A

Project Report
On

ROLE OF MEDIA IN TOURISM

SUBMITTED IN:

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the degree

Of
Bachelor of tourism management

Submitted to:
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Submitted by:
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Indira Gandhi National Open University (New Delhi)

CONTENTS
1. Introduction Global Tourism Industry
2. Technology & Tourism
3. Indian tourism
4. Current Indian Tourism Industry

5. Objectives of research

6. Research Methodology

Types of Research

Research Design

Sampling Unit

Types of Sampling

Methods of Data Collection

7. Findings of the study

8. Limitations

9. Bibliography

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The importance of Human Resource Development for Tourism Industry is increasingly
being realized. There is a need to mobilize the human resource with the purpose to enable
them to participate in the task of organizational development and nation building.
Mobilization would include the need to develop the human resource, their skills,
knowledge, attitudes, so that they can achieve competently the pre-determined goals.
Obviously the efficient and professional management is pre-requisite of successful
tourism development. Having equal importance, however, is the quality of staff training,
which is often relatively neglected during the early stages of tourism sector development.
Tourism basically being a service business, a developing destination must take the
necessary steps to build a pool of efficient trained people to fill various jobs, which will
be created subsequently. A variety of jobs will have to be created to look after and
manage various tourist services. Special attention, therefore, will have to be given to the
needs of manpower and personnel to be trained and rendered qualified for the various
tourism professions. Special care has to be taken to ensure that there is expansion of
facilities and services. In case of a developing country, it will also be appropriate to study
at this stage the volume of manpower required for activities complementary to
accommodation industry in general and service
sector particular.1 Inspite of having a lot of tourism potentials Indias share of global
international tourism is relatively small in volume about 0.40% of world tourism. The
greatest thrust to tourism will come through human resource development in our country.
We would have skilled persons to handle this industry right from the level of waiters to
executive level and in case of Air India Ltd. ground
duty staff to flying staff. While planning for human resources development, programmes
should be
established to screen and train prospective employees so that they could acquire both
attitudinal as well as technical skills. Attitudinal characteristics contribute to an
employees success in tourism position and include pride, flexibility, adaptability and
judgement. Technical skills required for equipment operation and maintenance, financial
management, food and beverage, and personnel management etc. In order to determine

the need for various personal required, a staff planning exercise may be done. This
involves a
series of steps, which include job analysis, preparing job description, job specifications
and preparing staff forecasts. This sequence of activities leads to a detailed forecast of
exactly what types of persons, with what specific qualifications and skills will be required
at all major facilities within the tourist destination. All this helps in determining the
development of requisite education and training programmes within the country for local
residents. This will also help in determining whether there is a need for trained personnel
from other countries and also whether local people are to be sent for training elsewhere

INTRODUCTION GLOBAL TOURISM INDUSTRY

Since the beginning of time humans have traveled. Food, water, safety or acquisition of
resources (trade) were the early travel motivations. But the idea of travel for pleasure or
exploration soon emerged. Travel has always depended upon technology to provide the
means or mode of travel. The earliest travelers walked or rode domesticated animals. The
invention of the wheel and the sail provided new modes of transportation. Each
improvement in technology increased individuals' opportunities to travel. As roads were
improved and governments stabilized, interest in travel increased for education,
sightseeing, and religious purposes. One of the earliest travel guides was written by
Pausanias, a Greek, which was a 10 volume Guide to Greece, for Roman tourists in 170
A.D..Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries that delivers a travel
experience,

including

transportation,

accommodations,

eating

and

drinking

establishments, retail shops, entertainment businesses, activity facilities and other

hospitality services provided for individuals or groups traveling away from home. The
World Tourism Organization (WTO) claims that tourism is currently the worlds largest
industry with annual revenues of over $3 trillion dollars. Tourism provides over six
million jobs in the United States, making it the country's largest employer.
Definition of Tourism
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 needs."
According to Macintosh and Goeldner (1986) 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."

Traveler
Outside usual environment
Yes
No
For less than 12 consecutive month
Yes

No

Purpose of trip other than an

activity remunerated from
within the place visited
Yes
Tourism

No

Visitor

Yes

With overnight

Tourist

No

Same-day
Visitor

OtherTravelers

The Tourism Product

Other terms of interest are:

Excurionist: Persons traveling for pleasure in a period less than 24 hours (Macintosh and
Goeldner, 1986).
Foreign Tourist: Any person visiting a country, other than that in which he/she usually
resides, for a period of at least 24 hours (Committee of Statistical Experts of the League
of Nations, 1937).
Travel: The act of moving outside one's home community for business or pleasure but
not for commuting or traveling to or from school (Macintosh and Goeldner, 1986).
Visitor: Any person visiting a country other than that in which he/she has his/her usual
place of residence, for any reason other than following an occupation remunerated from
within the country visited (United Nations Conference on International Travel and
Tourism, 1963).
Transportation Systems
The type and availability of transportation will determine travel destinations. The
development of accommodations were likewise determined by the development of
transportation systems.

Dimensions of Tourism
All tourism activities are related to one or more of the following dimensions of tourism.
Attractions:

Are the primary motivation for traveling. They may be a primary

destination such as Disney World or secondary destination which are interesting places to
visit on the way to your primary destination. Most tourist traveling from the east to go to
Las Vegas will stopover at the Grand Canyon national Park on the way. Attractions
usually focus on natural resources, culture, ethnicity or entertainment.
Natural Resources: Natural resources are the combination of physical features
(Yosemite National Park, California), the climate (Vail, Colorado), and the natural beauty
of the area (Acadia National Park, Maine). The challenge to managing natural resources
based tourism is to preserve the natural resource from the impact of the tourist's.
Culture: A way of life which is observed through a peoples religion, history, government
and traditions.
Ethnicity: To visit family and friends.
X-treme Tourism: Tourism based on high adventure activities (See Whirlwind Tourism)
Buffalo Dancers
Sedona, AZ
Facilities: When tourists arrive at attractions they require facilities to provide services.
Lodging: Represent a variety of services from campgrounds, RV parks, motels and five
star resorts.
Food & Beverage: Not only provide basic sustenance for tourists but an important factor
in the overall tourism experience.
Support Services: Usually are represented by small retail businesses providing souvenirs
and personal services. Shopping is an integral part of the travel experience. Tourists seek
unique and novel items which represent the area and cultures they visit.

Infrastructure: The basic services on which all tourism depends. These systems include
water and sewer systems, communication networks, medical facilities, electricity, police
and fire protection and roads.
Time and Money: This is the critical component to tourism, the ability to get from Point
A to Point B and back, or to Point C, D, E.... The variables of Time, how long it takes to
get to a specific destination, and Money, how much it costs to get to your destination.
Tourism developments are dependent on the ease of access and types of transportation
available.
Hospitality: The community's attitude which permeates every tourism location that
makes the tourist feel welcome and safe. It is the result of the interaction between the
tourist and the local population.
Essential Requirements & Characteristics of Tourism
Time, as the hours for leisure increase so does the opportunity for travel. Changes in
work days or hours, school calendars will affect how and when people can travel. The
overall travel pattern has moved from a two week vacation to 6-8 three or four day minivacations per year.
Money, the majority of travel requires discretionary income. Discretionary income is
money left over after all monetary obligations (food, rent and taxes) have been paid.
Mobility, is the access to transportation (car, bus, plane, train or ship) and the hours
required to get to their destination.
Motivation, is the reason people travel. Motivations may include seeking novelty,
education, meet new people, adventure or stress reduction.

The service - the tourism product is consumed at the time it is produced. The
product is based on social interaction between the supplier and the consumer,
where the quality of the product is mainly defined by this interaction. Consumer
part of production.

Tourism is labor intensive, which will increase the costs of tourism services on the
long term, at least compared to the other areas of our economy.

Tourism is very sensitive to changes in private household incomes (no primary

need). It is in direct competition to other products in the household income basket
such as books, newspapers, entertainment, but also electronic products.

Tourism is an umbrella industry - containing a set of interrelated businesses,

involving travel companies, accommodation facilities, catering enterprises, tour
operators, travel agents, providers of recreation and leisure facilities

Tourism is an important vehicle for regional and national development planning

and strategies - also in industrialized countries (see also the respective programs
of the European Commission). This is due to its job creation potential and the
rather low entrance barriers compared to other industries. Tourism activities can
be designed in such a way, that it respects environmental, social and cultural
constraints.

