani ambience and serving continental, Chinese, Indian and Rajasthani cuisines.The train departs from New Delhi and during its eight day journey, travels around Rajasthan with stops in Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur, and Agra.The Palace on Wheels. The train has a capacity for 100 travellers. In the initial initial 5 years of its operation, the train had very low occuancy- as low as 10 %. Ths was due to lack of promotional activitis. But after 1990 when General Sales Agents (GSA) were appinted, the occupancy started picking up and now POW has 100% occupancy anytime and you need to book well in advance if you want to have the royal experience. Royal Rajasthan on Wheels (RRW) After the stupendous success of Palace on Wheels, Rajasthan’s second super luxury train, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, was launched in Setember, 2009 and started its commercial operations in Oct 2009. The itinerary of the train is similar to the Palace on Wheels except that it goes to Bikaner instead of Sawai Madhopur. The Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is an upgraded version of the POW. This luxury train offers 3 distinct itineraries that include journeying across the beautiful and historic cities that are reminiscent of the glorious past of the erstwhile Rajputana. The train winds its way through Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bharatpur, Agra, Varanasi, and Khajuraho across its 3 tours. No matter which tour itinerary a traveller opt for, they will get a chance
55
to visit the legendary Taj Mahal at Agra. 2 of the 3 itineraries of the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels have been designed in a way to enable a tourist to visit to at least one wildlife environs located in the state. This luxurious train is a joint venture of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and Rajasthan Railways. Royal Rajasthan on Wheels offers the most opulent facilities to its guests fit only for the kings. State-of-the-art amenities are blended with the traditional Rajput hospitality. The train is loaded with opulent features offering comfort and luxuries to the passengers. The retro lounges and super deluxe saloon would surely impress the passengers. Royal Rajasthan on Wheels consists of super deluxe coaches and deluxe coaches. The guests aboard this train enjoy more space, as the number of passengers is limited to 80 as against 100 of POW. The train also has a common lounge, facilitating guest interaction of a high magnitude. And with Wi-Fi internet facility intact, tourists can actually never lose contact with the world while on the go. There is also an intercontinental Spa facility to rejuvenate your senses. Moreover, the attendants are at your disposal to assist you all the time. Heritage on Wheels The Heritage on Wheels was launched in 2007 and was in operation for two financial years. The bi-weekly train (on metre gauge) traversed all the nook and crannies of the Bikaner and Shekhawati regions of Rajasthan. In the first years of operation, 900 people took the journey (2007-08) and 800 people in 2008-09. Due to gauge conversion work on the route the train has to be discontinued which otherwise gave the opurtunity to the travellers to see the unexplored parts of the state.
56
Tourist Assistant Force With the upsurge of tourism in the country, instances have come to the notice of the tourism department where tourists have been extorted by shopkeepers, unauthorized guides, touts, hawkers and even harassed by auto rikshawdrivers. Tourist Assistance Force (TAF) scheme was started by the tourism department in the year 2000. To begin with, 164 TAF personnel are are deployed at prominent sites of tourist interest at
Jaipur,
Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Chittaurgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer-Pushkar
and
Mount
Abu.
To enhance the safety and security of tourists visiting the State, the Tourism Department has increased the number of TAF personnel to 250 and new destinations
have
been
added
i.e.
Bundi
&
Alwar-Sariska.
The Tourist Assistance Force can be approached for the following: •
•
•
To know about the locality of tourist sites and respective distance. In case of harassment by peddlers, hawkers, touts, beggars etc. To take guidance about local law and order, security and hazards and for that free pamphlets of “Dos and Don'ts” are provided to tourists by TAF personnel.
•
To take information about authorized taxi stands, ATMs’, money exchanges, guest houses, hotels restaurants etc.
•
To take guidance about medical facilities available nearby. On-call ambulance (Phone no.108) facility has been provided by govt. and TAF personnel guides the tourist in emergency.
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Marketing Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association [AMA] as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." The AMA has revised its definition of marketing in 2007. Before this, marketing was defined as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. (Est in 2004). The new definition takes into account input from a broad crosssection of the Association membership. Marketing is regarded as an 'activity' instead of a 'function' and positions marketing as a broader activity in a company/organization, and not just a department. The new definition also positions marketing as providing long term value rather than narrowly as an exchange of money (short-term) for the benefit of the shareholder/organization. Mangement Guru Philip Kotler defines marketing as 'satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process' The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as "the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably." A different concept is the value-based marketing which states the role of marketing to contribute to increasing shareholder value. In this context, marketing is defined as "the management process that seeks to maximise returns to shareholders by developing relationships with valued customers and creating a competitive advantage”. Marketing practice tended to be seen as a creative industry in the past, which included advertising, distribution and selling. However, because the academic study of marketing makes extensive use of social sciences, psychology, sociology, mathematics, economics, anthropology and neuroscience, the profession is now widely recognized as a science.The overall process starts with marketing research and goes through market segmentation, business planning
58
and execution, ending with pre and post-sales promotional activities. It is also related to many of the creative arts. Destination Marketing Destination Marketing is a kind of marketing which markets Tourist destinations. Destination Marketing Organisations do this kind of marketing to promote their City, County, Area or Country Branding “A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.”(Kotler, Philip. (2000). Marketing management: The millennium edition )“Branding is perhaps the most powerful marketing weapon available to contemporary destination marketers ” (Morgan
and Pritchard, 2002). The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a ‘name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition.’ Brands differentiate products and represent a promise of value. Brands incite beliefs, evoke emotions and prompt behaviours. Marketers often extend successful brand names to new product launches, lending existing associations to them. As a result, they speed up consumers’ information processing and consumers’ learning. Brands have social and emotional value to users. They have personality and speak for the user. They enhance the perceived utility and desirability of a product. Brands have the ability to add or subtract the perceived value of a product. Consumers expect to pay lower prices for unbranded products or for those with low brand equities, whereas they pay premiums for their treasured or socially valued brands. Brands have equity for both customers and investors. Brand equity translates into customer preference, loyalty and financial gains. Brands are appraised and traded in the marketplace. Brand equity has been pointed out to include many dimensions, such as
59
performance, social image, value, trustworthiness and identification (Lassar, 1995). Destination Branding Destination branding is a process used to develop a unique identity and personality that that is different from all competitive destinations.
Destination
branding is “selecting a consistent brand element mix to identify and distinguish a destination through positive image building” (Cai, 2000). A destination brand is: •
A way to communicate a destination’s unique identity to visitors
•
A means of differentiating a destination from its competitors
•
A uniform “look” that all destination partners can consistently use
•
A symbol, name, term or design, or combination of these elements.
As per Dstination Branding : Creating the unique destination Pproposition (edited by Nigel Morgan & Roger Pride)”” Choice of holiday destination is a significant lifestyle indicator for today’s aspirational consumers and the places where they choose to spend their squeezed vacation time and hard earned income increasingly have to have emotional appeal, high conversational capital and even celebrity value. The World Tourism Organization endorses this view, suggesting that the twenty-first century will see the emergence of tourism destinations as fashion accessories. Indeed, as style symbols, destinations can offer similar consumer benefits to highly branded lifestyle items. These are used to communicate statements and group memberships, just as vacation trips are expressive devices communicating messages about identity, lifestyle and status. Travel for leisure is increasingly permeating the discourse of everyday life, but remains a highly involving experience, extensively planned, excitedly anticipated and fondly remembered.”
60
Marketing Startegy A marketing strategy serves as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a list of specific actions required to successfully implement a specific marketing strategy. Without a sound marketing strategy, a marketing plan has no foundation. Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to reach marketing objectives. It is important that these objectives have measurable results. A good marketing strategy should integrate an organization's marketing goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. The objective of a marketing strategy is to provide a foundation from which a tactical plan is developed. This allows the organization to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently. Marketing Plan As per AMA, marketing Plan is a document composed of an analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and threats analysis, marketing objectives, marketing strategy, action programs, and projected or pro-forma income (and other financial) statements. This plan may be the only statement of the strategic direction of a business, but it is more likely to apply only to a specific brand or product. In the latter situation, the marketing plan is an implementation device that is integrated within an overall strategic business plan. SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective
•
Strengths: attributes of the organization that are helpful to achieving the
61
objective. •
Weaknesses: Weaknesses : attributes of the organization that are harmful to achieving the objective.
