INTRODUCTION:

The word tourist was used by 1772 and tourism by 1811. In 1936, the League of Nations defined foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months. .The concept of tourism refers to the broad framework that identifies tourisms essential characteristics and distinguishes tourism from similar, often related but different phenomena. The termtourism can be used in isolation or together to describe three concepts:

The movement of people A sector of the economy or an industry A brad system of interacting relationships of people, their needs to travel outside their communities and services that attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products

According to the WTO tourists are people who: travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more then one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited..

Before people can experience tourism they usually need at least: 1. 2. 3. 4. disposable income, ie. money to spend on non-essentials leisure time tourism infrastructure, such as transport and accommodation. Other factors such as health and motivation to travel are also important.

The tourism industry includes: 1. those sectors which enable the tourist to travel to and from the destination (for example travel agents, airlines, bus companies, tour operators and rental car companies) 2. those sectors which are part of the product at the destination (for example, accommodation, facilities and attractions) 3. the human component of tourism (the labour force) 4. public sector or government agencies,regional tourism organisations, professional associations and industry training organisations. Direct elements of the Tourism Industry - Those areas of the tourism industry which come into direct contact with tourists

Sales Accommodation Transport Activities Attractions Ancillary Services

Indirect elements of the Tourism Industry - Often called support sectors. Those parts of the tourism industry which may not come into direct contact with tourists, but without the rest of the industry could not function.

Infrastructure Roads Airports Communications Public Toilets Signs Manufacturing Building Industry Electricity Water supply Sewerage and waste disposal

Tourism is important, and in some cases, vital for many countries. It was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations." Tourism brings in large amounts of income in payment for goods and services available accounting for 30% of the world's exports of services, and 6% of overall exports of

goods and services. It also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy, associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships, and taxicabs; hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theatres Tourism is seen by governments as a useful tool for economic development. The economic benefits tourism may offer include: Employment: tourism is a labour intensive industry, Entrepreneurial opportunities, Generate tax revenues, Development in rural regions, Foreign exchange generator, Tourism promotes other industries, particularly in services sectors of the economy.

MARKETING MIX:
The marketing mix is the way in which the chosen marketing strategy is implemented. It is commonly represented in marketing text books as a combination of a set of Ps normally four (product, promotion, place or means of distributing the product, and price) though Middleton and Clarke (2001) add people, process of delivery, and physical evidence arguing they are particularly useful in travel and tourism, which is typically a high contact service (the people component), an extended and complex service (the process component) and a service that can only be evaluated by the consumer as they experience the delivery (which incorporate the physical evidence component). The production-orientation of the four Ps can be converted into consumer orientation through converting these to Cs ie product = customer value, price = cost, place = convenience of access and promotion = communications. An analogy for the marketing mix is driving a car insofar as the individual elements ie clutch, steering wheel, accelerator and brake in the case of the car cannot be deployed with effect independent of each other. The role of the marketing mix in tourism is to bring the customers or tourists to the destination, product or service that the tourism company wishes to sell. The four parts of the marketing mix in tourism include the product, pricing, promotion and place or distribution

PRODUCT:

The product role of the marketing mix in tourism is to make the tourists aware of what the company is trying to market or promote. The product for tourism may be a bus tour, a hotel stay or a cruise. The product or service is one that is especially targeted to the tourist market, but can range from a tangible product, such as a souvenir to an intangible product, such as a bus tour of the city. Tourism products are heterogenous, perishable and cannot be owned. The service product thus has to be designed with care. Generally service blue printing is done to define the service product. For example a restaurant blue print will be prepared before establishing a restaurant business. This service blue print defines exactly how the product (in this case the restaurant) is going to be. The levels of the product that the travel and tourism industry offers to its customers are as follows: 1) Core product The core product offered by Travel and Tourism industry is the destination. It is core because the main aim of the tourist is the destination where he has to reach or go. 2) Basic product The basic products offered by Travel and Tourism industry are ticket booking, transport, sight seeing, hotel booking. 3) Expected product These are the products that the customer expects the organization to offer. These are impeccable services, seat availability on needed time as it is critical to business travelers, accurate information, quick check in for the senior manger of the company, authentic information, information about various packages, different routes leading to a particular destination. 4) Augmented product These are the products that are offered by the companies to distinguish itself from others. These products become expected products in the future. Those are flat beds in business class, Wi-Fi connection in hotels, customized meals on board, tele checking 8hrs booking in hotels, hotels providing laptops on request, internet access as complimentary for the corporate packages. 5) Potential products These are the future products that the companies will offer to its customers. These can be underwater tourism, hovercraft for traveling. Also Virgin Atlantic airlines are thinking of adding a casino and a shopping mall in the airline.

