india tourism outbound 2010

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Nepal Tourism BoardTourist Service CenterP.O.Box: 11018, Bhrikuti Mandap, KathmanduTel: 977 1 4256909, Fax: 977 1 4256910Email: [email protected]

Regional OfficePardi, Pokhara, Tel: 977 61 465292Email: [email protected]

Tourist Information CentreTribhuvan International AirportTel: 977 1 2061011Email: [email protected]

Concept and DesignResearch, Planning and Monitoring Department

As part of Nepal Tourism Board’s annual programme, Nepal Tourism Board has commissioned a research on India Consumer Outboundto Falcon Infocomm Pvt. Ltd., a Delhi based public relations and research consultant. The main aim of the research is to gauge themarket dynamics in the Indian outbound tourism that will help chalk out strategies to Nepal Tourism Board and tourism entrepreneursin Nepal.

© Nepal Tourism Board 2010

India Tourism OutboundNepal Perspective

2010

Executive Summary

1. The rapid growth of Indian Economy has resulted in manifold changes in the way Indian Tourist travels.

2. The Indian Tourist is now well informed and is travelling much more than ever before. With increasedwealth, Indian Middle Class is emerging as the largest number generator.

3. Indian Tourist does not consider Nepal as a low end International destination any more. Singapore, Malaysiaand Thailand now occupy these slots.

4. Nepal needs to position itself as a travel destination competing against Indian Domestic Travel destinationssuch as Nainital, Mussoorie and Agra. These destinations have very high domestic travel movements andinclude aspirational travelers who could be converted into travelling to Nepal.

5. Indian Tourist is still apprehensive about security concerns in Nepal.

6. Nepal should focus on promotions in secondary cities as this shall help in higher numbers and loweracquisition cost per traveler. Vernacular language promotion mediums should also be considered.

7. There is a need for one consolidated promotion strategy which should include Nepal Tourism Industryand Indian Tourism Industry where Nepal Tourism Board can play role of a facilitator.

Contents

CHAPTERChapter 1 Why India Matters? 9

Chapter 2 Overview on Indian Economy, Tourism Development and 13Creation of Wealth in the Last Decade

Chapter 3 Indian Tourism Industry – An Outlook 23

Chapter 4 Domestic Tourism in India 35

Chapter 5 Current Trends and Information on Key Outbound Destinations 59which are Competitive to Nepal Including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia

Chapter 6 Consumer Characteristics, Outbound, Major Tourism Players of 75Focus Areas- Delhi and Surroundings and Mumbai and Surroundings

Chapter 7 Suggestions on Market Segmentation with Special Reference to Nepal 85

Chapter 8 Suggestions on Marketing Strategy, Policies and Programs 91for Nepal Tourism Board to Attract Indian Tourists

Chapter 9 Recommendations & Guidelines for 105Nepal Tourism Board Annual Promotion Plan 2010/11

ANNEXAnnex I The Trends in Information, Communication and 106

Technology in Tourism Development

Annex II The Commonwealth Games 2010 109

Annex III Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian Tourism 111

Annex IV Role of Bollywood and International Tourism Boards 113

Annex V References 115

Annex VI Research Questionnaires 118

Annex VII Responses to Queries Made during Presentation at Kathmandu, 120Nepal on 25th October 2009

TABLESTable 1 Arrivals from India, 2000-2007 10

Table 2 Detail Budget for the Year 2008-2010 21

Table 3 Foreign Tourist Arrivals and Foreign Exchange Earnings 27

Table 4 Important Facts about Tourism - 2008 29

Table 5 Number of Indian National Departure from India 1996-2008 30

Table 6 Destination-wise Indian Nationals Outbound Travel, 2000-2006 32

Table 7 Number of Domestic Tourist Visits to all States/UTs in India, 1996-2008 39

Table 8 State/UT Domestic and Foreign Tourist Visits, 2005-2007 40

Table 9 Percentage Shares and Ranks of Different States/ 41UTs in Domestic and Foreign Touris Visits during 2007

Table 10 Share of Top 10 States/UTs of India in Number of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2008 43

Table 11 Domestics and Foreign Visitors at 10 Most Popular CentrallyProtected Ticketed ASI Monuments During 2007 44

Table 12 Sources of Religious Tourists 53

Table 13 Indians Keep the Faith: Religious Tourism Booms in India 53

Table 14 Singapore’s India-Promotion Plan 61

Table 15 Socio-economic Parameters of Delhi and Mumbai 77

Table 16 Affluence Index of Delhi and Mumbai 78

Table 17 Outbound Movements from Indian Cities 80

Table 18 International Travel Matrix 83

Table 19 Characteristics of Family Holidays 87

Table 20 Characteristics of Young and Restless 88

Table 21 Characteristics of Young Working Couples 88

Table 22 Characteristics of Middle Age Consumers 89

Table 23 Characteristics of Religious Groups 89

Table 24 Characteristics of Retired and Leisure Holiday Makers 90

Table 25 Budget Activities 101

Table 26 Suggested Activities 105

Contents

FIGURESFigure 1 International Tourist Arrivals from India by Destination Region, 2006 (%) 9

Figure 2 Consumption by the Middle Class 15

Figure 3 India’s Growing Middle Class 16

Figure 4 Number of Indian National Departures from India, 1996-2008 31

Figure 5 Number of Domestic Tourist Visits to all States/UTs in India, 1996-2008 39

Figure 6 Percentage Share of Top 10 States/UTs in Domestic Tourist Visits in 2008 43

Figure 7 Tourism Supply Chain 91

Figure 8 Supply Chain and Tourism Volume 92

Figure 9 Tourism Leverage Points 93

Figure 10 Factors Influencing Visitor Behaviour 96

ABBREVIATIONS

ASI Archeological Survey of IndiaBSE Bombay Stock ExchangeCFA Central Financial AssistanceCRM Customer Relationship ManagementERP Enterprise Resource PlanningFCI Food Craft InstituteFTA Foreign Tourist ArrivalsFEE Foreign Exchange EarningsGDP gross domestic productGSS Great Singapore SaleIIP Indian Industrial ProductionITES Information Technology Enabled ServicesLCC Low Cost CarrierMoT Ministry of TourismMICE Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and ExhibitionsMTPB Malaysia Tourism Promotion BoardNCR National Capital Region of DelhiNTB Nepal Tourism BoardSTB Singapore Tourism BoardPPPs Public-Private PartnershipsTAT Tourism Authority of ThailandTSA Tourism Satellite AccountingUSD United States DollarUT Union TerritoryVFR Visiting Friends and Relatives

7India Tourism Outbound • Nepal Perspective 2010

Why India Matters?

India is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world. With more than 1.1 billion inhabitantsand GDP increasing by more than 8% every year, the country offers enormous potential for future growth inoutbound travel.

The robust economic growth and impressive developments in Indian tourism in recent years have broughtthe country as a major force in the world tourism market – both for inbound and outbound tourism. Accordingto World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in 2007 the total number of tourist arrivals to India was 5 millionand the number of outbound trips by Indian nationals increased by 17% over 2006 reaching an estimated 9.8million. Thus, outbound tourism has already overtaken inbound tourism during the same period and is expectedto expand further in the coming years. The average annual growth rate in terms of number of internationaltrips made by Indians during the period 2000-2007 was 11%. The UNWTO has predicted that by 2020 Indiawill account for 50 million outbound tourists, continuing to maintain its growth momentum. According to2006 data, the main destinations for Indian outbound are Asia and Europe, accounting for 64% and 20% ofthe total outbound travel from India respectively. In Asia, Southeast Asia has the largest share of theinternational tourist arrivals from India as shown in figure 1.

FIGURE 1. International Tourist Arrivals from India by Destination Region, 2006 (%)

Chapter 1


Source: Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention, India Market Scan 2006, July 2006, cited in UNWTO, 2006

Australia/Oceania

2Africa

5America

s

9

Euro

pe

20

Asia

64

10

As shown in Table 1 indicates that the top five destinations for Indian arrivals are Singapore, Bahrain,Thailand, United States of America and China.

TABLE 1. Arrivals from India, 2000-2007

Chapter 1 Why IndiaMatters?

Not only Indian tourists are important in terms of quantity also they are also recognized as having highpropensity to spend during their travel. According to the UNWTO in 2007, international tourism expenditureby Indians grew by 20% over 2006 reaching an estimated figure of US$ 8.2 billion. On an average, Indiansspent US $ 838 per trip overseas in 2007.

Indian outbound to Nepal constitutes very negligible part while for Nepal in terms of arrivals it is the biggestsource market. In 2008 and 2007 the share of Indian tourist arrivals to Nepal was 18.2%. However, thispercentage represents Indian tourists arriving in Nepal by air only.

Therefore, it is realized that there is a need for a strategic report on India in order to tap growing Indiantourism market as it is one of the most important segments when it comes to tourist inflow in Nepal. Astrategic report provides expertise and helps gain a greater visibility into operations, markets and competition.

Source: UNWTO, 2009

TF = tourist arrivals at frontiers;VF = visitor arrivals at frontiers;TCE = tourist arrivals at all accommodation establishments;THS = tourist arrivals at hotels and similar establishments

Destination Series Number of arrivals (×1,000) Change AAGR(%).. (%)..

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2006/ 2000-2005 2006.

Singapore VF 346 340 376 309 471 584 659 749 12.9 14.3

Bahrain TF 214 247 313 351 419 467 590 26.4 17.3

Thailand TF 203 206 253 230 300 353 430 506 21.8 15.5

United States TF 274 270 257 272 309 345 407 18.0 9.0

China TF 121 159 214 219 309 356 405 13.6 26.0

Dubai, United THS 215 218 300 325 349 358 389 411 8.8 10.6Arab Emirates

United Kingdom VF 206 189 205 199 255 269 367 336 36.3 11.4

Saudi Arabia TF 294 313 374 363 474 117 345 613 195.0

Hong Kong, TF 131 162 194 178 244 273 294 205 7.5 16.3China

Malaysia VF 132 144 183 145 173 226 279 422 23.6 39.0

Qatar THS 62 60 108 127 146 159 181 13.4

Sri Lanka TF 32 34 70 91 105 113 128 13.3 22.1

Oman THS 52 62 72 83 106 116 111 – 4.8 14.8


Purpose of the Study

The India Market report aims to provide clear insight and shall help in planning and coming up with solutions,enhancements or support for existing system. It shall also help Nepal in remaining on top of competition,zoom from a macro level to granular detail and the data shall help get better insight. It will also strive tobridge the gap and look at every possible way to make a clear goal and develop an action plan when it comesto tourism promotion activities.

This is particularly captured by the topics covered in the following chapters, exploring issues such as theimpact of recession on the tourism industry, the importance of price competitiveness for attracting touristsand the extent to which the Index explains differences in travel intensity between countries, trends used topromote destinations, consumer lifestyle, economy, demographic and geographic impacts etc giving a detailedinsight into understanding the target customers and how to reach them. The report also notes some of themain qualitative trends seen in the industry in the form of increased market segmentation, the developmentof new forms of tourism especially those related to nature and wildlife, rural areas, culture. Also how suchprogrammes are influencing traditional package tours as the tourists are increasingly becoming selectiveabout destinations and are demanding higher quality products and services. Hence there is a need tounderstand and provide a product which appeals to them.

An economy has the potential to enhance lives in a sustainable framework through providing wealth creation,choice, innovation and competition. The travel and tourism industry contains these four elements that enableit to be a dynamic market force for sustainability in the future and economic growth. It is hoped that thereport will help serve the purposes.

Research Methodology

The report was a combination of desk research, interviews with the travel trade, and discussions with TourismBoards. It went to following processes:

• Analysis of current state of affairs based upon various data available.• Interactive discussions with Travel agents and Incentive houses in the focus areas and understanding

their viewpoints.• Interactive discussions with other stakeholders in India such as airlines, travel trade associations etc.• Informal discussions with Tourism Boards of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand

A comprehensive survey was also conducted to take feedback from the Tourism Industry and the process ofsurvey included:

• Telephonic discussions• Feedback with travel agents during India Sales Missions• Consumer feedback during consumer promotion events done in June 2009.

The Report aims support the informed decision making process and would help develop strategies for thetarget audience and make better plans for achieving a higher number of tourist inflow which should culminatein an overwhelming success of the Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

12

Proposed Benefit to the Readers

The Report aims to support the informed decision making process and would help develop strategies for thetarget audience and make better plans for achieving a higher number of tourist inflow which should culminatein an overwhelming success of the Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

Chapter 1 Why IndiaMatters?


Overview on Indian Economy, Tourism Development andCreation of Wealth in the Last Decade

Indian Economy – A Review

Indian economy has been growing at a fast pace since the economic liberalization of 1991. This situation wasquite different in the earlier years of India’s Independence. Growth of decadal averages was roughly constantat around 5.6-5.9 per cent in the first five decades after Independence. Indian economy witnessed nearstagnation in real GDP growth in the 1970s. (Assocham Research Bureau. 2008)

The slowdown of growth witnessed during the 1970s was reversed during the 1980s, the pick-up benefitedfrom the initiation of some reform measures aimed at increasing domestic competitiveness. Since the early1990s, growth impulses appeared to have gathered further momentum in the aftermath of comprehensivereforms encompassing the various sectors of the economy.

Indian economy has become much more integrated with the world economy now than the pre-reform period.Liberalization in industry, investment, foreign trade, financial sector and capital flows that was undertakenafter the balance of payment crisis in early 1990s led to India becoming well integrated with the world economy.

There was some loss of the growth momentum in the latter half of the 1990s which coincided with the onsetof the East Asian financial crisis, setbacks to the fiscal correction process, quality of fiscal adjustment, slowdownin agriculture growth affected by lower than normal monsoon years, and some slackening in the pace ofstructural reforms. The slowdown could also be attributed to the excessive enthusiasm and optimism inregard to investment plans in domestic industry following deregulation, which was followed by significantproblems experienced in viability and competitiveness. Monetary tightening in the face of inflationary pressuresis also believed by some to have contributed to the slowdown over this period.

Total trade flows (receipts and payments on merchandise and invisibles), as a proportion of GDP, rose from 20per cent to 53 per cent during the period 1990-91 to 2007-08. Capital flows (inflows plus outflows) had beenjust 12 per cent of GDP in 1990-91, and in 2007-08 they rose to 64 per cent of GDP. Interestingly, these ratiosare significantly higher than those in the US for which in 2007 trade in goods and services constituted a lower41 per cent of GDP and capital flows were only 25 per cent of the GDP in that year. (ICRIER, 2009)

Since 2003-04, there has been a distinct strengthening of the growth momentum. Restructuring measures bydomestic industry, overall reduction in domestic interest rates, both nominal and real, improved corporateprofitability, favourable investment climate amidst strong global demand and rules-based fiscal policy have ledto the real GDP growth averaging close to 9 per cent per annum over the 6 year period, ending 2008-09.

The higher order of investment activity in the country over the past few years has also been mirrored instrong demand for credit from the banking sector since 2003-04 onwards. In this context, reforms in thefinancial sector have played a key role. Financial sector reforms, initiated in the early 1990s, encompassedintroduction of auctions in government securities, deregulation of interest rates and reduction in statutorypre-emption of institutional resources by the Government was carried forward with the phasing out of thesystem of automatic monetization of fiscal deficits from 1997-98. These measures along with developments

Chapter 2

14

in the Government securities market, by making the yield market-determined, formed the backbone offinancial market reforms.

Apart from making the interest rates largely market determined, reforms included a market-determinedexchange rate, current account convertibility, substantial capital account epitomized and deregulation of theequity market. The financial sector reforms designed to improve cost efficiency through price signals, in turn,facilitated the conduct of monetary policy through indirect market-based instruments through improved fiscal-monetary coordination. This process was further strengthened through the implementation of the FRBM(Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) Act, 2003, under which the Central Government targets toeliminate the revenue deficit and reduce its fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of GDP by 2008-09 and the ReserveBank was prohibited from participating in the primary government securities market from April 2006. Overall,these reforms have led to better price discovery in both interest rates and exchange rate, thereby contributingto overall efficiency in financial intermediation.

Public investment has started increasing since 2003-04, reversing a long-period of declining trend that beganin mid-1980s. Since 2003-04, private investment has also witnessed a significant rise.

India had been growing robustly at an annual average rate of 8.8 per cent for the past five years (2003-04 to2007-08). This was higher than the potential growth rate of output as estimated both by the IMF and OECD.The strong Indian growth story, based on its structural strengths of a young population, skilled manpower,rising savings and investment rates, large unfulfilled domestic demand and globally competitive firms attractedsignificant investor attention in recent years. Recent high rates of economic growth have been the result ofhigh levels of investment, rise in productivity supported by technological up-gradation and greater integrationwith global flows of trade, finance and technology. (ICRIER, 2009)

The Indian Middle Class – An Opportunity for Nepal.

According to a report The ‘Bird of Gold’: The Rise of India’s Consumer Market, by the year 2025 (The McKinseyGlobal Institute, 2007). India’s middle class is expected to swell almost 12-fold from its size of 50 millionpeople to over 583 million – some 41% of the population. This will trigger explosive growth in the consumermarket taking it to $1.5 trillion, making India the world’s fifth-largest consumer economy by 2025.

This will have significant implications for the tourism industry as it is a well-recognized axiom that travel is thefirst priority of an income earner after the basic requirements of home, food and essentials. Thus, as peopleacquire more disposable income, the demand for travel and tourism will grow exponentially. Moreover, therewill be more such people with disposable incomes as the demographic transition in the country would producea huge surge in people in the 20-60 years age group. Domestic tourism, thus, poses many opportunities forthe tourism industry and meeting the needs of the expanding middle class will be the key to it.

The ‘middle class’ cherish family ideals and values and invest in products that ensure upward mobility of thefamily and longevity of economic success through transfer to generation next. Children get first priority onthe budget and this has empowered them to emerge as main influencers on family purchases such as mobilephones, TVs, music systems, computers and even cars. A study commissioned by Cartoon Network someyears ago measured the `pester power’ – the influence children have on purchase decisions – of Indian kids assubstantial (close to 40%) and growing.

India’s growing middle class has also given rise to an economically comfortable retired pensioner who, havingcompleted the family responsibilities, is free to spend on travel, mirroring the trend of other developednations. By the year 2025, the above 60 years of age group in India’s age pyramid is also going to increase.Moreover, travel by railways and air is cheaper for senior citizens because of concessions – all these factors

Overview on Indian Economy, Tourism Developmentand Creation of Wealth in the Last DecadeChapter 2


will facilitate domestic tourism and the same is applicable for Nepal due its close proximity and culturalsimilarities. This should be Nepal target segment.