International Tourist arrivals

International tourism receipts

500

25

450
400

20

300

15

250
200

10

150
100

50
0

0
1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

receipts: expenditures of international inbound visitors including payments to national

carriers for international transport; include any other prepayments made for
goods/services received in the destination; excludes international fare receipts Tourism

Change (%)

Bn U$

350

receipts on 3. place in world exports (after petroleum and petroleum products; motor
vehicles, parts and accessories)

Regional market share

Africa
3%

Europe
60%

Americas
20%
Middle East
2%
East
Asia/Pacific
14%
South Asia
1%

Europe is declining. East Asia/Pacific grew from a share of 1 % (1960) to 14% (1995).

7,0

11,0

6,0

10,9

5,0

10,8
10,7

4,0

10,6

3,0

10,5

2,0

10,4

1,0

10,3

0,0

10,2
1988

1989

1990

1991

1992 1993
Years

1994

1996

1997

2007

Percent

Tr U$

Gross Domestic Product - World

Jobs by travel and tourism - worldwide

400

11,0
10,8

350

Mn of jobs

300

10,4

250

10,2
10,0

200

9,8
150

9,6

100

9,4
1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1996

1997

2007

Years

KEY MARKET FACTORS

changing consumer behavior: in 1995 the non-mainstream tourism represented

approx. 5% of the total tourism demand, with growing tendency.

increasingly varied product development, finely targeted product marketing.

globalization: tourism is becoming a real global business, where the domestic

supplier has to compete with long distance destinations. This is accompanied by a
concentration process.

marketing: the success products will depend on extensive and targeted

marketing, leading to the growth of new distribution channels. There will be
more destination focus on image.

Percentage

10,6

human resources: puts heavy emphasis on educated and trained personnel,

increasing average wages and salaries. Tourism will have to compete with other
service industries which have developed well suited training programs, and are
offering higher salaries.

Trends in consumer behavior

From mass consumption with production oriented to consumer oriented

Segmented and individualized; postmodern tourist

Shorter time spans between booking and arrival, more holidays

Distinctions between work and holiday diminish

Governance of the Special / Unique

Dominance of packaged tourism - decreasing, but in 1993 in UK 63% of

outbound holidays sold as packages - parallel segments

Product competition to channel competition

From consumer oriented to consumer driven - mass customization; new role of

travel agents

Structure of tourism market

PARTIES INVOLVED IN TOURISM

AIRLINES

Technologically most advanced sector in the tourism field, with growing

importance due to the tendency to long haul tourism.

Between 1980 and 1992 scheduled traffic grew by 92%, and the capacity by 94%
with falling prices (due to deregulation, growing capacities,

increased

competition)

Use advanced Yield Management methods. In the USA the number of rates
increased from 400.000 to 7 Mn in the seventies.

Airlines were among the first companies creating worldwide electronic networks,
for the means of selling and distribution, for internal management and operations.

Economic problems in this area. For example, the average load factor on
international services fell from 64% in 1989 to 59% in 1992, which is below that
level at which airlines can break even after interest payment .

In this sector we also include other technologically advanced companies:

Other types of transport suppliers (car rentals, railways, maritime industry)

Enterprises such as credit or media companies (transaction or content).

HOTEL CHAINS
Conceptually, huge and powerful suppliers the same group as the SME structured
overnight facilities.

This group is situated both on the intermediary as well as the supply side since
many chains represent marketing and operation units, where the accommodation
is owned by a different unit.

This market is dominated by US multinational corporations, which in 1992 owned

13 of the top 20 chains.

These chains focus on the higher priced market segment, with well-established
reservation centers.

They have learned to cooperate. In 1989 70 major hotel brands established

THISCO as a computer switch to provide a common electronic booking interfaces
to their hotel central reservation systems worldwide.

With 18 Mn reservations per year and 3.2 Bn USD in room revenue generated,
they represent 60% of the worldwide market share.

The main function is to purchase and to assemble a large number components

produced by the principals, and to sell these as packaged products.

They act as whole-salers, performing nearly as virtual enterprises since the value
they add to a product is the aggregation process.

They conduct the main marketing and distribution activities and have part of the
financial risk of unsold stocks.
TOUR OPERATOR

One of the main advantages for suppliers is that tour operators have a good
market access, well known brands and that the financial risk can be passed on, at
least partially.

It is the advantage of the tour operator, and of the consumer, that by the
bargaining power of tour operators lower prices can be achieved.

In Europe, in 1992 one third of total travel expenditures fell into this category. In
Germany and in the UK roughly half of all holidays sold were packaged.

In specific destinations the percentage of packaged holidays is not that high (in
Tyrol, Austria, nearly 70 % of the tourists are direct bookers).

Tour operators show several important features: they own brands well known in
the tourism sector and they have the knowledge about product aggregation and
marketing.

They experience a fierce competition and have a rather limited control over the
quality of the product.

Travel agents act as a distributor, broker or retailer on behalf of the suppliers, their
main contact with the supply side is the tour operator.

Their income is done on the base of a commission, a percentage of the product

price. These are designed in such a way that travel agents should prefer specific
operators and/or systems.

They are the main point of contact for consumers.

They are small and medium enterprises, being under pressure by commission
reduction strategies of both airlines and tour operators.
CRS/GDS

They are part of the international electronic distribution network constituted by

the CRS/GDS. By the means of these systems they may also access products of
tour operators, perform reservation as well as billing tasks.

The use of these systems has increased their productivity and sales (In Germany
travel agents introducing the German START system, they could lower their
traditional communication costs by 22%, while increasing their turnover by 17%).

But linking to a specific distribution channel also creates dependencies.

CRS/GDS are product of the 1960

Main electronic interface on the travel and tourism market (switch between
suppliers and intermediaries on side and travel agents on the other side).

As the result of a permanent concentration process four major systems, e.g.,

Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Worldspan, have been established.

Their shareholders are mainly airlines, since the management of airline seats and
their distribution constitute their origin.

Today they also contain other products such as other transport means,
accommodation - mainly from hotel chains -, and tour operator products. These
products are integrated by links to the respective reservation systems of
intermediaries or suppliers.

Their development shows failures to establish co-operative infrastructures on a

broader scale, which was tried several times. For example, Amadeus and Galileo
have been initiated as competing European systems after talks failed to reach
consensus on just one system.

Good example of competing electronic marketplaces - most referenced examples

that early adopters of information technology can occupy a strategically dominant
position . In 1992 these systems had over 98% of the entire market.

The emergence of the CRS coincided with the deregulation of the US airfares.
Subsequently prices were lowered on many routes and the airlines improved their
yield management operations, i.e. they flexibly adjusted pricing (and schedules
and routes).

This led to an increasing complexity (and intransparency) of fares.

It has been expected that the number of flights booked via travel agents would be
diminished by the CRS, however, the opposite effect happened. Because of the
increasing complexity of airfares more passenger turned to a travel agent to book
their flights.

This shows that electronic markets may lead to disintermediation but at the same
time they may also induce increasing intermediation, depending on the price
volatility and transparency and added value the (new) intermediaries can provide.

These systems represent a very influential part of the market. Sabre Travel
International, for example, employs 1.800 persons, covers 45 Mn of prices,
contains 650 airline companies and performs 2.000 transactions per second.

DMOs
The tasks of DMOs are manyfold:

they are responsible for destination management,

planning activities,

marketing/branding of the entire destination,

training and education,

and they are very often also engaged in the daily operation.

Their objective is to promote a destination's tourism by maintaining the

social, cultural, economic and environmental basis, having thus also a
political function.

They are often genuine governmental institutions.

They have to represent all suppliers in a democratic way, without preferencing a

single group.

Normally they are paid by tourism related taxes.

And: normally excluded from reservation activities.

Marketing a tourism destination is not simple - a destination is a very complex

product :

Marketing only one of the influences on tourism. It is difficult to assess

the impact of marketing on the arrival of visitors. Destination
organisations cannot control the other factors, but must respond to them.

