PREFACE

From ancient times, India has been looked upon as a place full of mystique. In the olden
times travellers like Huen Tsang came a long way with great difficulties just to have a feel of
the place. But now in modern times, with supersonic jets, the world has become a smaller
place and has been named as a 'global village'. With the destinations becoming so much
closer the tourists' are pouring into India from all over the world leading to a fast
development of tourism industry and yet it has not grown to its fullest potential.

India is a dynamic and mystic tourist destination where something always remains to be
explored, discovered and unveiled. India offers every type of tourism ideas like Historical &
Heritage Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Nature & Wildlife Tourism, Religious Tourism, Rail
Tourism, Cultural Tourism and some new ideas are also in the front like Medical Tourism,
Health, Yoga & Rejuvenation (Ayurveda) Tourism, Rural Tourism and Special Interest
Tourism and much more.

The future opportunities and challenges in store for this industry have attracted me to select
this industry for my project.

The objective of the project was to identify opportunity and challenges to promote Indian
tourism industry in world market. For this purpose, project includes studies on World trends
in travels and tourism, guidelines for tourism marketing, and for Indian tourism.

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 INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5. CONCLUSION

6. BIBLIOGARAPHY

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 INTRODUCTION
Tourism – the concept

By tourism society, “Tourism is deemed to include any activity concerned with the
temporary short– term movement of people to destinations outside the places where
they normally live and work, and their activities during the stay at these destinations.”

The definition pulls together three main elements of all travel and tourism products:
1. Visitor activity is concerned only with aspects of life outside normal routines of work
and social commitments, and outside the location of those routines.
2. The activity involves travel and, in nearly every case, some form of transportation to
the destination.
3. The destination is a focus for a range of activities, and a range of facilities required to
support those activities.

Before studying other dimensions, we go through concept of tourism.

 Tourism is a temporary and short – term movement of people.
 Tourism is the totality of relationship.
 Tourism is an activity involving a complex mixture of material and psychological
elements.
 Tourism is the activity concerned with the utilization of leisure hours.
 Tourism is a composite industry consisting of various segments.

Tourist the concept

“Tourists are the voluntary temporary travelers, traveling in the expectations of pleasure from
the novelty and change experienced on a relative and non- recurrent round – trip.”
Tourists are:
 Persons traveling for pleasure, health and domestic reason.
 Persons arriving in the course of sea cruise.
 Persons traveling for the business purpose.
 Persons traveling for convention.

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Not to be tourist:
 Persons arriving without a work to take up an occupation.
 Persons coming from the rural areas to the urban areas.
 Students in boarding.
 Persons domiciled in one country and working in adjoining country.
 Persons passing through a country without stopping.

Tourism Marketing – The Concept

A clear perception of tourism marketing requires a brief analysis of marketing. We are well
aware of the fact that there have been fundamental changes in the traditional concept of
marketing which has been influenced by multidimensional changes in the business
environment.

We consider marketing a human activity directed at satisfying the needs and wants through
exchange processes.

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the performance of business

activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or users.”

Kotler finds marketing a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups
obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with
others.

Krippendorf says, “Marketing in tourism is to be understood as the systematic

Co-ordinated execution of business policy by tourist undertakings whether private or state,
owned at local, regional, national and international levels to achieve the optional satisfaction
of the needs of identifiable consumer groups and in doing so achieves an appropriate return.”

Burkart and Medilick opine “Tourism marketing activities are systematic and coordinated
efforts extended by National Tourist Organaisation and/or tourist Enterprises at international.

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National and local levels to optimize the satisfaction of tourist groups and individuals in view
of sustained tourism growth.”

In the view of the above, the following points emerge regarding tourism marketing:
 Tourism marketing is a process of creating a product or providing a service.
 Tourism marketing comprises fact findings, data gathering, analyzing
( marketing research), communication to inform and promote (promotion), ensuring
and facilitating sales, selection of marketing planning (distribution), coordination,
control and evaluation ( marketing plnning And auditing), developing professionally
sound personnel (people).
 Tourism marketing is an integral effort to satisfy tourist and more so, it is device to
transform the potential tourist into the actual tourist.
 Tourism marketing is the safest way to generate demand, expand market and increase
the market share.
 Tourism marketing is a managerial process to promote business.

Users of Tourism Services

We find different categories of users availing the services of tourist organizations.

Classification of different categories would help the tourism professionals in studying and
identifying the level of their expectations vis-a vis their behavioural profile.

Non-users: Persons not interested in using the services are known as non – users. They lack
willingness, desire and therefore, the level of income or even the availability of leisure hour
is not to influence them.
Potential users: Also called as prospects or the prospective users. They have willingness but
the marketing resources have not been used optimally for influencing their impulse. Thry
bear the efficacy and the marketing professionals are supposed to capitalize on their
potentials by using creative promotional measures.
Actual Users: persons already using the services generated by the tourist organisation are
known as actual users.
Occasional Users: users availing the services occasionally but not forming a habit to travel
are known as occasional users.

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Habitual users: users forming a habit and availing the services regularly are known as the
habitual users.

It is right to mention that the men and women, kids and teens, youth and grey, rural and
urban, poor and rich, white collar and blue collar personnel, executives and technocrats,
professionals and intellects, literate and illiterate are the different categories of users availing
the multidimensional services of tourist organisations. It is quite natural that the behavioural
profile of all the users can’t be identical. This makes it essential that professionals study and
understand their changing behavioral profile.

Behavioural Profile Of Users

For the successful and cost-effective execution of the marketing strategies or for translating
the strategies into meaningful purposes, we realize the significance of in depth study of the
behavioural profile of different categories of the users. The tourist organisations need to
understand their behavioural profile which simplifies their task of creating and stimulating
the demand. Users have values, perceptions, preferences, expectations which are the result of
environmental influences. There are number of factors influencing the behavioral profile,
such as race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, leisure habits, health factors, life styles, ag, life
cycle stage, occupation, level of incomes, advances in communication technology or so.
It is in this context that we find it important to asses the behavioural pattern and users’
characteristics. In the recent years, the usres have become more discriminating in their using
habits and therefore we find their needs for different services, products and brands changing
constantly. This makes it essential that the marketers analyse their behavioural profile and
come to know the levels of their expectations.

Classifying travel Motivations

Motivation for travel and tourism can be categorized as follows:
 Holiday travel
 Business travel
 Health travel
 Visiting friends and relatives
 Religious travel

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  Travel for economic benefits (e.g. shopping)
 Travel for educational purpose (study tours, etc)
 Sports and activities travel (participation or observation)

In fact, we can summarise allm of these activities under five basic needs:
1. physical
2. cultural
3. interpersonal
4. status and prestige
5. commercial.

Although there will be some overlap of motives between these categories, it will be useful to
see how these needs are met by tourism facilities or destinations, and how they relate to
levels of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy.

The demand for business travel is quite different from that for leisure travel, since it is by
nature less ‘discretionary’, that is, less a matter of personal choice. Business people travel
because of demands of their business. As a result, such travel is les price sensitive, since the
company rather than the individual will be footing the bills. Business people tend to make
frequent short – duration trips, which are generally taken at mid-weeks rather than at
weekends, and travel is not subject to seasonal fluctuations. Travel decision often have to be
taken at short notice, so that they need regular scheduled flights available and a fast and
convenient reservations service.

At a basic physiological level, travel can sometimes be essential for health as in the case of
treatment overseas for complex surgery, or the need to travel to warm, dry climates to recover
from illnesses such as asthma and tuberculosis. These are then survival-related needs. Many
people in stressful occupations also need a break from the mental or physical strain of their
work to avoid a breakdown in health, and this “cathartic” travel is no less necessary for
survival. Even business travel, usually only thought of in terms of economic need, may be
required for the survival of the organisation in the face of overseas competition- but we must
also recognize that quite a lot of business travel is in fact taken for prestige purpose – the

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requirement for first class travel and top – price hotels, for instance – while conference travel
may be ascribed to competence needs.

Our social needs for loving and belonging are often met through package holiday
programmes, since many tourists find group tours an excellent way to make new friends or
seek romance. Cultural travel provides opportunities for self – actualization, the process of
achieving or fulfilling one’s potential.

These examples will be sufficient to show that travel satisfies many physical, social and
psychological needs. They will also have shown us that travel motivation can be both general
and specific. We experience the general drive to get away from our present environment, to
escape from routine and seek new and different experiences, while at the same time we
demonstrate individual motivations to see specific activities while on holiday.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

Product Planning And Development

The tourism is a multi- segment industry. The essence of marketing is bringing together the
mix of products, possessing the efficacy of satisfying the users.
The tourism products are an amalgam of different tangible and intangible elements. The
products have some salient features, e.g., the products are highly perishable, used for pleasure
or speeding up the learning cycle and the users, a heterogeneous group of people who are
required to come to the spot. The products can’t be transported to the users and in no case the
providers can store or preserve the products. The demand is highly flexible and the products
need world class superstructure and infrastructure. The three basic elements of the products
are attraction of the destination, facilities at the destination and accessibility to the
destination. To the different members of the tourism industry, the tourism products are
different, e.g., to the hotel industry, it is guest – nights; to the airline, it is the seats flown and
the passengers miles that result; to the museum, art gallery or archaeological site, the product
is the number of visits. In a true sense, it is a complete experience which complicates the task
of careful planning and optimal development.