Chapter 2

FIGURE 2. Consumption by the Middle Class

Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest integer and may not add up to 100%Source: MGI India Consumer Demand Model , v1.0

100%6,679 10,098 15,896 34,089 69,503

Globals (>1,000)

Strivers (500-1,000)

Seekers (200-500)

Aspirers (90-200)

Deprived (<90)

Middleclass

1985 1995 2005E 2015F 2025F

Share of total consumption by income bracket%, billion, Indian rupees, 2000

Household income bracketthousand, Indian rupees, 2000

26

0

15

77

15

8

32

54

126

12

51

24

8

35

36

10

17

3

35

24

20

7

16

Economic Growth and Tourism in India

Tourism has been a major social phenomenon of the societies all along. It is motivated by the natural urge ofevery human being for new experience, adventure, education and entertainment. The motivations for tourismalso include social, religious and business interests. The spread of education has fostered a desire to knowmore about different parts of the globe. The basic human thirst for new experience and knowledge hasbecome stronger, as communication barriers are getting overcome by technological advances. Progress in airtransport and development of tourist facilities have encouraged people to venture out to the foreign lands.Tourism’s importance, as an instrument for economic development and employment generation, particularlyin remote and backward areas, has been well recognized the world over. It is the largest service industryglobally in terms of gross revenue as well as foreign exchange earnings. Tourism can play an important andeffective role in achieving the growth with equity objectives which India has set for itself. Tourism is oneeconomic sector in India that has the potential to grow at a high rate and can ensure consequential developmentof the infrastructure of the destinations. It has the capacity to capitalize on the country’s success in theservices sector and provide sustainable models of growth.


Distribution of Indian Households

FIGURE 3. India’s Growing Middle Class

The middle class in India is on the rise: the number of households with an annual income ofbetween 2,000 and 4,999 US dollars is increasing continuously. The average household in Indiaconsists of 5.5 people.*

1

32

54

77

3

47

75 75

10

8090

50

1995A total of 164 million

households


households


households

* Household incomes are not inflation-adjustedSource: IGD

Well-off households: annual income ofmore than 5,000 US dollars.

Households that can afford a few luxuries (“spenders”):annual income between 2,000 and 4,999 US dollars.

Up-and-coming households (“aspirers”): annual income between1,000 and 1,999 US dollars

Lo-income households: annual income of less than1,000 US dollars

Households in millions


It has the potential to stimulate other economic sectors through its backward and forward linkages andcross-sectoral synergies with sectors like agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, transport,construction, etc. Expenditure on tourism induces a chain of transactions requiring supply of goods andservices from these related sectors. The consumption demand, emanating from tourist expenditure, alsoinduces more employment and generates a multiplier effect on the economy. As a result, additionalincome and employment opportunities are generated through such linkages. Thus, the expansion of thetourism sector can lead to large scale employment generation and poverty alleviation.

The growth in the tourism sector emerged as a very important contribution to the national economy andcontributed quite a lot for employment generation in various tourism related activities. The indirectemployment multiplier in the case of tourism is fairly high and is estimated as 2.36 which implies that directemployment of one person in the tourism sector creates employment to 1.36 persons in other sectors of theeconomy due to linkages with tourism .These linkages are in the sectors like agriculture horticulture, poultry,handicrafts, construction, sports etc. Further these directly/indirectly employed following the developmentof tourism may also need more goods & services as a result of such employment than what they would havedemanded otherwise. Additional demand will thus generate more employment and further multiplier effectwill come into force through successive chain of transactions. In fact investment in tourism has the potentialto create more jobs compared to many other sectors and all the more at a lower level of investment. Thelabour/capital ratio is very favorable in tourism sector compared to many other industries with 47.5 jobs fora million rupee investment as has been seen in the survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT),government of India (Kanjilal, 2006). Tourism is now recognized for its contribution to create job for largenumber of women. This empowerment of women which is being focused by the successive governmentsis achieved through tourism projects more positively. Both educated & uneducated women are nowinvolved in tourism related activities. Women are effective in tourism business with their mental attitudefor service and care and upbringing since their childhood especially in hospitality industry. Now in India,more women are in hotel, travel, airlines services, handicrafts making, cultural & entertainment events,etc. and are now better integrated in the national developmental programme through tourism activities.With this double income in the family, the standard of living in the families has improved. Better educationof children, improved health care, and better exposure through interaction and thus a general improvedscene in the women force which was earlier very restricted to move beyond their house limit.

The economic benefits that flow into the economy through growth of tourism in shape of increased nationaland State revenues, business receipts, employment, wages and salary income, buoyancy in Central, State andlocal tax receipts can contribute towards overall socio-economic improvement and accelerated growth in theeconomy. Tourism is overwhelmingly an industry of Private sector service providers, although the publicsector has a significant role to play in infrastructure areas either directly or through public–privatepartnerships (PPPs) approach. It is a multi-sectoral activity characterized by multiple services provided bya range of suppliers. It is quite similar to manufacturing industry, where the supply chain is as importantas the end product. The related sectors include airlines, surface transport, hotels, basic infrastructure andfacilitation systems, etc. Thus, the growth of tourism cannot be attained unless the issues related to allthe sectors are addressed simultaneously.

Another important feature of the tourism industry, which is of particular significance to India, is its contributionto national integration and preservation of natural as well as cultural environments and enrichment of thesocial and cultural lives of people. Over 382 million domestic tourists visiting different parts of the countryevery year return with a better understanding of the people living in different regions of the country. Theyhave a better appreciation of the cultural diversity of India. Tourism also encourages preservation of monumentsand heritage properties and helps the survival of arts forms, crafts and culture.

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It is also important to note that tourism has become an instrument for sustainable human developmentincluding:

• Poverty alleviation• Environmental regeneration• Job creation• Advancement of women and other disadvantaged groups.

Size of Global Tourism

According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the year 2008 saw more than 922 million internationaltourist arrivals, and the tourism receipts were of the order of US $ 944 billion. The World Travel and TourismCouncil (WTTC) for 2009 forecasts that the contribution of the Travel & Tourism economy to total employmentis expected to rise from 219,810,000 jobs in 2009, 8.4% of total employment or in 1 in every 11.8 jobs by2019. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to rise from 9.4% (US$5,474 billion) in 2009 to 9.5%(US$10,478 billion) by 2019. However Real GDP growth for the Travel & Tourism economy is expected to be-3.5% in 2009, down from 1.0% in 2008, but to average 4.0% per annum over the coming 10 years withexport earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 10.9% of totalexports (US$1,980 billion) in 2009, growing (in nominal terms) to US$4,132 billion (9.8% of the total) in2019. (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2009)

Size of India Tourism

There has been a remarkable growth over the years in foreign tourist arrival to India due to the various effortsmade, including promoting India through the ‘Incredible India’ campaign in overseas markets. This globalcampaign had attracted the attention of tourism industry observers as well as tourists. Foreign tourist arrivals(FTAs) in India increased from 2.73m in 2002 to 5.37m in 2008. The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from thetourism sector in 2008 were Rs. 50,730 crore, an increase of 14.4 per cent over 2007. (Ministry of TourismIndia. 2008)

The contribution of the Travel & Tourism economy to employment is expected to rise from 31,105,000 jobs in2009, 6.4% of total employment or 1 in every 15.6 jobs to 40,037,000 jobs, 7.2% of total employment or 1 inevery 13.8 jobs by 2019. Real GDP growth for Travel & Tourism economy is expected to be 0.2% in 2009 andto average 7.7% per annum over the coming 10 years. (World Travel & Tourism Council. 2009.)

Though the growth in tourism in India has been impressive, India’s share in global tourist arrivals and earningsis quite insignificant. India’s rank in world tourist arrivals in 2008 was 41. It is universally acknowledged thatthe tourism resources in the country have the potential to generate significantly higher levels of demandfrom the domestic and international markets, and, if exploited intelligently in a sustainable manner, canprove to be the proverbial engine of growth for the economy.

The Global Crisis

The financial crisis in the US started in the latter half of 2007, with the so-called sub-prime housing mortgagecrisis. As is by now well established, the crisis had its real roots in hugely excessive leveraging by investmentand commercial banks, under-pricing of risk and lack of necessary regulatory oversight. The busting of someof the big financial institutions has created an atmosphere of lack of confidence.



This extraordinary financial crisis has now spread to Europe and Japan and is likely to see most developedeconomies suffering a prolonged period of recession that could extend beyond 2009 and according tosome even beyond 2010. The contagion of this financial crisis has now spread to countries in Asia as theexport markets of these countries have virtually collapsed. Exports in major Asian economies have declinedby huge amounts. Japan and Taiwan saw a fall in exports of around 35 per cent and 40 per cent respectivelyin their exports in December 2008. The fallout from a major slowdown in Chinese exports and its GDPgrowth on South East economies and indeed the rest of the world can be severe and has yet to be factoredin to the estimates of global growth for 2009 and 2010. Along with exports, industries in the region havealso been affected as can be seen in the shocking contraction of Taiwan’s industrial production of around32 per cent in December 2008.

India and the Global Crisis

The Indian economy was slowing down even before the onset of global crisis and hence the timing of thisexternal shock could not have been worse. The Indian economy was on a cyclical slowdown after a five-yearrecord boom and there was every hope that the economy will go for another strong growth phase after thisbrief slowdown. The global crisis has changed that outlook and instead will deepen and prolong Indianeconomy’s slowdown. It has dealt a severe blow to investment sentiments and consumer confidence in theeconomy

With the increased linkage with the world economy, India cannot remain immune to the global crisis. Indiabegan to feel the impact of the crisis in January 2008 when the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensexcollapsed after crossing the peak of 20800 in early January 2008. While the Indian economy registered anaverage growth of 8.8% during the 5 years ending 2007-08, its growth is slacking today because the globaleconomic crisis is getting even deeper than before. Latest IIP numbers for February 2009 shows negative1.2% growth as against plus 9% growth recorded by the industry in the same month of previous year.

The six-core infrastructure industry managed to continue with a positive 2.2% growth, this growth was howevermuch less than the growth number of 7% seen in the previous year. All the constituent sectors except thecrude petroleum were seen to post positive growth.

The recently adopted measures by the government, including reduction in fuel prices has brought the WPIbased inflation under control. The average inflation for February 2009 was 3.45%. However, disaggregatednumbers raise concerns over the price rise of the essential commodities like the primary food articles, withthe main economic indicators off the growth track the stock markets seems to appear unattractive for theFIIs. The exit from the markets have has an impact on the overall economy as the country’s forex reserves gotaffected. The Sensex shuttled between 10K and 8K, which is indicative of the continued weakness in markets.

Money supply in the economy expanded in February 2009 by 16% and was less by a percent than the growthseen in previous year. The credit off take was on the rise, borrowing by the government and by the commercialsector increased in February 2009. The net foreign exchange assets with the banks turned negative during themonth. Growth in the aggregate deposits is maintained compared to the previous year and investments inthe government and approved securities decelerated to 22.2% compared to the increase by 24.8% seen inthe previous year.

The slowdown in tax collection was pronounced since November 2008. In February 2009 gross tax collectionrose by 7% compared to 26.7% recorded in the previous year. The low collection rate was on account the lowcorporate profits and tax concessions and reductions in the stimulus packages announced over time. Thetotal revenue loss due to tax reductions will be 0.2 % of GDP in 2008-09 and 0.5% of GDP in 2009-10. In the

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interim budget for 2009-10 the estimate for 2008-09 fiscal deficits was revised to 6.0 % of GDP as againstthe budget estimates of 2.5%. Overall trade is in declining state due to dry up in international marketscutting through all sectors. Merchandise exports posted negative growth in straight 5 months starting.October 2008 during 2008-09 compared to the growth numbers of previous year. While several packagesfor aiding the ailing exports reforms were announced by the government this year however the recentnumbers for February 2009 do not endorse any improvement. Foreign direct investment continues toflow and was seen to be slightly impacted due to the global economic concerns. By end of February 2009foreign direct investment received was USD 5 billion in excess of what was receive a year ago. FDI receivedso far up to February 2009 was USD 31 billion. The overall investments shrank and were close to USD 18.5billion when portfolio investments are included.

Forex reserves reduced sharply to USD 249 billion in February 2009. The reason of the sharp erosion in thereserves were large outflows in the foreign investments from the equity markets and use of reserves in keepingthe Rupee from weakening apart from the valuation effects. The forex reserves maintained in February 2009are enough for 10 months of import cover. Although it is felt that a further decline may raise concern. Thehuge outflow in investments increased the dollar demand and exerted pressure on the Rupee to weaken to52 against the USD. The Central Bank continues its struggle in keeping the rate of exchange below 50 andstable. The average exchange rate against the USD in February 2009 was 49.22. (Investment & TechnologyPromotion Division. 2009)

Indian Economic Outlook 2009-11

The current global crisis is likely to bring the Indian GDP growth rate down considerably. This will pose a bigchallenge requiring urgent and sustained policy attention to prevent this downturn from becomingunnecessarily prolonged. There is real downside risk that the growth rate could plummet to the pre-1980slevels if appropriate countercyclical measures are not taken immediately and are not urgently followed bynecessary structural reforms.

In the recent budget, Rs. 1000 crores has been allocated to tourism and the breakup is highlighted in thetable 2.



The Budget cost heads are defined as follows:

1. Secretariat-Economic ServicesThe provision is for meeting the expenditure on the Secretariat of Ministry of Tourism.

2. Direction & AdministrationThe provision is for meeting the expenditure on the Headquarters Establishment of the Directorate General

Chapter 2

TABLE 2. Detail Budget for the Year 2008-2010

Source: indiabudget.nic.in

A. The Budget allocations, net of recoveries, are given below:

(In crores of Rupees)

Budget 2008-2009 Revised 2008-2009 Budget 2009-2010

Major Head Plan Non-Plan Total Plan Non-Plan Total Plan Non-Plan Total

Revenue 439.00 47.00 486.00 439.00 50.53 489.53 994.00 70.00 1064.00

Capital 561.00 ... 561.00 561.00 ... 561.00 6.00 ... 6.00

Total 1000.00 47.00 1047.00 1000.00 50.53 1050.53 1000.00 70.00 1070.00

1. Secretariat-Economic Services 3451 ... 3.45 3.45 ... 3.74 3.74 ... 5.50 5.50Tourism2. Director General Tourism -

Direction & Administration 3452 25.00 39.64 64.64 25.00 43.43 68.43 14.00 50.00 64.003. Tourist Information & Publicity

3.01. Domestic Campaign 3452 65.00 0.20 65.20 65.00 0.18 65.18 54.00 0.20 54.203.02. Overseas Campaign 3452 220.00 ... 220.00 220.00 ... 220.00 250.00 ... 250.00

Total 285.00 0.20 285.20 285.00 0.18 285.18 304.00 0.20 304.20

4. Tourist Infrastructure 3452 ... ... ... ... ... ... 125.00 ... 125.00

3601 ... ... ... ... ... ... 306.00 ... 306.003602 ... ... ... ... ... ... 20.00 ... 20.005452 472.00 ... 472.00 472.00 ... 472.00 6.00 ... 6.00

Total 472.00 ... 472.00 472.00 ... 472.00 457.00 ... 457.005. Training 3452 71.00 0.80 71.80 71.00 0.72 71.72 103.00 10.80 113.80

3601 ... ... ... ... ... ... 3.00 ... 3.00

Total 71.00 0.80 71.80 71.00 0.72 71.72 106.00 10.80 116.80

6. Other expenditure 3452 47.00 2.41 49.41 47.00 2.01 49.01 19.00 3.00 22.007. Lumpsum provision for Project/

Scheme for the benefit of NE

Region and Sikkim 2552 11.00 ... 11.00 11.00 ... 11.00 100.00 ... 100.004552 89.00 ... 89.00 89.00 ... 89.00 ... ... ...Total 100.00 ... 100.00 100.00 ... 100.00 100.00 ... 100.00

8. Miscellaneous General Services

- Loss by exchange 2075 ... 0. 50 0.50 ... 0.45 0.45 ... 0.50 0.50Total-Tourism 1000.00 43.55 1043.55 1000.00 46.79 1046.79 1000.00 64.50 1064.50Grand Total 1000.00 47.00 1047.00 1000.00 50.53 1050.53 1000.00 70.00 1070.00

C. Plan Layout Head of Budget IEBR Total Budget IEBR Total Budget IEBR Total

22

of Tourism and the regional and field offices under it. Their main activities are dissemination of touristinformation, development of tourism infrastructural facilities, regulation of various segments of travel industrysuch as hotels, travel agents, guides etc. It also includes provision for Information Technology.

3. Tourist Information and PublicityPromotion and Marketing are undertaken through a network of India Tourism Offices located in India andabroad. Besides the regular promotional activities, production of publicity material centralized thematic andgeneric International/Domestic media campaigns are undertaken regularly in the leading print, electronic,outdoor and web media. Hospitality and special campaigns including Marketing Development AssistanceScheme have been introduced from 2000-01. Under the Scheme stake holders are eligible for drawingassistance for undertaking promotional activities overseas.

4. Tourist InfrastructureThis provision relates to the expenditure on creation of Infrastructural facilities on construction of budgetaccommodation, Wayside amenities, Tourist Reception Centers, refurbishment of monuments, Special TourismProjects, Adventure and Sports facilities, Sound and Light Shows, Illuminations of monuments, Providing forimprovement in solid waste management and sewerage management, improvement of surroundings, Signages,Procurement of equipment directly related to Tourism and Rural Tourism projects etc. This provision alsorelates to the Large Revenue Generating Projects, generating revenue through levy of fees or user chargeslike Tourist Trains, Cruise vessels, Cruise terminals, Convention Centre, Golf Courses etc. and creation of landbank for hotels to provide the hotel accommodation in the country by purchasing land and build hotelsthrough Public Private Partnerships. The provision also includes Externally Aided Projects (including UNDPEndogenous Tourism Projects), Assistance to Central agencies for Tourism Infrastructural Development andfor Construction of Building of Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering at Gulmarg.

5. TrainingTrained manpower is an essential feature for the development of tourism in the country. At present there are35 Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs) (includes 7 from the Private Sector) and 6 Food Craft Institutes(FCIs), which are following courses of National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT).In addition, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) and the National Institute of WaterSports (NIWS) are other bodies involved in manpower development in tourism. Besides this, regular coursesof various durations are conducted for fresh as well as existing service providers including guides, governmentemployees etc., posted at places of tourist interest, airports etc.

6. Other ExpenditureThis provision is for payment of Interest subsidy as well as Capital subsidy on the loans advanced by theFinancial Institutions and to service news scheme of investment subsidy for construction of hotels, marketresearch and contributions to international bodies along with provision for payment of post closing adjustmentsrelating to disinvested India Tourism Development Corporation Hotels signed by parties with the Governmentof India.

7. Lump-sum Provision for Projects/Schemes for the Benefits of NE Region and SikkimThe availability of diverse tourism products in the North East offers a tremendous scope for thedevelopment of tourism in the area.

8. Miscellaneous General ServicesThis represents provision for loss of exchange incurred while remitting funds to Overseas Tourist Offices.



Indian Tourism Industry – An Outlook

India represents one of the most potential tourism markets in the world. A booming economy and an increasein disposable income have led to a massive growth in the number of Indians travelling abroad. The Indiantourism and hospitality industry has thus emerged as one of the key sectors driving the country’s growth, andit is thriving owing to a huge surge in both business and leisure travel by foreign and domestic tourists. “IndiaTravel and Tourism is expected to generate approximately Rs. 4 trillion (USD 100 billion) in 2008, rising to Rs15 trillion (USD 275.5 billion) by 2018 over the next ten years,” says the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting(TSA) research released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Accenture.