•
Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
•
Threats: Threats: external conditions, which could do damage to the business’s performance.
SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, opportunities and threats are external factors.
62
SWOT Analysis of Tourism Sector in Rajasthan The researcher has attempted a SWOT Analysis based on the literature review
Helpful
Harmful
(in achieving growth of the
(in achieving growthof the sector)
sector) s e t u b i r t t a (
Strengths
1.inadequate infrastructure that needs 1.Umpteen places of tourist 1.inadequate
) m e t s y s e h t f o
l a n r e t n I
l a n r e t x E
Weakness
importance
modernization(airports)
and
2. Tourist friendly environment
expansion(roads and railways)
3. Rich heritage
2. Government has not traditionally
4. Great shopping destination
prioritised the sector
5. Rich art & culture
3.Quality and quantity of accomodation
6. Proximity to Delhi
insufficient
7. On the popular Delhi-Jaipur 4. In-state travel facilities inadequate
) t n e m n o r i v n e e h t f o s e t u b i r t t a (
–Agra circuit
5. Supply driven marketing strategy
Oppurtunities
Threats
1.
High
Domestic 1.
Aggressive
promotion
by
other
Disposable Income
states
Weekend Tourism from 2.
Terror Acts in the state and country
Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat
affects the image and medium-term
3.
Wildlife tourism
disincentive for tourists
4.
Commonwealth Games 3.
Global
5.
Niche Tourism
weigh on growth, particularly for US
2.
economic
slowdown slowdown
will
and UK tourists
63
Marketing mix The marketing mix was first developed by McCarthy over 40 years ago. It was designed to suggest that there should be a balanced mix of marketing activities within the marketing plan. As per AMA, the mix of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the desired level of sales in the target market. The most common classification of these factors is the four-factor classification called the "Four Ps"-price, product, promotion, and place (or distribution). Optimization of the marketing mix is achieved by assigning the amount of the marketing budget to be spent on each element of the marketing mix so as to maximize the total contribution to the firm. Contribution may be measured in terms of sales or profits or in terms of any other organizational goals. Elements of the marketing mix- The 4 Ps - The main four elements of the marketing mix are described as "the 4 P's" - product, price, promotion and place.
Product The first P is the product. This should define the characteristics of the product or service that will meet customers' needs. Price
64
The second P is the price of theproduct and decisions surrounding overall pricing strategies. Pricing can be a very complex area. Most people believe they should undercut their competitors but this is not always a wise strategy. Consumers place value on higher priced products so it's best if various pricing levels of the products are tested and over time the right pricing level that maximizes profits could be found out.Even if one decide not to charge for a service it's useful to realise that this is still a pricing strategy. strategy . Promotion The third P is about promoting products and services. This may include advertising, personal selling (eg: attending exhibitions), sales promotions (eg: special offers), and atmospherics (ie: creating the right impression through the working environment). Public Relations are also included within Promotion by many marketing people, although PR people tend to see it as a separate discipline. Place The final P is about ‘place’ – the location where the service is actually going to be delivered. Many retail gurus say it's all about "location, location, location" and this still holds true today. The 4 Cs Many now dismiss the four Ps as being out of date and have developed the four Cs to replace that concept. There are the C's developed by Robert Lauterborn and put forward by Marketing guru Philip Kotler where by:
•
Place becomes Convenience ,
•
Price becomes Cost to the user
•
Promotion becomes Communication
•
Product becomes Customer needs and wants
65
The four C's reflect a more customer oriented marketing philosophy. They provide useful reminders that you need to focus entirely on the customer when So, the marketing mix does provide a handy deciding where to offer a service. service.S framework for marketing analysis. The C's are also not nearly as memorable as the P-words, and marketing texts still tend to use the latter to describe the elements of the mix.Other experts have further added that business success is driven by PEOPLE and PROCESS. Interface between Policy and Marketing The literature review undertaken by the researcher enabled her to get a clear picture on the policies, which were formulated, for the promotion of tourism in Rajasthan. The Tourism policy of Rajasthan formulated in 2001 is the major policy document, which gives general dirctions for the growth of the sector. The
66
policy envisages a role of enabler for the government and the private sector led development model for its growth. It lays down the framework and the broad requirements for the sector to grow. Though, steps have been taken over the years to implement and achieve the objectives as laid down in the policy, the progress has not been to the desired level. The marketing efforts of the government have been restricted to printing of brochures, leaflets and other material. Participation in seminars and travel marts, organizing of road shows has been held to promote tourism. But, here it needs to be mentioned that the use of the true marketing principles in the marketing and promotion of the sector is yet to be seen. The strategy seems to be more supply driven then demand driven. Though world-wide the marketing mix has seen prominence being given to the consumer driven (4Cs) strategy, the government seems to be still being driven by the 4Ps model and that two half –heartedly. The private players operating in the field, however, seems to be taking the lead and the growth of niche tourism products is an example of the consumer driven strategy.Branding and destination marketing efforts have been taken by the governent. The Incredible India campiagn is an effort towards it but still a lot remains desirable on the front as we are still struggling to achieve the target of getting 1% of the world’s tourist arrivals. Smaller countries such as Singapore, Dubai are far ahead of us. Despite its strengths, Rajasthan is not doing well on the domestic tourism front with only 5.0% of the domestic tourists visiting the state as against 10.5 % of total foreign tourists arriving in India. Another area that desrves attention is whether we are able to promote and market the lesser known destinations or destinations that have tourist potential but not yet tapped tapped and whether the same has been realized or not. The interface between policy and marketing, thus, seems to be not full fledged.
67
Objectives of the Research Based on the literature Review, the following research Objectives have been identified: •
To study of the state of Tourism in Rajasthan and to study the impact of the various Tourism Policies on the growth of the sector and to give suggestions on the way ahead.
•
To study the perception, understanding and concerns of the various stakeholders.
•
To understand the marketing strategy adopted in the state to promote tourism and to understand and find out whether the strategy is in line with the need of the hour. It will also find out whether, promotion and branding issues are properly taken care of.
68
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a particular topic. It is an investigation for finding solutions to scientific and social problems through objective and systematic analysis. The procedures by which researchers go about their work of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena are called research methodology. The choice of the particular topic for conducting the research was tiggered by the campaign “Incredible India “ to which the author came closer during her tenure at National AIDS Control
Organization.