The development of tourism is the development of the process of social industrialization. In a

competitive market where the leading tourism generating countries of the globe have been
successful in speeding up the process of socioeconomic transformation through social
industrialization, it is essential that the developing and the less developed countries assign an
overriding priority to the planned development process. Moreover when unplanned and
haphazard developments pave avenues for the atmospheric pollution, this dimension of
management needs a transcendental priority. The World Bank warns., “ In many areas of the
world, tourism development has produced great disparities in the standards of amenities
provided for the visitor and for the local population. This can’t be entirely denied that in the
long run, the improvement to standards for the local population is probably a condition of
successful tourism development. The development of a new resort by the provision of
infrastructure costing perhaps millions of dollars has a great impact on land values in the area
affected.”

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Thus it is important that the tourism planning whether at national or at regional level must be
regarded as an integral part of country’s overall economic and social planning. A plan for
tourism can only serve its desired goal. The main target to such a plan would be to arrive at
an optimum harmonization of the inter – relations between the two places of market while
avoiding the creation of serious economic, social and territorial imbalances. The key steps in
the planning are assessment of tourist demand and paving ways for an optimal supply. Thus
in addition to other benefits, the tourism planning makes an assault on imbalances. The
tourist organisations and the professionals find it convenient ot have a fair blending of social
and commercial considerations.

Market Segmentation For Tourism

The behavioural scientist feel that appeal, strategy and tact vary from segment to segment
which in a natural way necessitates a change in the strategic decisions. The modern marketing
theory prefers the formulation of marketing policies and strategies for each market segment
which an organisation plans to solicit. It is natural that different segments react in a different
way. Segmentation makes possible tailoring of products and marketing programmes uniquely
segment for each sub-segment. A market is not only an aggregate demand for a product but
the sum of demands of different market segments. For getting a positive response in the
market, it is pertinent that the marketers or the tourist professionals are well aware of the
different market segments. It is against this background that we need to study market
segmentation for tourism services.

At the outset, it is essential that the tourist organisation select a suitable base for segmentating
the market. The selection of base has a for reaching ipact on studing the target market. Thogh
there are a number of bases for segmentation, we find lifestyles an important base since the
traveling decisions are fantastically influenced by the changing lifestyles. The emerging
trends in the level of income, the availability of leisure hour of course influence the process
but the main thing is the lifestyles. This is supported by the logic that if we earn more, we
spend more. We prefer to utilize our leisure time for gaining pleasure or for enriching the
knowledge bank. This necessitates an indepth study of like style for making segmentation
proactive. The living styles of Americans and Indians can’t be identical, the decision making
of both of them are to be different. The Americans prefer to travel and therefore they assign

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due weightage to the traveling decisions while scheduling or ordering their engagements. The
Indians avoid to travel albeit we find them earning more or sufficient leisure time or holidays
in their constituting a place of outstanding significance.

The segmentation benefits tourist organisations in different ways. An optimal marketing plan,
a balanced development of marketing resources, true gauging of the level of expectations,
formulation of creative strategies for getting a positive response make it clear that the tourist
organisations assign due weightage to segments. They are supposed to select a suitable base
for segmentation out of numerous bases like holiday base, purpose base, demand base,
geographical base, psychological base, demography base, socio economic base, sex base, age
base or so.

The bases help professionals in studying and understanding the changing behavioral profile
of users. In the figure (Anx ) the market segmentation bases make it clear that geographic,
demographic, psychographic and socio – economic aspects can’t be underestimated to have a
clear picture of the tourism users.

The holiday base focuses our attention on the fact that long-distance tours requirwe
availabity of more leisure hours. The holiday market is classified in terms of demand. The
different categories are, the mass market, the popular market and the individual holiday
market. The mass market involves largest number of vacationists who generally travel in long
groups. They prefer all inclusive tours. The users belong to the conservative group in which
we find skilled and semi-skilled workers, blue – collar employees as the potential users. The
popular market involves smaller groups going on inclusive or semi-inclusive tours. The users
are generally class one and lass two groups, pensioners and retired people. The individual
holiday market involves “social-group –A” like corporate chairman and senior executives.
We find an apparent change in the behavioral profile of different categories in the holiday
base. Another base is purpose in which we find business travel market, cultural tourism
market, common interest tourism market and conference and convention. The demand base
classifies markets into primary tourism market, secondary tourism and opportunity tourism.
The geography base includes lifestyles, personality, motives, product and knowledge. The
demography base covers age, sex, occupation, class and religion. The socio-economic base
makes classification like rich, poor, rural, urban, literate and illiterate. The age – base
classifies markets for kids, teens, youths, young married and old people market.

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The aforesaid small segments simplify the task of tourist professionals. They know about the
changing needs and requirements of different marketing resources in tune with the changing
levels of expectations make the way for the stimulation of demand and simplify the task or
marketers. It is in this context that we need to segment the market for the different allied
industries helping the tourism industry in many ways.

Marketing Information System For Tourism

Knowledge is supposed to be the power. Of late to manage a business is to manage the future,
it is essential to manage the information. It is against this background that the tourist
organisations assign due weightage to the MIS. The sophistication in the process of
communication technologies has paved avenues for the development of a technology driven
MIS. In the age of information explosion, it is pertinent that an organisation develops and
institutes MIS to have an easy access to information needed for planning, problem solving
and decision making. The co- ordinated, systematic continuous information gathering are the
important purposes of manging the information related to the marketing activities.
The MIS would help the tourist organisation in many ways, such as the formulation of
scientific and intelligent plan would be possible which would make it easier to balance the
demand and supply position. The emerging trends in the market can be identified and the
marketing decisions can be made creative. The designing of package tour, innovation in the
promotional measures, a change in the pricing strategy or using it as a motivational tool, the
management of tourist organisations, tour operators, transport operators, travel agents would
be made prouctive. Thus it is essential that the tourist organisations take support of
technology-driven MIS which would make the marketing decisions innovative.

In the management of information, we find project planning playing an important role. There
are different steps of project planning such as setting the research objectives, planning the
required information to accomplish the organizational goals, identifying the sources to be
tapped in seeking the information, employing the research design, sampling the procedures
and selecting the method for analyzing the data. Such a scientific project planning in addition
to simplify the process of research also makes the result effective. In the tourism industry, we
find different categories of users and an amalgam a of different products which make it a

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multi-segment industry. This in a natural way complicates the task of a researcher. A
researcher while collecting data and helping system analysts in managing the information is
supposed to design the questionnaire consisting of tourist sites, users, products, promotion an
competition. The following questions need an appropriate answer:
 Who are the users and where do they live?
 Who are the potential users and where do they live?
 What are their likes and dislikes?
 What are their travel preferences and interests?
 What do they prefer to buy while traveling?
 Where do they prefer to stay?
 Where do they prefer to take their foods and drinks?
 What are their transportation preferences?
 What are their entertainment preferences?
 What are the strategies of leading competitors?
 What type of marketing strategy would be suitable in the existing market?

We can’t deny the fact that if there is one thing certain in the present world, it is change. We
can’t check the flow of change. This necessitates dynamism in our plans, policies and
strategies to make possible necessary changes as and when the circumstances necessitate so.
The multi- dimensional changes in the environmental conditions influence our lifestyles,
living habits, taste preferences or so. Of late almost all the leading tourist generating
countries of the world have been found promoting research for innovating the process of
making decisions which has been found making ways for value engineering. It is against this
background that the MIS in general and the marketing research in particular has been found
drawing due attention of the tourist organizations. In an age of information explosion, it is
pertinent that the communication gap is bridged over. It is felt that the gap between the
providers and the users has proved to be a major constraint in making the marketing decisions
creative. A well designed, technology-driven, supported by world class professionals MIS
would be beneficial to all the allied industries contributing substantially to the development
of tourism industry. An easy victory on the time-gap is the result of a well developed MIS.

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Formulation of Marketing Mix for the Tourist Organisation

The marketing mix as defined by Kotler, “The mixture of controllable marketing variables
that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the target market.”

The Product Mix

Like the manufactured product, the potential tourists can’t feel, taste, touch or sample a
package tour. The tourism product is a non-material intangible thing. Every product is aimed
at some market and its non-marketing success depends essentially on its ‘fit’ with the market.
This makes it essential that the tourist professional must continually strive for improving the
effectiveness and increasing the profitability. More so when we find it a multi-segment
industry, the task of formulating a sound product mix for the tourist organisations is found a
bit difficult and challenging. The challenge for the marketers it to transform the dreams into
the realities. We accept the fact that selling holiday is selling dreams. It is essential that the
product offered to a target market must satisfy the users. Thus the formulation of a sound
product mix covers a wide range of activities like designing a package tour, branding, credit
delivery services, or so. Thus the formulation of a sound product strategy focuses on the
formulation of a sound product mix that makes possible designing of a profitable product
portfolio by including and eliminating the core and peripheral services in the face of results
received from the product portfolio.

The framing of product mix, a challenging task since the marketing professionals are
supposed to blend the core and peripheral services optimally. In the tourism industry, a deeper
product line is found a must. This is due to the fact that needs, expectations, preferences of
different categories of users can’t be identical. The tourism marketers are required to be
captive to deepen the product line so that the products match to the expectations. The extent
to which the marketers are found successful in deepening and innovating the product line
have a telling impact on the net gain or satisfaction.
Innovation in the tourism product helps raising the sensitivity. There is nothing fixed and
fundamental about the tourism product. The users of the services look forward to quality
product.

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In the figure (Anx )we find the product mix for the tourism industry, the multi –
dimensional services included in the mix are attraction, accommodation, transportation,
recreation, restaurant, shopping.
The tourist belong to varied cultural patterns, divergent desires, needs and requirements,
different socio-economic strata or so. This makes it essential that the tourist organiations
while manging the different services are careful to the emerging trends. Since all the tourists
need the same core services, the width of the product is almost fixed. It is essential that the
tourism marketers are captive to deepen the product line. The success of tourism business
depends considerably upon the extent to which the marketers develop and make available the
services.