The results reveal strong performance for travel and tourism demand in India in 2008, growing at 7.3 percent. The long-term forecasts point to a continued solid phase of growth between 2009 and 2018, averagingat 9.4 per cent per annum. The reports also says that while travel and tourism is expected to contribute 6.1per cent to India’s national GDP, with no increase in the coming decade, the anticipated growth will create30.5 million jobs in 2008, 6.4 per cent of total employment, rising to 40 million jobs,7.2 per cent of totalemployment by 2018.(The Financial Express, 2008)

In order to develop tourism in India in a systematic manner, position it as a major engine of economic growthand to harness its direct and multiplier effects for employment and poverty reduction in anenvironmentally sustainable manner, the National Tourism Policy, broadly attempts to:-• Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth• Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism for employment generation, economic development

and providing impetus to rural tourism• Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth• Position India as a global brand to take advantage of the burgeoning global travel trade and the vast

untapped potential of India as a destination• Acknowledges the critical role of private sector with government working as a pro-active facilitator and

catalyst• Create and develop integrated tourism circuits based on India’s unique civilization, heritage, and culture

in partnership with States, private sector and other agencies• Ensure that the tourist to India gets physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched,

spiritually elevated and “feel India from within”

Scheme for Product, Infrastructure and Destination Development

The focus under this scheme is on improving the existing products and developing new tourism products toworld class standards. For infrastructure and product development, the MoT has been providing CentralFinancial Assistance to the State Governments during the 9th Five Year Plan which resulted in strengthening ofthe infrastructure and product development in the country. The scheme has been restructured during the10th Five Year Plan to meet the present day infrastructure requirements. The past experience had been that alarge number of small projects had been funded under the Scheme, spreading the resources very thinly,which at times had not created the desired impact. The focus in the Tenth Plan has been to fund large projectsof infrastructure or product development in an integrated manner.

Under the revised scheme, the destinations are carefully selected based on the tourism potential. Masterplanning of these destinations is undertaken so as to develop them in an integrated holistic manner. The

Chapter 3

24

master plan is supposed to tie up all backward and forward linkages, including environmentalconsiderations. Realizing the importance of destination development, the total outlay for this sector hasbeen increased substantially. Important tourist destinations in each State, in consultation with the StateGovernments, are taken up for development. This includes activities ranging from preparation of masterplans to implementation of the master plans. The destinations are selected in consultation with theState/UT Governments.

Scheme for Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits

Under this Central Financial Assistance scheme the MoT has been extending assistance to States fordevelopment of tourism infrastructure. Experience has shown that in the past funds under the CFA havebeen used to fund a large number of small isolated projects, spread throughout the length and breadth ofthe country resulting in the resources being spread very thinly. Therefore, in order to provide quick andsubstantial impact, during the 10th Five Year Plan, this new scheme of Integrated Development of TouristCircuits has been taken up. The objective of the scheme is to identify tourist circuits in the country on anannual basis, and develop them to international standards. The aim is to provide all infrastructure facilitiesrequired by the tourists within these circuits. The MoT aims at convergence of resources and expertise throughcoordinated action with States/Uts and private sector.

Scheme of Assistance for Large Revenue Generating Projects recognized that the development of tourisminfrastructure projects requires very large investment that may not be possible out of the budgetary resourcesof the Government of India alone. In order to remove these shortcomings and to bring in private sector,corporate and institutional resources as well as techno-managerial efficiencies, it is proposed to promotelarge revenue generating projects for development of tourism infrastructure in public private partnershipsand in partnerships with other Government and Semi-Government agencies.

Large revenue generating project, which can be admissible for assistance under this scheme, should be aproject, which is also a tourist attraction, or used by tourists and generates revenue through a levy of fee oruser charges on the visitors. Projects like Tourist trains, Cruise vessels, Cruise Terminals, Convention Centers,and Golf Courses etc. would qualify for assistance. However, this is only an illustrative list.

Hotel & Restaurant component will not be eligible for assistance under the scheme either on a stand-alonebasis or as an integral part of some other project. Besides hotel & restaurants, procurement of vehicles andsports facilities like stadiums will also not be eligible for assistance under the scheme.

Scheme for Support to Public Private-Partnerships in Infrastructure

Development of infrastructure requires large investments that cannot be undertaken out of public financingalone. Thus, in order to attract private capital as well as techno-managerial efficiencies associated with it, thegovernment is committed to promoting PPPs in infrastructure development. This scheme has been putinto effect for providing financial support to bridge the viability gap of infrastructure projects undertakenthrough PPPs.

Scheme for Market Development Assistance (MDA)

The Marketing Development Assistance Scheme (MDA), administered by the MoT, provides financialsupport to approved tourism service providers (i.e. hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, tourist transportoperators etc., whose turnover include foreign exchange earnings also) for undertaking the followingtourism promotional activities abroad:

Indian Tourism Industry –An OutlookChapter 3


• Sales-cum-study tour• Participation in fairs/exhibitions• Publicity through printed material

Recent Initiatives- During the Time of Recession

During 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012) MoT proposed to continue supporting creation of world classinfrastructure in the country so that existing tourism products can be further improved and expanded tomeet new market requirements and enhance the competitiveness of India as a tourist destination. Inconsultation with the State Governments and Uts the MoT have identified several tourist circuits anddestinations for integrated development.

Some of the important infrastructure projects which have been sanctioned in the recent times are:

Heritage Destinations/Circuits• MoT has recently sanctioned Rs. 8.00 crore for the project of illumination/lighting of monuments in

Rajasthan.• The tourist facilities at Sanchi and adjoining tourist places in Madhya Pradesh are being improved at a

cost of Rs. 4.64 crore. Tourist Facilitation Centre, Public Amenities, Parking and Landscaping andBeautification of approach roads will be done.

• The project of Development of Mahanadi Central Heritage (Rs.3.94 crore) has been sanctioned. In thisproject Jetties, River Bank, Nature Trail, picnic area, etc. will be developed at various places along theriver to enhance the experience of visitors to these destinations.

• An Indian Freedom Circuit on Mahatma’s Park in West Bengal is being developed at a cost of Rs.2.27crore.

• The project Bijapur-Bidar-Gulbarg Circuit sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 6.40 crore.• Art and Craft village at Goregaon film city has been sanctioned for an amount of Rs.3.86 crore.• Revitalization of Gandhi Thidal and Craft Bazar, Puducherry sanctioned recently for an amount of Rs.2.67 crore.• The project of Development of Srirangam Tamilnadu (Rs.3.72 lakh) has been sanctioned.• Development of Vallore fort area at a cost of Rs.0.89 crore.• Sound and Talatal Ghar, Sivasagar in Assam (Rs.1.58 crore.) has been sanctioned.

Beach and Sea Tourism• MoT has sanctioned a project of Rs.5.00 crore for development and beautification of Beach Promenade

in Puducherry.• Another project for development of walkway along the bank of river Arasalar and Vanjiiar in Karaikal,

Puducherry (Rs.4.78 crore)• The project of Development of Marina bach in Tamilnadu has been sanctioned (Rs.4.92 crore).

Ecotourism• A project of Ecotourism for development of Horsely Hill in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh has

been sanctioned.• The project of development of Satkosi in Orissa (Rs. 4.25 crore) has been sanctioned in which Interpretation

Centre, Landscaping, Elephant camps, Trekking park, Watch Towers and parking facilities, etc. are proposedto be developed.

• MoT has sanctioned a project for development of Ecotourism in Morni-Pinjore Hills and SultanpurNational Park in Haryana for which Rs. 2.63 crore have been sanctioned.

• The project of Integrated Development of Tribal Circuit with special focus on Ecotourism in Spiti in HimachalPradesh has been approved for Rs. 6.98 crore.

Chapter 3

26

• Development of Wayanad in Kerala for an amount of Rs.2.01 crore.• Development of Tourist Circuit (Western Assam Circuit) Dhubari-Mahamaya-Barpeta-Hajo has been

sanctioned for an amount of Rs.4.97 crore.• Development of Mechuka Destination (Rs.4.41 crore in Arunachal Pradesh).• Development of Tourist Destination at Khensa at a cost of Rs.4.58 crore in Nagaland.• Circuit – Udhyamandalam- Madumalai- Anaimalai, Tamil Nadu Rs.4.39 crore.

Projects for NE Region• The INA Memorial Complex at Moirang in Manipur is being renovated and tourist facilities are being

developed (Rs.82 lakhs).• Tourism infrastructure is being developed near Pakhai Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh (Rs. 5.00 crore)• Gayaker Sinyi Lake at Itanagar is being developed at a cost of Rs.5.00 crore.• Tourist infrastructure is being developed in Nathula-Memmencho-Kuppu tourist circuit in Sikkim (Rs.4.54 crore)• MoT has sanctioned a project for development of Tizu Kukha as Adventure Destination in Nagaland

(Rs.4.99 crore)• Projects for Jammu & Kashmir

MoT has sanctioned a project for development of tourism infrastructure in Leh (Rs.4.95 crore), Bungus Valley(Rs.2.31 crore), Kargil (Rs.4.84 crore), Poonch (Rs.4.50 crore), various villages around Sonmarg (Rs.1.08 crore),development of Gurez and Telail Valley (Rs.3.66 crore), Patnitop (Rs.2.83 crore), Dandi Pora (3.45 crore),Anantnag (Rs.2.1 crore), Shri Amarnath Yatra Marg (Rs.7.00 crore), Bhaderwah (Rs. 4.12 crore), Kishtwar (Rs.2.81 crore), Wullar Lake (Rs.2.06 crore) and Rajouri (Rs.4.34 crore). Tourist Information Centre, Public amenities,approach roads, shelters, signages , etc. will be developed in these projects so that tourists who are visitingJammu & Kashmir should have trouble free experience the beauty and bounty of the region.

An Overview of Foreign Tourist Arrival and Foreign Exchange Earnings Numbers

Performance of Tourism Sector during August 2009

MoT, government of India compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Foreign ExchangeEarnings (FEE) from tourism on the basis of data received from major airports. Following are the importanthighlights, as regards these two important indicators of tourism sector.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs):• FTAs during the month of August 2009 were 3.58 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3.91 lakh during the

month of August 2008 and 3.58 lakh in August 2007.• There has been a decline of 8.6% in FTAs in August 2009 as compared to positive growth of 0.2% and

0.6% in June 2009 and July 2009 respectively.• FTAs during January – August 2009 at 32.57 lakh were lower as compared to 35.40 lakh in January –

August 2008.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from Tourism in Indian Rupee Terms and US $ Terms• FEE during the month of August 2009 were Rs.4115 crore as compared to Rs.3626 crore in August 2008.• FEE during January – August 2009 were Rs.33791 crore as compared to Rs.33321 crore in January –

August 2008.• FEE in US $ terms during the month of August 2009 were US $ 851 million as compared to US $ 845

million in August 2008.• FEE during January – August 2009 were US$ 6886 million as compared to US$ 8134 million during January

– August 2008



Month Foreign Tourist Arrivals (Nos.) Percentage Change

2006 2007 2008 @ 2007/2006 2008/2007

January 459489 535631 591337 16.6% 10.4%February 439090 501692 561393 14.3% 11.9%March 391009 472494 541478 20.8% 14.6%April 309208 350550 384203 13.4% 9.6%May 255008 277017 300840 8.6% 8.6%June 278370 310364 340159 11.5% 9.6%July 337332 399866 429456 18.5% 7.4%August 304387 358446 391423 17.8% 9.2%September 297891 301892 330874 1.3% 9.6%October 391399 444564 452566 13.6% 1.8%November 442413 532428 521247 20.3% -2.1%December 541571 596560 521990 10.2% -12.5%Total 4447167 5081504 5366966 14.3% 5.6%

Chapter 3

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE)from Tourism in India

Month Foreign Exchange Earnings (in Rs. Crore) Percentage Change

2006 * 2007* 2008# 2007/2006 2008/2007

January 3970 4698 5438 18.3% 15.8%February 3793 4401 5182 16.0% 17.7%March 3378 4144 5035 22.7% 21.5%April 2850 3218 3773 12.9% 17.2%May 2350 2543 2988 8.2% 17.5%June 2566 2849 3409 11.0% 19.7%July 2990 3436 3870 14.9% 12.6%August 2698 3080 3626 14.2% 17.7%September 2640 2594 3143 -1.7% 21.2%October 3355 3785 4248 12.8% 12.2%November 3793 4533 4935 19.5% 8.9%December 4642 5079 5083 9.4% 0.1%Total 39025 44360 50730 13.7% 14.4%

@ Provisional Estimates * Revised Estimates # Advance EstimatesSource : Tourism Ministry, Govt of India

Foreign Exchange Earnings( in US$ million)

Foreign Exchange Earnings (in Rs. Crore)

TABLE 3. Foreign Tourist Arrivals and Foreign Exchange Earnings

Month Foreign Exchange Earnings (in US$ million) Percentage Change

2006* 2007* 2008# 2007/2006 2008/2007

January 894 1064 1382 19.0% 29.9%February 854 996 1305 16.6% 31.0%March 761 938 1248 23.3% 33.0%April 627 780 943 24.4% 20.9%May 517 617 711 19.3% 15.2%June 564 691 796 22.5% 15.2%July 645 848 904 31.5% 6.6%August 582 760 845 30.6% 11.2%September 569 640 689 12.5% 7.7%October 746 959 873 28.6% -9.0%November 843 1149 1005 36.3% -12.5%December 1032 1287 1046 24.7% -18.7%Total 8634 10729 11747 24.3% 9.5%

28

In December, India saw 5.22 lakh FTAs, marginally higher than the 5.21 lakh FTAs in November. While theforeign exchange earnings (FEE) of India from tourism for 2008 stood at Rs 50,730 crore, growing over14.3% over Rs 44,360 crore in 2007, the FEE for December was Rs. 5,083 crore, as against Rs. 4,935 crore theprevious month and Rs. 5,079 crore in December, 2007.

However in the year that India felt the impact of the global economic slowdown as well as terror attacksreflecting in cancellations in corporate as well as leisure travel, the number of foreign tourist arrivals or FTAsfor 2008 was 5.37 million, around 5.7% higher as compared to 5.08 million the previous year, according todata received from major airports in India and released by the government.

In an effort to boost the confidence of visitors and tourists after the Mumbai attacks, the Union Ministry ofTourism, India launched a new scheme ‘Visit India 2009’ offering various incentives to foreign tourists andtourism industry. These value addition services will be offered to tourists visiting the country during theperiod April 2009 – March 2010. The proposed incentives would offer one complimentary international airpassage for travelling companion, one night complimentary stay in the hotel booked by the traveller,complimentary sightseeing in any one city of their choice and a complimentary rural eco holiday. The idea isto provide one additional service for every service paid for, by the tourists with the help of top airlines andorganizations like Hotel Association of India (HAI) and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).

All three major airlines of the country — Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher —have joined this endeavour ofthe government by providing the additional air passage for travelling companions. Furthermore, all memberhotels of the HAI will be offering the service of complimentary night stay in the hotel booked by the tourist.Members of the IATO, an organization recognized by the MoT, will offer one complimentary local sightseeingtour in any one of the cities visited by the tourist. The Department of Tourism also has plans to organize roadshows in countries like Singapore, Canada, UK, Japan and Australia, in joint venture with the IATO. The ongoingyear will see a rise in the advertisements and marketing through trade fairs and exhibitions to draw theattention of foreign tourists from across the world.



TABLE 4. Important Facts about Tourism - 2008

Chapter 3

(I) India

• No. of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India 5.37 Million (P)Annual Growth Rate 5.6%

• No. of Indian National Departures from India 10.65 Million (P)Annual Growth Rate 8.8%

• No. of Domestic Tourist Visits to all States/UTs 562.92 Million (P)Annual Growth Rate 6.9%

• Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism

i) In INR terms Rs. 50730 Crore (P)Annual Growth Rate 14.4%

ii) In US $ terms US $ 11.75 Billion (P)Annual Growth Rate 9.5%

(II) World

• No. of International Tourist Arrivals 922 Million (P)Annual Growth Rate 1.9%

• International Tourism Receipts US$ 944.0 Billion (P)Annual Growth Rate 10.2%

(III) Asia & the Pacific Region

• No. of International Tourist Arrivals 184.1 Million (P)Annual Growth Rate 1.2%

• International Tourism Receipts US$ 207.6 Billion (P)Annual Growth Rate 11.0%

(IV) India’s Position in World

• Share of India in International Tourist Arrivals 0.58%

• India’s rank in World Tourist Arrivals 41

• Share of India in International Tourism Receipts 1.24%

• India’s rank in World Tourism Receipts 23

(V) India’s Position in Aisa & the Pacific Region

• Share of India in International Tourist Arrivals 2.92%

• India’s rank in International Tourist Arrivals 11

• Share of India in International Tourism Receipts 5.66%

• India’s rank in International Tourism Receipts 6

P: Provisional

30


India Outbound Tourism

India’s outbound travel market is small relative both to the country’s potential and to that of other largegenerating countries in the region. It has nevertheless created great interest both among the travel trade inIndia and in destinations overseas in view of the recent strength of the country’s economic performance, theexpanding middle class and the potential anticipated in a country with such a large population coupled withthe relative immaturity of its travel market.

With over 32 million valid passports, India outbound market is basically spread over four regions:

34% Mumbai Financial capital33% New Delhi Political capital23% Chennai/Bangalore ITES / Emerging gateways10% Kolkata Resurgent economy

Over 8 million Indian Travellers travel overseas every year and this market is expected to grow by 10-15%every year. By 2011 Indian outbound travel is expected to be 15.3 million.

Over 60% of Indians travel overseas for Business and 40% travel for leisure. With Nepal offering business aswell leisure options for the Indian traveller, this is indeed a very interesting market for Nepal.

TABLE 5. Number of Indian National Departure from India 1996-2008

P: ProvisionalSource :- Bureau of Immigration ,Govt of India.

Year No. of Indian Nationals Departures Percentage (%) change over(in Million) from India the previous year

1996 3.46 13.3

1997 3.73 7.6

1998 3.81 2.3

1999 4.11 8.0

2000 4.42 7.3

2001 4.56 3.4

2002 4.94 8.2

2003 5.35 8.3

2004 6.21 16.1

2005 7.18 15.6

2006 8.34 16.1

2007 9.78 17.3

2008 (P) 10.65 8.8


Preferred Outbound Options

Indians traditionally prefer to travel Far East and major short haul destinations are as follows:

Destination Travellers (2007) GrowthSingapore 748,726 + 14%Malaysia 422,452 + 56%Thailand 506,237 + 18%China 462,450 + 14%Dubai 410,821 + 6%Hong Kong 317,510 + 8%

Major long haul destinations include, USA (567,045), UK (337,000) and Australia (95,200) .These are essentiallybusiness and Visiting Friends and Relatives destinations.

In 2008, India outbound tourism grew by 13% and there is an increasing preference towards Europe whichgrew by 25%. The Americas, on the other hand, attracted only a modest 2% increase out of India.