Many other organisations which do marketing. The marketing expenditure

of a NTO makes up only a small part of the total tourism marketing
expenditure in the country. Destination organisations cannot control, only
try to influence the marketing by third parties.

Limited influence over the supply of products. Destination organisations

also have very limited control over the kind, quantity and quality of
tourism services.

Only a large budget will make an impact. In an image-creating

promotional strategy may be waste of money if the marketing objectives
cannot be achieved.

All these factors make it very difficult to assess how effective the marketing
activities are.

Though the specific institutional implementation may differ from country to

country, nearly all destinations have DMOs.

Special support especially for the SME structured tourism industry where smaller
suppliers have limited financial opportunities.

Impementation: a kind of a hierarchical network

starting at the lowest level with the local tourist boards,

regional level within the regional tourist board

national tourist board with its international outlets.

From a formal decision making point of view, none of these bodies has a real
direct influence on the other ones

The governance model is based on cooperation and negotiation

Leads also to rather slow and very often non very transparent decision processes.

Tourist boards can be seen as a non-computerized information system

gathering information about the local, regional or national tourist product

and distributing this information worldwide.

On the other hand they also have to deliver information to the local
suppliers, informing them about current trends, the general market
situation and national and international competition.

IT raise some important questions:

DMOs are, with some notable exceptions, not prepared for this
development,

The dynamics of the on-line market questions their functional limitation to

marketing tasks only: the consumer, once identified the proper product,
wants to buy it.

Consumer ask which product is best for their needs, they do not want just
information about objective product attributes, but also some specific
advice (Problem in Austria).

Tourist boards start partnerships with private companies, or they set up

their own companies dedicated to these tasks.

TECHNOLOGY & TOURISM

Tourism in its present form is a post war phenomenon developed essentially as a
consequence of technological developments in the fields of automibiles, railways, ships,
aircrafts, computers and communication systems. Although sails were the earliest means
of transport, the invention of steam powered automobile by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot in
1769, the assembly of the first commercial steamer by Robert Fulton in 1807 and the
production of first successful locomotive by George Stephenson in 1814 introduced
several means of mass transport. It was, however, the advent of air transportation during
twentieth century which revolutionalised the phenomenon of international tourism. It
reduced the distances between the nations to a matter of few hours.
The developments in computer and communication technologies have made it possible to
have rental cars with computerised driving directions and self-service video-terminals at
rental counters in high traffic airports. Fully automated rental transaction systems n

National's "Smart Key" machine and Budget's "Remote Transaction Book" came into
existence. Yet another major contribution of technological developments in computers
and communication systems to tourism is the computerised reservation systems (CRS).
These systems can now inform subscribers about schedules, fares and seat availability,
issue tickets and boarding passes, record bookings, maintain waiting lists, display
preferred airlines or classes, search for the lowest fare available or the first available nonstop flight and calculate fares for domestic and international itineraries. The system can
also make reservations for other services like hotels, car rentals, cruises, railways, tours,
boat charters, theartres and sporting events.

Information Needs in Tourism

Travel is a basic human instinct. Technological revolutions in the last few decades and the
consequent changes in the social systems accelerated its intensity in the current century.
Thus, tourism is presently a mass phenomenon involving every human being in the
world. They need detailed information about each place they intend to visit. The specific
elements of such information needs are :

Geographical information on location, climate, landscape, etc.

Attraction features
Social customs, culture and other special features of the place
Accessibility though air, water, rail and road and availability of scheduled means

of transport
Accommodation, restaurant and shopping facilities
Activities and entertainment facilities
Seasons of visit and other unique features
Quality of facilities and their standard prices including exchange rates
Entry and exit formalities and restrictions if any on tourists, etc.

Though the ultimate users of this information are the consumers ie. the tourists, the actual
benefits in money terms accrue to the tourism industry consisting of the destination
managers and service providers. There is, therefore, a strong competition amongst
various destination countries in the world to produce and package such information in the
most attractive format to attract the consumers from the tourist generating countries. The
travel intermediaries like travel agents, tour operators, and reservation system store such

information in respect of each destination to service their clients and improve their
business. They need the information in the easiest retrieval format so that the information
needs of the clients are met as quickly as possible.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) AND THE TOURISM SECTOR

Traditional technologies
Inter-organisational systems (IOS) represent one use of IT and allow the transfer of
information across organization boundaries. In the past electronic data interchange (EDI)
and electronic funds transfer (EFT) have been the technologies to enter into IOS. The
standards required for EDI and the high set up costs have tended to act as a barrier for
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enter into IOS. Tourism is dominated by the
need to provide fast and accurate information to the consumer. The first step to achieve
this goal of a one-stop service is via global
distribution systems (GDS), a form of IOS. GDS evolved from computer reservation
systems and enable the aggregation of information from airlines which enables travel
agents (as information brokers) and tourists to make reservations and order other
services in a single marketplace (Joo, 2002, p. 60). Examples of GDS are Sabre, Galileo,
Amadeus and Worldspan. There is increasing debate concerning the long term viability of
the large GDSs (Squires 2005). The systems themselves are dated, based on 1960s
architecture and code, never intended for use with the Internet and as proprietary legacy
systems are difficult to interface with existing modern computer and network
architectures (Dogac et al. 2004; Squires 2005) Chains of hotels (tier 1 players) generally
have in place integration of the Property Management System (PMS) with the corporate
Central Reservation System (CRS) and GDS. CRS integration allows for individual
properties to benefit from the extensive reach of the chains marketing network and to
allow for cross selling amongst properties within the chain. GDS integration allows chain
properties to extend their reach beyond that of their chain marketing network. This
interoperability of systems is an example of collaboration around IT (known as
collaborative commerce), especially the CRS which has been the most commonly used
Wide Area Network (WAN) application in hotels (Brooks, 1999). This extends insofar as
some independent hotels link to a GDS such as Sabre. Interoperable systems already exist
in chains, but do not exist amongst independent hotels. Independents appear to resort to

subscription to affiliate reservation networks that allow non-chain properties to

participate as overflow facilities (Kasavana & Brooks 2001) rather than network amongst
themselves. In this way independents (are able) to maintain their individuality and
distinctive methodology, while still benefiting from the economies of scale that an
affiliation with a larger group of likeminded properties can offer (Travel Impact
Newswire, edition 81, 1 December 2004, p.3). Softwares that are available to facilitate
such sharing of information as well as the Internet and the semantic web are means by
which this can be achieved.

The Internet and tourism

The Internet is especially relevant to tourism since it enables knowledge about the
consumer or tourist to be gathered, as well as vice versa. This gives rise both to global
visibility of destinations and a global merging of market segments The use of web-based
tourist information systems has grown significantly. In 1996, 3.1 million consumers used
these systems and this jumped to 33.8 million consumers in 1998. It was predicted that by
2008, 30% of the whole tourism business will be Internet based. Travel revenues on the
Internet have consistently ranked highly in comparison withother goods and services. The
reasons cited for this prominence relate to the richness and currency of information
provided online and the breadth of the audience as well as the intensity of competition
and the emergence of new players with countless web sites supported by efficient
transaction support. Online technologies within the tourism industry have significantly
impacted on communications, transactions and relationships between the various industry
operators and with the customer, as well as between regulators and operators
These changes, which apply equally to the tourism sector, are:
1. the ability to turn ideas into marketable innovation for a wide range of
customers, with reduced buyer search costs and costs of access to markets;
2. increased speed to market and access to new product offerings via the Internet;
3. changed processes and the sharing of information within and between organisations;
and

4. a shift in the balance of power between suppliers and customers due to the increased
availability of information.
The issues raised above point to the benefits emanating from IT, especially the Internet.
The first two factors have been discussed elsewhere. It is the third and fourth that will
be considered here. The third point outlined above essentially makes vertical
disintegration of the value chain easier as the integration of electronic processes within
and between firms is easier to achieve. This integration can take many forms, to its full
extent collaborative commerce (c-commerce), and mean that it may no longer be
necessary for a firm to own a process in order to control. This control may rather be
achieved via the establishment of relationships between organisations. This is associated
with various forms of collaboration or business networks that may emerge. The fourth
point demonstrates the extra choice available to the buyer therefore shifting the
balance of power to them since they can research their purchase and compare the
offerings of competitors. The tourist has more choice when buying travel products also
because of the options provided by on-line travel agents and direct marketing by airlines.
Increasingly tourists are becoming more computer savvy and are expecting to be able to
experience the destination virtually. The advent of intermediaries such as distressed
web sites online means that tourists are willing to delay making their reservations online
and are more price conscious. Other changes in the way they consumers behave
preferring to take shorter holidays with decisions made more spontaneously have the
effect of placing more pressure on tourist operators who need to be more flexible in their
offerings and in the way they relate to the market.