While formulating the product mix for the tourist organisations, it is pertinent that the tourist
organisations are familiar with the strategies of leading tourist organisations and promote
innovation to the extent it is possible.

Salient Features of Tourism Product

For making the marketing decisions effective, it is pertinent that the tourist professionals are
aware of the salient features of the tourism product. This would help them in many ways.

1. Tourism Product is highly Perishable: perishability is an important factor that

influence the decision making behavior of the tourist professionals. The product is
used just when it is offered and therefore, if it remains unused, the chance is lost, the
business is lost. If the tourist don’t visit a particular place, if the seats in hotels,
aircrafts remain vacant, the business is lost. This makes the product highly perishable
and makes it essential that the tourist professionals make the best possible efforts to
promote the services in such a fashion that opportunities never remain untapped.
2. The Tourism Product is a service Product: we find services the only product used
and sold in the tourism industry. This makes it essential that the tourist professionals
assign due weightage to creative marketing strategies which are found proactive. The
levels of judgment and knowledge possessed by the individuals and related to tourism
reflect on the satisfaction derived by the tourists after visiting a place. In this context,
the marketers need to be high performers, personally – committed, imaginative and
so. This helps them in capitalizing on the opportunities optimally.

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3. Intangibility Complicates the task of marketers: we are well aware of the fact that
tourism is a multi-segment industry in which the transportation and accommodation
services constitute a place of outstanding significance. The tourist professionals find it
difficult to persuade the users by displaying the seats in the aircraft and bedrooms in
hotels. The users first use and then come to know about the quality.
4. The services are for pleasure: It is right to mention that the tourism services are used
by the tourists to enjoy. By visiting tourist resorts, spots, sites, beaches, they get
pleasure. We also find the services instrumental in the knowledge bank of tourist or
the crazy persons use the services to taste the enriching flavour of adventure. This
makes it significant that the tourist organisations make the centres attractive by adding
additional attractions.
5. Users are supposed to visit the centre: For availing the services of the tourism
industry, it is pertinent that the users visit the place physically. The users are supposed
to come all the way to the spot. This necessitates setting of product features in a right
way.
6. Adequate infrastructural facilities for the tourism product: No doubt that almost all
the industries need infrastructural support, but the tourism industry can’t exist if
hotels, transportation services are found non-existent. Thus we find infrastructural
facilities essential to improve the quality of services. Efficient transportation facilities,
hygienic hotel accommodation, sophisticated communication services are some of the
key infrastructural facilities, adding attractions to the tourism services.
7. The users are a Heterogeneous group of people: It is important to mention that the
tourism users come from different regions, income groups, sections, age groups,
genders, professions or so. This makes it essential that the marketers are familiar with
the different groups of people sing the services.

Designing a Package Tour

In the process of formulating a sound product strategy, there are a number of factors to be
given due attention. The designing of a package tour occupies a place of outstanding
significance. For the profitable marketing of tourism services, it is pertinent that the
different components of product are managed in a right fashion. This gravitates our
attention on the offering of a package holiday product which necessitates management of
the following factors.

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Destination: the development of destinations or tourist sites has a reaching impact on
attracting the tourists. It is essential that destination or the tourist sites are easily
accessible. This necessitates safe, fast and reliable transportation facilities hither and
thither the tourist sites. To be more specific for promoting world tourism or attracting the
foreign tourists, it is essential that the flying time is made proportionate. The site should
be clean, the beaches should be sandy, sun-shine should be certain, the entertainment
facilities at the site should be of quality the site should be safe to walk about, the local
people should be friendly, the tour operators, the travel guides and others should have
competence of speaking English and other regional languages. These facilities at the
destination would add attractions.
Management Of Airports: While managing the tourism product, the airports are
required to be managed carefully. The airport should be local and convenient. The
arrangement for car parking should be safe and adequate. It should not be congested but it
should be specious. In addition, the shopping facilities should be duty free. The airport
should be clean and vehicles should be available so that tourist don’t face any trouble.
Besides, the security arrangement should be tight to protect the passengers and their
valuables. The aesthetic management occupies a place of significance in the very context.

Airlines: The flights should maintain the time schedule otherwise a dislocation may
invite multi-faceted problems, not only to the tourists but even to the airport authorities.
The services should be reliable, good and polite. The sophisticated modern aircrafts of
new generation should be included in the fleet to attract the tourists. The safety record
should also be upto the mark to remove the fear psychosis or psycho – fobia.

Road And Rail Transportation: For the tourists preferring to travel by buses of
railways, it is significant that the stations are well managed.

Hotels: For managing the hotels services, it is essential that we are all careful to the hotel
accommodation facilities. It is pertinent that hotels are easily accessible to the tourist sites
or beaches or shops. The hotel personnel should be trustworthy and competent enough to
speak English and other regional languages. They are supposed to be friendly. The
management of facilities at the hotels need due care. Though the standard of services,

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 amenities and facilities depend upon the grade of hotels still it is essential that hotels offer
the promised services to the users.

Resort Representatives: Regarding representatives of resort, they should be

knowledgeable, friendly, accessible and competent.

Tour Operators: The tour operators should be reliable where the guaranteed services are
made available to the guests without making any distortion. The price should reflect good
value for money.

Tour Agents: The tour agents should be competent, friendly and conveniently available.
They should also provide extra services to the tourists. The incentives need due
weightage. Free transfer to airport and free insurance facilities induce tourists.

Miscellaneous: In addition, the fellow travelers should be like- minded. The main thing is
to make tour pleasant and memorable. If the tourists have companionable fellow travelers,
the journey would ofcourse remain memorable.

Promotion mix

The marketing manager has four distinct ways of communicating the promotional
message to the public:
1. By advertising the product through a selected medium such as television or the
press.
2. By using staff to engage in personal selling, either behind the counter, over the
phone, or calling on clients as sales representatives.
3. By engaging in sales promotion activities, such as window display or
exhibitions.
4. By generating publicity about the product through public relation activities, such
as inviting travel writers to experience the product, in the hope that they will
review it favorably in their papers.

It should also be recognized that much communication about products actually takes place by
word of mouth recommendation. The benefits of a satisfied customer suggesting your product

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to another potential customer cannot be over emphasized. This ‘hidden sales force’ costs a
company nothing, yet it is most highly effective of all communication modes, since the
channel has credibility in the eyes of the potential customer, and will be judged as objective
in the assessment.
The converse is also true, of course, an account of a bad experience relayed by word of
mouth has a very strong negative influence on purchase. And human nature being what it is,
research shows us that consumers tell ten times as many people about a bad experience as
they do about a good one!
Recognition of the importance of influencing those who can in turn influence others to buy
new products has led to the concept of the two step flow of communication, in which
messages are directed by the company to the opinion leaders in the society, rather than to the
general public. Opinion leaders include representatives of the mass media as well as those
most likely to initially purchase new products. A travel company with a limited promotional
budget might be the best advised to concentrate its expenditure on influencing travel writers,
by providing study visits to view their products at first hand, since a favourable report on
television or in the press will have a huge impact on sales.
Factors influencing the choice of the mix
What determines the mix of these four promotional tools in the marketing plan? In some
cases, companies will choose to employ only one of these elements in the mix, while other
companies will use a combination of all four. There are no right or wrong answers about such
choices, although guidelines based on the following criteria can be helpful.
1. The nature of product : It will be difficult to sell a complex or technical product
without personal sales advice. Many in the holiday trade would argue that, although
resorts are often thought of as homogeneous and interchangeable, a customer actually
needs quite a sophisticated level of knowledge to make a decision about what resort or
hotel to choose. A brochure can spell out in cold print what kind of beach the resort
offers, or the facilities the hotel provides, but more subjective issues are difficult to
put across in print. Questions such as the ambience of the resort, the quality of the
food served in the hotel, what kind of fellow holidaymakers the client will encounter
in the resort can properly be answered only in a direct face-to-face sales situation,
where the salesperson can help to match the customers needs to the products on offer
to ensure customer satisfaction.

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2. The target at which the communication is aimed: A decision will be made on the
mix of communications directed to the consumer and to the trade. Communications
aimed at the trade employ what is known as a ‘push strategy’, that is, the aim of the
company is to encourage dealers to stock the product, and to push it to their
customers. This will often involve direct selling, supported by trading advertising, or
sales promotion techniques such as the payment of bonuses for achieved targets. A
‘pull strategy’, on the other hand, is designed to generate consumer demand for the
product, pulling customers into the shops and forcing retailers to stock the product
through the sheer level of demand. Here, the emphasis will be on extensive national
advertising, with perhaps some sales promotion support. No intelligent retail travel
agent can afford to ignore the products of major tour operators such as Thomson,
airtours or First Choice Holiday to concentrate on selling smaller companies, because
of the sheer popularity of the biggest companies, which would mean turning business
away.

3. The stage in the life cycle in which the product is to be found: The communication
task for a new product is to make customers aware of its existence. This means
informative messages, usually carried by mass media advertising, with some sales
support, to let as many people know what it is you have to sell, and the product’s
benefits. Later, as competition for the new product increases, the task will switch to
that of persuading the public that your product increases, the task will switch to that of
persuading the public that your product is the best of those available, calling for
greater emphasis on sales promotion. As the product becomes well established and
sales have peaked, the task will be to remind clients of the product’s existence, and
encourage them to think of their brand first when shopping. This is achieved by a mix
of ‘reminder’ advertising (perhaps little more than constant repetition of the brand
name) and point of sales display material. These tactics will be discussed more fully
in subsequent chapters.