PLACE:

The place and time in tourism is providing directions and maps, providing estimates of travel time and distances from different market areas, recommending direct and scenic travel routes,identifying attractions and support facilities along different travel routes, and informing potential customers of alternative travel methods to the area such as airlines and railroads. For marketing purposes, place does not just mean the location of a tourist attraction or facility. It means the location of all the points of sale that provide prospective customers with access to tourist products. For example, place for Disney World in the USA is not only Orlando, Florida, but also the numerous travel agents and tour operators located in the north-east of the USA and worldwide who sell products that include admission to Disney World. As a result of marketing decisions, prospective visitors to Florida can obtain promotional information anywhere in the world and buy a range of products that either include Disney World admission or make such visits probable in terms of vacation locations and motivation. Travel agents are of course only one of the ways in which place or convenient access is created for Disney

World customers, or indeed for most other products in travel and tourism . Convenience of place for a self-catering operator, for example, includes direct mail to the homes of prospective buyers, using free-phone numbers and easy access to products via computerized reservation/booking systems. Since the late 1990s, for most travel and tourism businesses, the Internet has literally revolutionized and globalized the concept of convenient access by bringing it directly into millions of homes of prospectivetourists.

PROMOTIONMIX

Promotion is the role of the marketing mix in tourism. It encompasses all of the ways that the company markets and advertises the business The tourist organizations bear the responsibility of informing, persuading and sensing the potential tourists in a right fashion. The marketers need to use the various components of promotion optimally so that they succeed in increasing the number of habitual users. Promotion helps in maximizing the duration of stay, frequency of visit by offering new tourist products in the same country to areas, which have remained untapped or partially tapped. The various dimensions of tourism promotion are as follows:

Advertising:

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

Publicity: It focuses attention on strengthening the public relations measures by

developing a rapport with media people and getting their personalized support in publicizing the business. It helps in projecting the positive image of tourist organizations since the prospects trust on the news items publicized by the media people. The publicity program include regular publicity stories and photographs to the newspapers, travel editors, contact with magazines on stories etc. advertising is a part of publicity.

Sales promotions:

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

Word-of-mouth Promotion:

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

Personal Selling:

Personal Selling is based on the personal skill of an individual. The travel and hotel business depend considerably on the personal selling. The development of travel and tourism has been possible due to well-educated and trained sales personnel. The development of tourism business has been influenced by the services rendered by the travel agents and travel guides since they work as information carriers. Personal selling is the personal presentation of a tangible product

or intangible services or ideas to the customers. It is important to mention that in the tourism industry, the personnel who attend tourists form an essential ingredient of the product, such as sales personnel are found responsible for dealing with customers behind the counter, the resort representatives cater to the need of tourists when they reach the destination etc. all of them play a vital role in ensuring that the tourism products satisfy the tourists. The phrase- the customer is always right applies specifically to the tourism industry. No reduction in price would compensate for impolite and indecent travel guide, a solvent waiter and a surly or a haughty coach driver. These facts are testimony to the proposition that the travel business is linked with the performance and behavior of sales personnel or travel staff.