FIGURE 4. Number of Indian National Departures from India, 1996-2008

Source :- Bureau of Immigration ,Govt of India.

Chapter 3

No.

of I

ndia

n N

atio

nal D

epar

ture

s (in

Mill

ion)

from

Indi

a 12

10

8

6

4

2

0

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

YEAR

32

TABLE 6. Destination-wise Indian Nationals Outbound Travel, 2000-2006


Country of Destination No. of Outbound Indian Nationals

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

North AmericaCanada 52071 54742 5549 57010 66315 77849 87210USA 274202 269674 257271 272161 308845 344926 408845

Central & South America

Barbados 329 403 433 973 584 644 629Cambodia 1767 2271 3785 5286 6597 6938 8690Colombia N.A. 913 960 917 1161 1348 1649chile 1376 1207 1296 1647 3148 3474 3499Cuba 2703 2830 2995 4174 2717 3783 3437Honduras 115 117 163 207 221 278 343Jamaioa 670 731 530 643 554 484 600*Nicaragua 432 414 423 1153 304 1347 N.A.Peru N.A. 714 841 958 984 1355 1462Trinidad & Tobago 818 1022 962 931 1188 1465 2199

Wesetern Europe

Belgium 12528 12958 22956 17453 19479 19572 21683Finland N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. 4000 5000 8000Italy 60589 49131 85839 48807 77134 59058 116951Portugal 3970 4114 4970 5086 5447 5498 N.A.Switzerland 71912 72291 80430 84685 N.A. 93472 115055UK 206000 189000 205000 199000 255000 269000 368745

Eastern Europe

Armenia 124 351 470 780 1380 1987 2340Bulgaria 3015 2647 2099 2361 2361 2766 3187Georgia N.A. 1590 1661 2200 2853 1335 3066Hungary 6254 6044 4695 4331 6523 6417 6903Kazakistan 2147 3633 4217 4809 5888 6180 7197Kyrgyzstan 452 358 1590 3171 2080 1211 1030Latayia 167 1153 959 1059 861 832 1450Moklova, Rep. of 24 25 6 12 10 30 6Poland N.A. 5015 5259 6092 7875 8702 9893Russia 23476 27576 33546 32954 36755 42184 45795Romania N.A. 3529 4773 4024 5864 6033 6632Slovakia 1117 1515 1437 1305 384 603 443Turkmenistan N.A. 3 96 24 55 1 N.A.Ukraina 3301 2622 4103 6249 5240 5918 6169Africa 561 582 653 N.A. N.A. 1642 1852Botswana 1764 1827 3421 1476 1691 N.A. N.A.

Egypt 34277 28498 31834 34941 45313 54141 61301


Chapter 3

Source: Bureau of Immigration, Govt of India

Country of Destination No. of Outbound Indian Nationals

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Eritrea 582 2231 2549 2580 2420 2985 2895Ethiopia 3480 3244 3778 3602 4641 7125 7975Guinea 284 N.A. N.A. 463 677 900 20769Kenya 24889 23858 24007 27479 N.A. N.A. N.A.Mauritius 17241 18890 20898 25367 24716 29755 37498Moroco N.A. 2873 3450 3145 3798 4577 4950Nigeria 14686 15233 17899 21031 24711 25946 28741Seychelles 941 1952 1271 893 1312 981 1132South Africa 27810 29598 35402 42954 36069 39906 49674Tanzania, 18844 24066 21973 22215 14604 17598 13020United Republic of Uganda N.A. 4588 5708 6623 9366 10691 11829Zambia 2353 2531 2907 2863 4059 8658 12658

West Asia

Bahrain 213509 247358 312975 350998 418767 466849 590198Israel 15947 12012 9330 8431 12743 19018 20233Jordan N.A. 15152 29882 17125 25108 27651 28640Kuwait 225642 270619 314054 363724 413109 N.A. N.A.Lebnon 7224 7276 8565 9603 11240 11111 10079Oman 62313 61891 72090 83065 136456 116376 110841Syria 10685 10688 16689 9680 11936 11875 9830Saudi Arabia N.A. 313131 373836 362609 474467 117101 345431Turkey N.A. 9230 10122 13667 20003 26480 35379United Arab Emirates 235493 246335 336046 357941 356446 N.A. N.A.

Sourth Asia

Bangladesh 74268 78090 80415 84704 80469 86231 80518Maldives 10616 8511 11377 11502 10999 10280 12071Nepal 96995 69722 65749 88578 89961 95685 88857Pakistan 66061 58378 2818 7096 19858 59560 70174Sri Lanka 31660 33924 69960 90603 105151 113323 126370South East AsiaCambodia 1767 2271 3785 5286 6597 6938 8690Indonesia 34221 37428 39314 32823 41582 58359 94258Lao Peo. Dem. Rep. 3309 2693 2319 1590 1845 2096 2100Malaysia 132127 143513 183360 145153 172966 225769 279046Myanmar 5605 5572 5691 6291 8357 7679 7540Phillippines 18570 15391 14826 15644 18221 21034 22703Singapore 346358 339813 375659 309446 471196 583543 658893Thailand 224104 206132 253110 230316 300163 352766 429732

East Asia

China (Main) 120930 159361 213611 219097 309411 356460 405091Hong Kong 131368 161762 193705 178130 244364 273487 294079Japan 38767 40346 45394 47620 53000 58572 62605Macau 7530 8659 10574 9820 15278 20846 28903

Mongolia 337 408 347 403 557 420 672

34

Indian Outbound Travel Key Features

1. Indian leisure traffic peaks in holiday season which is as follows:

April 15–June 30 School HolidaysLate October-Early November (Diwali, Hindu Festival, 5 Days)December-January (Christmas and New Year Holiday)

2. Indian Corporate travel is consistent year round, accompanied with leisure travel with associates and/orfamily

3. India has a very strong VFR market. Significant number of students participating in advance educationprograms (80,000 students) further stimulating VFR market

4. Indian FIT is fastest growing market5. Group travellers primarily made up of first time travellers and seniors6. Honeymoon market peaks November/ December and February/March7. MICE travel is strong, but primarily benefits short haul travel sectors

Preferred Activities for Indian Outbound Traveller

1. Shopping2. Food (Strong preference for Indian food)3. Entertainment4. Nightlife5. Sightseeing



Domestic Tourism in India

Domestic Tourism is an important part of Indian Tourism and is expected to be over 500 million. The 11th Planstrategy on tourism is to achieve International tourist arrivals of 10 million by the end of the 11th Plan throughdiversification of source markets increase per capita spending and length of stay of international visitors andby reducing seasonality. The Plan also proposes to achieve a level of 760 million domestic tourists by 2011 atan annual growth rate of 12% and to increase accommodation units. (Planning Commission of India, 2006)

Domestic tourism is also one of the most vibrant expressions of Indian heritage. It is the single unifying force,which helps in achieving understanding between various linguistic, religious and communal groups living indifferent parts of the country. In the contemporary India, the phenomenon of domestic tourism with itsvibrant and changing dimensions can be expected to make an even greater contribution toward strengtheningthe fabric of the unity of India.

Despite its great significance in the national integration and development, domestic tourism has not receivedadequate attention in the process of development planning. However, there has been the almost unobtrusiveand yet inexorable rise of domestic tourism in the Indian context.

The average Indian is also an avid sightseer and can travel thousands of miles to different environments. Asignificant pointer to this is travel during the summer months, a time when most foreign tourists avoid India.The bulk of the affluent middle class, however, flock to the tourist stations of the Himalayas and test thecarrying capacity of these resorts to the maximum. Even in winter, the Indian traveller is on the move, targetingseaside resorts, forests sanctuaries, desert safaris and historical monuments for special attention. Domestictourism is also fuelled by business travel to various parts of the country, as also by agriculture demands.

Domestic tourism is as old as the Indian society. According to available statistics, domestic tourism has grownsubstantially during the last one decade. It increased to 167 million in 1998 from just 64 million in 1990, thusregistering a compound annual growth of 12.8 per cent. The growth of inbound tourism since Independencehas been quite impressive. It was just around 17 thousand in 1951. From this level it rose to 2.36 million in1998. Tourism receipts on the other hand have grown at a phenomenal rate of 17 per cent to Rs.11,540 crorein 1998 from Rs.7.7 crore in 1951.

Travel and tourism in India experienced another year of encouraging development in 2007. There wasimpressive growth in the number of domestic trips taken as well as in the number of arrivals and departuresowing in part to aggressive international advertising and promotion through the Incredible India! Campaign.Both the central government and state governments have been pro-active in terms of marketing in order toshowcase their various tourism products. Furthermore, niches categories such as medical tourism andadventure tourism proved popular in 2007, which combined with improvements to infrastructure and thecontinued popularity of low cost carriers among other things, helped to boost travel and tourism in India.

Domestic Tourism Surges Ahead

Gone are the days when domestic tourism in India was synonymous with pilgrimages or visits to friends andrelatives. Driven by rising incomes, an increased standard of living and improved land, rail and air transportation,more people in 2007 went on domestic trips. Also, with improved information technology reaching all corners

Chapter 4

36

of the country, people have begun to take domestic trips more frequently. The Indian Railways haveplayed a vital role in providing better connectivity as has the government’s pitomizedn and open skiespolicy, which led to the introduction of low cost carriers and which thus made domestic air travel affordableto a greater number of domestic tourists.

Low Cost Carriers Continue to Gain in Strength

A low cost airline or carrier is one that proffers air travel at normally very low rates by cutting down onexpensive customary in-flight passenger services. These low cost carriers are often also referred to as no-frillsairlines. The concept originally incepted in the United States in the early 1990s. While Richard Branson ofVirgin Airlines was the forerunner in Britain, Qantas occupied a huge portion of the Australian budget skies. It was in a matter of sometime before the Indian airline industry too caught up on this trend. It was the AirDeccan, which introduced the budget flight model to Indian skies in 2003. The development of low costcarriers has resulted in an incredible amount of choice for Indian travelers and has enabled many more middle-income consumers to afford to fly for business as well as leisure purposes. With the air fare almost reduced to that of train fare, the inception of no-frills airlines unleashed a fierce cut-throat competition in the Indian aviation scenario like never before. In order to grab a bigger pie in thesuddenly escalating numbers of train commuters turning towards air travel, all leading domestic airlines slashedtheir fare rates and unveiled Advanced Purchase schemes (Apex) to take on the new challenger.

The present list of low cost airlines in India includes Spice Jet, Go Air, Indigo, Jet Lite, and Air India Express.Since the Indian air industry still remains largely under-penetrated, there’s a lot of scope for the growth inthis sector. The budget carriers keep coming up with new ideas and incentives to grow their customer base.The budget airline industry in India is expected to grow significantly in coming years.

Boom in Travel and Tourism has Wide-reaching Effects

Various categories of travel and tourism have benefited from the boom in travel and tourism in India. Playersin hotels have experienced high rates of occupancy and room rates have increased in all categories of hotels.In travel retail, travel agents have benefited from demand for new travel packages and new products as wellas new destinations among increasingly demanding domestic tourists. New opportunities have also arisen tooffer niche tourism products such as adventure tourism and spa tourism packages.

Indian Travel Trade

Indian Travel Trade is mainly unorganized and no license is required for this sector. Over 7000 Travel agentsare spread all over India and over 50 tour operators mainly create packages. The travel trade in India remainsreactive and last minute. Most travel agents in India are only ticketing agents focussing on the lower end ofthe market.

The top 10 agents of most airlines are consolidators, operating on high volume and low margins through anetwork of sub-agents. There are about 30 wholesalers but their primary focus tends to be closed groups forEurope. The emergence of agencies servicing the individual traveller for their travel-related services is arelatively new phenomenon, though some incentive and business agents control the bulk of the market.

Domestic Tourismin IndiaChapter 4


Leading Travel Agents Leading Online PortalsThomas Cook TravelguruKuoni /SOTC Make My TripCox & Kings EzeegoTUI / Select Vacations YatraTravel Corporation of India CleartripKesari / Strawberri TravelRaj TravelsClub7OrbitzMercury

Consumer Booking Patterns

• Indian consumers have a short lead-time for booking their holidays ranging from three to six weeks onaverage.

• Whilst the Indians are seasoned travellers they still prefer to pre-plan their itineraries prior to travel.• Most consumers will book through a retail travel agent rather than direct.• The Internet is an emerging source for sales of tour packages but is still very small to date. There has

been an increase in the usage of the Internet to research and gather information for travel – a trend thatis expected to continue. Latest figures indicate that India as on September 2008 had 45.3 million activeinternet users. (IAMAI, 2009).However most of that usage is emails or bookings for low cost carriers orrail tickets.

• The distribution of travel product in India is fragmented and predominantly retail based. There are a fewnational companies, however most agents are small, independent businesses.

• Competition between the larger travel agencies is fierce, with aggressive marketing and tactical promotionsin print media. Examples include ‘buy now, pay later’ promotions or ‘cash back’ schemes.

• The traditional wholesaler has not generally developed in the Indian travel industry, although a few largertravel agents are pursuing the development of their own distribution network via smaller independentagents. However, there is at least one major traditional wholesaler with significant support from thesmaller retail agents.

• Large travel agencies take reservations from consumers through their own retail networks as well asfrom smaller agencies.

Wholesalers/Large AgentsCommission Level: 15 %

Retail AgentsCommission Level: 10%

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38

Current Trends and Information on Key Domestic Destinations

India is a vast country with over 1,000 million inhabitants. It contains a huge diversity of peoples, cultures,regions, economic characteristics and areas of prosperity and poverty.

India’s domestic tourism is a huge market in itself and offers myriad exciting experiences to tourists. Indiantourism is one of the most diverse products on the global scene. India has 26 world heritage sites. It is dividedinto 25 bio-geographic zones and has wide ranging eco tourism products. Apart from this India has a 6,000 kmcoastline and dozens of beaches. India’s great ethnic diversity translates into a wide variety of cuisine andculture. India also has a large number of villages, plantations and adventure locations. India is home to a greatvariety of wildlife and its reserves are well known throughout the world.

Tourism industry in India is being utilized as a powerful tool to facilitate county understanding and enablebuilding of broader cultural horizons. According to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 broughtout by World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia-Pacific region and 62nd overall in a list of 133assessed countries in 2008, up three places since 2007. In terms of travel, India stands 9th in the index ofrelative cost of access (ticket taxes and airport charges) to international air transport services, having almostthe lowest costs in the world.

Also according to the report, India has been rated well for its natural resources (ranked 14th) and culturalresources (24th), with many World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creativeindustries in the country. India also has quite a good air transport network (ranked 37th), particularly given thecountry’s stage of development, and a reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 49th). India is ranked7th in terms of number of World Heritage Cultural Sites, according to a UNESCO report (2008).The WorldTravel and Tourism Report for 2009 for 180 countries worldwide also ranks the Indian Travel and Tourismeconomy 14th in absolute size worldwide, 144th in relative contribution to national economies and 5th in long-term (10-year) growth.

The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to be 0.2 per cent in2009 and to an average 7.7 per cent per annum over the coming 10 years. Export earnings from internationalvisitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 6.0 per cent of total exports (almost US$ 16.9 billion) in2009, growing (nominal terms) to US$ 51.4 billion in 2019.

The contribution of travel and tourism to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at 6.0 percent (US$ 67.3 billion) in 2009 rising to US$ 187.3 billion by 2019. It is clear that domestic tourism is fargreater in volume than foreign tourism. It is from domestic tourism that the larger impact on India’s economyis thus likely to be derived. Statistical measures of domestic travel indicate that, in 2006, there were 462million arrivals recorded in states within India by Indian nationals and by 2008 it rose to over 562 millionarrivals. (World Economic Forum 2009)



Chapter 4

TABLE 7. Number of Domestic Tourist Visits to all States/UTs in India, 1996-2008

Source – Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

No.

of D

omes

tic T

ouri

sts

Visi

ts t

o St

ates

/UTs

(in

Mill

ion) 600

500

400

300

200

100

0

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

YEAR

Year No. of Indian Nationals Departures Percentage (%) change over(in Million) from India the previous year

1996 140.12 2.5

1997 159.88 14.1

1998 168.20 5.2

1999 190.67 13.4

2000 220.11 15.4

2001 236.47 7.4

2002 269.60 14.0

2003 309.04 14.6

2004 366.27 18.5

2005 391.95 7.0

2006 462.31 18.0

2007 526.56 13.9

2008 (P) 562.92 6.9

P : ProvisionalNote: Fitures for Maharashtra & Chhattisgarh have been estimatedSource : State/ UT Tourism Departments

FIGURE 5. Number of Domestic Tourist Visits to all States/UTs in India, 1996-2008

40


Source: Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India

S.N. State/UT 2005 2006 2007

Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign

1. Andhra Pradesh 93529554 560024 111715376 669617 127933333 769724

2. Arunanchal Pradesh 50560 313 80137 706 91100 2212

3. Assam 2467652 10782 3268657 11151 3436833 12899

4. Andaman & 30225 2147 118580 9045 136015 10975Nicobar Islands

5. Bihar 9687220 63321 7774732 84942 10352887 177362

6. Chandigrah 614176 23284 704531 25217 928159 26567

7. Chhattisgarh* 324495 912 363759 1094 414322 1232

8. Dadara & Nagar 526142 1226 478000 1400 473489 5625

Haveli

9. Daman & Diu 394914 6164 420628 5517 446490 5315

10. Delhi 2061782 1511893 2237130 1974836 2388330 2018848

TABLE 8. State/UT Domestic and Foreign Tourist Visits, 2005-2007


Chapter 4

Source – Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India

TABLE 9. Percentage Shares and Ranks of Different States/UTs in Domestic and Foreign Tourist Visits during 2007

S.N. State/UT Tourism Visits (Numbers) Percentage Share

Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign

1. Andhra Pradesh 127933333 769724 24.3 5.8

2. Arunanchal Pradesh 91100 2212 Neg. Neg.

3. Assam 3436933 12899 0.7 0.1

4. Andaman & Nicobar Islands 136015 10975 Neg. 0.1

5. Bihar 10352887 177362 2.0 1.3

6. Chandigarh 928159 26567 0.2 0.2

7. Chhattisgarh * 414322 1232 0.1 Neg.

8. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 473489 5625 0.1 0.1

9. Daman & Diu 446490 5315 0.1 0.1

10. Delhi 2388390 2018848 0.4 15.3

11. Goa 2208986 388457 0.4 2.9

12. Gujarat 18477316 104158 2.6 0.8

13. Haryana 6252945 84711 1.2 0.5

14. Himanchal Pradesh 8481988 339409 1.6 2.6

15. Jammu & Kashmir 7915217 52754 1.5 0.4

16. Jharkhand 4908394 4004 0.9 Neg.

17. Karnataka 37825953 534563 7.2 4.0

18. Kerala 6642941 515808 1.3 3.9

19. Lakshadweep 18642 2933 Neg. Neg.

20. Madhya Pradesh 18894500 234204 2.6 1.8

21. Maharashtra * 19226716 1928052 3.6 14.6

22. Manipur 101484 396 Neg. Neg.

23. Meghalaya 457685 5267 0.1 Neg.

24. Mizoram 43161 669 Neg. Neg.

25. Nagaland 22085 936 Neg. Neg.

26. Orissa 5944390 41880 1.1 0.3

27. Punjab 368593 5470 0.1 0.1

42

Domestic Tourism Profile

As per the study conducted for MoT & Culture, Indian Domestic Tourism can be profiled as follows:

• Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the five highest rankedstates in terms of share in total tourist households in the country.