The
online
campaign
organized by the Ministry was a topic of interest for government officers like the researcher who were associated
with
Information
&
communication
department. The marketing management and public policy courses taught at MDI furtther generatd the interest of the reseracher to find out the interplay of public policy and marketing. Being from the state of Rajasthan naturally made the reseracher turn towards her own state to explore the potential of tourism in the state. Thus, came the idea which was further firmed up with discussions with the researcher’s Guide Dr. Avinash Kapoor, Assistant Professor, Marketing Management, MDI, Gurgaon. Discussion with the supervisor, experts and colleagues about the research work, particularly, the problem and its origin, objectives and difficulties 69
faced in the execution of the problem were also conducted by the researcher. Review of the work reported on the similar problems was also done. The studies conducted by the Ministry, independent studies done on the subject, case studies of some other contries etc were referred. The author studied the Tourism Policy of Rajasthan, 2001; the National tourism Policy, 2002, the Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy 2007, the policy for infrastructure development in the state, the state of private participation in the tourism sector, the growth of hotel industry in the state. The study of new schemes such as Adopt a Monument , Golf Tourism, Jal Mahal project and the new branding of the state as “ Rajasthan- Simply Colorful “ was also undertaken.To understand the subject in its full complexity books, case studies, papers presented at the various conferences on tourism Development especially w.r.t Rajasthan were studied. Rajasthan Tourism marketing strategy was also analyzed in the light of various marketing theories. A host of books on marketing, marketing research, consumer behavior, Brand management, rural marketing, and sustainable development was also referred. Books on Rajasthan’s cultural heritage were also used for reference. To keep abreast with the latest trends in the field of marketing and tourism, national and international journals such as International Journal of Tourism Research and Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing amongst others were also referred. Based on these steps, the research topic“ Tourism in Rajasthan: An exploratory study of Marketing and Policy “ was finalized. It is an attempt to delve into the public policy and management areas in the development of tourism in the state of Rajasthan.The researcher followed a detailed research process to carry forward the study. In the process of research, the following steps were undertaken:
70
Process of research
Define research problem
Review concepts and theories
Research Questions
Review previous research finding
Interpret and report
Analysis data
Design research (including sample design)
Collect data (execution)
Defining Research problem Tourism is third most important sector after agriculture and industry in Rajasthan. It contributes more than 15%to state GDP. As per the Indian Tourism Statistics 2008, Rajasthan receives about 5% of domestic tourists and 10.5% of international tourists visiting India. It gets the 5 th largest number of domestic tourists and 4 th largest number of foreign tourists in the country. With nearly everything to offer to tourists (except sea and snow clad mountains), this is one of the amazingly rich states as far as tourism is concerned. The research problem relates to whether the state has been able to achieve its full potential as far as tourism is concerned. Reviewing Concepts & Theories and Review of Previous Research Findings The concepts and theories related with the subject were reviewed in detail as
71
part of the literature review. The concepts related to policy, marketing, branding etc have been dealt in in detail in Chapter 2. Some of the previous researches on similar subjects were also reviewed. Studies done in this regard by various authors and also studies commissioned by the Government of India and the state Government were also referred. The Govt. of India has commissioned a study “Collection of Tourism Statistics for the State of Rajasthan” for a period of a year ( 2005-06). 2005-06). The main aim of the proposed survey was to collect relevant tourist
related statistics for understanding subtle trends related to visitors (both domestic as well as foreign ones) in the State. Additionally it was also intended to provide comprehensive listing of available accommodation infrastructure in prime tourist destinations in the State, including those of the unorganized sector, for a period of 1 year. The survey along with an assessment of the direct employment generated by the tourism sector, estimate the expenditure patterns of tourists, tourist needs, preferences and satisfaction levels with regard to the various available facilities in the State. Studies have been undertaken on the status of Tourism in the state and what more needs to be done. There were studies which were undertaken on the over all development scenario in the state and which touched tourism sector also. One such report was Rajasthan Development Report, 2006commissioned by the Planning Commission, The researcher, however, didn’t come through a study encompassing both policy and marketing perspective. Theoretical Framework A tourist destination is perceived by tourists tourists as a single entity, but in fact it comprises several stakeholder groups: •
Tourists;
•
Business entities operating in the tourism sector;
•
Public sector;
•
Host population; and
•
Representatives of non-governmental organizations (Buhalis, 2000).
72
Tourism sector has a multi-sectoral approach. It’s success depends on the working of several government departments and the active participation of the private sector and other stakeholders. Since, the sector’s growth is driven by the private sector, it is important that they take the lead in the growth of the sector. Thus, in governance, accaountability of the various players is required. Transparency, intra-government intra-government coordination and consumer driven approach is required. Participation of the stakeholders in the policy formulation and implementation is required.
‘Governance’ is the exercise of power or authority – political, economic, administrative or otherwise – to manage a country's resources and affairs. It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.‘Good governance’ means competent management of a country’s resources and affairs in a manner that is open,transparent, accountable, equitable and responsive to people’s needs. This will lead to sustainable development which is much required for the development of tourism sector. Good governance requires a high degree of transparency and accountability in public and corporate processes. Since, there is talk of greater involvemenet of the private sector and community involvement, it is necessary a participatory approach to service delivery is important for public services to be effective. As per Aus AID, the following are the economic principles of good governance •
Good
governance
requires
policies
to
promote
broad-based
economicgrowth, a dynamic private sector and social policies that will lead to poverty reduction. Economic growth is best achieved in an efficient, open, marketbased economy. •
Investment in people is a high priority, through policies and institutions that improve access to quality education, health and other services that underpin a country’s human resource base.
73
•
Effective institutions and good corporate governance are needed to support the development of a competitive private sector. In particular, for markets to function, social norms are needed that respect contract and property rights.
•
Careful management of the national economy is vital in order to maximize economic and social advancement.
New Guinea
The United Nations emphasizes reform through human development and political institution reform. According to the UN, good governance has eight characteristics. Good governance is: •
Consensus Oriented
•
Participatory
•
Following the Rule of Law
•
Effective and Efficient
•
Accountable
•
Transparent
•
Responsive
•
Equitable and Inclusive
This framework is thus an essntial framework for the sector. The interests and priorities of the various stakeholders do not always coincide and, even worse, they inherently generate inter-group conflicts (Sheehan et al., 2007); therefore, destinations are considered some of the most difficult entities to manage and market (Sautter and Leisen, 1999). The task of destination marketing and management is often entrusted to a central tourism organization, a so-called destination management organization (DMO), which acts on behalf of stakeholder groups (Goeldner and Ritchie,2003) by pursuing a range of strategic objectives such as maximizing customer satisfaction and the profitability of local enterprises, assuring the long-term prosperity of the local population, and optimizing available resources through the destination’s sustainable development
74
(Buhalis, 2000). The experience offered to the tourists play an important role in their decision to come back or to recommend the place to others. One of the crucial elements of successful destination marketing is tourist satisfaction, which influences the choice of destination and the decision to return (Yoon and Uysal, 2005). Therefore, enhancing customer satisfaction should be one of a DMO’s primary functions (Morgan and Pritchard, 1998; Pearce, 1997; Seaton, 1997) and a prerequisite for the development of a strategy leading to a destination’s enhanced attractiveness and its competitive positioning. However, achieving tourist satisfaction hinges on the collaboration and integration of marketing efforts by multiple suppliers. While steering different supply-side stakeholders towards the common goal of maximizing customer satisfaction may sound very logical at the theoretical level, it is very difficult to achieve in practice. Fuchs and Weiermair (2003) note that understanding the nature and the antecedents of satisfaction is paramount, but so is deciphering the determinants of satisfaction in tourism, which is ‘‘the amalgam of service industries’’ as it is a difficult theoretical and empirical task. Several destination competitiveness models include elements which are the building blocks of tourist satisfaction – for example, awareness, perception, preferences, etc. – but fail to incorporate them in a coherent and unified manner in a model that can be used as a generalinstrument and a tool for benchmarking (Gomezelj and Mihalicˇ, 2008). As mouth-to-mouth publicity is the best publicity for attracting tourists so the visitors have to be offerd an experience worth remembering. This will also lead to generation of expectations and expectation mangement becomes necessary. Thus, this theoretical framework of good governance, stakeholder participation, consumer- driven approach of governance and marketing will form the basis for the reserach.
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Dependent & Independent Variables To further the research, a set of dependent and independent variables has been identified. A concept, which can take on different quantitative values, is called a variable. If one variable depends on upon or is a consequence of other variable, it is termed as a dependent variable, and the variable that is antecedent to the dependent variable is termed as independent variable. Independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the dependent variable are termed as extraneous variables. The development of tourism in the state is the result of the acting together of multiple factors. Since the role of the governemnet is more of a faciliatator, enabler, and the private sector has a more important role. Their performance will depend on the business environment created by the government. Thus, the government has to frame suitable policies, which addresses the concerns of the varius stakeholders. Tourism is a multi sectoral activity. The growth in tourism sector -calcualted by number of tourist arrivals and the earnings through tourism- is thus the dependent variable. The independent variables exerting their influence on the dependent variable are connect between the policy formulation and implementation( this again is dependent dependent
on the
involvement and participation of the stakeholders stakeholders during the formulation formulation of the the policy as well as their perception of the policy), provision of basic infrastructre, promotion and marketing of tourism potential, innovation, supportive role of the government, law and order situation of the state, facilities and experience offerd to the tourists etc. The extraneous variables in this case would be law and order situation in the state, no natural or man made disaster and no economic crisis.
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Independent Variables
Dependent Variable
Adequate infrastructure
Effective Promotion and demand driven marketing strategy
Growth of Tourism Sector (increase in number of tourist arrivals and earnings)
Enabling govt. policy promoting active Private Sector Participation Law and order in the state
No natural catastrophe No major global economic problem
Extaneous Variables Research Question The research is an attempt to find answers to the following questions : •
How effective has been the various public policies aimed at growth of Tourism in the state?
Are there any gaps in policy formulation and its
implementation & delivery mechanism? •
What is the perception of the diffeent stakeholders towards the various policies and whether they think the environment is feasible for the growth of the Tourism sector in the state?
•
Has the state has been able to market itself well to tap its full potential?