4. The situation in which the company finds itself in marketplace: In a highly

competitive environment, a company will be under pressure to employ many of the
same promotion techniques as its major competitors, to ensure that its products are
seen by the same consumers. This may require reional adjustment of the
communication mix, depending upon the relative strengths and weaknesses of the

20
 company in different areas. This is particularly the case where a company is also
selling its products abroad, where both the message conveyed and the channels used
to teach the market may be quite different to those in the home country.

5. The company’s budget for its promotional strategy: This is the most important factor
that the company must determine. This budget can, of corse, include a contingency to
allow for adhoc activity that exploits unforeseen opportunities as they arise, as well as
ensuring sufficient funds for a planned programme of activity.

Price’s role in the tourism

Pricing decision must be determined in relationship in relationship with all the other elements
of the marketing mix. The impression is gathering strength within the travel industry that
price is sole criterion of importance to the consumer, or that other elements are relatively
insignificant. While it is true that brand images (with a handful of notable exceptions) have
not played a big role in tourism marketing up until the present, this is not to say that symbolic
values in travel products are any less important than in other industries, and “futures”
forecasters such as the Henley Centre are suggesting that as discretionary income rises, the
symbolic and emotional values attached to brand names will increase.

All too often, however, travel companies have chosen to ignore the creation of added value in
their marketing plans, and have concentrated exclusively on the promotion of price. The
major tour operators in particular have used low price as a means of increasing their market
shares, at the expense of profit levels. There can be little doubt that third policy was highly
successful during the 1980’s , although this may have had as much to do with the publicity
that resulted from the price wars between operators, causing consumers to become conscious
of price rather than value. Over – optimistic sales projections led to heavy discounts to
“dump”
Unsold seats through late bookings, encouraging consumers both to shop around for the best
bargains and to book later. It is likely that increasing disposable income and other favourable
factors such as exchange rates would have led to substantial increases in the number of
package tours sold during the 1980’s, even had discounting not been introduced.

21
The 1990’s, however, apparently apparently presented a very different scenario, with lower
volumes but higher prices the stated goal of most companies. This did not prove to be the
case for the first half of the decade: profit margins for many travel companies – particularly
tour operators – remained comparatively poor. At the same time, the aggressive competition
for market share has pushed the overall market size higher, often on the back of price
competitiveness.

Other influences on price

Earlier, we explored some of the factors affecting price decisions over which the company
will have very little control. Chief of these are:

1. The economic health of the country (or region). It is notable that at the time of the
depression in the 1970s, unemployment was less of a problem in London and the
South East of England than in the North and Midlands, and consequently travel
bookings from the former areas were less affected. However, at the beginning of the
1990s, the slump in the South East proved to be severs, while the situation in the
North remained relatively unchanged.
2. The elasticity of demand for travel and tourism products.
3. Levels of competition faced by individual companies and substitutability between
competing products.
4. The nature of the target market, which will determine what kind of holiday or other
travel products they will buy and at what price.

There will also be ethical considerations to be taken into account. A company concerned
about its public image will wish to reassure its public that it is in a position to do so without
challenge from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. It would also be short – sighted of
companies to attempt to introduce substantial price increases at a time when the political
climate favours price restraint, even were the market able to bear such increases.

The Place Mix

The term chain of distribution denotes the method through which the services reach to the
destination. The are the link and if link is strong, the producers succeed in raising the

22
influx of tourists. The middlemen are the tour operators and the transport operators who
buy services like hotel rooms, seats in aircrafts, railways, arrange charted flights and sell
the same either to the travel agents(retailers) or even directly to the tourists. The tour
operators are also called the producers of a new product. The travel agents buy the
services at the request of their clients and provide a convenient network of sales outlet
catering to the needs of a local catchment area. In figure ANx we find the distribution
channel for the tourism industry which focuses on the different middlemen engaged in the
process of distributing the services. The services are generated by both the publics as well
as private sector. The services are supposed to be standardized where the middlemen
make it sure that the promised services would be made available to the users without
making any distortion. Of course, we find possibilities of distortion at different points by
the different service generating organisations but all of them need to bridge over the gap.

One-stage system: the one-tier or one-stage system focuses on the direct selling of
services by the providers to the ulimate users, such as the airlines selling directly to users
through its own offices and reservation counters. We find a number of advantages of this
system, since the providers can maintain the quality. The system is opposed by a number
of experts due to high cost of operation. The stimulation of demand requires professional
excellence and the travel agents are supposed to have world class excellence to manage
things to the expectations of users.

Two-stage system: In the two-tier system or two-stage system, we find involvement of

middlemen between the providers and users,i.e. Travel agents. The positive effects of the
system are that a traveler while receiving professional services can also buy other
products like airline ticket, hotel accommodation and transportation facilities. Besides,
he/she gets a single bill for all the services. The price of advantage is an additional
advantage since a travel agent gets higher prices in the case of group tours, conferences,
conventions, etc. in addition, the services cost incurred on travel agent is found very
nominal to the usera as he/she receives a commission from the principal.
Three – stage system: The three-stage or three-tier system involves two middlemen, a
retail travel agent and a wholesaler or a tour operator. An additional advantage of this
system is that the wholesaler makes bulk purchase of the products for which he/she is
paid adequate discount.

23
Four – stage system: The four stage system is similar to the three-stage system but it has
an additional middleman. Known as Speciality Chancellor he is found instrumental in the
development of tour packages.

The aforesaid channels of distribution of the tourism services make available services to
the ultimate users and therefore these are the different points where we also expect a
distortion quality. It is against this background that different providers of the services
need to be careful while appointing the middlemen.

Tour operators: a tour operator is one who buys the individual elements in the travel
product on his own account and combines them in such a way that he is selling a package
of travel, the tour to his clients. In common parlance, he is also referred to as a travel
agent. A tour operator bears the responsibility of delivering the services. He creates own
package by buying or reserving necessary supply elements and often retails through travel
agents, their own offices and by direct mail via booking form in brochure or by direct
enquiries from consumers. He offers a number of packages known as tour programme.
They are like a wholesaler. Some of us also call tour operators as producers of a new
product but it is more appropriate to describe them as middlemen.

Travel Agent: the travel industry is found to be an uncoordinated people trying to achieve
a coordinated result. A travel agent is one who acts on behalf of a principal, i. e. the
original provider of the tourism services, such as hotel company, airline, tour oprator a
shipping company. A travel agency is also calld a manufacturer of tourist product, i.e. an
inclusive package tour. Of late a majority of the travel agents conduct regular package
tour to suit the needs of a group. Travel agents from the retail sector of the distribution
chain.

In the channel decisions, the marketing institutuoions play a decisive role. The tourist
organisatons, tour operators, travel agencies are the main institions helping the making of
productive distribution decisions. We agree with this view that product innovation in the
distribution process plays an important role. To be more specific in the tourism industry,
the middlemen play a commanding role because the products are of perishable nature.
This draws our attention on the characteristics of the product to determine the length of
the channel. The market factors also occupy a place of importance in the distribution

24
 process. From the standpoint of producers, it is pertinent that we design a profitable
channel and assign due weightage to cost and satisfaction. The chnnel involving the
minimum possible costs but securing high level of satisfaction to the tourist may be
effective. To put it another way, the channel can’t concentrate only on the profitability
element. The aforesaid facts make it clear that the tourist organisations are required to
make the channel decisions proactive so that tourists get the promised-services without
any distortion. If the middlemen act well, perform well and behave well, we expect a
considerable increase in business. The hotels, airlines can’t work efficiently failing the co-
operation of tour operators and the travel agents.

World Travel and Tourism Today

This chapter examines the global dimensions And patterns of, and recent trends in, travel and
tourism, in order to provide a framework within which to consider the likely future of this
global industry.

Growth and Magnitudes

Today’s massive tourism industry has been driven by a number of factors – and these are
factors whose future directions need to be considered.
They are:
 Growth in real income;
 The advance in personal wealth as expressed in the ability of individuals to generate
resources beyond those to pay for life’s basic needs- food, housing, education, health
and, in more recent times, ‘essential’ consumer goods – in other words, the expanding
ability for discretionary expenditure on non-essential items;
 Increase in leisure time;
 Peace amongst nations;
 Freedom from administrative restraints on international travel;
 Freedoms within international currency markets;
 Expansion of fast, efficient and widely affordable public transport, coupled with wide
to provide transport.

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 In a word, tourism depends upon economic development and open, free societies. It can
be immediately seen that, measured against these basic criteria, much of today’s world
fares very badly. Such a comparison reveals two important facts. First, the majority of the
world’s population has yet to attain what we in the industrialized world would regard as a
minimum level of supply of these elements. Second, and as a consequence, if the world’s
under- privileged can reasonably hope to attain access to these elements during the next
century, the capacity for demand growth in national and international tourism is, for all
practical purpose, unlimited.
The World Of Today and Tomorrow: The Global View

During the past decade, the tourism and hospitality industry flourished, even as it struggled to
cope with difficult challenges. This is a taste of things to come. In the years ahead, the global
population will continue to grow and change, science and technology will tighten their hold
on business and society, and the world will knit itself ever more tightly into a single market.
As a result, both opportunities and trials will abound.

Increasing affluence in the developed country

In the developed world for atleast the next five years, widespread affluence, low interest
rates, low inflation and low unemployment will be the norm.
Global trade will continue to grow rapidly for atleast the next 20 years. Worldwide
international arrivals are growing from 66o million in 1999 to an estimated 700 million in
2000, 1 billion by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020. Improving balance of trade means more
business for European and Asian tourist destinations.
Low Asian currency values will continue to promote travel to the Far East, for so long as they
last.