• Top five states with respect to number of tourist households per 1000 households are Delhi, Rajasthan,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.

• Karnataka has the highest percentage of Business Travel and Leisure Holiday trips, and Uttar Pradeshranks first in the social and other trips categories.

• Top five states ranked according to trips per 1000 tourist households are Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka,Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

• Middle-income households represent the highest percent of trips in each category of travel by purposeas well as for all trips taken together.

• The major mode of transport for tourist trips in the country is by bus, representing at least 70 percent ofall trips across all purposes of travel. Together bus and train account for at least 90 percent of trips ineach category of travel.

• Middle income households constituted over 45% of the total tourist households at the aggregate level.• Average number of trips per household in the country was 1.17 and average number of trips per tourist

household was 2.64.• Travel for social purposes accounted for the largest percentage of trips in both urban and rural areas.• Social travel is relatively uniformly distributed regionally across the country.• Regional distribution of trips shows the Southern region as dominant in accounting for most types of

trips classified by purpose of travel, followed by the northern region. (National Council for AppliedEconomic Research (NCAER) ,2003)

Where Indians Travel

The top 5 States in domestic tourist visits in 2008 were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthanand Madhya Pradesh with their respective shares being 23.6 %, 22.2%, 17.5%, 5% and 3.9%. These 5 Statesaccounted for about 72.2% of the total domestic tourist visits in the country. In respect of foreign tourist visitsin 2007, the top 5 States/Uts were Delhi (15.3%), Maharashtra (14.6%), Tamil Nadu (13.3%) Uttar Pradesh(11.3%) and Rajasthan (10.6%), with the total share of these States/Uts being 65.1%.(MoT India.2008)



Chapter 4

FIGURE 6. Percentage Share of Top 10 States/UTs in Domestic Tourist Visits in 2008



TABLE 10. Share of Top 10 States/UTs of India inNumber of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2008

Domestic Touris Visits * in 2008

Rank State/UT Number Percentage Share %

1. Andhra Pradesh 132684905 23.62. Uttar Pradesh 124843242 22.23. Tamil Nadu 98285121 17.54. Rajasthan 28358919 5.05. Madhya Pradesh 22088927 3.96. Maharashtra 20553359 3.77. Uttarakhand 20546323 3.68. West Bengal 19314440 3.49. Gujarat 15505264 2.810. Karnataka 12797937 2.3

Total of top 10 States 494978437 88.0Others 67937132 12.0Total 562915569 100.0

* ProvisionalNote : Figures for Maharashtra & Chhattisgarh have been estimatedSource : State/UT Tourism Departments

44

Most Popular Indian Monuments

Taj Mahal in Agra is the most popular monument in India, attracting over 3 million visitors a year. Taj Mahalwas visited by an estimated 2 .6 Million domestic tourists in 2007.

The 17th century Red Fort in Delhi was the second most visited monument in the country and 2.2 milliontourists visited Red Fort in Delhi.

The Qutub Minar, known as the tallest brick minaret in the world built here in the 14th century, is the thirdmost preferred monument among domestic tourists. An estimated 2 million domestic tourists visited it in2007.

Among the 10 other most famous monuments popular with domestic tourists Purana Quila (Delhi), Bibi-Ka-Maqbara (Maharashtra) and Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu) etc.


Source : Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

TABLE 11. Domestics and Foreign Visitors at 10 Most Popular CentrallyProtected Ticketed ASI Monuments during 2007

10 Most popular centrally protected 10 most popular centrally protectedMonuments for domestic visitors Monuments for foreign visitorsin 2007 in 2007

Rank Name of Monuments No. of Rank Name of Monuments No. ofDomestic Visitors Foreign Visitors

1. Taj Mahal, Agra 2624085 1. Taj Mahal, Agra 5861052. Red Fort, Delhi 2060420 2. Agra Fort, Agra 3575703. Qutab Minar, Delhi 2019453 3. Qutab Minar, Delhi 2824514. Sun Temple, Konark 1347483 4. Humayun,s Tomb, Delhi 2103845. Agra Fort, Agra 1177133 5. Fatehpur Sikri, Agra 1989566. Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, 878152 6. Red Fort, Delhi 1585897. Group of monuments, 802000 7. Sarnath Excavated Site 910938. Gol- Gumbaz, Bijapur 776491 8. Western Group of 84887

Monuments, Khajuraho9. Daria Daulat Bagh, 682933 9. Group of monuments, 71055

Srirangapatnam Mamallapuram, Chennai10. Purana Qila 590801 10. Sahet Shravasti 54968

Monument of Shravasti


Top Indian Destinations

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is the third largest state in India with an area of 275,000 sq. km. A state in the southernregion of India, Andhra Pradesh is bordered on the south by Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Karnataka state,on the north and northwest by Maharashtra state, on the northeast by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa states,and on the east by the Bay of Bengal. The northern area of Andhra Pradesh is mountainous. Andhra Pradeshhas valuable gifts that nature has endowed it with — a long coastline bordered by clean beaches, hills, forestsand a meteorologically and socially pleasant climate.

Tirupati

Tirupati is the most popular destination in India. Tirupati is a world in itself, millions of pilgrims from all overIndia and abroad visit the temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati round the year. In addition to variousshrines scattered all over Tirupati and beyond there are holy water falls, scared rivers and archaeologicalwonders. It is regarded as one of the most ancient temples which were mentioned in Puranas and Sastras.The temple is patronized by the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Rulers and the later kings of Mysore.Hastakalaramam Papanasanam, Akasganga, Gogarbham, Shilathoranam, View Point, S.V. Museum are theother places worth seeing at Tirumala. Kapilatheetham, Hare Rama Hare Krishna Mandir, Regional ScienceCentre, S.V.Zoological Park, Srinivasa Mangapuram, Kalyani Dam, Chandragiri Fort, Tiruchanur, GovindarajaSwamy Temple are the other places worth seeing in and around Tirupathi

Hyderabad

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is the fifth largest cosmopolitan city in India. The City thrives with avariety of cultures intermingled into an astounding culture that gives it a distinct identity of its own. This iswhere tradition fuses with modernity, and heritage structures vie with modern high-rise buildings to add to thebeauty of the city. Hyderabad offers a variety of tourist attractions ranging from Heritage monuments, Lakes andParks, Gardens and Resorts, Museums to delectable cuisine and a delightful shopping experience. The city ofHyderabad is a shopper’s delight. From the world famous pearls to traditional arts & crafts, from textiles of allmodern brand names to ethnic wear, the city offers an astounding variety of shopping. Hyderabad is famousworld over for its fabulous diamond markets, glass embedded bangles and the delectable “Hyderabadi Cuisine”.

MICE Industry

Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh is home to world-class convention centers of all varieties. It hasthe perfect balance between large centers, which can accommodate thousands of participants and small andmedium-size meeting rooms for small scale gatherings. The fact that these convention centers are easilyaccessible from five star hotels as well as shopping centers, resorts and theme parks, is an added appeal, as itallows participants to mix business with pleasure.

Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) is South Asia’s first truly world class convention centrelocated in Hyderabad- the burgeoning business hub of India, This first ever purpose built facility in the countryhas been conceptualized, designed and created to hold events for people between 50 and 5000. HICC offersstate-of-the-art facilities that are comparable to the world’s best convention centers across the globe. Builtacross a 15-acre landscaped environment, HICC has an internal hall measuring 6,480 square meters that canbe partitioned into six smaller halls. HICC offers to be an ideal venue for a host of events – conventions,conferences, seminars, entertainment shows, parties, weddings, etc. to name a few.

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HITEX

HITEX serves as a one-stop resource, providing the right setting for international expositions, trade shows,conferences and other corporate events. HITEX provides, three indoor Exhibition Halls – 3500 sq.m. (37,660sq.ft./hall) Open Exhibition Area – 32,825 sq.m (353,197 sq.ft ) Trade Fair Office Building, Entrance Plaza(housing Registration and Ticketing Counters), Car Parking (1200 cars), Conference Facilities include meetingrooms, organizer’s office, VIP lounge, media centre and also houses services including a business centre, arestaurant, travel and forex centre, bank ATM, car rentals, florist, photo studio, and more.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of Tourist destinations that are religious, cultural, historical and full ofnatural beauty.

There are several Tourist circuits which are popular for Domestic Tourism:• Buddhist Circuit • Water Cruise Circuit• Bundelkhand Circuit • Jain Shrines Circuit• Braj (Agra-Mathura) Circuit • Sikh Panth Circuit• Awadh Circuit • Eco-Tourism Circuit• Vindhya Circuit

Most popular tourist places in Uttar Pradesh are:• Agra• Varanasi• Mathura Vrindawan

Agra

Taj Mahal was completed in 1653 A.D.. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final restingplace for his favourite Queen, Mumtaz. Finished in by Marble, it is perhaps India most fascinating and beautifulmonument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labor and 20,000 workers,Masons and Jewelers to built and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa,The Taj Mahal the bank of the Yamuna river. It can be observed like a Mirage from the Agra Fort from whereEmperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb. The fort iscrescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing the river.

It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as anillusion experienced as one enters through the main gate.

The verses of Holy Koran as inscribed on it and at the top of gate 22 small domes, signifying the number ofyears the monument took to built. The Taj Mahal has been built on a Marvel Platform that stands above astandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with diameter of 60 feets, rises 80 feets, over the buildingand directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan’s tomb has been erected next to her’sby his son Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate and interiors.



Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri is an epic in red sandstone. A city of yesteryear today lost in the mists of time. FatehpurSikri was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar during 1564 A.D. Mughal Emperor Akbar had no heir. Hevisited holy men to enlist their prayers for his son. When he visited Sheikh Salim Chishti who was living atthe village of Sikri the saint foretold the emperor that he would be blessed with a son. When his son wasborn, he is gratitude, constructed his capital city and named it Fatehpur Sikri. Later, due to shortage ofwater and unrest in North-West, Akbar has to abandon this city. The beautiful marvel tomb of SheikhSalim Chishti still attracts thousands who seek blessings of the revered saint. Other renowned places areDewane-e-Am, Dewane-e-Khaas, Buland Darwaja, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai Palace and Birbal Bhawan.Fatehpur Sikri is about 39 K.M. from Agra.

Varanasi

Varanasi, situated in the mid northern plains of India on the banks of holy river Ganga, has been the capitalcity of oriental learning since time immemorial and has produced great poets, writers, musicians and scholars.Varanasi, is one of the oldest living cities in the world. This is holy city for Hindus as it is said to be presidedover by Lord Shiva. The famous Vishwanath temple is located at its central place and large numbers of othertemples are spread all over the city. Varanasi is famous for its hoary rich traditions, narrow lanes, culturalactivities, magnificent temples, enchanting ghats, and many other attractions. Apart from being an importantcentre of Hinduism and Buddhism, it is also an important centre of learning and tourism. Varanasi is famousfor silk fabrics, perfumes, artistic brass and copper wares.

Sarnath

Sarnath renowned for ancient remains of Buddhist stupas, monasteries and temples, is situated at a distanceof 6 kms to the north of Varanasi city which is well connected by road, rail & air. Sarnath is one of the fourmost important Buddhist pilgrimage centers of India. Buddha, the great sage , after attaining enlightenment(Buddha-hood) at Bodh Gaya came to Sarnath and delivered his first sermon to five disciples(i.e. Kaundinya,Bashpa, Bhadrika, Mahanaman and Ashvajit) for redeeming humanity. It is this place where foundation of anew order of monks (Sangha) and a new order of religion doctrine (Dhamma) was laid. Sarnath is also sacredto the Jains because they look upon it as the site of asceticism and death of Shreyamshanath, the 11th

Trithankara.

Mathura Vrindavan

The City of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh, the nucleus of Brajbhoomi, is located at a distance of 145 km south-east of Delhi and 58 km north-west of Agra. Covering an area of about 3,800 sq. km., today, Brajbhoomi canbe divided into two distinct units – the eastern part in the trans-Yamuna tract with places like Gokul, Mahavan,Baldeo, Mat and Bajna and the western side of the Yamuna covering the Mathura region that encompassesVrindavan, Govardhan, Kusum Sarovar, Barsana and Nandgaon. The land of Braj starts from Kotban nearHodel about 95 km from Delhi and ends at Runakuta which is known specially for its association with the poetSurdas, an ardent Krishna devotee.

Shri Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born in the Dwapara Yuga as the eighth son of the Yadavaprince Vasudev and his wife Devaki. To save him from the murderous intentions of his maternal uncle Kansa,the ruler of Mathura, the infant Krishna was spirited away soon after birth to Gokul, the village of thegopas (cowherds) in Braj (their pastureland). It was here that he grew to manhood, in the tender care ofhis foster parents Nand and Yashoda in the happy company of the cowherds.

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Vrindavan

Vrindavan, just 15 km from Mathura, is another major place of pilgrimage. It is noted for its numeroustemples – both old and modern. The name Vrindavan evokes the playfulness and lovable characteristicsof Shri Krishna. This is the wood where he frolicked with the gopis and tenderly wooed Radha. Vrindavantoday, is noted for its numerous temples. It is understood that Mathura City is the transcendental abodeof Lord Krishna. It is not an ordinary material city, for it is eternally connected with the Supreme Personalityof Godhead. Vrindavan is within the jurisdiction of Mathura and still continues to exist. Because Mathuraand Vrindavan are intimately connected with Krishna eternally.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is the land of the Tamils and it has a history that dates back to several thousand years. It is a landwhere traditions and culture blend and continue to live in harmony. The state abounds in monuments andtemples that are ancient and each has its own story of religious, artistic and cultural accomplishment .TamilNadu has a long coastline that stretches nearly a 1000 kms. The Coromandel Coast, along the Bay of Bengal,boasts of many ideal locations for sun and surf. Golden sands of the beach are dotted with coconut palm andpitomized groves. The sea washes ashore pebbles and shells and the gentle breeze sways the yachts andcatamarans into the deeper waters of the sea and the waters form small dunes on the shore Sea gulls hoverin the sky and then rest on the sails of the fishing boats. There are many more breathtaking sights that willplease you and hold you spell bound in Tamil Nadu.

Chennai

This metropolis is often called the cultural capital of India for its deep-rooted traditions and long heritage.Chennai is a city younger than its image. More than any other city in India, it is a true reflection of thiscountry’s diversity. In a time span of just over 350 years, Chennai has blossomed into a charming city that hasa large heart and is very welcoming. It is city that encourages all forms of development, both modern technologyand the traditional arts and crafts, and it embraces a series of paradoxes. In 1639 Francis Day and AndrewCogan, agents for the English East India Company, acquired a strip of land on lease from the Vijayanagar King.They built the Fort St.George, which remains till date city’s important landmarks and serves as the GovernmentSecretariat today. It was built to set up a factory that served as a nucleus for British settlements that began tobe formed. Surrounding villages like Triplicane, Purasawalkam, Egmore and Chetput slowly merged with thenew developments, to form Chennapatnam, as it was known. The city was called Madras till 1996 and thenrenamed Chennai. Today this buoyant metropolis is a blend of the old and the new, the traditional and themodern.

Kanniyakumari

Described as the southernmost end of Tamil Nadu, the land’s end of India or the point where the three seasmeet, enchanting Kanniyakumari or Cape Comorin is one of the most popular tourist spots in the state. Partof the fascination is of course due to the fact that it is the very tip of the Indian peninsula and the confluenceof the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Nature is so spectacular at Kanniyakumari thatseveral other Indian beaches seen pale by comparison. Cape Comorin is at its best during Chitra Pournami(the full moon day in April) when the sun and moon are face to face on the same horizon but other full moondays are also special and you can see the sun set and the moon rise almost simultaneously. It seems as if it isby prior arrangement. Kanniyakumari is 705 kms from Chennai.



Rameswaram

Rameswaram is a small island in the Gulf of Mannar, is a major pilgrim centre. It is connected to themainland by road and railway bridges. Rameswaram is a holy place because Sri Rama, on his return fromSri Lanka, offered his thanks to Lord Shiva and performed pooja to wash away his sin in killing the DemonKing, Ravana. Rameswaram is known for its 22 theerthas or wells in and around the main temple. Thisplace is equally sacred to both Vaishnavites and Shaivites. According to Hindu Mythology, if one visitsRameswaram and prays to Lord Shiva one will be relieved of one’s sins. It is 197 metres long.TheRamanathaswamy temple is renowned for its magnificent corridors and massive sculptured pillars. Thethird corridor of Ramanathaswamy temple is the longest one in the world.

Madurai

Madurai is known as Athens of the East, Madurai is a place of great historical and cultural importance. It is theoldest city in Tamil Nadu and Madurai lies on the banks of the River Vaigai. Madurai is one of the liveliest citiesin South India it was originally known as Kadambavanam or the “forest of Kadamba” or the Nauclea kadamba.Legend says that Lord Shiva appeared in the dream on the king, Kulasekhara Pandya. The king was amazed tosee drops of nectar or madhu falling down of earth from Lord Shiva’s matted hair. The “madhu” was so sweetthat the place where it fell came to be known as Madhurapuri, which in course of time became “Madurai.”

Tamil and Greek documents record its existence from the 4th century B.C. Being in the heart of Tamil Nadu,Madurai has fostered an essentially Dravidian and Tamil culture. Famous for its cultural and scholarly pursuits,the city had an academy consisting of critics, poets and savants highly esteemed both by kings and commoners.It was in Madurai that three successful conferences of Tamil scholars called sangams flourished underbenevolent royal support.

Madurai is famous for housing one of the five traditional dance halls where Lord Shiva, in his form as theSilver Hall or the Velli Ambalam. It is situated within the Meenakshi Temple. Madurai was the capital of thedynasty. The Meenakshi-Sundareswarar Shrine is its central glory. The Muslims invaded Madurai in the 14th

Century. Later it came under the rule of the Nayaks, and the rule of Thirumalai Nayak, who is remembered asthe maker of modern Madurai, was an eventful one.

Madurai was known to be the centre of learning and pilgrimage for centuries. Today, Madurai is a moderncommercial and industrial city, with a vast University campus and is renowned for its weaving mills and dyeingindustry. The chungadi cotton sarees are the specialty of this city with its colourful tie and dye motifs.Handicrafts, brassware, bronze items and the famous wooden toys of Madurai are some of the notable artifacts.Madurai is 450 kms from Chennai.