Benefits of the Internet

Benefits from IT, particularly the Internet for tourism, are substantial. These benefits are
no longer dependent on proprietary information systems as has been the past experience,
since the Internet is a commonly available technology. Dogac, et al, (2004) considers the
Internet provides many advantages to players in the tourism industry. Some of these
benefits are:
enhanced level of collaboration between tourism operators, for example, between travel
agencies and service providers;
pre-arrangements with respective suppliers no longer necessary;

 web service discovery will identify alternatives, enabling holiday packages to be

constructed;
greater negotiation of service to be purchased and customization of services/activities;
and
generally greater levels of interoperability with internal and external
applications.
Whether these benefits have come to pass remains to be seen. Their realization requires a
new approach to be adopted by operators in the industry, particularly for SMTEs. The
question is whether they recognise these potential spin-offs and are able to take advantage
of them. They all point to the need for greater levels of IT adoption to be more flexible
and responsive to the market, or collaboration with other players to achieve a one-stop
planning and booking experience desired by the tourist. Figure 2 Framework depicting
tourist operators and potential interplay of IT between operators. As the above diagram
indicates (Figure 2), many businesses or tourism operators are loosely connected over the
internet so as to endeavour to serve the tourists needs, providing the seamless integration
of information necessary to plan and book a travel experience. Potentially the Internet
overcomes the barriers SMTEs especially have experienced re accessing GDS and CRM,
yet it is considered more progress is needed in this regard. This is because it enables
individual tourist operators to link their web sites and present a complete virtual tourism
experience (Palmer & McCole, 2000, p. 200). Gonzalez et al., (2004) suggests a coming
together of or cooperation amongst small players is required to generate coherent
heterogeneity differentiation amongst the players in the midst of providing an
integrated tourist offering.
Issues raised by the Internet
The internet has resulted in a proliferation of many ineffective html document based web
sites (Palmer & McCole, 2000) with small and medium tourist enterprises (SMTEs)
possessing inadequate skills and insufficient resources to conduct web site effectively. A
Yahoo search reveals in excess of 250,000 tourist oriented websites. This exponential
growth in the number of tourist related web sites means a lack of notoriety in a saturated
market (Gonzalez et. al., 2004, p.2). The internet reduces distribution costs as
intermediaries commissions are eliminated, however this is frustrated by the emergence

of intermediaries, the squeeze on price, yield and revenue and the homogeneity of web
sites. It is not clear that individual SMTEs are able to use this business intelligence, or
recognise its value. If so, information may be lost and not acted upon. A sharing of
information, either in a centralised or in a more collaborative manner would assist in the
use this asset of information and knowledge. The internet is a commonly available
technology, however awareness of itsfunctionality and resources and expertise to take
advantage of this functionality is required. It is observed that many SMTEs either are not
aware of this or do not possess or have ready access to resources need to make the most
of the opportunities potentially available. For these benefits and others to be achieved
however, and so full exploitation of web services, it is necessary to introduce semantics
to web services. The semantic web which is an extension of the World Wide Web, is
designed to bring structure and meaning to the vast array of information available on the
World Wide Web. In bringing this structure, the web creates knowledge which is readily
accessible by both humans and machines (eg software agents, artificial intelligence)
(Berners-Lee, Hendler & Lassila 2001). The structure imposed by semantic webs is
achieved through the imposition of an ontology to give meaning to information. The
ontologies created by semantic web users allow machines to process and understand
this information by specifying standard terms and machine readable definitions (Heflin
& Huhns 2003, p. 30) which allows the automation of web document processing. These
issues however go beyond the scope of this paper.
Intermediaries
Collaboration around the Internet is a way for tourist operators, such as hotels, to deal ith
excess capacity and increase occupancy rates quickly. This already occurs within many
chains and is evident in the participation in intermediaries or distressed websites such as
needitnow.com, Travelocity.com; whatif.com and others. Three reasons have been
identified for this change in the distribution of hotel rooms: - a lack of understanding of
hoteliers of how the Internet and online distribution works;
- hospitality lags other tourism sectors in adopting the Internet as a distribution medium.
Hotels were unprepared to deal with boom in online bargain hunting and bookings;

- exploitation by intermediaries of the situation following 9/11 as hoteliers looking to

increase revenues via increased occupancy relied on intermediaries to promote their
product.
Starkov (2002, p. 3) estimates that by 2010 around 18-18% of revenues for hotels will
come from hotel bookings made on the Internet, compared to the current 8 10% of
revenues. The active role of these intermediaries may be viewed as a positive
development for the industry. Online bookings are more cost effective, tend to attract
more affluent customers and reduce reliance on more expensive distribution channels.
Room occupancy rises as vacancies are effectively sold online at short notice. However
a closer analysis of the impact of this reveals a loss of control by tourist operators and a
tradeoff between occupancy rates at the expense of yield and the associated RevPAR.
Yield represents the return to the business resulting from its operations. RevPAR
represents the revenue achieved per available room. The aim of a hotelier is to maximise
yield and RevPAR. It is clear that selling rooms via distressed websites at a cheaper rate
increases occupancy but has a negative impact on the other indices. The long term impact
is brand erosion in terms of quality following downward pressure on room rates. Starkov
(2002) suggests that by 2005 around 54% of hotel online bookings will be direct sales
reflecting a greater role of online intermediaries in the reservation process. Hoteliers,
have difficulty maintaining market share and finding the right formula to deal with
online discounters and intermediaries Starkov (2002, p. 1), demonstrating a lack of
internet strategy and ineffective e-Distribution approaches. Hotels need to transfer their
direct sales expertise to the web environment. Realisation of the need to develop a direct
web distribution strategy is critical as hoteliers seek to deal successfully with online
intermediaries. Distressed web sites have a role to play in distribution, however should
not be the only web distribution channel. If a hotel has not developed a direct web
distribution plan it will only appear on the internet via distressed web sites which as
discussed erodes its quality. A total online distribution strategy therefore is needed with a
direct-to-consumer distribution model at the centre of the strategy, such as adopted by the
airline industry.

IT and collaboration business networks

Increasingly business network behaviour is becoming more prominent in research and is

of interest to the tourism industry. A sharing of information, either in a centralized or
more collaborative way, would assist in maximization of the value of information and
knowledge. Scholars have identified the need for greater collaboration in the industry
(Piccoli, 2004; Joo, 2002; Palmer & McCole, 2000; Werthner & Klein, 1999a),
recognising the need to exploit technologies to become more responsive to the market.
This collaboration is made possible by the spawning of online technologies, IT being a
critical driver of integration and co-operation (Joo, 2002). This integration though
requires internal integration of processes and systems as well as externally with other
organisations and this has acted to impede co-operation in the past. Figure 3 shows the
interplay around the Internet in the tourism industry.
Examples of the IT Developments in the Tourism Sector
Internet Forums
An Internet forum is an online facility that provides local businesses with an internet
portal using the locale, or an industry particular to the locale, as the unique selling point,
or common brand (Galloway, Mochrie & Deakins 2004, p. 250). This acts as an anchor
providing more of a profile to entice visitors to the web site that represents the location or
destination. Galloway, Mochrie & Deakins (2004) have examined how the development
of internet-based virtual business forums assists tourist operators in rural areas. Whilst
studies have identified the benefits of the use of Internet amongst SMTEs in such rural
and regional areas, these authors argue that there is little evidence to suggest that this is
being converted into action. Reasons cited for a lower uptake of the Internet in more
remote reasons are several and are discussed in a number of papers (Thomas, Sparkes,
Brooksbank & Williams 2002; Huggins & Izushi 2002; Leatherman 2000; Gray & Juhler
2000; Martin & McKeown 1993). Yet the Internet offers the potential to overcome the
disadvantages that remote locations raise. Impediments to SMTE adoption of ecommerce need to be revisited and addressed to encourage the use of IT and to seek to
reduce the impact of the digital divide. By developing a strategic approach that adopts a
clear identity focusing on the destination and its features encapsulated in an integrated
way.