Technology dominates the economy and society

Discovery grows exponentially, as each new finding today opens the way to many more
tomorrow. Thus the single largest force for change in the 20 th century can only grow more
powerful in the 21st.

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As technology knits the world into one electronic marketplace, business travel will not
decline, but will grow rapidly. In a high- tech world, executives increasingly need the ‘high –
touch’ reassurance of personal relationships with their colleagues. The internet changes the
way consumers purchase goods and services. Cashless credit/ debit systems of payment will
continue to proliferate. Expect the use of ‘smart cards’ to provide detailed customer
information for use in more efficient target marketing. Resorts, conference centres and other
destinations are finding it increasingly easy to market themselves directly to consumers,
rather than relying on intermediaries. So will air charter services and other transportation
providers.

Time is becoming the World’s most precious commodity

Multiple, shorter vacations spread throughout the year will continue to replace the traditional
two – week vacation. Demand for luxurious ‘weekend getaways’ will grow rapidly, especially
in cultural centers and at destinations nearest large cities.

Values and lifestyles are changing

The trend is toward ultra- high quality, authencity and convenience- luxurious
accommodations, fresh meals that seem like labours of love, and constant pampering of
customers – all done at a price that will not make cosumers feel guilty.
Two – income couples increasingly take several short, relatively luxurious weekend getaways
rather than a single longer vacation.

Concerns for environmental issues continues to grow

Demands for still more environmental controls are inevitable, especially in relative pristine
regions. ‘Ecotourism’ will continue to be one of the fastest growing areas of the tourism
industry. The increasing dominance of technology in our daily lives also promotes this trend.
Rain forests, wilderness areas, the ocean, and other unpolluted regions provide a unique and
necessary chance to escape from keyboards and cell phones.

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Generation X and ‘.COM’ will have major effects in the future

Generation X and .COM will be major customer for tourism and hospitality services in the
future and the industry will have to learn to market to them. this requires a light hand, with
strong emphasis on information and quality. Brands credibly positioned as ‘affordable luxury’
will prosper.

Service, service, service replaces Location, location, location

Competitive pressures are making it ever more difficult to distinguish one hotel or chain from
the rest, especially at the level of the global chain.
Unique locations or facilities are the major expectation to ‘commoditization’ in the tourism
and hospitality industries. The only inn at a major ski resort has no effective competition. The
alternative is for hotels to become destinations in themselves.
E.g. Ayurveda treatment package provided by Taj hotel.
As customers grow more open to new experiences, unique facilities and attractions, cuisines
offer a growing opportunity for hotels and tourist destinations to distinguish themselves from
the competition.

Tourism and Hospitality into the 21st Century

Experience has taught us that the future is usually not what we would have expected from
extrapolating past developments, but rather what we make of it.
Jacques de Bourborn – Busset once wrote: ‘What we want is not to guess at the probable
future, but to prepare one that is desirable and perhaps even to go that bit further and try to
make the desirable future the probable one.’
To do so we have to focus on the future, something that seems appropriate at the dawn of a
new millennium.

Numerous, particularly turbulent changes are currently taking place in the immediate and
wider context of leisure and travel. Not only has the new consumer gone into top gear,
society as a whole has become ever more fragmented. Political boundaries are being

28
abolished to be replaced by others. In contrast, as the result of worldwide globalization
mechanism, our planet is turning into a ‘global village’ with a uniform, commercialized
culture.

The Challenge of Globalization

Dealing with world-wide globalization trends is new to all of us. Everything is in a state of
flux: demand, labor. Know – how and capital are all flowing to where the biggest hopes for
the future lie, with the resistant standardization of production technologies, business
strategies, marketing plans and management styles. Although tourist production is tied to
local conditions, the tourism industry cannot avoid being affected by globalization. Tourist
products, and even whole destinations, are becoming interchangeable; continental and inter-
continental transport networks determine the direction and speed of development; distribution
channels and/ or reservation systems are increasingly a decesive factor in success.

The Challenge of the Changing Climate

The environmental discussion is hotting up from two sides. On the one hand, many places
are already virtually at their ecological limits, and the consequences will become increasingly
visible and tangible over the next few years. On the other, the process of environmental
awareness is continuing among broad segments of the population. Holidaymakers too are
becoming more and more environment conscious, but in an opportunistic fashion: they are
particularly sensitive to environmental damage when it threatens to spoil their holiday
pleasure.

The Challenge of an Ageing Population

Seeing aside the fact that the population of highly industrialized countries may be
considerably influenced by influxes of refugees, the assumption can be that the population of
the industrialized countries is stagnating. On the other hand, the population’s demographic
composition will change radically. While the proportion of young people will fall drastically
in the coming years, the percentage of senior citizens will increase by upto 1% per year.

29
There will be fewer and fewer young people and more and more active ‘younger senior
citizens’ with time and money on their hands who will set the tone in the leisure and travel
market.

The Challenge of Changing Values

The process of changing values is equally turbulent. It is characterized by a basically hedonist

attitude (desire, enjoyment, living out one’s dreams) which, however, goes hand in hand with
a certain pessimism about the future.
Cultural identity seems to be increasingly reduced to leisure behavior, and travel with its
utopian, ritual and mythical nature is steadily becoming the last common identity area. The
so–called ‘mega generation’ makes itself heard loud and clear, and its values are mainly as
follows:
 Substantial material demands;
 Little willingness to do anything special to merit these;
 Call for more freedom in all areas of life;
 Growing escapism;
 Growing unwillingness to take orders from others;
 Fewer inhibitions;
 Individualization of the masses.

Basing one’s argument on Horx, it could be said that whenever everything becomes
commercialized, materialized, rationalized and technical, people more and more come to long
for ‘spirituality’.

The Challenge of Mobility

The fact that a growing number of people can drive combined with the individualization of
society is leading to greater motorization in all Western European countries, despite intensive
debates about the ecological aspects. The willingness to be mobile, and hence the need for
greater mobility during leisure time, will also continue to increase.

The Challenge of Internet

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The internet is changing the way many business are conducted, the appearance of e-
commerce could be a significant event in this century.
Currently only 2% of the world’s population has internet access, but this is changing rapidly.

Changing Travel Habits

Upheals in the immediate and less immediate environment of leisure conscious persons also
affect their travel and holiday habits. Horst W. Opaschowski described the holiday of the
future as follows:
 Attractive natural sitting and clean landscapes are automatically expected.
 People will continue to seek sun, beaches and the sea.
 Artificial holiday paradises will become tomorrow’s standard holiday venues.
 Holiday hopping (here today – there tomorrow) will spread.
 Vacations will become the ultimate adventure.
 The holiday world of the future must be as exotic as possible.
 More and more young families will discover indoor luxury bathing complexes.
 Culture and study trips will develop into a stable market segment.
 Holiday clubs will lose their attraction as something out of the ordinary.

This description of tourism of the future highlights the fact that some conflicts are bound to
become more acute, in particular:
 Growing pressure on the remaining nature reserves;
 The distances traveled are becoming longer and longer, consuming more and more
energy, with serious consequences;
 The growing risk that holiday destination will be downgraded to the fast – food
articles of the throw –way society;
 The continuing trend towards ‘exoticism’ with its cultural and health risks for
travelers and host populations.

In addition to these changes in respect of future holiday models, there are also signs of
changes in booking and travel habits:

31
 Trend towards adventure – oriented holiday behavior: seeking a more intensive leisure
experience.
 Trend towards going it alone: seeking even more independent holidays in line with
personal ideas, with a preference for more flexible holiday products.
 Trend towards more sophisticated travel products: seeking trips that offer cultural and
education, as well as variety; both passive recreation and hyperactive sport are ‘out’.
 Trend towards more wellness during holidays: seeking forms of travel that offer
overwrought modern man holistic relaxation, with a healthy diet, gentle exercise,
beauty and body care and wide variety of therapies as the keywords.
 Trend towards ‘second homes’: seeking cosy holiday accommodation as home– like
refuges with a high degree of comfort.
 Trend towards sunny travel destinations: seeking holiday destinations with guaranteed
sunshine – above all during cold, wet winters.
 Trend towards cheaper travel: seeking (cheap) products that represent value for
money: holiday at rock- bottom prices and growing market transparency thanks to the
worldwide web encouragement this tendency.
 Trend towards spontaneous travel decisions: seeking offers that can be booked at the
last minute (or even at the last second) and which are not only cheap but also
comprise an element of surprise.
 Trend towards more mobile travel patterns: seeking products with frequent changes of
locations, with traveling as the major attraction.

This spotlight – like future analysis leaves considerable scope for interpretation about the
future openings for tourism. Making the most of these trends calls for visionary
innovations, targeted cooperation, clear marketing strategies and careful nurture of
existing core attractions.

Tourism Marketing In Indian Perspective

Of late, tourism has emerged as an important sector of the economy. It is found to be an

economic bonanza which contributes substantially to the development process. If the
managerial decisions are creative, innovative and sensitive, we expect a lot from the

32
tourism industry. The rate of success in the tourism industry is sizably influenced by the
instrumentality of supporting industries, such as hotel, transportation, communication,
banking or so. The developed countries and to be more specific the leading tourist
generating countries of the world, such as USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Spain,
Singapore, Cuprus have assigned due weightage to the principles of modern marketing in
managing the tourism industy. In the Indian perspective we find tourism industry at the
bottom of our development agenda which has been standing as a barrier while energizing
the process of qualitative or quantitative improvements. It is against this background that
we need a basic change in the national development policy for tourism.