Telemarketing:

It is a method of selling in which a professionally sound telemarketer markets the business. The quality of technology and the communicative ability of the telemarketers determine the magnitude of success of this component. In tourism, the travel agents, offices of airways, receptionist, and secretaries cant work efficiently if the telephonic services are not up to the mark. Also recruiting a person considered to be professionally sound, personally-committed sales personnel having an in-built creativity, innovation and imagination is very important.

Exhibitions :The

participants include state and national tourism promotion boards, travel agents and tour operators, airlines, car rentals, cruise liners, holiday financiers, technology providers, hotels and resorts, education institutions in the field of hospitality and tourism. Over the years the participation of foreign tourism promotion boards like the Dubai Tourism and the Mauritius Tourism, etc has increased in order to aggressively promote their respective countries

PRICE

In pricing decisions, the product or the service mix of the tourist organization is important. They have to set prices in line with the quality of services to be made available to the customers and the type of customers they are targeting. Pricing decisions are influenced by internal factors like pricing policy of the company, and external factors like the destination itself. They are required to think in favor of discounting price. These may include discounts for cash payments, seasonal discounts, trade discounts etc. But while offering the discounts, it is not to be forgotten that it may also create image problem since some of the value sensitive tourists may doubt the quality.Although management of tourism product is often argued to be a crucial aspect of m.m Doyle suggests that pricing decisions are becoming more critical due to the increasing complexity of markets. Indeed price is the element of the marketing mix that directly produces revenue for the organisation. Pricing is particularly important in tourism context in that the higher degree of product intangibility often reduces the no. of alternative for comparison by customers. Cooper et-al that the pricing of tourism product also take into account the cmplexity created seasonality of demand and the perishibility of the product. Multiobjective pricing in tourism is attributed to the characteristics of ownership in that maximasation of profit, market share ,social pricing or pricing for survival can vary considerabily depending upon the degree to which an organisation is publicly or privately owned.

A summary of the key approaches to pricing in the tourism industry is identified below: COST-PLUS PRICING:Involves a fixed %age mark up on fixed and variable costs. It represents a relatively simplistic form of pricing. PRODUCT-LINE PRICING: Pricing along a product line or across a portfolio of product warrants in the product substitution and canabalisation is to be avoided. This is valid for many tourism sectors where major tour operates , airlines and hotels conglomerates are frequently manging large product lines. PRICE-BUNDLING: This is a typical pricing approach adopted in the tour operations sector in that the holiday package inculdes a bundle of products (normally transport and accomodation) where one combined price is charged to the customer. BUSINESS-BUSINESS(PRICING): This is where tour operators will often purchase blocks of seats on aircraft and block of rooms in hotels in advances. However in most instances a variety of pricing strategies will be applied at any one time.

PEOPLE:

It is easy to recognize that most of the variability of the tourism product stems from the substantial human interactions inherent in the experience. It is a useful exercise to categorize the participants for marketing purposes. They are: - Visitors: the individual consumers of the product and the other tourists present at the

same time and place. The interaction with other consumers of an inseparable experience will influence the satisfaction or otherwise of the individual.

Employees:

the staff of an organization can be subdivided into front-line members with visitor contact and non-contact employees who provide support. Any third party organizations who supply different services to the principal provider will also be represented by front-line and support staff. - Host community: the residents of a destination community who may not regard themselves as part of the tourism business but who, nonetheless, interact with visitors informally and whose friendly or hostile behaviour can make or mar the visitors experience. The elements of the marketing mix are traditionally viewed as controllable by the marketer. Clearly, the travel and tourism marketer has greatest control over product design and employees, less over purchasers and very little if any direct control over the host community. Yet marketing activity can still influence behaviour in each of these categories. For example, two-way communication through strong public relations can foster positive attitudes and behaviour amongst destination residents.