The Internet as a facilitator of collaboration

In their study Palmer & McCole (2000) examine independent businesses with unique
resource locators (URLs) located in one region. They then followed links out of those
sites to identify the extent to which such sites were linked. Little evidence was found to
show the use of websites for cooperative tourism in the study area. They concluded there
was a lack of cooperative initiatives between tourist operators in the region of interest.
This study is of interest since lessons can be learned for consideration in other regions to
promote tourist destinations.
The Internet and Cultural Tourism the MEDINA project
Cultural tourism is a good example of the way in which online technologies have been
influential as its emergence has been fostered by the Internet. Cultural tourism focuses on
the presentation of an areas cultural heritage, ranging from environmental attractions
through historical, artistic, archaeological and folkloric components. A specific example
of this form of tourism is the MEDINA (Mediterranean by Internet access) project started
in 2002, due for completion in 2005, which established a cultural web portal for fourteen
Mediterranean countries (Garzotto et al. 2004) Access to the portal by a tourist is
achieved through mobile devices (e.g. personal digital assistants or smartphones) and
allows the tourist to make informed decisions concerning cultural sights. The emergence
of artificial intelligence and mobile computing, have empowered the consumer of tourism
services. Mobile devices are increasingly being used by tourists as electronic personal
tour guides.

INTERNET
Tourists generally need both static and dynamic information. Information on those
features which do not change rapidly over time is termed as static information. It includes
details information about location, climate, attraction features, history, facilities available,
etc. Information about airline, train and bus schedules, tariffs of transport and
accommodation units and current availability of such facilities is considered as dynamic
as they can change very frequently. These items of information have to be gathered,

stored and disseminated on a real time basis. All types of reservation systems including
air, rail and accommodation sectors contain such information.
Aplication of Information Technologies
Till a few years ago, the basic sources of information in the tourism sector were
pamphlets, brochures, directories, guide books, etc. produced and published by different
countries. These sources prevail even today, though they are the most inefficient means of
information. The last few decades witnessed the application of computer and
communication technologies in the field of tourism. Two distinct streams of information
sources viz, (i) online and (ii) offline came into existence. Databases containing
information about places, tourist attractions and facilities became available for online
access in several countries. The emergence of computerised reservations system (CRS)
like Galileo, Amadeus, Sabre, PARS, JALCOM, QAMTAM and ABASUS, etc. opened
up a new source of online information on tourism and are being expanded continuously.
The latest sources of online information is INTERNET which contains some pages on
most of the tourist destinations in the world. The CD-ROM technology also took the
tourism industry by storm. CD titles which came in the market during the initial period
mostly contained geographical information. Soon multimedia CDs on specific tourism
products made their appearance. Several such titles are presently available in the market.
The next few years are likely to witness a rapid growth in CD titles covering every aspect
of tourism due to improved marketing efforts and increased competitions. Further hotel
management and catering technology is fast emerging as an area of information
technology application in the field of tourism.

The Indian Scenario

In India, the Department of Tourism took the first initiative to introduce information
technology in tourism in the year 1989 by establishing TOURNET with the technical
assistance of CMC Ltd. The network consisted of 35 information nodes installed in the
field offices of the Department of Tourism located in different parts of the country. Each
node contained a CD-drive apart from the usual configuration of floppy drives and hard
discs. Each node was provided with a CD containing textual database on all the major

tourist destinations in the country. Recently, multimedia databases on tourism have been
developed by Rajasthan and Maharashtra Tourism Departments with the assistance of
some of the private software development firms. Apart from the government initiatives, a
few private firms are also active in the field and a few CDs on Indian tourism are already
available through their efforts. The Central Department of Tourism is presently trying to
tie-up with some of the private software development firms to produce a series of
multimedia CDs covering all the tourist destinations in India. The intention is to bring out
a marketable product for sale within India and abroad. In the online field, the CRS
Amadeus and PARS are already operational in India. Amadeus was established in 1993
and PARS came in 1995. INTERNET facilities are also presently available in India.
The Problems and Issues
The problems and issues concerning information technology applications in tourism are
the following:
Tourism in India is relatively young and is not well organised to absorb the advances in
information technology. They generally lack technical and financial resources and their
scale of operation it too limited to take advantage of information technology. There has
not been any specific policy or co-ordinated approach so far for the development of
information products on tourism at the national level. It is yet to be evolved and
implemented. The information industry in India presently consists of a few software
development firms, and some information centres in the Government sector. However,
there are no database vendors in India who prepare their own databases and market them.
In the absence of such units, all efforts are Government dominated and the products are
generally not available in the market. It is, therefore, essential to provide adequate
Government support and incentives for the development of such industries in India.
PCI( Payment Card Industry)
Compliance stands for Payment Card Industry Compliance which are a set of security
standards development by the credit card brands (Visa and Mastercard) to protect
customer credit card data. You have probably heard in the past about system being
hacked and credit cards numbers being stolen by cyber thieves.

TOURISM IN INDIAN
The Tourism sector of Indian economy is at present experiencing a huge growth. The
Tourism sector of Indian economy has become one of the major industrial sectors under
the Indian economy. The tourism industry earns foreign exchanges worth Rs. 21,828
crore. Previous year the growth rate of the tourism sector of Indian economy was
recorded as 17.3% .
The growth in the tourism industry is due to the rise in the arrival of more and more
foreign tourists and the increase in the number of domestic tourists. Tourists from Africa,
Australia, Lain America, Europe, Southeast Asia, etc are visiting India and their are
growing by the thousands every year.
Indian Tourism offers a potpourri of different cultures, traditions, festivals, and places of
interest. There are a lot of options for the tourists. India is a country with rich cultural and
traditional diversity. This aspect is even reflected in its tourism. The different parts of the
country offers wide variety of interesting places to visit. While the international tourism
is experiencing a decelerated growth, the Indian counterpart is not affected.
The factors for the growth of the Tourism sector of Indian economy Increase in the
general income level of the populace Aggressive advertisement campaigns on the tourist
destinations Rapid growth of the Indian economy The objectives of the National Action
Plan for Tourism Socio economic development of areas Increase in the opportunities for
employment Development of the domestic tourism for the middle class segment of the
society

Preservation and restoration of the national heritage and environment

Developing international tourism Promotion of tourism based product diversification

Increasing the Indian share in global tourism Some of the important tourist destinations
in India Tourism in India has registered significant growth in the recent years. In 1951,
International Tourist Arrivals stood at around 17 thousand only while the same has now
gone up to 3.91 million in 2005.

Tourism in India has received a major boost in the past decade since the Indian
Government realized the great potential of tourism of India during vacations. Tourism
of India during vacations has grown by leaps and bounds with a great influx of tourists
from throughout the world who have been irresistibly attractive to the travelers.
India has the right tourism potential and attractions to captivate all types of tourists
whether it is adventurous tour, cultural exploration, pilgrimages, visit to the beautiful
beaches or to the scenic mountain resorts, Tourism of India has it all for you.
Travel through Indian states and cities brings to light, the cultural and the geographical
richness of India. We provide you a glimpse to the richness of tourism in India with
information on all the major tourist destinations of India and tourism services of India
that will take care of all your problems while you are in India.
Beaches of India