It was in the early 1950s that the government of India decided to promote tourism
industry but it had no clear objectives in terms of marketing. At the initial stage, the
image problem was found at its peak and even till now we find it an important constraint.
The government further activated efforts and new offices were opened in 1964. the
beginning of the decade 1970s opened new vistas for the development of marketing
concept in the tourism industry. The Pacific Visitor Survey conducted by PATA in 1967
revealed that it was only due to image problem that the tourism industry in India has not
been successful in raising its contribution to the development of the economy vis-a vis
generation of foreign exchange. The beginning of the decade 1980s paved avenues for the
development of tourism industry. The management experts felt that if the contribution to
the world tourism is to be increased, we have no option but to market the tourism
professionally. This necessitated launching of a National Image Building and Marketing
Plan in key markets by pooling resources of the various public and private agencies
instead of independent and disjoined efforts presently undertaken by these organisation to
project a fair image.

The exploration of the new tourist generating markets particularly in the Middle-east,
South east and East Indian countries having a broad spectrum of cultural affinity with
India and encouragement of ethnic tourism by launching programme of Discover Your
Roots and vigorous marketing of conferences and conventions traffic could be possible
during 1980s. sustained efforts were needed to promote Buddhist pilgrimage tourism for
which there is a great potential. Aggressive marketing was required to be taken up in the
existing tourist generating markets abroad as well as to explore new markets. It was
necessary to reorient the marketing projects and rationalize the locations of the tourist

33
offices abroad keeping in view in the market conditions and potentials. In order to cater to
the needs of professionally sound manpower for tourism marketing, the Indian Institute
Of Tourism and Travel Management was developed as a model institute.

In view of the above, it is right to mention that diversification of tourism from the
traditional sight seeing to the more rapidly growing holiday tourism market within the
framework of the country’s milieu is need of the hour. The policy planners, the tourist
organisations, the domestic and global agencies are required to realize gravity of the
situation to capitalize on the opportunities optimally. This requires a basic change in the
product development strtagy vis-avis the innovative promotional efforts to project a
positive image.

The beginning of the decade 1990s opened new areas for the development of torism in the
Indian perspective. This necessitated development of infrastructural facilities like
transportation, communication, accommodation or so. In addition, this also required use
of sophisticated information technologies by the tourist generating organisations so as to
improve the quality of services at different points. In addition to the planning and
development of tourism products, the promotional strategies thus require due attention of
professionals. The creativity in mesaages, campaign and appeals which probably could
not get due treatment earlier is required to be made possible. No plans, policies, strategies
and decisions are expected to be productive or proactive unless we assign due weightage
to the behavioral profiles of the users. We can’t deny the fact that till now the tourist
organisations have devalued the instrumentality of behavioral studies and therefore we are
supposed to do it on a priority basis. The emerging trends in the business environment
make it essential that world class professional excellence is essential without which all
our efforts are to be ineffective. To be more specific when some of the fictions of today
profess the emergence of evolutionary from of travel, such as monorils operated by
magnetism and floating on a cushion air, or travel in vacuum tubes in which a vehicle will
travel at a speed of 800kms per hour, it is quite natural that the level of expectations of
users keep on moving.
The trust areas are the following:
 Making tourism industry a unifying force, instrumental in fostering better
understanding through travel.

34
 Helping to preserve, retain and enrich our cultural heritages.
 Bringing socio-economic benefits to the community and the state, specially in
terms of expanding the employment opportunities, generation of profits, tax
generation, foreign exchange generation or so.
 Giving a direction and an opportunity to the youths of the country both through
domestic and world tourism to perceive hopes and aspirations of others in a right
fashion.
 Offering opportunities to the new generation in taking up the activities helpful in
image building and strengthening the national image.
 Innovating the promotional measures and assigning due weightage to aggressive
promotion to project a positive image.
 Development of people by advancing education and training facilties. Enriching
their professional excellence by undertaking an ongoing training programme.
 Motivating the private sector to develop the superstructure.
 An overriding priority to adventure tourism, village or rural tourism, beach
tourism, heritage tourism or so.
 Promoting the use of sophisticated information technologies to improve the
quality of services.
 Enriching peripheral services to add additional attractions.

35
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research conducted is Analytical type trying to use facts and information already
available and analyze to make critical evaluation of the edge India has got over others and
quantitative to the extent of cost comparison between different countries and the foreign patient
inflows over the years .

Objectives of the research study are:

 To study the opportunity and challenges to promote Indian tourism industry in world
market
 Is there room for all of the countries wanting a slice of the medical tourism business?
 How accurate are projections for medical tourism and how realistic are targets set by
countries for numbers of medical travelers?
 Who are the various medical and non-medical accreditors?

METHODOLOGY:

1. Printed Schedules were circulated through enumerators

2. Additionally questionnaires were emailed to institutions engaged in medical tourism

that have quality certification from the tourism dept.

3. Interviews with Resource Persons actively involved in the promotion of Medical

Tourism.

4. Data collection from the reports of Indian Tourism.

5. The data collected was analyzed by calculating the growth rates of years over year
and also cost comparisons are made taking all the possible costs incurred for a foreign
tourists supported by the “ WORLD BUDGET ESTIMATOR” designed by
Patients Beyond Borders. The calculated growth rates are then represented
graphically. SWOT analysis is carried out; eventually areas of improvement and
untapped segments are identified .The research report also consists of the analyzed
data of the Andhra Pradesh medical tourism sector in brief.

36
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Problems Faced by the Tourism Industry in India

Whether floating along the Ganges River at sunset, climbing the steps of the Taj Mahal or
tracing the path of the imposing sandstone Red Fort, tourists flock to India for an
otherworldly experience in the heart of Hindu culture with all the amenities of the modern
world.

The tourism industry, though, has had to battle issues ranging from government red tape to
pervasive security threats in pitching this populous South Asian destination.

Business Hurdles

Government regulations in India frustrate tourists and tour operators alike, with ever-shifting
visa rules that can leave visitors in the lurch and create inconsistent enforcement. Many have
called for India to start offering visas on arrival, like other nations competing for tourist
dollars. The tourism industry is also weighed down by infrastructure problems once visitors
arrive, including inadequate roads, water, sewer, hotels and telecommunications. Airports
have been expanding in an effort to accommodate more passengers. Tourist facilities have a

37
lack of skilled workers to fill all the positions to cater to international visitors. Service, luxury
and transportation taxes are high, and hit visitors in the pocketbook when planning a trip to
India.

Attacks on Women

India tour operators reported a 25 percent drop in business over the first quarter of 2013 after
the high-profile slaying of a 23-year-old woman who was gang raped riding a bus in Delhi
the previous December. With the case inspiring other victims of sex crimes to bring their
stories into the light, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said
female tourism dropped by 35 percent that same quarter. The U.S. State Department reports a
"modest increase" in violent crime against foreigners and cautions women against traveling
alone in India, using public transportation after the sun has gone down and going to isolated
areas.

Security Concerns

India is in a constant state of tension with its fellow nuclear neighbor, Pakistan, and the U.S.
government has long warned travelers to avoid the restive border and disputed Kashmir. The
threat of terrorism to tourists hit closer to home in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when gunmen
fired on a train station platform, cafes and luxury hotels; the victims included 28 foreigners
from 10 countries. Since then, smaller-scale bombings conducted by Islamic extremist and
insurgent groups have continued against some public places frequented by Westerners.
Tourists have to wade through a continually shifting slate of warnings. U.S. citizens with
Pakistani bloodlines who try to obtain a visa for India feel the weight of this extra security in
the additional wait time they experience for entrance approval.

Concerns About Industry Growth

Despite the influx of overseas cash that tourism brings to a country, one challenge for the
tourism industry in India comes from within. Concerns about the potentially negative impact
of tourism here include economic boons for some areas but not others and resulting migration
of workers, underemployment caused by seasonal work, inflation as tourists drive up prices
and preferences given to tourists for supplies such as water rations. There are also concerns

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about the environmental impact of tourism on an already crowded country and the potential
wearing down of cultural monuments from overuse.

CURRENT STATUS, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

In October 2017, the Union Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other central
ministries, state governments and stakeholders successfully organized ”Paryatan Parv” across
the country. The 21 day program was organized with the objective of drawing focus on the
benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the
principle of “Tourism for All”. Previously, in September 2017, in his Mann Ki Baat address,
the Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the citizens to travel within India and promote
domestic tourism in a big way. These two incidents cannot be seen in isolation, and in fact,
indicate the government’s seriousness and a comprehensive approach to promote tourism as a
key driver of development.

Present status of tourism sector in India –

• India’s tourism sector witnessed a growth of 4.5 per cent in terms of foreign tourist arrivals
(FTAs) with 8.2 million arrivals in 2015, and a growth of 4.1 per cent in foreign exchange
earnings (FEEs) of USD 21.1 billion. While in 2016, FTAs were 8.9 million with growth of
10.7 per cent and FEE (USD terms) were at US$ 23.1 billion with a growth of 9.8 per cent. In
2015, the domestic tourist visits to States/UTs was pegged at 143 crores in 2015.

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• For creation of tourism infrastructure, two major schemes have been implemented –
Swadesh Darshan (Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits) and PRASAD
(Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive).

• The government has been promoting niche tourism products to promote India as a 365 days
destination that include cruise, adventure, medical, wellness, golf, polo, etc.

• Other key initiatives include – signing of MoUs and agreements with various countries for
promotion of tourism, promotion of tourism research, Swachh Pakhwada as part of the
Swachh Bharat Mission, etc.

• As a result of these efforts, India could improve its position by 12 places in the Travel and
Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017. In the biennial index prepared by the World Economic
Forum (WEF), India was placed at the 40th position among the 136 countries surveyed.