Mamallapuram

Though it is no longer a port, Mamallapuram has retained its fame in stone, thanks to the great contributionof Pallava artisans. It is among the most outstanding examples of Dravidian art and architecture and a jewelin the crown of Tamil Nadu. In a land that is liberally strewn with some of the best in temple art, Mamallapuramholds its own, and stands as a silent yet eloquent witness to the glory of its creators. Unfortunately most ofthe work was left incomplete, and time and nature have also eroded the remains of this once great port.Mamallapuram’s wonders in rock leave visitors enthralled, conveying as they do, an impression of beauty andharmony. The monuments are floodlit at night and so it is possible to enjoy their beauty even after sunset.The Mamallapuram dance festival is conducted every year during Dec-Jan. It is a month long festival anddances take place during the weekends. Classical dances such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, MohiniAttam, Odissi, Kathak etc., are performed by well-known exponents of the art.

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Karnataka

Bangalore

Located 949m above sea level in South India on the Deccan Plateau, Bangalore enjoys a salubrious climatethroughout the year. The city boasts of spacious gardens, parks, tree-lined avenues, a profusion of floweringtrees, lakes, parks earning it the sobriquet of “Garden City.” The once-sedate cantonment settlement of theBritish has now spread way beyond the mud fort and the four towers constructed by Kempegowda in 1537.With its booming economy and racy lifestyle, the capital of Karnataka has metamorphosed from a sleepyGarden City into one of India’s fastest growing, accommodating, technophiliac, and cosmopolitan cities.Surrounded by weekend getaways, Bangalore makes an ideal hub for visitors who want to travel to the manyhill stations and coastal towns of South India.

Mysore

Known for its magnificent palaces and majestic buildings, sprawling gardens and tree- lined boulevards,shimmering silks and sandalwood, the ‘City Royale’ always figures in the tourist’s itinerary. It conjures upvisions and memories of the resplendent glory of the illustrious Wodeyar Kings. This former state capital is aseamless blend of old-world charm and modernity. It retains its tradition in music and dance, art and literature,and time-honoured crafts. Mysore today, is a pleasant and growing city in Karnataka with an old world charm,owing to its broad avenues, picturesque gardens, exceptional edifices and a salubrious climate.

Karnataka’s forests and wildlife are her priceless natural heritage. The State boasts of some of the largestjungle tracts south of the Vindhyas. From the majestic evergreen forests of the Western Ghats to the scrubjungles of the plains, a wide variety of habitats teem with diverse flora and fauna, some of them endemic tothe region. Some of these jungles were the private preserves of former rulers. Thanks to their protection,these jungles have survived. However, some of the lesser-known ones are sanctuaries protected by the localpopulace.

Bandipur National Park

It is one of India’s best known protected areas and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in theChamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in South India, and is contiguous with the Mudumalai NationalPark in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, and the NagarholeNational Park to the northwest. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants(as per the 1997 census [2]), along with leopards, dholes, gaur and sloth bears. Bandipur is part of the NilgiriBiosphere Reserve.

Rajiv Gandhi National Park (Nagarhole)

The exclusive hunting reserve of the former rulers of Mysore, the park has rich forest cover, small streams,valleys, and waterfalls. It stretches over 640 km², protecting the wildlife of Karnataka. Together with theadjoining Bandipur National Park (870 km²) and Mudumalai National Park (320 km²), it forms the largestprotected area in southern India.

B R Hills Sanctuary:

A unique blend of hill resort and wildlife sanctuary. The hills take their name from the ancient RanganathaSwamy Temple that sits at the edge of a granite precipice with a drop of more than 1000 ft.



Karnataka abounds in a torrent of sparkling waterfalls set amidst the sylvan environs of the districts of Kodaguand Uttara Kannada. West-flowing rivers gush through thick forests in coastal Uttara Kannada, breakinginto streams that meander over hilly tracts to end in a series of dramatic, plunging finales throughout theregion.

Jog Falls

Bear witness to nature’s headlong tumble as the Sharavati river makes a spectacular drop of 810ft. (253m) infour distinct cascades – known locally as Raja, Rani, Rover, and Rocket – to create the highest falls in Asia.

Rajasthan

Folklore of heroism and romance resound from the formidable monuments that majestically stand to tell thetale of a bygone era. The magic of vibrant Rajasthan – its rich heritage, colourful culture, exciting desertsafaris, shining sand-dunes, amazing variety lush forests and varied wildlife – makes it a destination nonpareil.Rajasthan is often portrayed as one vast open-air museum, with its relics so well preserved that it delightseven the most skeptical traveler.

It is an incredible destination for the outdoor-tourist – take a safari on horses, camels, elephants or even injeeps, with the Aravalis – India’s oldest mountain range as the backdrop. Feast your eyes on spectacular sand-dunes, take the tiger trail, or just watch the birds in the wetlands. You can also choose to pamper yourself inthe lavish heritage properties. Rajasthan has something for everyone. One just has to choose an activityappropriate to one’s temperament.

Ajmer

South west of Jaipur, Ajmer is an oasis wrapped in the green hills. The city was founded by Raja Ajay PalChauhan in the 7th Century A.D. and continued to be a major centre of the Chauhan power till 1193 A.D. ThenPrithviraj Chauhan lost it to Mohammed Ghori, after which Ajmer became home to many dynasties. Today,Ajmer is a popular pilgrimage centre for the Muslims as well as Hindus. Especially famous is the DargahSharif-tomb of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, which is equally revered both by the Hindus and theMuslims. Ajmer is a centre of culture and education. The British chose Ajmer for its prestigious Mayo College,a school exclusively for Indian nobility at one time. However, now it is one of the best public schools in thecountry. Ajmer is also the base for visiting Pushkar (14 km.) which has the distinction of having the onlyBrahma temple in the world. The Picturesque Pushkar Lake is a sacred spot for Hindus. During the month ofKartik (Oct/Nov), devotees throng in large numbers to take a dip in the sacred lake.

Jaipur

Jaipur is 260 km from Delhi and 240 km from Agra and forms the golden triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Ita bustling capital city and a business centre with all the trappings of a modern metropolis but yet flavouredstrongly with an age-old charm that never fails to surprise a traveler. The old Jaipur painted in Pink can gripany visitor with admiration. Stunning backdrop of ancient forts: Nahargarh, Amer, Jaigarh and Moti Doongariare apt testimonials of the bygone era and a reminder of their lingering romance and chivalry.

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Udaipur

Udaipur is often called ‘Venice of the East’. It is also the ‘city of lakes’. The Lake Palace (Jag Niwas) locatedin the middle of Pichola Lake is the finest example of architectural and cultural marvel. The grand CityPalace on the banks of the lake along with the Monsoon Palace (Sajjan Garh) on the hill above enhancesthe beauty of this magnificent city. Udaipur is also the centre for performing arts, crafts and its famedminiature paintings. The Shilpgram festival is a great crowd-puller on new year.

Maharana Udai Singh founded Udaipur in 1559 AD. According to a legend Udai Singh was guided by a holyman meditating on the hill near Pichola Lake to establish his capital on that very spot. Surrounded by AravaliRanges, forests and lakes made this place less vulnerable to external invasion than Chittaurgarh. MaharanaUdai Singh died in 1572 and was succeeded by Maharana Pratap who valiantly defended Udaipur from Mughalattacks. Maharana Pratap is the most revered Rajput icon who gallantly fought the Mughals at the battle ofHaldighati in 1576. Mewar continuously defied foreign invaders and has a history of bloody battles until theBritish intervention in the nineteenth century when a treaty was signed to protect Udaipur. Upon independence,Udaipur merged with the union of India.

Jodhpur

This bustling desert city is the second largest in Rajasthan after Jaipur. It was founded by Rao Jodha, theleader of the Rathore clan, in 1459 AD. The mammoth, imposing fortress (Meherangarh) has a landscapedominating a rocky ridge with the eight gates leading out of fortress. The new city is outside the structure.

Jaiselmer

The name Jaisalmer evokes utter magic and vibrancy of the desert. It’s straight out of an Arabian Nights fable.The hostile terrain notwithstanding the warmth and colour of people is simply overwhelming. One of themain draws is the daunting 12th century Jaisalmer Fort. The beautiful havelis which were built by wealthymerchants of Jaisalmer are yet another interesting aspect of the desert city. The desert citadel is truly agolden fantasy in the Thar Desert. Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, after whom the city finds its name, foundedJaisalmer in 1156 AD.

Jaisalmer is a paragon of beautiful culture and harsh climatic conditions, these together leave a lastingimpression on the visitors. The old city was completely encircled by a wall but much of it has crumbled sadlyfor want of building material in recent years. The massive golden fort, which is the essence of Jaisalmer, isentered through First Gate, is a burrow of narrow streets with Jain Temples and old palaces. The main market,the Sadar Bazar is right below the hill. The bank, offices and several shops are also located near the AmarSagar Gate to the west.

Religious Tourism

India has long been known as a very spiritual, religion heavy area of the world. Here, religion is a way of life.Understanding this aspect of secular India, the hospitality industry is trying to tap into religious tourism,which could reap rich dividends. Major hotel chains and newer entrants into the hospitality industry see goodpotential business coming from the increasing demand for quality accommodation at affordable prices.

Religious tourism has emerged as a booming market in India, a study by National Council for Applied EconomicResearch shows that of the 230 million tourist trips undertaken in India, the largest proportion is made up



of religious pilgrimages. Undertaken by both rural and urban Indians, they outnumber leisure holidays inhill stations, getaways to sea beaches and even trips to metropolitan cities.(National Council for AppliedEconomic Research (NCAER), 2003)

India is richly endowed with ancient temples and religious festivals. Religions originating in India, be itHinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or, have a vibrant culture and spiritual philosophy. Together, they present aviable, alternative way of life as compared to the materialism and confrontation prevalent in the West.Within its distinct segment, religious tourism in India offers a variety to attract different kinds of tourists.To begin with, there are pilgrimages to several world-renowned temples and shrines, such as Tirupati,Vaishno Devi and Sabarimala. For those seeking more enduring pilgrimages, there are the Char Dhams(four holy sites) at the four corners of the country and the twelve Jyotirlingas scattered across the land.

Chapter 4

TABLE 12. Sources of Religious Tourists

Source: National Council of Applied Economic Research

Rural India 169

Urban India 61

Rural and Urban India Million

TABLE 13. Indians Keep the Faith: Religious Tourism Boom in India

Source: National Council of Applied Economic Research

Tirupati, South India Temple, Deity 23

Puri, East Coast Temple, Deity 18.17

Vaishno Devi, North India Temple, Deity 17.25

Haridwar, North India Holy Bathing, River Ganges 11.04

Naina Devi, North India Temple, Deity 8.28

Mathura, North India Pilgrimage, Place of birth of Lord Krishna 8.28

Ajmer Sharif, West India Tomb of Saint 8.22

Amritsar, North India Golden Temple - Holiest Sikh Shrine 7.13

Shirdi, Western India Pay respects to Saint Sai Baba 6.21

Badrinath & Kedarnath, Himalayas Pilgrimage to seek atonement 4.1

Religious Hotspot Purpose of Visit Visitors(million)

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Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism has increased in India in recent years due to the efforts taken by the Indian governmentand the MoT. The scope for adventure tourism in India is endless because the country has a rich diversity interms of climate and topography.

Various kinds of adventure on water, land, and air can be enjoyed in India.

The various kinds of adventure tourism as available in India are:

• Rock climbing• Skiing• Camel safari• Para gliding• Mountaineering• White water rafting• Trekking

Rock-climbing

As a kind of adventure tourism in India, rock climbing is relatively new. Due to the presence of climbing rocksin large numbers throughout the country, rock climbing as a kind of adventure tourism in India is taking off ina big way. The various places in India where tourists can go for rock climbing are Badami, Kanheri Caves,Manori Rocks, and Kabbal.

SkiingSkiing in India as a kind of adventure tourism has become popular in the last decade. The country has a largenumber of hill stations which have excellent skiing facilities. This has given rise to skiing adventure tourism inIndia. The places in India where tourists can go for skiing are Gulmarg, Manali, Auli etc.

White Water RaftingWhitewater rafting in India is a relative newcomer in the domain of adventure tourism in India. This has beenincreasing due to the presence of a number of rivers, water falls, and rapids. The places where a tourist can gofor whitewater rafting in India are Ganga, Alaknanda, and Bhagirathi rivers.

Mountaineering / TrekkingMountaineering in India is also quite popular in the arena of adventure tourism. Tourists can go to Garhwal,Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir for indulging in mountaineering.

Camel SafariCamel safari in India has also become very popular due to the initiatives taken by the tourist boards ofsome Indian states. The most famous destinations in India for camel safaris are Bikaner, Jodhpur, andJaisalmer. Paragliding in India has developed recently and paragliding facilities are available in a lot ofplaces in India.


Chapter 4

India MICE Market

Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions (MICE) market is a fast growing one and has exhibited a hugepotential worldwide. It is a recognized fact that international and regional conferences contribute greatlytowards building up of mutual goodwill and understanding, encourage interaction between nations, bringtremendous amount of knowledge and frontier technologies particularly for the developing countries.

There is a growing interest amongst tourists to experience the rich culture and heritage of India. With increasingopportunities for holidays and leisure, India is now becoming one of the leading venues for MICE in theregion. The MICE infrastructure in the country has been developing rapidly and convention hotels andconference venues of international standards are being set up in cities across the country. With thecorresponding expansion in the network of airline operations, India is ready to position and market itself asan important MICE destination.

Despite its recent troubles, India is growing and so are its meeting and convention facilities and leading Meetingsand Conventions cities include:

• Agra• Bangalore• Chennai• Goa• Hyderabad• Jaipur• Kochi• Kolkata• New Delhi

India is marketing itself as a destination which can offer myriad of experiences. It is a unique ConferenceDestination as it offers cultural and heritage sites, the exotic and mystical, excellent facilities of beach andadventure holidays which can be combined as pre and post conference tours to sum it up India has literallyeverything that a visitor wants to experience and can offer people a complete holiday.

India’s image as a conference destination is also projected through the chains of Hotels, providing internationalstandards in facilities and services. Exclusive business hotels and exotic resorts, with meeting rooms ofdistinction, spacious convention facilities, modern business centre’s and a wide range of conference facilities.

India is in a continual process of upgrading its MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions facilities.There are multiple plans on the anvil for more world-class convention centers, airports that contest with thebest in the world and efforts to team the famous Indian hospitality with pitomizedn as per a visitor’srequirement. You could also offer the credit to the world class incentive programs, her ability to heal spiritually,her unmatched offering as a health destination or continually improved infrastructure facilities that over 3million foreign tourists thronged her this year generating over US $30 billion as revenue, even as most otherpreferred hotspots marked a decline in their tourism graphs.

The inbound MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and events) segment is growing at 15 to 20%annually. It is estimated that the total national and international MICE meetings market all over the worldis in excess of $270 billion.

56

India provides an impressive combination of accommodation and other conference support facilities tohold a successful Conference. To mention a few; Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Renaissance Hotel andConvention Center in Mumbai, the BM Birla Science and Technology Centre in Jaipur, the Jaypee Hotels &International Convention Centre, Agra and the Cochin Convention Centre, Kochi etc together with facilitiesin the business hotels and resorts at various centers in the country.

India is going the global way and MICE is fast becoming a major part of its travel and promotional budgets. Inthe Indian context, incentives are at present the largest component of MICE but it is a maturing market. Withthe expansion in the network of airlines operation on the domestic routes, better tourist surface transportsystems including the Indian Railways, new centers of information technology, many new convention centres,hotels and meeting facilities, India is now an important MICE destination. The Indian sub-continent is emergingas one of the finest Incentive destinations in the world owing to the diverse culture and geography. Theincentive programmes are a combination of old world charm and tradition interlaced with moderncosmopolitan sophistication.

Today, there are distinct travel divisions within tour companies and airlines that exclusively target MICEmovement. Destinations have also begun to market MICE products to pitomized agencies and the corporateworld at large. The business of MICE holds enormous potential for any country. It is estimated that a persontravelling to a country for a conference or convention spends anywhere four to eight times more than anormal leisure pitomiz. They spend more on food, more on business centre services.

India is globally connected to a network of over 50 international airlines and several domestic airlines, whichprovide convenient connectivity within India.

Added to this is an elaborate network of surface transportation system. There is an excellent Railway systemrunning through the entire country. All-important cities are connected with state-of-the-art ‘Shatabdi &Rajdhani’ Express trains. Special trains like Palace on Wheels and Royal Orient Express, comprising of air-conditioned saloons decorated in the old Maharaja style .An excellent network of roads, national and statehighways, luxury coaches, Indian & foreign-make vehicles add to the convenience and comfort of surfacetravel and, to add to this, India offers an educated manpower base where fluency in English and other officialinternational languages can be expected.

A large number of Convention Centres are available in India with a seating capacity of up to 2000 persons.The important conference centres in the country are at New Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin,Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur & Kolkata. Some important hotel chains like the Taj Group, ITC-Welcomgroup, theOberoi’s, Meridien Hotels, Marriott Hotels etc. also have excellent conference facilities. The exhibition industryhas also gained fresh impetus with exhibition centre’s like Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the Nehru Centre inMumbai and the Chennai Trade Centre in Chennai amongst several other options.



Current TrendsAfter several years of healthy growth, 2009 is expected to be much tougher for the Indian Domestictourism, hospitality and leisure (THL) industry. The combination of a global recession, credit crunch andrising unemployment has placed the nation’s economy at or near recession – leaving lesser money availablefor consumers’ leisure travel and other forms of entertainment.

Corporations, meanwhile, are implementing cost-cutting measures such as reducing employee air travel andscaling back or eliminating group meetings at convention hotels and destination resorts.

According to Federation of Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association of India rates across India have fallen by25 percent on an average, as the occupancy levels have fallen to 50 percent.

Delhi and Mumbai have witnessed the sharpest decline in five-star hotel room rates and business class airfaresin the first quarter of 2009, among the top cities in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, as per a study by businesstravel management firm Egencia.

India’s domestic traffic continued to fall during the first three months of 2009 with passenger numbers ondomestic flights down 15% in January, 9% in February and 15% in March. According to figures published bythe Indian civil aviation ministry India’s airlines carried some 9.7 million domestic passengers in the first threemonths of 2009. Kingfisher leads the way with 2.68 million giving it a market share of 27.6%. Combining JetAirways (1.74 million) and JetLite (0.72 million) gives Jet a market share of 25.4%. IndiGo with 13.7% is stillahead of Spicejet (12.2%) among the pure LCCs. Among India’s international airlines Jet Airways and JetLiteboth achieved at least 75% average loads. Kingfisher’s new international services are so far filling aroundtwo-thirds of all their seats. (Airline Network News & Analysis, 2009)

Chapter 4

Current Trends and Information on Key Outbound Destinations which areCompetitive to Nepal including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia

Since the past decade Tourism in mainland Southeast Asia has entered a new era. Singapore has always beena cosmopolitan city and has attracted major corporate giants. Thailand, has become hugely popular with itstop resorts, such as Phuket and Koh Samui, are swamped by foreigners, particularly in the winter high season.Malaysia for its top notch hotels and site seeing has surely won many hearts.