Andhra Pradesh

Andaman and NicobarGoa

Kerala

Karnataka

Lakshadweep Islands Maharashtra

Orissa

Tamil Nadu

Pondicherry

Family
India

Beaches

of

Gujarats

Shell

Beaches

in

India

Beaches In Daman and Diu

Thousands of sun-deprived tourists visit India because it incredibly has the most diverse
varieties of beaches anywhere in the world. Placid backwaters and lagoons, bays and rough
lava-rocked seas, marine estuaries with fish, crashing surf, powdery golden sand or palm
fringed shores - Incredible India has them all.
The West Coast with the Arabian Sea and the East Coast with the Bay of Bengal offer
many a verdant vistas to the traveller. The coasts of India have their own seafood cuisine,

relaxing spas, diving and water sports and great places to stay for a balmy holiday.
Kovalam undoubtedly is one of India's best sea resorts. The long coastline lined with
swaying coconut palm trees dotted with an occasional fishing hamlet is fast developing
into one of the world's finest string of beaches. The sea applauds the beach temple in
Mahabalipuram, gloriously silhouetted against the spectrum of the seven colours in the sky.
Puri, on the East Coast, is surely one of the world's most picturesque beaches. And then
there is Digha, a three-hour drive out of Kolkata, a beautiful beach, splendid in its
isolation.
The beach holiday to beat them all is in the Isles of Andaman and Nicobar and
Lakshwadeep, where you can see the myriad colours of the flashy fish in the coral reefs
from above the green waters.
Now fully developed as an international beach resort, Goa offers the best holiday villages
on its beaches. Everything about Goa is spellbinding from the landscape dotted with
Portuguese architecture, to the way of life that exudes an irresistible Old World charm.
Anjuna or Calangute Beach, and Miramar Bay in Panjim are quieter. Beach vendors sell all
manner of kitsch in Anjuna and Calangute. You can rent beach mats and mattresses,
sunglasses, and the usual tourist paraphernalia. You can even get all sorts of spaghetti,
German bread and Italian food. The beach at Calangute is rocky. At Anjuna the waters are
gentle and offer opportunities for boat rides, sea scooter rides, spot-the-dolphins rides, and
motorboat rides. Colva and Benaulim are quieter and less crowded than Anjuna. The Fort
Aguada beach offers gorgeous views that merit a visit. Sinquerim and Candolim are also
quiet beaches that afford anonymity.
Whether it's the isolated horizons of the Konkan Coast or the Arabian Sea; the golden
sands or the water drenched seashores, every beach in India makes a picture perfect
holiday destination.
Beaches of India
Beaches in Andhra Pradesh
With nearly 1000-kms of naturally enriched coastline, out of the twenty-three districts of
Andhra Pradesh, eight are have direct access to the sea. The beaches of Andhra's coast are

pure, unspoiled and ideal for a beach holiday. The sands soaked with golden sunshine are
ideal for travellers seeking a healthy tan in the most natural surroundings.
Bheemunipatnam Beach - matchless for its beauty, safest beach sites in Andhra Pradesh
state, finest sea resorts of India, known as Bheemli.
Ramakrishna Beach - very picturesque site contrast from the busy city life of
Vishakhaptnam.
Manginapudi Beach - must visit place with some of the most mesmerizing scenic sites, a
historic port city, popular health resort, ideal picnic spot in Andhra Pradesh.
Mypad Beach - one of the most luring sites for beach lovers.
Rishikonda Beach - golden, unspoilt beach ideal for water sports lovers, especially
swimmers, water skiers, and wind surfers.
Beaches of India
Beaches in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman & Nicobar the most unique Island state of India with beaches and coastal areas
still untouched and unspoilt makes it an ideal beach holiday destination. Even if there
aren't many beach resorts present on these tropical islands, still the climate and isolation
has given these islands a prominence among the best tropical beach islands and a paradise
of exquisite marine life.
Corbyn's Cove And Chirya Tapu - picturesque beach, ideal for sea bathing and sunbasking.
Radhnagar & Vijaynagar Beach - real exposures of unpolluted nature of Andman &
Nicobar Islands for an environment lover.
Harminder Bay Beach - beautiful beaches 100-km from Port Blair connected by Inter
Island shipping services.
Karmatang Beach - turtle nesting ground being developed as tourist complex in northern
part of Middle Andaman
Ramnagar Beach - sandy beach situated at Diglipur Islands connected by two daily boat
services from Mayabunder and from Port Blair twice a week.

Beaches of India
Beaches in Goa
The world famous beaches of Goa are the highlights of travel in this state, making Goa the
premier beach vacation destination. The first beach stop over in Goa is Anjuna beach also
famous for its flea market and rave parties, then the Baga and Dona Paula beaches that can
make any beach holiday a memorable one. 100-km long coastline gives an enthusiastic
beach lover an opportunity to discover new secluded beach sites every day.
Anjuna Beach - fluorescent painted palm trees and infamous full moon parties, 8 km
west of Mapusa, most "alternative", the dancing and lying on the beach, famous flea
market.
Baga Beach - watch the sun go down in isolation, 10-km west of Mapusa, basically an
extension of Calangute wooded headland.
Dona Paula - fine view of the Marmagao Harbour nestled on the south side of the
headland that divides the Zuari and Mandovi estuaries, former fishing village, today's
commercialised beach resort, idyllic spot to relax and sunbathe.
Calangute Beach - Goa's busiest and most commercialised resort. During the 70's and
80's this peaceful fishing village became the favourite haunt of the hippies.
Benaulim Beach - sea is safe for swimming generally jellyfish-free, village area near
beach side boasts a few serviceable bars and restaurants, various culinary delights of the
seafood, most succulent, competitively priced seafood in Goa.
Cavelosim Beach - last major settlement in southwest Salcete, visit to Mabor, South Goa
largest, and most obtrusive, package tourist enclave.
Chapora Beach - a lot busier than most north coast villages, dependent on fishing and
boat building, many regular cafes and restaurants
Condolim Beach - good options to stay offering better value, a good first stop to head
North.
Bogmolo Beach - a small-scale beach resort, reasonably safer site for swimming, quite
good eating joints and shopping options.
Miramar Beach - just 3-km away from the capital city of Panjim.

Pololem Beach - a favourite beach destination, crescent shaped bay, swaying curtain of
coconut palms, irresistibly photogenic, beautiful beach huts.
Vagator Beach - cool rural area, no big shopping complexes.
Varca Beach - community of Christian fisher folk, palm thatched long houses, grassy
dunes.
Beaches of India
Beaches in Kerala
Kerala beaches may be take a backseat because of the backwaters, but entire 900-km
length of the Kerala coast is lined with sandy beaches, rocky promontories and coconut
palms that definitely merit a visit in every tourist itinerary. Touring the beach sites of
Kovalam can make any beach holiday a delightful one, as Kerala's beaches are renowned
for the gentle surf and blue waters. Beach travel has never before been so exciting!
Kovalam Beach - small village along the shoreline, fabulous beaches, most popular is
the Lighthouse Beach, the northern most Samudra beach, least affected.
Marari Beach - one of the local fishing villages, completely new to the holidaymaker,
endless miles of superb sand beaches backed by swaying palms, virgin territory, local
charm and traditional Kerala
Kumarakom Beach - cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake, part of the Kuttanad
region. The bird sanctuary spread across 14 acres is a favourite haunt of migratory birds
and an ornithologist's paradise. Birds include Egrets, darters, herons, teal, waterfowl,
cuckoo, wild duck and migratory birds like the Siberian storks. The best way to watch
the birds of the Kumarakom sanctuary is a boat trip.
Alappuzha Beach - a popular hangout and relaxation spot, around 140 years old pier that
extends in to the sea, lagoons, vast lakes and numerous fresh water rivers, Alappuzha is
a natural wonderland.
Beypore Beach - prominent ports and fishing harbours of ancient Kerala, also known for
its ancient ship building industry.

Varkala Beach - the most popular beach resorts in Kerala, mineral water springs with
medicinal properties, also an important Hindu pilgrimage centre.

Fort Kochi Beach - historic fort, leisurely walk through the lanes of the city to learn
about eventful colonial history and European regimes who ruled it.
Kappad Beach in Kerala - Vasco da Gama landed on its shores on 27th May 1498 with
170 men in three vessels. A pillar with inscription "Vasco Da Gama landed here,
Kappakkadavau in the year 1498" stands on the beach. The beach here is very calm with
a stretch of rocks projecting into the sea.
Dharmadam Island - beautiful beach island, coconut palms, green bushes, breathtaking
sight. Permission is required to enter this privately owned island.
Ezhimala Beach - a picturesque site with a hilly backdrop, carved Stone Pillars, an
ancient Burial chamber and an ancient Cave can be seen at the foot of the hills, famous
for medicinal herbs.
Mopila Bay - natural fishing harbour with quite a modernised fishing harbour look, built
with assistance under the Indo-Norwegian pact, ruined fort and temple.
Muzhappilangad Beach - one of the longest beaches in Kerala, also the only drive-in
beach in India.
Pathiramanal Beach - island beach on the Backwaters, a favourite natural hub of
hundreds of rare migratory birds that reside over here from different parts of the land.
Payyambalam Beach - beautiful beach sites, surfing in calm and peaceful waters.
Sankhumugham Beach - breathtaking sunset, a favourite haunt of sunset watchers.
Tanur Beach - coastal fishing town believed to be visited by Francis Xavier in the year
1546 AD.
Thangassery Beach - a seaside village of historic importance, ruins of an old Portuguese
Fort and churches built in the 18th century. 144 feet high Thangaserry Lighthouse open
to visitors from 1530-1730 hours every day.