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Research Design A research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigtion so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions or problems. The plan is the complete scheme or program of the research. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing their hypothesis and their operational imlications to the final analysis of data (Kerlinger, 1986). A research design is a procedural plan that is adopted by the researcher to answer questions validly, objectively, accurately and economically (Sellitz). Based on the objective of the research, an exploratory qualitative research has been conducted by the researcher. An exploratory research is one in which the research is done with the objective to explore a particular area. It is also termed as formulative research studies. Major emphasis is on the discovery of ideas and insights. The research design has to be flexible enough to provide opportunity for considering different aspects of a problem under study. Qualitative research, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon involving quality. It is non-numerical, descriptive, applies reasoning and uses words. Its aim is to get the meaning, feeling and describe the situation. The study is aimed at exploring the tourism potential in the state of Rajasthan and to find out whether the same has been tapped to full or not. The study is also an attempt to find out the attitudes and perceptions of the various stkeholders who are a part and parcel of the sector. The study area is the important tourist destinations in the state such as Jaipur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, These places were chosen as these have been identified as the ones most frequented by the tourists based on the tourist arrivals. Both Primary and secondary data was extensively used for the purpose. As part of the primary data collection, the
78
author conducted stratified random sampling. It is a method of sampling, sampling, which involves the division of a population into smaller groups, known as strata. In stratified random sampling, the strata are formed based on their members sharing a specific attribute or characteristic. A random sample from each stratum is taken, in a number proportional to the stratum's size when compared to the population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample. The main advantage with stratified sampling is how it captures key population characteristics in the sample. Similar to a weighted average, this method of sampling produces characteristics in the sample that are proportional to the overall population. A likert type scale has been used to understand the attitudes and perception of the people. Based on the sample analysis, the reseracher had tried to make statements about the population. Instrument for data collection While designing data collection procedure, adequate safeguards against bias and unreliability were ensured. Questions were well examined and were unambiguous.
Methods of data collection Primary data collction As part of the primary data collection, the author conducted stratified random sampling. The author visited Jaipur & Pushkar and also collected information and responses from Jaisalmer, and Biakner. As part of the research, questionnares (attached as Annexure A7) A7 ) were administered by the researcher to tourists- both domestic and international at these tourist tourist destinations.
To understand understand the
79
perception of the private sector hotel and resort owners, tour operators, guides, emporium owners, a separate questionnaire (attached as Annexure A8) A8 ) was administered to them. Interviews were also conducted with Govt officials implementing the policy. (A schedule of the questions is placed as Annexure A 9.)This 9.)This included the people at the top level including officials who have held positions like the Secretary, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Rajasthan, RTDC officials, police officials, Information officers, and Govt. of India Officials.The perception mapping of the three groups was undertaken after tabulating and analyzing
tthe
data
and
information
gathered
through
interviews
and
questionnaires. As part of the research, the author had studied the policy and also through interactions with the Government officials tried to find out whether what was envisged in the policy document has been achieved or steps in the dirctions have been taken. After more than 8 years, what is the situation on the ground, what are the gaps in the policy formulation and its implemetation, what are the gaps and what is the need of the hour. The data, thus, collected was tabulated and analyzed using statistical, tools. This enabled us to find out the trends, analyze them and help in forecasting and giving suggestions, which may help in policy formulation. Sample Size The following is the size of the sample undertaken for the research:
6TOURIST DESTINATION
TOURISTS
JAIPUR JAISALMER BIKANER
100 50 50 200
RESORT OWNERS/ TOUR OPERATORS/HOTEL OWNERS /TRAVELOPERATOTS 40 10 10 60
TOTAL
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The response rate was 62.5 %(125) in terms of the tourists and 60%(36) in terms of the resort owners etc. Of the 125 tourist’ respondents, 62.4%were male and and 37.6%female. Of the responsents, 56.8% were domestic and 43.2% wer foreigners. The highest number of
respondents were in the gae group 26-
35(39.2%) followed by 36-50 age group(37.6%) and then by 18-25 age group (17.6%), above 50 (4.8%) and below 18(.8%). The second category consisiting of the private players had 25 % respondents as tour operators, 50 % hotel owners, 19,5% travel agents and 2.7% were resort owners and rest house owners each.
Besides this, some 50 officials were contacted by the reseracher with questionnaires out of which only 15 respnded by replying to the questionnaire or through interviews. The interviews were conducted either by phone or in perosn mostly at Jaipur and Delhi . Secondary Data
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The secondary data was collected from the websites, databanks, from the published and unpublished reports and data sources. Websites of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan and Database such as Indiastat, magportal etc aided in data collection . ACNielso ORG Marg study on tourism statistics conducted for Ministry Of Tourism, Govt. of India was also helpful in getting secondary data. The available studies have dwelt on the growth of tourism in Rajasthan and the steps taken in this direction. Some of the studies have also dwelt on the infrastructure requirements for propelling the growth of the sector. Since the study was an exploratory and descriptive one, the author studied not only the factual position of the state in the sector over the years and decades but also the impact of the policies and the status of infrastructure and tourism apparatus in the state. The gaps in policy, its perception, it’s understanding and its implementation was one of the key objectives of the present study. The marketing strategy of the state was also the subject matter of the study. The reseracher also got an oppurtunity to visit countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Singapore. Talks were held with some of the locals and information was gathered about how these countries are marching ahead in the field of tourism. For instance, how Singapore having not much of the tourist spots has developed the Sentosa Island and made it a hub of entertainment. Also, how it has promoted convention tourism; and how it has emerged as one of the best shopping destinations in the world. The visit to these places also showed showed how in Alexandria (Washington (Washington DC), ghost stories have also been used as a tourist attraction. A first hand experience of this ” the graveyard tour “ gave an idea on what innovation can do to promote tourism. The visit to Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum showed how an otherwise sleepy place that was used by TB patients had been transformed into an international tourist destination by hosting the annual summit. Preservation, marketing, destination branding were some of o f the aspects that the visits to these places underlined.
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CHAPTER 4
OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS
The next step is the analysis of data and the observations that flow from it. The researcher has collected data from three sets of stakeholders. They are: 1. The govt officials implementing the policy 2. The Private sector (including resort owners, hotel owners, tour tour operators, travel agents agents and others associated with the trade) – the stakeholders who are working in the field and benefitting/ otherwise from the policy 3. Tourists – the ultimate ultimate users of the product The size of the sample for the category 2 & 3 is and thirty six and one twenty five respectively. Besides this, the secondary data availble from other sources such as the wbsitesof Govt. of India, Rajasthan government
was also used for getting
inferences by the author. The primary data collected by the author was aimed at getting the perception of the various stakeholders about the effect of the government’s policy on the growth of tourism in the state. The perception of the stakeholders is very important as it gives an overview of what the polcies aims at and what the final users feel about it and the actual situation on the ground. The intention behind any policy initiative is noble but there might be a gap in what is intended and what happens on the ground. To take the argument further, the objective of the tourism policy is the promotion of tourism in the state which will have its multiplier effect on employment generation and poverty eradication. To see whether the government has really achieved its prime objective, we need to know from the two stakeholders directly involved with the policy –its implementers and its beneficiaries i.e the govt.officials and the private sector.
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Also, we need to know from the ultimate beneficiaries whether the obectives have been achieved and this can be assessed from the level of satisfaction of the tourists and whether they would like to visit the state agiain or not. This will impact the further growth of the sector as mouth to mouth publicity is one of the most important sources of getting more tourists to any destination. To get to this, the researcher administered a questionnaire to the tourists asking them various questions. These questions can be broadly grouped into the following categories: •
Demographic Profile related
•
Travel & Infrastructure related
•
Experience of Rajasthan
A) Analysis of data related to tourists - Their perception The primary data collected from the tourists showed the following: 1. The occupational status of the people visiting the state as collected frm frm the primary data suggests that the maximm number of people surveyed are professionals followed by people in government service, private service, businessmen etc. The pie diagram given below gives a percentage wise break-up.