Opportunities for India in the tourism sector are –

Scenic beauty: India is a land of great tourism potential. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari,
from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat, every region has its own uniqueness and flavour - be it
cold/hot desert (Ladakh/Rajasthan), rivers (Ganges and Brahmaputra), forests (Niligiri &
North East), islands (Andaman and Nicorbar) each landform bound to mesmerize tourists.
Moreover, the wide variety in the landscape offers a range of choices to tourists from within
India and the abroad. Apart from the natural landscapes, the cultural heritage spread across
the country also offers huge potential for the development of tourism in the country.

Birthplace of Religions: India is the birthplace of three religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and
Jainism. The vast landscape has innumerable sacred and religious tourist places which are
bound to attract tourists from across the South East and East Asian countries. The full
potential of Dilwara Jain temples in the West, Buddhist sites in the East and North East and
famous Hindu temples in the South have not been explored so far.

Domestic Tourists: India is the second most populous country in the world with over 1.25
billion populations. In other words, they offer a minimum of potential 1.25 billion tourist
visits if the right policies and the infrastructure are in place. Taking a cue from the Mann Ki
Baath of Modi, the policy makers should look ‘inward’ and come up with appropriate
strategies to tap the domestic tourist potential.

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Despite the above mentioned attractions that India offers for tourists, the path to a well
developed tourism is beset with a number of challenges. Some of them are –

Lack of Infrastructure: It is a major challenge for the Indian tourism sector. Tourism-
associated economic and social infrastructure – hotels, connectivity, human resources,
hygiene, health facilities, etc are largely under developed in India. The poor quality of
infrastructure is reflected in India’s 112nd rank in the ICT readiness component and 104th
rank in the health and hygiene components of the WEF’s Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Index 2017. The prime reason for this apathy is the poor allocation of
financial resources. It should be noted that in the Budget 2017-18, the government has
allocated only Rs 1840 crore for a promising sector like tourism.

Safety and security: Safety and security of tourists, especially of the foreign tourists, is a
major roadblock to the tourism development. Attacks on foreign nationals, especially on
women, raise questions about India’s ability to welcome tourists from far away countries.
Among the 130 countries surveyed, India was placed at the 114th position in terms of safety
and security aspect in the WEF Index 2017.

Accessibility: Majority of the tourist spots in the country are not accessible to poor, women
and elderly. This is because of high costs of travelling, poor connectivity and a series of
permissions required for various reasons. It is a fact that divyangs, who constitute more than
2 per cent of the population, cannot access many of the tourist spots in the country.

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 Where does India need to improve
High Hurdles
Hurdles to India's medical ambitions abound. With 100,000 patients a year traveling to the country
-- up from 10,000 five years ago -- hospitals are struggling to remedy first impressions that can
turn people off. European people are aware of the poverty and decrypt state of the infrastructure
but this knowledge is second hand gained through books and other media as such it really as a
reality check when these visitors are faced with streets overflowing with people and bicycles and
by neighborhoods where new offices butt up against tarpaulin-covered slums. It is a make or break
situation, on one hand they are promised with world class health care at nominal cost( as per their
standard) but on the other hand they face reality with in your face human degradation and surreal
poverty. Patients can sometimes decide not to go through with the process just looking at the
general state of the local people of the host country. They wonder whether the price of their
operation with an Indian hospital compared with five times more in their home country is worth the
risk.
Therefore the logical thing for India is to strive for a massive Image Improvement plan, the
medical industry in itself is banding together to improve its image. The Indian Healthcare
Federation, a group of about 60 hospitals, is developing accreditation standards. In the U.S.,
organizations such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, based in
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, assess infection rates, the width of hospital corridors and the capacity
of elevators. In India, there's no accreditation, and hospitals aren't required to provide information
on the outcomes of treatments. There is nothing as far as quality standards go. Hospitals keep data,
but they don't need to share it
Sketchy Information
The leading question that any potential medical tourist will ask himself is -where is the
information, how detailed is the information and whether it is easily available or not; for eg
Escorts' Web site lists only the number of procedures it has performed. Thought they do not
mention the obvious and important fact that Trehan, Escorts' hospital had a mortality rate of 0.8
percent and an infection rate of 0.3 percent in 2003. That compared with an observed mortality
rate, or the rate of actual deaths, of 4.77 percent for heart valve surgery or coronary artery bypass
surgery that included heart valves at New York-Presbyterian Hospital from 2000 to 2002,
according to a New York State Department of Health report is much better. Such facts not only
need to be told but they also need to unashamedly promoted if India has to attract more overseas
patients.

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Infrastructural mess
India competes for foreign patients with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand but it offers less in
some areas where it matters such as infrastructure. We can almost call it as the curse of India since
no matter what the problem we try to resolve on the national scale the first and most formidable
issue is the infrastructure or rather the lack of it. Thus if we are to improve the basic requirement of
having wide roads, electricity, grounded electric wiring, information system in place etc then most
of our problems will be resolved including that of medial tourists. Thailand's airports and roads are
in better shape than India's because Thailand is a major vacation destination. In 2003, 10 million
tourists traveled there, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Web site. That was more
than triple the number for India that year.
Bumrungrad Hospital Pcl, which runs Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, started courting overseas
patients during the Asian economic crisis in 1997 as the devaluation of the baht drove down costs
for visitors.
That year, Bumrungrad treated 50,000 foreigners. It handled seven times as many in 2004,
accounting for 35 percent of its patients. In 2003, Bumrungrad hosted 150 Indian delegations,
including one led by Wockhardt's Bali, showing them intensive care units, recovery rooms and the
Starbucks cafe in the lobby.

International Focus
The focus on international patients screams at us. Having interpreters and instructions in multiple
languages such as Arabic, English, German, and Spanish etc is a must. The patient must feel that
whatever he is trying to convey goes across and all the communication must be clear. What it
shows is that convenience offsets most other things for an international patient. At the end of the
day the patient must feel sure is that he is treated for the right ailment and his consultant
understands him perfectly.
We Care attitude:
Indian hospitals are countering with perks of their own. This is due to the fact that India believes in
“ atithi devo bhava” and using this to best their own cause. Hospital’s representatives meet the
patients at the airport , help them through immigration and drive them to the hospital in a private
vehicle. Their room was stocked with fruit and drinks. They have on call consultants with
arrangements made for pre and post treatment sight seeing, shopping and other tourist activites.
Hospitals even loan a mobile phone so they can stay in touch once they left the hospital.
More Foreigners

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Foreign patients are still far from the norm. Operations on non-Indians accounted for 10 percent of
the more than 4,000 surgeries at Escorts in 2003. Foreign surgeries will pick up as rising health
costs and long waiting lists provide incentives to travel to India and its low-priced rivals.
In the U.S., health-related spending climbed 7.6 percent to $1.68 trillion in 2003, consuming
almost 15.3 percent of the $11 trillion gross domestic product. It was the fifth consecutive year that
the cost of medical care expanded faster than the economy.
U.S. employer-paid health insurance premiums have soared 59 percent since 2000, according to the
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, nonprofit
groups that study medical care. In 2004, premiums averaged $9,950 for families and $3,695 for
individuals, the groups found. What all this means is that no matter what happens the number of
foreign tourists will keep on increasing and India should be ready or atleast get ready to attract
these patients.

Accidental Patient
In the U.K., the waiting list for the government-funded National Health Service prompts some
patients to look elsewhere. Last year, the lag averaged less than nine months for surgery, about half
the 18 months in 1997.
Unlike people who chose India after deciding not to pursue an operation through the National
Health Service, there are others who have discovered India by accident.
Catering to the middle East tourists
Some Middle Eastern patients began choosing India after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York
and Washington, Oman hospitals often refer patients to India for complicated procedures because
the country is familiar, closer than the U.S. or Europe and cheap. Also after 9/11, people are scared
to go to the U.S not only due to fear of terrorist attacks but mainly due to the fact that they feel
threatened because of racial discrimination be it overt or subtle. The fact that people in US look at
a turbaned and bearded man as a potential terrorist is an unsettling experience. Not only in the US
but even in UK and other European countries people of coloured skin and religion are facing
discrimination.
Brain drain reversal
Indian doctors are returning home again .and offering medical procedure which they performed
abroad in their home country itself. There are many Indian patients who had to go abroad for
medical reasons this is one of the factors that influenced doctors to return home. The other reason
is that the pay in India is gradually rising and the lure to back in one’s own homeland is quite
strong.

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Easy Transition
Indian hospitals are working to make the transition easier. Apollo is setting up a London clinic to
attract people seeking alternatives to the National Health Service. The idea is that a doctor would
look at patients find the problem and make all arrangements to get them to India.
Changing the trend
Just as Indian software companies started with small programming jobs and expanded to become a
$16 billion global industry, India's international health care initiative is in its early stages. For
patients and profits to increase, India must remedy negative first impressions and persuade
doubters that millions of the country's poor and ailing won't be left behind.

ADVANTAGE INDIA
Scope & Opportunities

Though the service sector has considerable contribution in India’s GDP, it is negligible on the
export front with only around 25 per cent of total export. Value added services generally exceed 60
per cent of total output in the high income industrialised economy. In the global scenario, India’s
share of services export is only 1.3 per cent (2003) i.e USD 20.7 billion which has gone up from
0.57 per cent (1990). Overall service export growth rate in India is 8 per cent (2002) against a
global growth rate of 5 per cent.

It had a tremendous impact on India’s Forex reserve. Forex reserve rise to USD 118.628 on May,
2004 in comparison to USD 79.22 for the same period in 2003. Being a service sector member,
medical and tourism services export can further rise India’s Forex Reserve along with a major
contribution from software exports.