Thirumullavaram Beach - beautiful beach filled with coconut palms, ideal for an early
morning walk.
Beaches in Maharashtra
Maharashtra is another coastal state of India with a good number of seaside resorts and
beach resorts. If one has a special interest in forts and their history, check out the costal fort
sites of Maharashtra, the perfect place to start on an enlightening heritage tour.
Juhu Beach - one of the largest and frequently visited tourist beaches of India on the
shores of Arabian Sea, mostly famous as the best hangout zone of Mumbai city, famous
Mumbai Bhelpuri and Kulfi.
Marine Drive - Chowpatty Beach - situated in the heart of Mumbai, rich historical link
with the freedom movement, the spot where Lord Ganesha's images are immersed after
the conclusion of the Ganesha Chaturthi festival.
Madh Island Beach - a popular picnic spot, dotted with exquisite bungalows and an
urban aura, the most lavish beach parties held outside Mumbai.
Marve-Manori-Gorai - three beautiful and serene getaways. Marve is a quaint little
fishing village, the nearest and the quietest of the three. Gorai and Manori, a little further
away popular for all night beach parties.
Ganapatipule Beach - a beach with a religious flavour, one of the 'Ashta Ganapati'
pilgrimage sites of India.

Murud - Janjira - a convenient base for the nearby beaches, former capital town of the
Siddis of Janjira, popular for its alluring and spacious beach fringed with palm trees, two
new beach sites of Kashid and Nandgaon nearby.
Baseein - served as an important shipbuilding center, the site of the Portuguese defeat at
the hands of the Marathas, a similar backdrop to that of Goa, one of the best choices to
take some time off from the hectic schedule of city life.
Dahanu-Bordi Beaches - a beautiful seaside in Thane district, vast stretch of unspoilt
beach, coastline 17-km long, Chickoo (fruit) orchids.

Harnai Beach - A very secluded beach site usually the most visited hotspot for the
people of Mumbai and Pune.
Kihim & Mandwa - a beautiful and clean beach, unspoilt and isolated ambience.
Vijaydurg - Sindhudurg - once naval-bases of the Great Chattrapati Shivaji, picturesque
beaches, Vijayadurg fort built by Shivaji in the 17th century.
Shriwardhan - Harihareshwar - an irresistible beach site blessed with gentle winds, soft
sands and inviting waters, attracts beach lovers in large numbers, a splendid place for
seafood lovers
Tarkarli - a secluded golden beach with aquamarine waters.
Velneshwar - beach is clean and natural and is lined with coconut trees, swimming and
other water sports, beach is free from rocks.
Vengurla - Malvan - a beach famous for its long stretch of shimmering sand, thick
cashew, coconut, and jackfruit and mango groves, Vengurla rocks, known as Burnt
Islands.

Beaches in Tamil Nadu

The beaches of Tamil Nadu, the southern most state of India have got a charm of their own.
A must visit is the second longest beach in the world, Marina Beach. Do not miss the
fantastic joyride along vast stretches of sand lashed by the Bay of Bengal. Once the place
of relaxation and sun bathing, Elliot's Beach is now a favourite shooting location for Tamil
movies in Chennai. Your beach vacation is South India won't be complete without visiting
the beaches of Tamil Nadu; India's last coastal destination for rides on motorized boat or
wind surfing.
The travel and tourism sector creates more jobs per million rupees of investment than any
other sector of the economy and is capable of providing employment to a wide spectrum
of job seekers from the unskilled to the specialised, even in the remote parts of the
country. The Tenth Plan approach towards tourism signifies a distinct shift from the
approach adopted in earlier Plans. Apart from acknowledging the wellaccepted
advantages of developing tourism for the promotion of national integration, international

understanding and earning foreign exchange, the Tenth Plan recognises the vast
employment generating potential of tourism and the role it can play in furthering the
socio-economic objectives of the Plan. In order to create a supportive environment for the
promotion of tourism, the New Tourism Policy, 2002, that is to be implemented during
the Tenth Plan, will generate awareness about the benefits of tourism for the host
population. It will mobilise state governments to use tourism as a means for achieving
their socio-economic objectives, encourage the private sector to enhance investment in
tourism and provide legislative and regulatory support for sustainable tourism and to
protect the interests of the industry and the consumer. The policy envisages involving the
rural sector in the promotion of rural, heritage, adventure and eco-tourism and will
promote the development of competitive high quality products and destinations. Most
importantly, it will remove the barriers to growth and resolve contradictions in policy to
achieve inter-sectoral convergence of activities that help the growth of tourism. 7.5.3 The
initiatives taken by the state so far have not yielded the desired result and Indias tourism
performance has failed to match its potential even as countries not blessed with its natural
and cultural endowments have taken the lead in reaping the benefits of tourism
development for their people. The reasons for this poor performance need to be speedily
addressed to enable tourism to make an appropriate

contribution to national

development. As observed in the Planning Commission Report of the National

Committee on Tourism (1988), the public sector made a significant contribution to the
growth of tourism in the initial stages of planned development by providing a reasonable
infrastructure base. During the Ninth Plan it was recognised that a reappraisal of the role
of the State in tourism development and the extent of its participation was needed as it is
neither necessary nor feasible for the State to make large investments in areas that are
best left to the initiative of the private sector. The state can contribute through
infrastructure development, the planning of broad development strategies, the provision
of fiscal and monetary incentives to catalyse private sector investment and devise an
effective regulatory and supervisory mechanism to protect the interests of the industry
and the consumer. The acceptance of this view also led to the commencement of the
process of disinvestment in 18 hotels of the India Tourism Development Corporation
(ITDC) hotels. 7.5.5 The ITDC will have to redefine its role in the Tenth Plan. The State

can also play an effective role in ensuring that tourism development does not harm the
environment. The interaction between tourism and environmental pollution requires
sensitive handling. There is comp-lementarity, not conflict, between the high quality
environmental requirements of tourism and the imperatives of maintaining the ecological
balance.
Factors that affect competitiveness
Lack of concern for competitiveness
Complex visa procedures
Inadequate facilitation services
Lack of quality infrastructure
Lack of emphasis on product quality
Lack of training at the cutting edge
Lack of hygiene
Low utilisation of modern marketing and
publicity tools.
Major components of the Tenth Plan strategy
To develop a national consensus on the role of tourism in the development agenda of the
nation
through the National Development Council.
To enhance the effectiveness of public sector investment through the inter-sectoral
convergence and
prioritisation of tourism-related infrastructure programmes in other sectors like special
tourist trains,
rail and aviation links, rural roads etc..
To remove the barriers to growth to leverage private sector investment.
To mobilise the support of the primary players, viz. the State Governments, in tourism
development.
To mobilise public support by creating awareness of the socio-economic benefits of
tourism for the

host community.
To provide legislative and regulatory support to protect the tourism industry, the
consumer and the
environment.
To involve the rural sector in tourism and start mobile training units for service
providers in rural
areas identified for the development of tourism.
To augment training facilities in hotel management and food craft and build the capacity
of service
providers at the cutting edge.
To create world class circuits and destinations, eschew haphazard development.