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2. Most of the the respondents were either travelling with family or friends. friends. The pie chart given below shows that 21.6 % respondents were travelling alone rest with either family or friends. The size of the travelling family was mostly in between 3-
85
5(with morethan 51 % response) meaning people feel like trvelling in a family as said earlier. 3. Another important faceat which came to light through the data collected was the source of information about the various tourist places for the majority of tourists was family and friends (i.e the peolple who had known or viisted the places themselves). They accounted for about 51.2% of the total followed by Internet (18.4). Promotion by private entities accounted for 13.6% and road shows by governmnet a meagre 3.2 %. Majority of the tourists made their own travel arrangements with nearly 75 % not taking packaged tour. 75 % of respondents made their own travel arrangements , about 20 % made it through travel operators and travel agents agents and others accountd for for the rest. 4. The major purpose of the respondents’ visit was leisure, recreation and holiday. The chart given below gives the percentage wise break up of the purpose of travel.
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5. Themaximm number of respondents had stayed in guest house/rest house visitirs
bunglow(42.4%)
followed
by
starred
hotel
(31.2%)
and
then
unstarred(16.8%) followed by friends & relatives(10.4%) and balance others.The number of night stay i.e the duration of the stay is found on an average to be 25 days with 78.4 78.4 %% of those surveyed belonging to this category. category. 6. Coming to the most satisfying and dissatisfying aspect of their stay, maximum number
of
tourists
put
touts(25.6%),
lack
of
good
transport
facilities(24%)information about tourits places(18.4%), traffic , hygiene and sanitation, filth as the major irritants irritants while the experience-cultural
&heritage
topped with 65.6% terming it as the most satisfying .
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7.The respondents were also asked to rate the individual attributes such as transport
within
the
centre,
accomodation,
and
reasonablness
of
accomodation tariff, food quality, entertainment and shopping facility. The same is given below in the chart. The majority of the respondents found the food quality excellent (62.4%), room tariffs reasonable (64%), visitor’s attraction interesting (60.8%) and shopping facility adequate (68%).
8. When asked to rate their over all experience at the tourist centre, about 38.4% rated their experience between three to four. Asked whether they would like to
88
come back for a visit to the state 92.8 % said yes, 4.8% no whle 4% said yes provided certain things such as traffic, transportation, sanitation and hygiene improve. Given below is the rating:
B) Analysis of data related to the private sector -Their perception The perception of the private sector
comprising of the hotel owners,resort owners,resort
owners, travel and tour operators is very important as they are the ones who are the benefciaries of the business environment created by the policy. This group was also administered questionnaires questionnaires by the researcher. Of the 60 people who were sent the questionnaire, 36 responded. Again the questions asked can be divided into the following categories: •
Professional Profile related
•
Perception of the policy related to toursim
•
Areas needing more attention & suggestions
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Of the responses received, 19.44 % were from travel agent, 52.78%from hotel owners/ resort owners and 25% tour tour operators. 47.22% of respondents rated thier business as good in profit folowed by30.56 % as average, 11.11% as very good, 5.56% as booming and 2.78& in loss.
Based on the responses received, the following can be deduced: 1. The awareness about the National Tourism Policy and the Rajasthan Tourism Policy was 61.11 % and 69.44 %respectively. 2. The percetion of the respondents about the policy varied from 27.78% of them feeeling it to be clear and giving general directions to 19.44% 19.44% feeling that that
it is comprehensive and stakeholder’s stakeholder’s
interests are clearly part of the policy .
However, 22.22% of
respondents felt hat it is inadequate and unclear and 11.1%thought that it’s just another policy document.
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3. As far as rating of the policy is concerned, it was rated by the maximum number of people (52.78%) as average followed by 22.78% respondents as good. Majority of the respondnts (about 69.44%)felt that the government should play a more active role while 19.44 % felt that it should act as facilitator and 5.56% felt that
it should continue to play the same role as present. 4. As far as the private sector’s sector’s percception about about whether the full potential of the state has been relaized or not, 36.11 % feel still a
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lot remains to be tapped.25% of the respondents feel that only partly it has been realized and 16.67 % feel that it has not been realized at all.Only a small (8.33%) feel that it has been fully utilized. 5. On the rating of the marketing efforts on a scale of five, none of the respondents rated it as excellent or very good, 22.22% rated it as good, majority of them (61.11) rated it as average and 8.33% as poor.
6. On the areas, which requires greater attention, 19.44%feel infrastructure needs priority, 8.33% feel marketing efforts for promotion requires greater attention, .22.22% feel greater involvement of local population is required while13.89%feel new forms of tourism should be developed. However, the maximm number of respondents ((30.56%) felt that better support to the private sector is required.
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7. When the respondents were asked which other form of tourism should be developed in the state, 25% 25% feel that convetion tourism can be developed, while the majority (63.89%) felt adventure tourism could be developed. There was no suggestion on any other forms of tourism that can be developed as requested from the respondents.
On another question, whether the locals are are
getting benefitted from the tourism activities, 75% replied in affirmative. 8. On the rating of the infrastructure, while 92 % of the private sector respondents feel that it is inadeqaute and needs improvement. As compared to this, 63.2% of the tourists felt it needs improvement, 8.8% finds it to be inadeqaute, and 26.4% think that it is adequate to make their stay comfortable.
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9. On the places whch could be developed as tourist spots, the private stakeholders have suggested the following places :
Jhunjhunu
Pratapgarh
Sikar
Bundi
Naal(Bikaner)
Deshnokh(Bikaner)
Sam -Kudi(Jaisalmer)
Mandawa
Ramdeva
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C) Analysis of data related to the govt officers -Their perception The response rate as far as the interview request, filling of questionnaire from the government officers and staff was not very encouraging with only 15 of them responding to the questionniare or to interview request. Amongst those responded included police official, RTDC officials, Information officer, DoT officials, former secretary of Department of Tourism, Govt. of Rajasthan, district collector of a prominent tourist spot in Rajasthan, forest official etc. There was a unawreness about the policy document as such amongst the senior officers implemting the policy but not amongst the junior sraff implemting the policy and officials of other departments such as police etc. While those implemting the policy at the senior level find it quite comrehensive, there were voices in the government who think that it is inadequate. However, most of the respondents agreed that the objectives as laid down in the policy are partly fulfilled. They also were of the view that the government should act as a facilitator in creating an enabbling environment for the private sector to grow. There was also a realization that the political support can really help in giving a great impetus but as Shri Vinod Zutshi says that it is for the bureucracy to convince the political leadership about the importance of the issue and this requires passion in the officers for the cause. Shri Amitabh Kant, the former Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and the man behind the “Incredible India” campaign in his intercations with the researcher said that tourism officials needs to be passionate and should be the brand ambassadors of their product. He also said that “ you need to convince your political bosses of the potential and for this you need to be passionate”. Since, tourism is a multi- sectoral activity, it is difficult to get all the departments on the same page and this sometimes lead to delay in the projects. This view was also expressed by another officer who said many times it takes so much of
95
time in finalizing the projects that in the meantime other states or countries (very competetive sector various actors vying for the attention of tourists.) surge ahead. Shri Devesh Chaturvedi, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India also takes the multi sectoral argument by saying that this gets complicated with the federal structure existent in India as the schmes takes time in approval at the central level and then the state governments who have to implement the schemes take their own time as it requires co-ordination from several deprtments. Mr. Vinod Zutshi spoke to the researcher on how new areas and experiences need to be created to make the state a 365 days destination. He talked about the various initiatives taken during his tenure such as Night Tourism(opening of Amer fort at Night,Night Bazars,) organizing of Summer Festival, Monsoon Festival, Jhalawar, Bundi, Kama (Bharatpur)and Tribal Festival(Doongarpur),making tourism an integral part of the Rajasthan Day celebrations by organizing ten day events showcasing the various facets facets of Rajasthan. Rajasthan. But he also said that there should be continuity in the policies as then and then only these new festivals can be recognized and put on the tourism calendar of the state. On the infrastructure front, there was again unanimity amongst the various responents that it needs improvement.