In India, international tourist rose 15.3 per cent between January and December, 2003. Though
tourism and travel industry contribution is 2.5 per cent to our countries GDP (international ranking
124) but recent initiative from the government like liberalised open sky policy to increase flight
capacity, lower and attractive fares, increase in hotel room capacity by nearly 80 per cent (from
2000) and better connectivity between major tourist destination (Express Highway project) has
helped India to rank among the top five international holiday destination when independent traveler
conducted a poll in 134 countries.

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Healthcare industry has shown considerable growth in last few years. Emergence of top notch
corporate hospitals and continuous effort for improvement of quality of care has placed Indian
private healthcare in a respectable position on the global map.
High ratio of foreign qualified medical practitioners and well-trained nursing and paramedical staff
have developed confidence amongst the people who are seeking medical care from Indian
Hospitals. If everything moves in the right direction, MT alone can contribute an additional
revenue of Rs 5000 - Rs 10,000 crore for up market tertiary centre by 2012 (3-5 per cent of total
delivery market).

Need For Medical Tourism

Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of 'cost effective' private medical care in
collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized
treatment. This process is being facilitated by the corporate sector involved in medical care as well
as the tourism industry - both private and public.

Medical or Health tourism has become a common form of vacationing, and covers a broad
spectrum of medical services. It mixes leisure, fun and relaxation together with wellness and
healthcare.

The idea of the health holiday is to offer you an opportunity to get away from your daily routine
and come into a different relaxing surrounding. Here you can enjoy being close to the beach and
the mountains. At the same time you are able to receive an orientation that will help you improve
your life in terms of your health and general well being. It is like rejuvenation and clean up process
on all levels - physical, mental and emotional.

Many people from the developed world come to India for the rejuvenation promised by yoga and
Ayurvedic massage, but few consider it a destination for hip replacement or brain surgery.
However, a nice blend of top-class medical expertise at attractive prices is helping a growing
number of Indian corporate hospitals lure foreign patients, including from developed nations such
as the UK and the US.
As more and more patients from Europe, the US and other affluent nations with high medicare
costs look for effective options, India is pitted against Thailand, Singapore and some other Asian
countries, which have good hospitals, salubrious climate and tourist destinations. While Thailand

46
and Singapore with their advanced medical facilities and built-in medical tourism options have
been drawing foreign patients of the order of a couple of lakhs per annum, the rapidly expanding
Indian corporate hospital sector has been able to get a few thousands for treatment.

In India, the Apollo group alone has so far treated 95,000 international patients, many of whom are
of Indian origin. Apollo has been a forerunner in medical tourism in India and attracts patients from
Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The group has tied up with hospitals in Mauritius,
Tanzania, Bangladesh and Yemen besides running a hospital in Sri Lanka, and managing a hospital
in Dubai.

Another corporate group running a chain of hospitals, Escorts, claims it has doubled its number of
overseas patients - from 675 in 2000 to nearly 1,200 this year. Recently, the Ruby Hospital in
Kolkata signed a contract with the British insurance company, BUPA. The management hopes to
get British patients from the queue in the National Health Services soon. Some estimates say that
foreigners account for 10 to 12 per cent of all patients in top Mumbai hospitals despite roadblocks
like poor aviation connectivity, poor road infrastructure and absence of uniform quality standards.

Analysts say that as many as 150,000 medical tourists came to India last year. However, the current
market for medical tourism in India is mainly limited to patients from the Middle East and South
Asian economies. Some claim that the industry would flourish even without Western medical
tourists. Afro-Asian people spend as much as $20 billion a year on health care outside their
countries - Nigerians alone spend an estimated $1 billion a year. Most of this money would be
spent in Europe and America, but it is hoped that this would now be increasingly directed to
developing countries with advanced facilities.

India’s Future Prospect

The global healthcare market is USD 3 trillion and size of the Indian healthcare industry is around
1,10,000 crores accounting for nearly 5.2 per cent of GDP. It is likely to reach 6.2- 8.5 per cent of
the GDP by 2012. It is expected that medical tourism will account about 3-5 per cent of the total
delivery market.

More than 1,50,000 medical tourists came to India in 2003. Around 70,000 people came from the
Middle East for the medical treatment. Traditional system of medicine is able to attract a sizeable

47
number of people from western countries (Kerala, for instance). Most of the medical tourists are
Indian in origin. We need to attract more number of people of foreign origin.

International experience shows some of the countries like Thailand, Singapore, Jordan and
Malaysia have done extremely well. There is technical committee formed by Jordan Government
operating for the non-Jordanian Arab patients who visit Jordan for healthcare. This office regulates
the healthcare institutions treating those patients and monitor the entire activity.

Making of a Medical Tourism destination

Our healthcare industry has some inherent drawbacks. Lack of standardisation in medical care and
cost, lack of regulatory mechanism, infrastructural bottlenecks and poor medical insurance
coverage are a few to mention here. On the other hand, tourism and hospitality industries are facing
some major challenges to develop the infrastructure and services. Industry and government
collaboration in terms of some incentives and creation of soothing environment can further make
this endeavor easy for both the service sector. The immediate need is the establishment of health
and tourism players consortium to discuss about all these issues and maintain closer interaction and
co-ordination to develop medical tourism - a growth engine for Forex earnings.

Price Comparison Overview

COST COMPARISON – INDIA VS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

Significant cost differences exist between U.K. and India when it comes to medical treatment.
India is not only cheaper but the waiting time is almost nil. This is due to the outburst of the private
sector which comprises of hospitals and clinics with the latest technology and best practitioners.

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 CONCLUSION

It’s believed that initiatives taken by Make UR trip will help in economic development of
our country as:
 It will create awareness about our healthcare industry internationally.
 Domestic players will realize the potential, thus improving their infrastructure
facilities.
 utilization of tourist potential
 It will generate foreign exchange for the country.
“Medical tourism” has become a part of certain sectors of healthcare, but on a smaller
scale. “What we’re looking at is charging those who can afford expensive treatments, so
that some benefits may be passed on to the poor also.
India is a developing country and a lot needs to be done before we can call ourselves as a
developed country, all we can claim is to be a progressive one. After the dotcom com
boom in the nineties we have gone through a lean patch as such. India as an emerging
nation needs to grow both from with in and outside; in the sense development needs to
done both for the Indian Diaspora and at the same time opportunities need to be grasped
and developed so that foreign investment pours in.

Despite the recent growth of the tourism sector in the country, India’s share in
international tourist arrivals is a meager 0.50%, while the share in the global international
tourism receipts is around 1.30% only. Tourism not only creates jobs in the tertiary sector,
it also encourages growth in the primary and secondary sectors of industry. Hence, it is
high time, the government should encourage the participation of the private sector in a big
way for the all round development of the tourism sector that has the potential to act as the
key driver of inclusive growth.

Although the situation appears to be grim there is still hope. One step at a time
is all that is needed. First and foremost is to have the basic infrastructure in place such as
having proper road and rail connectivity, having a good network of airports to all the
major states and cities and with the countries from where the potential tourists will arrive
such as the US the middle east and western Europe and also the major African and

49
Islamic countries in Asia. Secondly but more importantly there is a need to put forward
the information required by the tourists. Aggressive marketing is the only way to go as
seen in the case of Thailand, Singapore , malyasia etc. Not only that there should be
government authorized websites where people can get all the information regarding
surgeries, hotels, cost comparison etc . they have to be developed exclusively for the
medical tourism purpose. Twenty four hours helpline, television advertisements, getting
information and advertisements published in medical journals and popular magazines etc
is a worthwhile investment. We have already seen how successful the Incredible India
campaign is. Based on similar line but exclusively for medical tourism other such
campaigns must be developed.
Since India already has the advantage of having highly qualified, English speaking
doctors and medical staff it seems just a matter of time when medical tourism will take
off in a big way. We have the cost advantage, we have the skills advantage we even have
world class facilities and so all we need is a better image, a functional infrastructure and
some clever promotional campaign. This is a golden opportunity which we cannot pass
up. Not only that the foreign currency that we earn is going to give our own people
various benefits. It just seems like a circle in which all the bodies who participate have a
win win situation on hand.

The idea of doing this project was to bring to light how medical tourism is the 21 st
century’s golden goose for India. Bringing out all the true facts, the weak points and in
general trying to understand the phenomenon itself of medical tourism has been
insightful. This project has been laborious since finding out relevant information is
difficult and there are very few sources to find it out from.
It has been worthwhile doing this project on medical tourism since it is an upcoming
industry with lots of potential and also facing various difficulties. The main idea behind
doing this project was to highlight all the important features and data and give atleast a
birds eye view over the concept of tourism for medical purpose. In conclusion I can easily
say that medical tourism for India is a once in a life time opportunity and we certainly
need to take up on our strong points in order to become the leading nation in this area. I
hope I have done justice to my project and based on the data collected I might easily say
that India is the place where people come to heal themselves since god’s grace seeps and
flows through all the pores of India. We are a nation of people who feel honor in helping
out and healing the mind and the spirit. I therefore dedicate this project to all the worthy

50
doctors and medical professionals and to India my mother and may gods will guide us to
to a better and prosperous era.

“ATITHI DEVO BHAVA”

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Global Tourism - William F. Thebald

 Service Marketing - S. M. Jha
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Tourism” 2nd Edition
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 ExpressHealthcare-Vol.1, No-12, Dec-2007
 International Journal of Management Science-Vol-2, No-2, Dec-2006
 http://www.medicaltourismmag.com/article/medical.html

Internet Web-sites:
 www.tourismofindia.com
 www.cii.com
 www.indiainfoline.com
 www.hindubusinessline.com
 www.wttc.org

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