TOURIST PLACES IN INDIA (beauty of India)

Charminar in Hyderabad

Goa beaches

The Himalayan landscape

Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur,

Taj Mahal

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Mahabodhi Temple

Lotus Temple

Jammu & Kashmir

The temples of Khajuraho

Mumbai

Konark Sun Temple

The Matrimandir,

Umaid Bhawan Palace

Kangchenjunga

Shore Temple

Nanda Devi National Parks

Diwan-i-Khas

Havelock Island

Royal Bengal Tiger in Sundarbans

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

CURRENT INDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY

This report "Indian Tourism Industry Forecast (2007-2011)"focuses on different
parameters of tourism industry including: inbound tourism, outbound tourism,
expenditure by inbound tourists, and medical tourism in India. It also helps clients to
analyze the opportunities and factors critical to the success of tourism industry in India.
Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to the
national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witness more than 5
million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits. The
tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to
increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. The Ministry of
Tourism is the nodal agency for the development and promotion of tourism in India and
maintains the "Incredible India" campaign.
According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from
2009-2018, having the highest 10-year growth potential. The Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2007 ranked tourism in India 6th in terms of price
competitiveness and 39th in terms of safety and security. Despite short- and medium-term
setbacks, such as shortage of hotel rooms, tourism revenues are expected to surge by 42%
from 2007 to 2017.
Tourism is a growing industry in India that accounts for the larger section of foreign
earnings for our nation. In recent years, the industry has been severely affected because
of the factors terrorism and the troubling situation in Kashmir. The earning through
tourism in India was dropped below than USD 1.5 billion and so the tourism traffic, that
only accounted for 0.5 percent of the total traffic of the world. Unlike past few years,
2009 has shown a sign of improvement in foreign tourist inflow. This has led the industry
to contribute nearly USD 67.3 billion to gross domestic product this year, which is
expected to rise above USD 187.3 billion by 2019. According to Mr Sujit Banerjee, the
Tourism Secretary of India, foreign tourist arrival targets is expected to cross six million
this year. Also, a 24 per cent increase was observed in foreign exchange earnings (FEE)
as compared to previous years. Tourism revenue is expected to grow by 42 percent from

2007 to 2017. After witnessing the positive growth for the first time in 2009, the tourism
ministry has planned to develop three niche products, which are wellness tourism,
caravan tourism and helipad tourism this year. Apart from drawing foreign revenue to the
country, Indian tourism industry is being utilized as a well-planned tool to facilitate
international understanding and enabling building of cultural horizons in a broader way.
The Government of India has already initiated to achieve such objectives by offering
attractive packages to foreign tourists. It has also organized road shows in major markets
of the globe such as the UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Within first two
years of the introduction of 11th Five Year Plan, the ministry has sanctioned projects
worth USD 14.27 million. Also, the Tourism ministry is focusing on the safety and
security of the tourists through awareness programs and ad campaigns to entice more
visitors. It is constantly making an appeal to Indian public to take care of their guests
with the true spirit of Atithi Devo Bhava. India is moving towards its destination of
tourists main attraction spot from the phrase Incredible India. Other services like travel
guides, roads, air-travel, catering, sanitation, transportation and telecommunication are
being operated from professional grounds. This would boost the tourism industry as well
as the economy of the country.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study how technology help in tourism.
To study how technology have given pace to tourism.
To study the current position of Indian tourism industry.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Information Sources
Information has been sourced from books, newspapers, trade journals, white papers,
industry portals, government agencies, trade associations, by monitoring industry news
and developments, and through access to access to more than 3000 paid databases.
Analysis Methods
The analysis methods include the following: Ratio Analysis, Historical Trend Analysis,
Linear Regression Analysis using software tools, Judgmental Forecasting and Cause and
Effect Analysis. Research Methodology has many dimensions, it include not only
research methods but also considers the logic behind the methods used in the context of
the study and explains why only a particular method of technique had been used so that
research lend themselves to proper evaluations. Thus in a way it is a written game plan
for concluding research therefore in order to solve research problem it is necessary to
design a research methodology for the problem as the same differ from problem to
problem.
Types of Research
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. The
major purpose of Descriptive research is description of a state of affairs as it exists at
present.
Analytical Research
In Analytical Research, the researcher has to use facts or information already available,
and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.
Applied Research
Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or
an industrial/business organization.
Fundamental Research

Fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation
of a theory.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable
to phenomenon that can be expressed in terms of quantity.
Conceptual research
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract ideas or theory it generally used by
philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.
Research Design
It is the conceptual structure within which the Research is conducted. Its function is to
provide for the collection of relevant evidence. The present Project work is based on a
descriptive study heavily depending upon Primary Data. Descriptive Research is a
Research method followed in this project, which includes surveys, and fact-findings
Inquires of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive Research is description of
the state of affairs, as it exists at present.
Research Design:
The research design is a pattern or an outline of a research project . It is a statement only
the essential of a study those provide the basic guidelines for the detail of the project. The
present study being conducted follows a descriptive research design has the data would
be responses from a simple containing g a large numbers of sources .It is a cross section
of the situation design of the descriptive studies including the nature and the analytical
method.
Data Collection
After the research problem has been defied and the research design has been chalked out,
the task of date collection begins. Data can be collected from other secondary sources.

SAMPLING PLANNING

Sampling is an effective step in collection of primary and secondary data and has a great
influence on the quality of the results. The sampling plan includes population, sample
size and sample design.
DATA ANALYSIS:PLAN OF ANALYSIS
The data gathered from various sources were primarily studied and necessary data was
sorted out sequentially keeping in mind the procedure of the study. The analysis has been
made by, correlating the FII purchases, sales and net investment with equity market
returns to identify whether a relation exists between them. Findings are included which
transmits the important points, which were gathered from the study.
The data has been analyzed with the help of various graphs like bar graph etc.
Types of Sampling
Probability Sampling
Probability sampling is also known as random sampling or chance sampling. Under this
sampling design, every item of the universe has an equal chance of inclusion in the
sample. Lottery method is a type of probability sampling method. The results obtain from
probability sampling can be assured in term of probability i.e. we can measure the error
of estimation or the significance of result obtain from random sample, and this fact brings
out the superiority of random sampling design over the deliberate sampling design.
Non-Probability Sampling Non-Probability is that sampling procedure which doesnt
afford any basis for estimating the probability that each item in the po0pulationj has of
being included in the sample. It is also known as deliberate sampling, purposive sampling
and judgment sampling. Quota sampling is an example of Non Probability sampling.

Methods of Data Collection

Data can be collected from either the Primary or Secondary sources. In this Study
although the Data was collected mainly through Primary sources, it was supplemented by
Secondary sources.

Methods of
Data Collection

P
R
I
M
A
R
Y

Observation
Method
Through
Schedules
Questionnaire
Method
Interview
Method
Other
Methods

Public
Records
Books,
Magazines
&
Journals

S
E
C
O
N

Reports

D
A

FINDINGS OF STUDY

In India, inbound tourist expenditure per head is third highest in the world and
even more than global average tourist spending.

India has been promoting its healthcare tourism by providing the visitors with
private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the number of tourists visiting

India for the purpose of medical treatment will reach one Million by 2012,
representing a CAGR of 28.09% from 2007.

Disposable income in past (during 2001-2006) grew at a CAGR of 10.11%,

thereby driving domestic as well as outbound tourism.

Room rent accounts for more than 50% of revenue earned by Indian hotel
industry & Indias share in global tourism is expected to reach 1.5% by 2010.

Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at a CAGR of 12.79% over

the five-year period spanning 2007-2011.

Tourist influx to India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 22.65% between

2007 and 2011.

Indias share in global tourism is expected to reach 1.5% by 2010.

In India, inbound tourist expenditure per head is third highest in the world and
even more than global average tourist spending.

India has been promoting its healthcare tourism by providing the visitors with
private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the number of tourists visiting
India for the purpose of medical treatment will reach one Million by 2012,
representing a CAGR of 28.09% from 2007.

Disposable income in past (during 2001-2006) grew at a CAGR of 10.11%,

thereby driving domestic as well as outbound tourism.

Room rent accounts for more than 50% of revenue earned by Indian hotel
industry.

Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at a CAGR of 12.79% over

the five-year period spanning 2007-2011.

Tourist influx to India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 22.65% between

2007 and 2011.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

As the time available is limited and the subject is very vast.

As the time available is limited and the subject is very vast.

The study is general.

It is mainly based on the data available in various websites &other secondary

sources ;

The inferences made is purely from the past years performance;

There is no particular format for the study;

Sufficient time is not available to conduct an in-depth study.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites
www.google.com
www.ieee.com
www.tourism.gov.in
www.wikipedia.com
Journals & magazines
national journals on tourism
International journals and magazines