As per the officals the areas which
require more emphasis from the government are :better connectivity including air conncetivity with imprortant tourist destinations,development of tourism circuits, increasing the strength of tourist police and their sensitization to the cause, trained and skilled manpower to handle diverse situations, marketing efforts etc.The private sector needs to be assured of a good return by creating a business friendly environment. On the branding and marketing efforts of the Rajasthan governmnet, when the reseracher spoke to Mr. Amitabh Kant, he said that the Rajasthan government has not been able to leverage the India Incredible campaign and carry it forward. He said that branding is not mere advertising. It requires concerted efforts and a
96
whole lot of marketing research goes into it. Products have to be tailor made to the consumer’s requirements. You need to have insights into the customer’s mind – what products he require and how to create an experince around it. This will require both tangibles and intangibles such as the welcome experiences say at the emigration or the way the auto/taxi drivers talk or the clenaliness, hygiene around the places. Mr. Kant says that Rajasthan is such a unique product and it has the flavour which Europe is looking for. A marketing strategy based
on
continous and sound research, based on which a professional agency can build upon a 360-degree campaign based on consistent strategy and a host of other activities is what is required for establishing Brand Rajasthan. Another RTDC official who is promoting the luxury trains , RRW and POW says that the government doesn’t have a proper marketing wing, there are 2-3 officials at Jaipur doing the job. According to him, professionals who are from the field should manage organizations like RTDC. There should be continuity at the top and the top officails should have at least 3 years term. The hotels of RTDC should be professionally run and free from political interferences.
Marketing
has to move beyond printing of brochures and literature. literature. Kerala Tourism is one model which some of the officals interviwed thought is a good model to look at. On the benefits reaching the locals, some of the officials felt that their greater involvement could be sought sought through village tourism tourism and nature tourism. As government officials implemting the policy, the following were the problems identified by them in implementation : •
Multiple departmental clearances
•
Procedural delays
•
Time and cost over runs due to sluggish tendering process
•
Time in land acquistion
•
Lack of skilled manpower
•
Funds Constraints
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The following were the reforms suggested by the governmnet officials to tap the full tourism potential in the state : •
Connectivity (road, air and rail) should should be given given adequate importance.
•
Development of mini airports in areas where influx of foreign tourits is high
•
Private participation for building infrastructure
•
Civilized and courteus staff
•
Ensuring safety and security of tourists
•
•
Giving Tourism a priority status – pro active policy to promote tourism Making Rajasthan a 365 days tourist destination through development of organized entertianment events in the off peak season.
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Perception of the key stakeholders on different issues
Stakeholder Issue
Government Officials
Awareness about the
Yes at some senior levels There
Policy
but
not
amongst
Private Sector
Tourists is
other awareness
departments such as police about the policy and amongst junior level amongst 70% of officers
implmenting
the the respondents
policy. Implementation Policy
of
the Restricted to the present 58% feel
it is
job they are doing. Policy clear, adequate. dependent on the political But most of the importance given to the respondents sector. problemd
Procedural feel due
involvement of departments
that
the
to government has various to
go
beyond
mere policy and faciliate create
and more
enabling environment with
active
private
sector
participation . Infrastructure
Needs improvement. More Air
and
road
Needs
pvt. Sector participation in connectivity
Improvement. Air
buildng
and
infrastructure. required.
99
road
Better connectivity.
conectivity.
Tapping of full tourism A lot needs to be done.
A lot needs to A lot needs to be
potential
be done
done
Marketing Policy of the Good.
Average
Average
government Benefit to the locals
It is giving.
More involvement needed.
Other forms of tourism Village tourism
Adventure,
that can be developed developed
Convention.
Areas for improvement
Procdural delays
Adventure
Land at cheaper Sanitation, prices,
infra traffic, signages,
development
more
info
to
tourits,
budget
hotels,
better
local transport
100
Rajasthan is one state that has huge tourism potential. It is envisged that the sector would contribute more than 10% to the state’s GDP(Rajasthan Infrastructure Agenda,2025).Achieving the envisaged rates of growth for the sector would require action on a number of fronts, such as improving access to the town, developing tourism products, improving access to tourist sites within or around the town, improving support urban infrastructure at tourist locations, and identifying project opportunities in primary tourism infrastructure. This would also require effective destination branding exercise. Mere advertisement campaigns won’t help and would not lead to building of
Brand Rajasthan. Rajasthan.
This would would
require a comprehensive branding exercise built on a clear understanding of the target market, their requirements and tailor made products and a clear strategy to reach the target audience with a clear and appealing message. Based on the literature review and the primary data collected from various stakeholders, the reseracher has reached to the following conclusions : 1. The potential of Rajasthan is yet to be tapped fully. This requires, as mentioned above, a combination of efforts on both policy and marketing side. The basic infrastructure road, rail and air connectivity needs to be strengthed. There are still destinations which have a high influx of foreign tourits but air connectivity is still not established. This leads leads to a higher travel time and thus reduces period of stay as we found out that the people staying in Rajasthan for more than five days was just 16% . 2. Development of organized entertainment facility and niche products that could attract young population as well as family is another area, which deserves attention. As majority of the people visiting visiting the state are young professionals in the age group of 26-35 , we need to cater to their their tastes. 101
A thorough research work needs to be done so as to find out which products can be develeoped . Also emphasis needs to be placed to create experiences wonderful enough to make them remember their stay in Rajasthan for a life time. As could be seen from the primary data collected, the most satisfying experience for the majority of the people was the experience (cultural/heritage) they had. We need to leverage this further and the irritants pinpointed by the tourits (lack of good transportation, hygiene and sanitation, lack of information, cleanliness, air connectivity, better infrastructure at the tourist centres) needs to be addresed. As family and friends were the main source of information about the tourist centres, this again emphasizes the need for creating experiences. 3. The demographic demographic profile of the country with young population with greater disposable income, growing middle class , better road infrastructure wishing to experiment has given an oppurtunity to the state state to take the advantage and promote Tourism in the domestic domestic sector. New products and experiences developed around this could unlock the doors to this clientele. Rajasthan’s proximity to Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi gives lots of scope for development of weekend tourism. Internet marketing is another area which needs to be the focus of marketers as this was the second important source of information for the tourists and also younger population are increasingly using internet as source of information. 4. Rajasthan has several varied types of experiences to cater to all tastes. tastes. So for those preferring the heritage experience, can experience the comforts of kings and queens in heritage hotels and havelis and for those discerning travellors looking for something different the boutique hotels are there. Adventure tourism is also one area that needs to be developed as suggsted by the majority of the respondents as also MICE(Meetings Incentives
Conferences and exhibitions)tourism. For this , convention
centres with world-class facility and infrastructure will need to be
102
developed. Private sector participation in this endeavour may be sought .Another possible area could be marriage tourism popularized by celebrities getting married in the royal fashion in palacs of Udaipur and Jodhpur. The private sector sector can explore this furher by offering offering a similar similar experience for budget consumers. 5. Rajasthan needs to promote its food in a big way. It has potential to to be a major hit as could be gauged from the experinces of the respondents who have ranked it as the second most satisfying experience. If Jaipur Literary Festival could become such a super hit within 5-6 years ( big media reports appearing in major International newspapers about the fest)of its existence so why not a culinary festival. Bollywood Bollywood and Hollywood may also be incentivized to “ hire it for location”. 6. The harrasment faced by the tourists at the hands of touts, erring auto and taxi drivers etc should be put to an end. The local people’s involvement in the trade has to be sought. While interacting with one of the Khadims at Ajmer Dargah, the rsearcher came to understand how in the absence of correct information the tourists coming at the Dargah are fleeced by the hotel owners, auto and taxi operators and they feel harrased and cheated. The industry needs to be truly made into
a “People’s industry” as
envisaged in the Rajsathan Rajsathan Tourism Tourism Policy Policy and by making
it pople
oriented and sustainable in nature by reducing the burden on the environmnet and making it people and environment friendly. Schemes like Athithi Devo Bhavah can be taken forward and to its logical conclusion. 7. On the question whether the marketing of Rajasthan Tourism is being done on the marketing principles, the researcher has come to mixed conclusions. The efforts by the Rajasthan Government Government doessn’t seem to be backed by proper market research. It is still based on the seller’s strtaegy, the consumer orientation is not to be seen in full action. The
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private players are developing niche products too cater to the consumers but the state is to be more supportive in in its effort. The segmentation of the market and the positioning of the products/experiences have to be done accordingly.The government is still continuing with what could be called the 4 P’s of marketing mix instead 4 Cs. Present here is the analyis:
4Ps
4Cs Present Position
Place
Convenience
Convienece is still not what the marketing
efforts
and
the
policy is aiming at . There are efforts at providing covienence by
the
private
players
by
providing luxurious stay but convienence other
comprises
faclities.
of The
transportation facilities are still lacking, problem.
connectivity There
is
a are
infrastructural problems at the tourist centre. Padharo Maro Des should not be a mere slogan. Price
Cost to the user
As a sizeable population of tourists prefers to stay at budget or unstarred hotels, this type of accomodation is what is required. There should be products with varying prices to offer to the consumers to
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choose from depending on the market
segment.