Visitors
Holiday tourists are consumers with particular expectations. To deliver satisfaction, travel and tourism marketers need to segment the market by temporal, spatial and other variables to aid compatibility between consumers sharing the same premises. The consequences of mis-targeting a communications campaign can be dire in marketing terms because tourists are more than simply purchasers and users. They are also resources, assets and participants in parts of the service delivery whose activities need to be designed into the product offer and the delivery system. Compare the actions of a tourist in an intimate fullservice restaurant with those of the same tourist in a self-service restaurant. Some of the activities carried out by consumers in self-service might logically be expected to form part of an employees job. A no-frills budget airline will include more consumer participation in the product delivery process, reducing staffing and labour costs. For their part, certain tourist segments prefer the greater sense of control that more active participation in the service delivery process creates. If the product design requires the customer to act in effect as a coproducerin the service delivery, marketing managers must limit the risk and uncertainty for the service provider in three main ways: first, ensuring correct recruitment (i.e. careful segmentation of the tourist market); second, providing imperceptible clues for customers and training (establishing awareness and expectations of the role in the consumer); and, third, encouraging motivation (explaining the benefits of the design to the tourist and harnessing co-operation, just as the organization would be expected to do for a paid employee). The parallels with human resource management are not inappropriate

PROCESS:

It is the way of undertaking transaction supplying information and providing services on a way, which is acceptable to the consumer and the effective to the organization. Now to make this definition of process true, it is necessary for the organization which provides services to recognize the critical moments in the entire process which makes the service acceptable or not acceptable to the customer depending on the zone of tolerance and effective or not effective to the organization. Further to realize what are the critical moments in the considered process a concept of blue printing is introduced.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

It is a very important factor for the travel and tourism industry. This marketing p is important in 2 distinct ways: 1) as the environment in which the sales takes place 2) the environment where the product is consumed Explanation of the first case

when the purchasing of the product is taking place, however the customer cannot be sure whether they will enjoy the product or not. In the mean time their expectations and emotions are influenced by factors like layout of the room, the furniture, noise level, temperature, lights and other factors like the brochure of the company. In case of customers who by electronically the appearance of the website is the physical evidence. Explanation of the second case In the travel industry where the product is being experienced s particularly important in securing repeat business thus extensive facitilities that prove to be physical evidence are provided to lure and woo the customer The tangibles include flat beds in business class, Wi-Fi connection in hotels, customized meals on board, tele checking 8hrs booking in hotels, hotels providing laptops on request, internet access as complimentary for the corporate packages. The critical incidences in this process are Understanding the customers needs and expectations from the holiday or business tour which ever he or she is opting for Making an apt travel plan and route adhering to the requirements of the customer

Execution of the planned itinerary is the most critical one. As a company has committed some thing and this is the time when the customer is actually experiencing the entire product and if any one of the commitments dont materialize then the zone of tolerance is affected and lot as it is already low because the customer on a tour whether leisure or business expects perfection.
Figure6.1 Examples

of

the

marketing

mix

in

travel

and

tourism

Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir:

The State of Jammu and Kashmir is the northern most state of India comprising three distinct:

JAMMU, KASHMIR AND LADAKH

ATTRIBUTES:
Some of the key attributes of the tourism industry in J&K are as follows :

Virgin Areas Different Geographical Locations, Climate, Landscape, Architecture, Pilgrimage,

Culture, Handicrafts, Hospitality, Historical Heritage, etc

Kashmir herein referred to as Valley, Jammu which also includes areas Of Rajouri and Poonch and lastly the region of Ladakh including areas of Kargil, Drass and Zanskar. By the very nomenclature of the State, Jammu & Kashmir, the region comprising of Ladakh was overlooked for a considerable time by the State Government as a place for developing tourism. The State of J & K have immense potential for tourism from both domestic as well as international tourists. There are number of locations which are untapped and can be developed as major tourist destinations, having all the natural as well as the cultural resources for attracting tourists. Some of the important natural resources are excellent climate, beautiful lakes ,locations for adventure sports, wild life, trout fish, natural and manmade parks like Shalimar and Nishat of the Mughal period, flora and fauna, alpine forests, natural waterfalls and streams, etc. As for the cultural resources, the state has some of the most important religious shrines of Hindus, historical monuments, plethora of local festivals, distinct cuisine, craftsmanship skills for intricate and fine woodwork, woollens, carpets, textiles, paper mache, inlay work, etc. The state abounds in large lakes, the biggest of the fresh water lake being Wular, Dal and Manasbal lakes. The biggest brackish water lakes are Tso Moriri and Pangong Tso in Ladakh region. A large number of smaller lakes in the higher reaches of the mountain ranges provide surprises for those who can reach them trekking.