The best part about travelling in Southeast Asia is that it offers something for everyone. Sunshine and warmwater, dense jungle, frigid mountaintops, crowded cities, steamy markets and a wealth of outdoor pursuits,from scuba diving to bungee jumping to off-road dirt biking. Existing under a diverse cultural, historical andlinguistic framework that remains as varied and complex as ever, along with plenty of tourist-friendlyinfrastructure. Thailand is without a doubt the transport hub of the region, as well as the most popularcountry in terms of tourist numbers. Extensive and cheap road, rail and air travel networks ensure easyaccess to Malaysia and Singapore, which follow closely in terms of popularity with huge, bustling cities toenjoy, shop, eat and play.

In the past few years these countries have aggressively adopted marketing efforts to target Indian travellers,considering the fact that the Indian have become more open about spending on holidays outside the countryand exploring new places and specially the efforts of these countries in providing the Indian best of deals tobring them there. Also these countries have opened there representative offices in India as the major part oftheir national income comes from Tourism. It’s not just about travelling to these countries, it’s also aboutworking and studying in places like Singapore and Malaysia as a lot of Indian universities have their campuseslocated in this area and also Southeast Asia is also location of headquarters for a lot of multinationals.

They have adopted strategies like Truly Malaysia, Uniquely Singapore and Amazing Thailand with televisioncommercials of the same in all the leading channels and print ads in all the leading travel magazines.

Among the five sub-regions of Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia posted the largest growth in arrivals for 2008,at 3.3%. According to PATA Annual Tourism Monitor 2008, the number of international tourist arrivals toSoutheast Asia registered 64.32 millions. In 2008 Singapore posted 10.12 millions arrivals which declinedby 1.6% as compared to 2007. During the same period Thailand showed a marginal increase in internationalvisitor arrivals by 0.8% to 14.58 millions. Malaysia saw a 5.1% increase in international arrivals by 22.05millions in 2008.

As far as any international tourists (including Indian) are concerned they view theses destinations as value formoney, less travelling time, affordable air tickets, great sight seeing, shopping at its best, perfect adventuresports, a partying delight, a gastronomic den, a corporate hub, also the best in education facilities and a homeaway from home.

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SINGAPORE

Republic of Singapore is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator.

Capital City

City of Singapore

Current Trends and Information on Key Outbound Destinations which areCompetitive to Nepal Including Singapore, Thailand and MalaysiaChapter 5

Places of Interest

There is a lot to do in Singapore such as one can visit Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, Singapore ZoologicalGardens, The Singapore Crocodilarium, Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom when travelling with children.However there are other places of interest such as the Philatelic Museum, Singapore Mint Coin Gallery and ifone is more of an explorer must visits are the China Town, Little India, Holland Village, Mount Faber and manymore.

Profile of the Indian Traveller

• Strong middle class Indian, who is first time traveller.• Prosperous and well-off business men.

Current Trends

Indian visitor arrival has doubled to Singapore in the last 5 years. Around 7, 49,000 tourist arrivals wererecorded to Singapore, however it increased to 7, 78,000 in the year 2008. It is one of the most preferred


MONTHS JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY

destinations by the Indian tourist because of its easy accessibility and cheap air tariff, efforts of SingaporeTourism Board (STB) in India to attract Indian travellers and promote Singapore as a family destination.

Months when Indian Likes to Travel to Singapore

About 60% of the Indian’s travel to Singapore in the months of May and June, corresponding to summerholidays. Other months are October and November. It has also been noted that on an average there are1,03,000 Indian arrivals in the month of May.

Duration of the Stay in Singapore

The average length of stay in 2003 was 9.1 days and in 2009 it is expected to hit double digits.

No. of Flights in a Week from the Capital City to Singapore

Singapore Airlines offers flights from all the major metros from India including Hyderabad. Even Jet has startedits flights to Singapore.

Successful Airline tie-ups - *N/A

VISAS

To strengthen ties with India, Singapore tourism board has introduced e- visas.

MARKETING INITIATIVES

The STB with its office in India works in close proximity to satisfy the needs and wants of the Indian touristand Indian palette. The Singapore Tourism Board frequently works with its travel trade partners to providethe Indian’s with special value-added travel packages to make their visit to Singapore even more memorable.According to the reports India features in the top seven markets for Singapore and will come up to top five inthe next two to three years. It is also targeting the tier-II cities in India as there is a registered growth of 4.5%in the year 2008.

TABLE 14. Singapore’s India-Promotion Plan

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Indian Wedding Wedding School/ School/ School/ School/ *N/ACalendar Season Season college college college college

exams exams/ Summer re-openSummer Vacations

Vacations

Singapore Cruise Cruise Cruise Cruise/ GSS *GSS *GSS *GSS

Promotes Romance Romance Family Family Romance Romance Romance

*GSS – Great Singapore Sale*N/A – Not Available

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ELECTRONIC MEDIA

The STB has launched many television commercials in the past, its advertisement campaign ‘UNIQUELYSINGAPORE’ is breaking fresh grounds. Moreover it has also launched its mega campaign directed specially at‘CHILDREN’ in channels like POGO which tries to sell the city as a fun place. There strategy is also to penetrateregionally by TVC’s and destination advertising in serials like SONAR HORIN (BENGALI).

PRINT MEDIA

The STB tries to market aggressively with their double spread advertisement in all the leading magazines andnewspapers, specially travel supplements and weekend newspapers conveying facts like Singapore is a‘shopper’s paradise’ etc.

TRAVEL PACKAGES

The STB has made a deliberate effort not to play a violent price game like its competitors (Thailand andMalaysia) where its travel packages are concerned. They believe that the destination provides a flavour ofboth the east and west, hence avoid the price war. The board is also targeting the stopover markets, manyflights have their halts in Singapore, and hence to capture that halting traffic they are introducing stopoverpackages.

Kuoni in Association with STB Announces Launch of Luxury Packages for Great Singapore Sale

Kuoni in association with STB, has announced exclusive high-end luxury packages for the Great Singapore Salescheduled to take place from May 29, 2009 to July 26, 2009. With the Great Singapore Sale Tourist Privilege Cardthe customer can enjoy special privileges ranging from dining, sightseeing, beauty and wellness to nightlife andentertainment. Singapore has some of the best Luxury Hotels in the world such as Marina Mandarin, St Regis,The Raffles, Sentosa Spa & Resort, Swissotel Stamford, Four Seasons, Fullerton and Capella. Kuoni has exclusivelytied up with these luxury hotels to promote the Great Singapore Sale.

As part of Kuoni’s high-end packages for Singapore, travelers can also avail additional benefits that arecomplimentary for Kuoni clients. These include Chinese set lunch, discounts on Spa treatments, wireless/broadband internet connection in the room, daily full buffet breakfast, lunch and evening cocktails, late checkout, Anti Stress Back massage, use of the Spa facilities, chocolate fondue set, chocolate buffet, etc. Customerscan enjoy the Great Singapore Sale Tourist Privileges and get 50 per cent off on iPod Touch and up to 55 percent off on branded items. Kuoni offers an exclusive discount of 10 per cent for MasterCard members on theGreat Singapore Sale package.

India and Singapore Joint Action Plan on Tourism Cooperation

India and Singapore has signed a joint action plan on tourism cooperation. The agreement was signed by SujitBanerjee, secretary (Tourism), government of India and Lawrence Leong Yue Kheong, assistant chief executiveof International Group, STB, Singapore. Kumari Selja, minister of tourism and minister of housing and urbanpoverty alleviation, government of India and S. Iswaran, senior minister of state for trade and industry andeducation, government of Singapore witnessed the signing by tourism officials of India and Singapore. The JointAction Plan reiterates the provisions of cooperation enshrined in the bilateral agreement on tourism signedbetween India and Singapore on Jan. 24, 1994. The objectives of the joint action plan are to strengthen jointmarketing collaboration in third countries, such as member countries of ASEAN and China, for mutual benefit.

Chapter 5 Current Trends and Information on Key Outbound Destinations which areCompetitive to Nepal Including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia


To promote reciprocal visits of media representatives, travel agents and tourism operators, with the aimto create awareness about tourist attractions in each others‘ countries. It also includes the following:Where appropriate, participate in tourism fairs in India and Singapore respectively. Where feasible, considerorganizing a Singapore and India week at the sidelines of tourism fairs and to promote and encouragehuman resource development in tourism and travel related industries by collaborating through exchangeprograms for faculties, students and by exchanging information on teaching modules and curriculum.

EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS

To compete with the ever changing market, STB for its travellers organise festivals, promotions, exchangeprograms, conference all around the year. In the year 2008 the board marketed events were :

Singapore Air Show 2008

The inaugural Singapore Air show, Asia’s largest aerospace and defence event, is a joint venture between theCivil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Defence Science & Technology Agency. With a premier line-up ofindustry conferences and highlights such as an aerial display by the Australian and Singapore Air Forces,exhibition of rarely displayed aircrafts, and simulator rides, the Singapore Air show attracted over 120,000public and trade visitors over its six-day run.

Formula One Night Race

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr. S. Iswaran, key officials from race promoter Singapore GPPte Ltd and the STB witnessed the first demonstration of the lighting system to be used by the world’s firstFormula One night race, the 2008 FORMULA 1.

Global Movie Marketing

Collaborating with Hollywood movies and hosting their world premiers in Singapore in co-ordination of tie-up with other countries, winners won a 3 nights and 4 Days trip to Singapore that included air tickets,accommodation, and vouchers for them to enjoy various attractions that show the different sides of Singapore.

Singapore Food Festival

The Singapore Food Festival serves gastronomic treats in this month-long event, giving food lovers from allover the world an opportunity to sample the wide variety of Singapore’s local food favourites, and partake inthe unique culinary events, intriguing food trails and attractive dining promotions island-wide, with a differenttheme.

The Great Singapore Sale

Currently in its 14th year, the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) returned with attractive offers, tempting rewards andexciting events. Featuring an eight-week shopathon, shoppers and visitors enjoyed discounts of up to 70%along the central shopping belt of Orchard Road and Marina Bay, as well as shopping precincts in the heartlands.This year’s GSS showcased the spirit of Singapore, with a range of uniquely Singapore brands, lifestyle productsand collectibles that locals and visitors can take home .

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MEDICAL TOURISM

The STB ’s aim is not only to focus tourist holidays but it has also made sure that it promotes its self in otherareas which makes Singapore truly unique. Though it is dynamically, a multi-cultural city, rich in contrast andcolour with strategic location, excellent infrastructure and great attractions, the STB has made sure thatSingapore becomes a leading destination, not only for business and leisure, but also for world-class, affordableand safe healthcare and becomes Asia’s leading medical hub. This also resulted in launch of Patients BeyondBorders. Patients Beyond Borders is the first comprehensive guide for Americans considering medical tourism.Less about travel and all about healthcare choices, this consumer guidebook provides practical answers forthe increasing numbers of Americans facing long-term financial insecurity due to challenging medicalconditions.

Singapore Edition is voted the “Best Medical/Wellness Tourism Destination” by Travel Weekly (Asia) IndustryAwards 2007 in June for the second year running, and the second most desired destination for medical careand treatment after the United States by a Reader’s Digest Asian Health Survey across seven Asian cities in2007, Singapore was the venue for the launch of Patients Beyond Borders Singapore Edition on 23rd July.Written by Josef Woodman and published by Healthy Travel Media, Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody’sGuide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism, is a trade paperback offering health travelers all theresources required to make safe, cost-effective decisions about travelling abroad for their healthcare, inSingapore. It is the STB’s responsibility to spearheads the branding and marketing of Singapore’s healthcareservices overseas, nurtures the medical travel market and promotes the development of overseas referralchannels to strengthen the seamless delivery of quality healthcare to international patients. By 2012, Singaporehopes to attract 1 million medical travelers annually.

SINGAPORE EDUCATION

In year 2003, government of Singapore established and promoted Singapore as a premier education hub andhelp international students make an informed decision on studying in Singapore. This initiative is also led andsupported by the Singapore Tourism Board. They have tied-up with the Indian university to build campusessuch as S.P Jain Management School, which will help generate student traffic. In 2007 the STB organizedEducation Awards to recognise the best in the industry and also awarded scholars for their excellent work. InIndia they aim to strengthen the consultant network and recently 2.1 million Singapore education supplementbooklets were distributed to all the leading newspapers.

The key role of the board is to engage in a myriad of promotional activities undertaken by the EducationServices Division which includes:-

• Organising Education Exhibitions and Seminars• Participating overseas education road shows to increase brand awareness and reach out to the

target markets• Singapore Education’s brand Advertising and Publicity



SINGAPORE SERVICE STAR

The Singapore Service Star is an accreditation scheme that seeks to epitomize and promote businesses thatdeliver good service and exhibit sound business practices. Developed by the STB, this scheme is designed toenhance tourists’ confidence when transacting in Singapore and deliver a truly unique experience to thevisitors. Hence the STB honors the establishments that are attentive to enhancing the visitors’ experience.The Singapore Service Star is a scheme that will help businesses achieve service excellence which will ultimatelylead to greater consumer spending, benefiting both industry players and Singapore as a tourist destination.

OTHER STRATEGIES

• Indian Brand Ambassadors – The STB used Indian superstar Mr. Amitabh Bachchan to promote Singapore,when the IIFA Awards were held in the early 2004.

• Indian Movie shoots – The STB figures that the movie industry can be big force multipliers, especially ifthe movies are shot in the more attractive parts of the city. The board is offering help and clearances toproduction houses who would like to shoot in Singapore.

• Identifying two key markets: Conferences and Meeting and Honeymooners

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

In 2009 they strategise to beat the economic slowdown and sustain tourism industry with their ‘UMBRELLACAMPAIGN’ which includes ‘2009 REASONS TO VISIT SINGAPORE and many more. Strategy plan for India is topromote Singapore as an ultimate Romantic, Family and Educational destination.

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MALAYASIA

Malaysia consists of 13 states and three federal territories in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of329,847 square kilometers. It is divided into two parts, namely Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo.

Capital City

Kuala Lumpur

Chapter 5

Places of Interest

Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Batu Feringgi, Sepang F1 Circuit, KLCC Twin Towers, Mt Kinabalu, Taman Negara,Gunung Mulu National Park, Sipanden and Genting Highlands.

Profile of the Indian Traveler

• Strong middle class Indian, who is first time traveller• Prosperous and well-off business men• Ambitious Indian youth who are aim to travel with friends

Current Trends

Around 145,000 visitors from India travelled to Malaysia in the year 2003 and 550,738 Indian arrivals wereregistered in the 2008. The Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) aims at price sensitive Indian who hasthe tendency to visit places like Kuala Lumpur, Genting, Langkawi and Penang. They are putting efforts to lure

Current Trends and Information on Key Outbound Destinations which areCompetitive to Nepal Including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia


Indian tourist in other places like Kota Kinabalu etc, as India is the sixth largest market for Malaysia. Out ofthe total Indian visiting the country 76% are mainly for holidays and honeymoons and are first timetravelers, 43% out which are in the age bracket of 25-34 years.

Months when Indian Likes to Travel to Malaysia

More than half of the Indian travel to Malaysia in the months of April May, June and July.

Duration of the Stay in Malaysia

The average stay was registered approximately 5.7 days in 2005 as compared to 4.4 days in 2004. It is importantto note that Malaysia entertains 20-25 % Indian from South India and Gujarat.

No. of Flights in a Week to Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines operates 32 flights from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi to Kuala Lumpur,while Jet Airways has one flight connecting Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. The connectivity offered by the 70direct flights per week from key cities of India available on the national carrier, as well as other foreign airlinesflying to the Far East region.

Successful Airlines Tie-ups

Jet Airways had earlier signed a code sharing agreement with Malaysia Airlines and network-wide reciprocalfrequent flyer partnership to provide customers with enhanced travel connectivity and privileges. MalaysiaAirlines and Indian Airlines have a similar agreement in the past.

VISAS

There are tourist visas and also social visit passes for the long staying tourist.

Most Popular Destinations among Indians

Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands and Langkawi.

MARKETING INITIATIVES

The MTPB targets to attract not only the big cities but they believe and even the tier-II and tier-III cities havemajor potential as they contain largely untapped first time travellers. The board has initiated road shows insmaller cities and semi-metro and also plans string of promotions in cities like Ludhiana, Nashik, Indore,Kochi, Pune and Guwahati amongst others, in its attempt to reach larger number of Indians. Their strategiesdefinitely differs from its counterparts, hence they are straddling two markets

• The first ones are budget travellers and value for money market• The well-off, where the money is not an issue

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Tourism Malaysia Taps Tier-II Cities in India for MICE Traffic

Tourism Malaysia recently concluded its six-city MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) roadshow in an effort to generate higher MICE traffic from India’s Tier-II cities. The road show, which was targetedat the high-yielding corporate travellers from the Indian market, was organised in Ahmedabad, Pune,Chandigarh, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Madurai. The thrust of the road show was to provide holistic productupdate through ‘Meet & Experience Malaysia’ programme, which showcased the infrastructure and state-of-the-art amenities to host and hold international conferences at the convention centres both in Kuala Lumpurand beyond.

Malaysia currently has 2,360 hotels supplying 1,60,327 rooms, offering specialist facilities catering for meetingsand conferences. The connectivity offered by the 70 direct flights per week from key cities of India availableon the national carrier, as well as other foreign airlines flying to the Far East region, makes it an ideal MICEhub from India. Malaysia has hosted more than 100 MICE events from India representing varied industries,over the years. In terms of MICE, the total conference arrivals recorded last year were 1,000,000. Malaysia isnow set to capture a greater share of the international MICE market to represent at least ten per cent of thetotal arrivals to Malaysia. India continues to remain an important tourism source market for Malaysia with3,35,241 Indian arrivals between January to July 2008, registering an overall increase of 28.8 per cent ascompared to the number of arrivals last year for the same period. Tourism Malaysia aims to target 500,000arrivals from Indian market this year. Leading the race in incentive destinations, Malaysia doesn’t lag behindon the conference and convention sector either. It hosts a number of conferences and conventions annually.Important events include the Malaysia International Furniture Fair (MAFEX), Foodex Asia, International RubberGlove Exhibition And Conference (Malaysia is the largest producer of surgical gloves), Medical ScientificExhibition and Conference and many such events.Malaysia has the expertise, state-of-the-art centres andservices to cater to this segment. Malaysia has a sound backing of world-class hotels adjoining the conventioncentres.

Apart from the infrastructure and facilities, Malaysia also offers professional expertise to facilitate conferenceor convention needs in the country. This makes the procedure a whole lot easier and cost-effective as one cancommission local professional support as against flying down people from India. The country actually hascompanies termed ‘Professional Conference Organisers’ or PCOs that specifically cater to MICE needs. Theseare exhibition contractors who handle the logistics and smooth functioning of a small to large scale exhibition.

ELECTRONIC MEDIA

The MTPB’s advertising campaign Malaysia-‘Truly Asia’ has won the hearts of many Indians and highlights thecountries rich flora and fauna. It initiates to target the aspirations of every Indian to travel abroad. Howeverthe focus remains more on travel packages.

PRINT MEDIA

The MTPB tries to market aggressively in all the leading magazines and newspapers specially travel supplementsand weekend newspapers conveying facts like Malaysia is full of adventure etc.