Pricing
decisions have to be taken based on the market segment. Positioning of the product is to be
done
accordingly.
Like
wise, transport facilities should be developed (including good public transport both between the centre and within the centre for the tourists to chose from. This seems to be yet not achieved to its full. Promotion
Communication
Communication is still not a proper
360
degree
communication.
The
communication strategy is not planned research and
not
Rajasthan
based
on
firm
and is sporadiac consistent. is
yet
Brand to
be
established. The tag line Rajasthan-
simply
colorful
doesn’t seem to say anything clear and definite. Product
Customer needs and wants
Rajasthan offers many unique experiences. They are yet to be tailor made to suit to the varying needs and wants of the customers. The tailoring of the products as per the needs
105
and wants would requie a detailed analysis for which a detailed, comprehensive and continous market research is what is required.
In
the
light
of
the
above,
the
following
are
some
of
the
suggestions/recommendations of the researcher : 1.
Tourism must be given the status of a priority sector – Though tourism industry is the third largest after agriculture and industry in Rajasthan contributing about 15 % to SGDP, the sector doesn’t seem to receive the priority it deserves. The
potential of the multiplier effect of
the tourism industry is not being realized in its its true light. While While the state government was one of the few states to come out with a State Tourism Policy in 2001 but there are many gaps between its formulation and implementation that needs to be filled. The sector , thus , needs to be given the status of priority status and incentives provided for its development. 2.
Continuity in the policies by subsequent governments- The boost and leadership that the political leadership provides to the sector can do wonders to the growth of this sector. The active role and support of the top political bosses can make all the difference. But with the change in the regime, sometimes there is a discontnuity in the focus that this sector is accorded. As even now, some sees tourism as an elitist industry thriving on the 5 star hotels and resorts and catering to the higher classes. Kerala is today a success story because of the continuity in the policies for tourism promotion carried by successive governmnets. The policies needs to be incemental and progressive and not regressive. A vision for the growth of the the sector in the state for the next 20-25 years
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needs to work on and the successive governments should work towards its realization. 3.
Better connectivity between the various tourist centres in the state - There is a need for connecting important tourist destinations by air – the most important cities in this regard would include Mt. Abu, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Ajmer, initially. Airports at these locations need to be set up in a phased manner, as availability of air services to these cities would result in significant saving in travel time. It is suggested that some inter-city connection be given so that tourists can commute to their main destinations. This would require a fleet of small aircraft connecting these centres. Thus, private operators who could start air taxi operations would need to be encouraged. Besides this, road and rail connectivity for faster movement should should be encouraged. Highways and expressways expressways under PPP programme under the National Highways Development programme and by the state government should be done so that quality roads save travelling time. Gauge conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge should be taken up with co-operation of Indian railways ( especially in the Shekawati region whose tourist potential is yet to be realized).
4.
Infrastructure at and around the tourist sites to be develpoed – Most of the respondents have complained about the state of cleanliness and hygiene, safety and security, tarnsportation within the centre, lack of information centres, signages, public toilets, street lightening lightening etc. Getting the tourits to the destinations is just one part of the story but basic facilities needs to be there to faciitate and make their stay comfortable. There should be proper landscaping , lighting, public toilets, and information about the tourist spot available at the location.
5.
Making the over all experience of the tourists wonderful so that they bcame brand ambassadors of the state- Merely offering a luxurious
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stay in the luxurious or heritage hotels, resorts is not enough. For the tourists, the over alll experience during the stay counts. If
due to
harrasment by lapkas(touts), over charging by the auto rikshaw drivers, nagging by beggars, filth near the major tourist attractions, and lack of adequate safety and security , tourists does not enjoy their stay and doesn’t enjoy the whole experiece, he / she would not only come back but also create a negative image for the state which would not be good for the growth of the sector as publicity by word of mouth is the most effctive method of promotion.
6.
Rol Role and location of Tourist Reception Centres (TRCs) / Tourist Information Bureaus (TIBs) : Availabilty of correct, timely timely and easily information is very important for a tourist. To get the correct information, the tourist would not like to go to information centres which are far away. Currently, TRCs / TRBs are mostly located at areas within the town that are not very visible to the tourist entering the town. These are sometimes located at places where a tourist would not normally even go. This has been the case in a large number of towns. However, since a TRC or TIB should be the first point of contact for a tourist entering the town, there is a need to ensure that these are located at important entry points / strategic locations. Also, the effectiveness of these TRCS / TIBs was found to vary significantly across towns. At most centres, these are operating out of a single room, are inadequately stocked and have poor infrastructure in terms of vehicles, computers, connectivity through internet, etc. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that the TRCs / TIBs are uniformly effective in terms of being well equipped with brochures, etc. and manned by knowledgeable personnel. It is also understood that a pilot project for privatisation and computer networking of TRCs / TIBs is being considered – this could possibly be replicated across the remaining TRCs / TIBs
108
7.
Preservation of heritage and greater involvement of private sector sector -we have several examples of heritage sites which are lying unattented and in ruins . The ASI is not in a position to maintain them due to resource crunch and many of them them doesn’t are even
under ASI’s ASI’s
umbrella.At several locations, properties (such as parks, historical sites, forts, etc.) are not being maintained properly and even the responsibility for maintenance is not clearly known. Proper maintenance of key properties is essential in order to ensure that the tourist sites remain attractive to tourists. Some key parks or sites of historical importance could possibly be contracted out to the private sector for maintenance, for which the financial parameters / guidelines and performance criteria may be worked out. One such succesful example in the state of this type of initiative has beeen the Jal Mahal project in Jaipur . The Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi is also another success story worth emulating. 8.
Maintenance of tourist spots and properties by Urban Local Body working with the Tourism Department : An alternative where properties are not being maintained by the private sector could be that the Urban Local Body is given the responsibility for maintenance, for which it is monitored by the local Tourism Department. A possible model could be the formation of a local-level committee chaired by the District Collector for overseeing maintenance. It is suggested that some part of the ULB’s budget could be earmarked for maintenance of the tourist places. Also, a maintenance fund could be created out of a city development levy on guests staying at hotels. This This could be in the the form of a small surcharge added on to the total hotel bill as in done inseveral countries(the reseracher saw the same in existense in Switzerland during her visit there). The rates could vary for domestic tourists from within within Rajasthan those from outside the state but from within India and those from foreign tourits.
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9.
Policies aimed at improving tourism infrastructure - Steps have been taken to improve
the tourism infrastructure in the state and an
investment plan has been preapred till 2020. Some of the steps in this direction have been taken by creation of land banks, changes in land policy and icentives through the Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy,2007. These policies should further aim to increase the tourist accomodation infrastructure and make them available at prices, which incentivize the players so that the lands for these hotels are not avialble at exorbitant prices. As the capital costs of the accomodation units has a bearing on the room tarrifs thus the land price (which accounts for about 40-50% of the project cost)becomes an important determinant for affordable accomoodation. The land should be available on long-term leases by the land owning agencies rather than on high reserve prices. It is necessary in the light of the fact that India is competing with other countries in the region for the foreign tourists. The price competetiveness of Indian hotels is reduced vis-a Vis competing destinations in the neighbourhood , such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Hotel room tarriffs at the gateways(Delhi, Mumbai etc) are amongst the top ten highest in the world (Study to Preapare a roadmap, ADB). Thus, the Rajsthan tourist destinations such as Jaipur should try to take the advantage by offering lower tarrifs and by development of international air connectivity so that foreign tourits come directly to Rajasthan instead of coming through Delhi and Mumbai. 10. Government taking over some important heritage properties for maintenance / preservation : At some locations, heritage properties / monuments are not open to the public since these are owned privately. This becomes a major limitation, because parts of important tourist sites, such as historical monuments, palaces, forts, etc., remain inaccessible to the tourist. In cases where it is possible, the government might consider taking over some of these properties on priority basis. It could also take
110
up the responsibility for restoration and development works, such as construction of boundary walls for these properties, etc., and also take over the maintenance function, at least initially. 11. Impetus on promotion of domestic tourism – As far as domestic tourism in Rajasthan is concerned, its share of the country’s total is a meagre 5 %. Pilgrimage tourism especially at Pushkar, Ajmer Ajmer Dargah is the ones drawing major domestic tourists. The foreign tourist arrival in the state is seasonal due to it beiing long haul destination. Thus, the strategy requires that we need to promote the state as a 365 days destination, the way Goa and Kerala has promoted itself. There is a need to organize tourism events and organized entertainment activities to lure domestic tourism in the so called off peak season.The tourism infrastructure is capital intensive and thus it should be utilizd to its full capacity through out the year to take out the capital cost. cost. Thus, it is necessary that domestic tourism may be promoted amongst the rising middle Indian class with high personal disposable income.