Strategies for Marketing J&K Tourism.

A multi pronged strategies have to be undertaken to market the brand J&K in the global as well as national arena. Sustained efforts have to be made to increase J&Ks visibility and awareness. Marketing has to be done in such a way so as to attract the best of the various segments of tourists having different tastes of recreation, entertainment, adventure, etc. FIVE STRATEGIES TO INCREASE J&Ks VISIBILITY ON THE WORLD TOURISM MAP:. 1 Development and organization of a tourism product in keeping with customer expectations Faced with escalating competition and the need to satisfy customers with an increasingly broad range of interests, J&K has no option but to offer a tourism product that is competitive and innovative. Both the development and the organization of the tourism product are instrumental in the success of promotional strategies. 2 Adjusting promotional strategies to new information and communications technologies

There is a great upheaval in the world of communications, prompting major changes in consumer behaviour, especially noticeable in travel planning and reservations. J&K will have to adopt a promotional approach consistent with these new tendencies. 3: Emphasis on markets offering the best return on investment Although deemed satisfactory, J&Ks performance could improve on some international markets offering development prospects. Such is the case of the American market (except for New England) and several European markets. J&K should focus investments on markets generating the most revenue. 4 : Establishing a strong business relationship between Tourism department of J&K and the tourism industry in J&K. In light of the growing number of players showing heightened interest in tourism, current promotional investment is now spread too thinly. Partners must be grouped together to increase the impact of J&Ks tourism industry on foreign markets. 5: La connaissance des clientles et lvaluation des rsultats Setting up a customized tourism product for constantly evolving and increasingly discriminating clienteles and the success of promotional strategies depend on two things: Improving our knowledge of client needs and interests; Rigorously assessing the results obtained

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR TOURISM IN J&K:

STRENGTHS Rich Culture, Heritage Three distinct Regions with diversity Ladakh, Jammu, Kashmir Flora, fauna, lakes, mountains, pilgrimage places, springs, palaces, monuments, horticulture, handicrafts, shawls, Kashmir The Heaven, Switzerland of India/ Asia Kashmiris are hospitable, hospitality in their nerves Various kinds of tourism available to be exploited Local People experienced due to past tourism booms High Awareness of J&K as Tourist Paradise

WEAKNESSES No tourism Policy Undeveloped Destinations No proper/ Poor connectivity Low awareness level Low/ Poor promotional activities Less Government Spending Economy dependent on Tourism Poor Coordination between departments Stress only on few developed sites Low time spending No diversion of tourists from specific tourism to other type of tourism. Less tourists diversion to new places No Tourism research. No capacity building of stakeholders for better services. Lackadaisical Approach of Government Complacency and non customer friendly. No culture of Perspective Planning in State Department No Accountability in Financial Matters & Services Lack of Training Infrastructure & Hospitality Industry THREATS Security Competition Diversion of tourists to other safer places Better facilities from competitors Low information dissemination, access and training Non awakening of Government, complacency Non treatment of tourism as service industry

OPPORTUNITIES Can cater to almost all Tourist Tastes High Returns from Tourism Industry Development of Circuits Un exploited Ladakh Pilgrimage Circuits Package Tours Higher spending of people on recreation, entertainment Linkage with specific circuits in other states Professional approach Governments role as Care taker and facilitator Customer oriented and friendly

It is evident that the Strengths and Opportunities can out way the Weaknesses if properly exploited.