Besides
pilgrim tourism, the young demographics of the country are also favourable for the growth of domestic tourism. It is necessary that these two segments of population should be offered new experiences (beyond pilgrimage tourism) such as adventure toursim, weekend tourism fun tourism, caravan tourism and niche products that attracts the young awitnessing an annual growth of about thirty percent. 12. Adoption of a customer oriented approach of marketing -
One
common feature of all successful tourism development strategies across different countries has been reliance on research (market intelligence) to base strategic decisions. This clearly indicates a preference (and need) for a market-oriented approach (i.e. give the customer what he or she wants) rather than the more traditional production- oriented approach that is still followed in some countries (i.e. give the customer what you think he or she wants). Infact, nearly 10% of the annual expenditure of various Tourism Promotion Boards (and / or Commissions) is set aside
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for market research. In the current-set up in Rajasthan, there is little reliance on research to base decision-making. Infact, there is a mismatch between available research and the needs of the sector in the state, because of which tourism research and information is not making the contribution it should be to the development of the sector in the state. It is in this background that Vision 2025
the
Raasthan Infrastructure Agenda 2025,
report presented by Pricewater House Coopers submitted
in 2003 has suggested that the state should set up a “Technical Secretariat” to the Department of Tourism. Such an approach, i.e. creation of a Technical Secretariat outside of the government, is being taken by more and more states. Though there is already a society in Rajasthan (the Rajasthan Institute of Tourism and Travel Management RITTMAN) for tourism research / conducting specialized training courses, etc., a Technical Secretariat could act as a nodal agency for undertaking research activities relating to the tourism sector, and could be responsible for the following:
•
Provide ongoing research inputs to the key decision makers (market research would typically include demand estimation, e.g. propensity of tourists from a particular country or region taken as a group, to travel, segmentation (visitor arrivals by age, source, mode of transport, income category, travel purpose, etc.), and buyer behaviour (e.g. preferences of UK long haul backpackers versus Korean group tours and Young Office Ladies from Japan). This would involve developing research formats, coordinating research activities, etc. All subsequent decisions relating to product, packaging, promotion, pricing, etc., would then be driven by these research outputs
•
Develop a tourism information system in the state to forecast visitor arrivals (including numbers, length of stay, modes of arrival, travel routes, expenditure, etc.)
•
Provide advice to the government on a continuous basis on policy
112
development •
and implementation, management and competitiveness .
Assist in establishing sector standards and an effective accreditation framework for tourism development in the state. Key elements of this include the following: •
Developing and implementing a single, integrated, effective quality standards and accreditation framework for Rajasthan tourism products and services
•
Gathering, analysing and disseminating information about the fit between visitors’ expectations and their actual experience
•
Benchmarking international tourism standards and service levels
•
Ensuring that operators have the necessary capability building tools, training and assistance
•
Developing a business case for an industry-wide consumer protection and complaints management framework
•
Facilitate development and structuring of viable tourism projects on an ongoing basis
•
Carry out / co-ordinate marketing programmes and outreach
13. Building of research and
Brand Rajasthan on
solid foundation of
market
going for a 360 degree approach of promotion-
Initiation of an annual marketing / trade event to promote tourism in the state: state : Rajasthan as a tourism destination has a small voice, market share, and level of awareness amongst prospective tourists. The total experience that Rajasthan has to offer is unique, but strong marketing and branding will be required if it is to become a leading tourism destination in in the future.
Branding should not be confused with
advertising which plays only a marginal role. The branding excercise should have a clear definition of value proposition , consisitency in communication strategy(same positioning and same creatives across all media) through all the communication channels; it should be based on constant research and innovation and
a continous effort backed by
113
adeqaute financial resources. The state government has not been able to leverage the hype created by the Incredible India campaign to its full. When we look at the marketing policy of the state government, a clear strategy is what is missing. Infact, what the researcher came across when exploring the promotional policy of the government was brochures, pamphlets, booklets , participation in marts, conferences etc. A key constraint that was expressed by various stakeholders is that there is currently lack of awareness of the town or circuit / region as a tourist destination. Destinations such as Kumbhalgarh have clearly suffered due to lack of proper marketing and awareness. It is therefore suggested that an annual Rajasthan marketing / trade mart at a specific location and date each year could be started on the lines of similar trade events internationally. This would help promote awareness of Rajasthan as a tourist destination (perhaps taking up a certain region each time as its theme) and therefore facilitate tourism growth in the state. This event should be subsidized by the state and would be critical for marketing Rajasthan as a leading tourist destination 14. Preparation of tourism literature and other promotional material : At most places there is inadequate literature on important sites / monuments / forts, etc., which is a basic requirement to promote awareness of a particular place. For the publishing and distribution of brochures and other informational material, the government could hire professional advertising agencies and public relations firms, as well as involve the private sector in planning and execution. It could also prepare short films on the tourist sites and broadcast these in the visual media and at other prominent places taxis : Most of the taxis/ auto rikshaws in the state do 15. Accreditation of taxis: not run by meter. This This was also one of the the common common complaints raised by the various respondents. This often causes tourists to feel insecure and cheated. A system by which tourist taxis are accredited to check exploitation of tourists and promote uniformity in rates should be
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considered. Also, the government could consider making it mandatory for new taxi permits to be awarded only to accredited taxis 16. Strengthening the Tourist Assistance Force (TAF) : It was found that the efficacy of the TAF varies considerably across locations. This is because the local TAF field officers are under the control of the respective regional tourism department, whose effectiveness varies from location to location. There is a need to make TAF uniformly efficient across locations by instituting proper performance criteria and guidelines, which should be strictly enforced. Making TAF more effective would help check incidents of harassment of tourists, etc., which are quite common currently Guides : At a number of tourist places, it is impossible to 17. Uniform for Guides: distinguish an accredited guide from those that are not. While the solution lies in strict enforcement of the system of guides at tourism locations, the same has been found to be ineffective. An option therefore could be to introduce a dress code for guides, which would help any tourist to easily make out the authenticity of the guide, thus helping him or her to feel more secure and helping reduce incidents of harassment, etc. 18. Setting up of Money Changers & ATM facility : Currently, moneychanging facilities in the state are mainly available through select bank branches or through foreign exchange operators (i.e. authorised dealers – ADs, restricted money changers – RMCs, and full fledged money changers – FFMCs). At some places, inadequacy of such facilities was expressed, and with the growth of tourism traffic in the future, there will be greater need for such facilities. To ensure the setting up of money changers at important tourist destinations, the government could consider making it mandatory for the building plans of all new commercial establishments (commercial complexes / hotels, etc.) beyond a particular size in the major tourist centres of the state to include
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exclusive space for money changers in their building plans. This would also encourage the implementation of the new RBI policy on money changers, which allow.s agents / franchisees of ADs or FFMCs to offer money changing facilities. ATM facilty at all the tourist spots should also be ensured as this was one of the suggestions which emanated from the responses of respondents. 19. Introduce
an
annual
International
Restoration
Award :
The
government could consider initiating an annual International Restoration Award, wherein entries could be invited from national / international students or organisations for submitting concept plans for development of select historical sites. The top two or three chosen plans could be felicitated, thus ensuring the visibility of Rajasthan as well as providing an incentive to interested parties. Another suggestion is for the government to initiate training packages for conservation work involving national and international craftsmen, artisans, professionals, etc.
Limitations of the Research The research could not visit many destinations due to the paucity of time. Further research needs to be taken in the Shekawati region. Also the inputs of small traders/ businessman could not be incorportaed much. The field of wild life tourism could not be explored explored.. Further research on these areas and the work being undertaken by the government and private research could be undertaken. The impact of niche tourism products can be a further topic of research. How greater involvement of locals could be envisaged could be another future area of reserch.
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