TRAVEL PACKAGES

The MTPB strategizes to attract Indians by cut-rate budget packages and aggressive marketing its main targetis to catch on as a hot destination for price-sensitive Indians. In the past Tourism Malaysia has unleashed



attractive packages to visit Malaysia at a throwaway price. For example there are packages: for Rs. 18,000 to21,000 a couple can fly down to the country and avail complimentary hotels for four days with breakfast alsothrown in. And for the more affluent ones the MTPB works on various innovative packages. Thus was born‘Malaysia-My Second Home’ programme to aim at Indians who want to stay in Malaysia for a longer duration.

It is also trying its hands on niche packages: for instance, it had launched Golf and Formula 1 incentive travelscheme for those who have the money to spend.

EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS

Malaysia boasts an exciting year-round calendar of world class and unique local events, ensuring visitors haveendless opportunities to enjoy nature-based adventures, enriching cultural experiences or fabulous shoppingsprees. The events which are lined up in 2009 are:

1. Sabah Fest 2009The state’s most anticipated event, Sabah Fest features spectrum of cultures and traditions through dance,music, fashion and food. The festival is a prelude to the Harvest Fest celebration happening every year.

2. Flower FestivalThe Flora & Fruit Festival in Malaysia is held in conjunction with the local fruit season.

3. Malaysia Mega SaleMalaysia’s most popular shopping comes back every year. Visitors can find amazing discounts and specialoffers on a wide array of goods such as branded apparel, household equipment, electrical appliances,accessories and many more. One can check out the bargains at shopping malls, specialty outlets and boutiquesall around the country.

4. Penang World Music FestivalMusic lovers get to revel with spectacular performances staged by world-renowned artistes and local musiciansin a natural setting of lush greenery. The cool evening breeze and the hypnotic ethnic rhythms make it amemorable night!

5. Malaysia Savings SaleThe Malaysia Savings Sale offers 37 days of fantastic retail therapy, great dining experience and fun-filledentertainment. This sale comes at a perfect time, coinciding with the Christmas and New Year celebrations aswell as the Malaysian school holiday season. Visitors can shop and save as most items which range fromapparels, accessories, home décor to dining, leisure and holiday packages tht is offered at discounted prices.

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Chapter 5

ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism is a new theme being used by Malaysia to attract highend Indian tourists who are looking forsomething exotic and different from standard 5 star hotel holidays. For the second time in a row, Malaysiawon the best ecotourism destination award at the 2008 Travel- Weekly (Asia) industry awards held in Singapore.The hotspots include Langkawi, the only island in Southeast Asia recognised by UNESCO as a geo park becauseof its outstanding geological landscapes.

OTHER STRATEGIES

• Tourism Malaysia realises that most Indians prefer to visit more than one country in Southeast Asia on aholiday and on limited budgets. Hence: twin destination marketing. For instance it has teamed up withHong Kong Tourism Board where the packages are clubbed with both the place.

• Tapping the Indian corporate by offering special facilities for holding company conferences and meetingsin Malaysia.

• Organising Malaysian Food festivals in the tier-II cities like Ahmedabad, as a lot of Gujarati’s visit Malaysiaevery year from India.



Chapter 5

THAILAND

The Kingdom of Thailand is the world’s 51st-largest country in terms of total area, roughly equal in size toSpain, with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the 20th most-populous country,with approximately 63 million people.

Capital City

Bangkok

Places of Interest

There are a lot of places to be explored in Chaing Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Pattaya, Ko Samui, Bangkok andmany more.

Profile of the Indian Traveller

• Strong middle class Indian, who is first time traveller.• Prosperous and well-offs Indians who have lately started spending huge amount of money on weddings

abroad.

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Current Trends

The numbers of arrivals of Indian have surely changed in the past decade. As per the statistics by the TourismAuthority of Thailand (TAT) the number of Indian as per the country of residence have increased from 4,29,732in 2006 to 5,06,237 in 2007 and Indians by nationality have also experienced a tremendous growth from1,59,254 in 2007 to 1,73,321 in 2008 . India visitor arrival contributed a total of 5,12,845 in 2008, which haswitnessed 1-2% growth. The total numbers of Indian arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Januarythis year were 35,971 while in February the arrivals were 32,855.

Months when Indian Likes to Travel to Thailand

Months of April May, June and July.

Duration of the Stay in Thailand

The average length of stay for Indian in the year 2007 was 6.07 days which has noticed a hike since the sameyear.

No. of Flights in a Week to Thailand

The airline with the most capacity is Thai International which flies twice daily from Delhi and Mumbai, dailyfrom Chennai and Kolkata, nine times per week from Bangalore, and four times a week from Hyderabad. Thisadds up to a total of 23,000 seats a week. The routes from Thailand to India are called ‘Happy all the way tothe world’.

Successful Airlines Tie-ups

On 29 March ’09 Cathay Pacific started daily flights from Delhi to Bangkok, adding to capacity. Cathay launcheda promotion putting a limited number of seats into the market at a low fare of 9,000 rupees. The regular fareis 15,000 to 16,000 rupees.

VISA

Liberal visa formalities. Indian visitors can obtain a visa on arrival at all international gateways in Thailand. In2009, Thai government has waived – off the visa fee until 4 June’09 which has been marketed as an additionalincentive to visit Thailand.

Most Popular Destinations Among Indian

Bangkok and Pattaya



Chapter 5

MARKETNG INITIATIVES

The TAT has always aimed at organising road shows all around the country to educate Indian travel and touroperators about Thailand. With its state of the art infrastructure and transportation Thailand is also makingends meet by initiating railway tourism. The TAT has identified target segments such as family groups, incentivegroups, wedding parties, and honeymooners. It is targeting women travellers with its great deals and discountsat the time of shopping and highlights its adventure and sea sports. Thailand is also a vital relaxation destinationwith a great deal of authentic Thai massages to offer. In 2009 its main focus is targeting tier II cities as theyhave great potential.

ELECTRONIC MEDIA

India is now being promoted under the “Amazing Thailand” brand name along with its key sub-themes, Beaches,Nature, Heritage, Health and Wellness, Chic and Trendy Products, and Festivals.

PRINT MEDIA

The TAT’s marketing strategies also cover advertising in a range of high-end publications.

TRAVEL PACKAGES

The main selling points of Thailand in the Indian market include: value for money and affordability, greatshopping, accessibility and proximity, variety, visa on arrival facility and year-round holiday destination. IncreaseB2B and B2C promotion in Tier II cities and joint promotions with travel agents. Organising road shows andworkshops across India, leading Indian tour operators are being presented with various ideas to feature in apackage. New tourism destinations being presented include Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Phuket, Ko Samuiand the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

EVENTS AND PROMOTONS

Thailand festivals and events are around the year and in all parts of the country, in north and South and alsoin central Thailand. It is for all kinds of travellers, whether you are on a leisure or business trip, there is noteven a single event which does not fullfill your needs.

1. Phuket Film Festival2. Laguna Phuket International Marathon. A scenic route along some of Phuket’s most spectacular west

coast bays makes this an event that attracts runners ready to achieve a personal best.3. Amazing Thailand Grand Sale. Thailand’s annual “Amazing Thailand Grand Sale” starts in June every year

and continues to offer visitors great bargains right through to 31 August.4. Rayong Funkky Fruit Festival. It is a borderless celebration of heritage, nature and culture in this stunning

province of Rayong.

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Chapter 5

OTHER STRATEGIES

• Efforts are also being made to go direct to consumers in joint promotions with supermarkets and retailers.• ‘Celebrity marketing’ by bringing Indian movie stars to Thailand for feature productions and other publicity-

generating events• Targeting retired professionals and Senior Citizens.• Promising market is the Indian weddings which are exceptionally lavish and increasingly being staged

abroad by the super wealthy.• Looking into twin-destination packages in alliance with Myanmar.

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

Corporate travel followed by high-end tourist traffic and family holidays has been hit due to recession. Butthe authority is making sure that there are no cancellations as the packages are much affordable.



Consumer Characteristics, Outbound, Major Tourism Players of Focus Areas-Delhi and Surroundings and Mumbai and Surroundings

Delhi

Delhi has a population of 14 million. It is the second largest metropolis in the country and it has utmostpolitical importance as India’s national capital is located in New Delhi. Delhi spreads over an area of 1,483km². Compared to other Indian cities, Delhi has the relatively low density of 9,340 people per km². Delhi’s percapita income of around US$6,180 is almost double the national average(Urban age, 2007). Also indicative ofthe city’s wealth is its high rate of car ownership, although the local home ownership rate is slightly below theIndian average. Delhi’s economy is concentrated in the services sector.

Delhi, the capital of India, is situated in northern India and stands on the west bank of Yamuna River boundedby Uttar Pradesh and in the north, west and south by Haryana. The city has its historical importance for thefact that it has been the home to Mughal Empire. Apart from its historical importance, Delhi also happens tobe the political hub of India, every political activity in the country traces its roots to Delhi.

Delhi is bounded by four states namely Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab that havestrong influence on the lifestyle of Delhi. Delhi is a cosmopolitan city where people are open to embracingnew ideas and life style. You can notice the transition in the demography of people in Delhi with the changinglifestyle and the influence of modern ideas in the lives of Delhites. People from all parts of the country live inDelhi which makes the city very cosmopolitan in nature and there is unity among the citizens from all casteand creed. NCR is the metropolitan area of Delhi which encompasses satellite cities like Faridabad, Gurgaon,Ghaziabad and Noida.

The origin of NCR is traced to the recommendation of first ever Master Plan of Delhi, way back in the year1962. The prime aim was to reduce the burden of increasing population in Delhi and the growing demand formore space owing to large scale industrialization. Therefore the neighboring states like Rajasthan, Haryanaand Uttar Pradesh came into consideration for developing satellite cities of Delhi. Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabadand Faridabad were the names that came up for developing the whole NCR region.

MNCs and corporate bodies from all over the world are turning their heads towards Delhi sighting themanpower and skilled labor resource. NCR region is now the home to major international and domesticcompanies, be it IT, ITES, BPOs or other manufacturing and service industries.

Owing to the proximity with New Delhi, there has been a tremendous growth in the infrastructure and economyof these cities. States like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have benefited a lot from the recent developments insectors like Real Estate, IT, ITES, manufacturing and other service industries

Gurgaon: Gurgaon is located in the northern part of Haryana and the city’s population is around 1,000,000 asper the 2001 census (SHARMA, G. 2009). Gurgaon is the main city of the National Capital Region of Delhibecause it is the home to major IT companies and provides the best infrastructure in terms of schools, roads,housing societies and medical facilities. Gurgaon is famous for its outsourcing and off shoring services thatcontribute the most towards the economy of Gurgaon. The major industries in Gurgaon are IT, ITES, automanufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

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Noida: Noida is one of the most modern cities of India with world class amenities and infrastructure.Noida is home to many big international as well as national companies like AgreeYa Solutions, GlobalLogic,EXL, Birlasoft, Impetus, STMicroelectronics, MtronPTI, Fiserv, Adobe Systems, TCS, CSC, HCL, ATC Labs,Interra and Xansa. Some of the main reasons behind the existence of these companies in Noida are theproximity of the city to Delhi and good infrastructure

Faridabad: Faridabad is one of the main industrial cities of Haryana and comes under the region of Delhi &NCR. The city is bounded by Delhi in the north, Gurgaon in the west and the parts of Uttar Pradesh on the eastand south. It is surrounded by river Yamuna in the east and the Aravalli hills in south and west regions. Newlydeveloped Faridabad or New Faridabad is the most preferred destination for industries, IT companies, corporatebodies and government departments

Ghaziabad: A Newsweek survey, which put the city on the global map, happened in 2006 and since thenGhaziabad has been hip and happening. In two years, it has done a complete makeover by adding malls, hi-tech cities and golf courses to its new face.

Delhi has the advantage of its cosmopolitan society where there are people from every nook and corner ofIndia. This makes the city very multi linguistic and multi cultured. Being the capital of the world’s largestdemocracy, Delhi has embassies of more than 160 countries.

Mumbai

The capital of the State of Maharashtra, Mumbai is a city of 19 million. The Greater Mumbai, stretches over438 km², and it has an extremely high population density (27,348 people per km²). The greater Mumbai,Metropolitan Region is the world’s fifth most populous metropolitan region. Mumbai is the entertainmentand financial capital of India but the city also has the largest slums in the country. Mumbai contributes 40% ofnational income tax and 60% of customs duty. In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), Mumbai is estimatedto have an economy valued at US$126 billion (PPP), and a per capita income of US$6,924 (PPP) in 2005. InIndia, Mumbai has higher than average productivity per capita, service-sector employment and car ownershiprates. On the other hand, the city has a lower than average home ownership rate and proportion of youngpeople. Key challenges facing Mumbai include traffic congestion, loss of wetlands, frequent flooding andcritical issues concerning housing and the city’s slums. Yet the urban region continues to grow. Some projectionsstate that Mumbai will overtake Tokyo as the world’s largest city within decades. (Urban Age, 2007)

Mumbai is India’s financial centre, the economic powerhouse of the nation, heart of the Hindi film industryand the industrial hub of everything from textiles to petrochemicals. Enriched with culture and aboundingwith places for entertainment and leisure, there is something for everyone to engage in the city of Mumbai.Known as the liberal cosmopolitan cities of India, it welcomes people from all over the nation with openarms. Mumbai is a city of extreme contrasts, of great prosperity and abject poverty, of 21st-century technologyand medieval squalor, epitomized by the destitute and crippled lying in rows beneath bright, electronicadvertisements for dotcom companies. It boasts the finest collection of Victorian buildings anywhere in Asiaand a myriad of temples and mosques. Yet 62% of its population lives in slums – the highest percentage forany large Indian city. (Economic Times, 2004)

Mumbai is also congested with people, its streets are clogged with traffic, its air is foully polluted by thebarely controlled emissions of its factories and vehicles, and many of its buildings are slowly crumbling.However, the city still has much to offer. Mumbai is a colourful (the saris, the bazaars, etc.), vibrant, energeticand friendly city, with a varied and fascinating history and many reasons to face the future with confidence.

Consumer Characteristics, Outbound, Major Tourism Players of FocusAreas- Delhi and Surroundings and Mumbai and SurroundingsChapter 6


DELHI MUMBAI ANALYSIS

TABLE 15. Socio-Economic Parameters of Delhi and Mumbai

Chapter 6

Delhi Rs. 337,678.00Chandigarh Rs. 422,503.00Jaipur Rs. 325,254.00Jalandhar Rs. 323,181.00Amritsar Rs. 290,939.00Lucknow Rs. 289,020.00Ludhiana Rs. 288,753.00Kanpur Rs. 164,677.00Bhopal Rs. 157,847.00

DEMOGRAPHIC PARAMETER DELHI MUMBAI

Estimated Households 3.02 Million 4.04 MillionEstimated Population 14.44 Million 19.13 MillionAverage Household size 4.78 4.73Per Capita Income Rs. 43,155.00 Rs. 40,768.00Share to Urban Population 4.89 % 6.48%Share to Urban Income 10.58 % 13.25%

DELHI AND SURROUNDINGS AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN 2007-08

City Average Household Income

Mumbai Rs. 403,059.00Surat Rs. 457,671.00Ahmedabad Rs. 328,267.00Nagpur Rs. 298,598.00Pune Rs. 191,520.00

MUMBAI AND SURROUNDINGS AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN 2007-08

City Average Household Income

City Delhi Jaipur Lucknow Chandigarh Mumbai AhmedabadSalaried Class 53.8% 31.4% 45.5% 61.5% 57.8% 61.5%Average Income in lacs Rs. 1.83 Rs. 1.23 Rs. 1.39 Rs 1.61 Rs. 2.05 Rs. 1.61Business Class 32.3% 43.8% 26.5% 18.9% 31.7% 33.6%

Average Income in lacs Rs. 2.99 Rs. 1.39 0.93 Rs. 3.46 Rs. 2.04 Rs. 1.48

NATURE OF INCOME

78

Large Consumer Base and Increasing Affluence Levels

Access to a large and relevant target group is possibly the most important parameter for any marketer inselection of markets. Markets are selected based on their affluence level as well as size (current and expectedin the future) as a judicious mix of both would be critical for any market to be seen as high potential acrosstop eight Indian towns. Ernst and Young E&Y has created an Affluence Index which is calculated after analyzingvarious Affluence levels parameter such as per capita income, savings, employment rate, vehicle ownership,internet usage and credit growth. The weighted scoring system is often used to evaluate and quantify a widerange of product concept criteria. Individual ‘evaluation criteria’ are scored and weighted to determine anoverall concept score. Typically, the criteria are assigned values from 0 – 10, reflecting low to high scores;each criteria is also assigned a weighting factor that reflects its relative importance. Since some variables aremore important than others, they should be assigned a greater weighting in the overall score. The E&Y createda weighted score Index by giving weightage to Affluence Index, Relevant Population Potential and FutureGrowth to arrive at a consolidated weighted score and the same is summarised in table 16.


DELHI AND SURROUNDING CITIES

TABLE 16. Affluence Index of Delhi and Mumbai

City Affluence Relevant Future Ernst & YoungIndex Population Potential Growth Weighted Score

Delhi 7.1 10.0 8.66 8.5Chandigarh 6.5 0.6 7.42 4.8Jaipur 5.8 0.1 7.59 4.5Bhopal 4.6 0.0 8.17 4.2Lucknow 5.0 0.3 7.17 4.1Ludhiana 5.2 0.9 5.38 3.8Amritsar 4.8 0.5 4.15 3.1Kanpur 4.1 0.1 3.41 2.5

Source – City Skyline of India 2006 by Indicus Analytics Ernst & Young Analysis


Chapter 6

MUMBAI AND SURROUNDING CITIES

GROWING AFFLUENCE MUMBAI

GROWING AFFLUENCE DELHI

City Affluence Relevant Future Ernst & YoungIndex Population Potential Growth Weighted Score

Mumbai 6.3 6.9 7.6 6.9Pune 5.9 1.5 7.17 4.8Ahmedabad 4.8 1.0 6.90 4.2Indore 4.5 0.1 5.82 3.5Nagpur 4.5 0.7 4.72 3.2Surat 4.9 0.5 4.25 3.2Nasik 4.1 0.2 3.38 2.8Vadodara 5.0 0.2 3.38 2.8

City Number of Population Number of Retail Number of Number ofRetail Outlets in 000 per 000 Malls Malls per 000

Mumbai 151,184 13,165 11.48 28 0.0021Pune 34,742 5,131 6.77 9 0.0018Ahmedabad 30,636 5,338 5.74 5 0.0009Nagpur 13,227 2,962 4.47 4 0.0014Surat 17,318 3,964 4.37 2 0.0005Nasik 9,076 2,308 3.93 3 0.0013Vadodara 7,123 1,838 3.88 1 0.0005Indore 7,956 2,082 3.82 1 0.0005

City Number of Population Number of Retail Number of Number ofRetail Outlets in 000 per 000 Malls Malls per 000

Delhi 40,000 16,031 2.50 32 0.0020Chandigarh 5,500 958 5.74 5 0.0009Bhopal 6,642 1,731 3.84 2 0.0012Lucknow 8,500 2,697 3.15 5 0.0019Ludhiana 5,000 1,978 2.53 2 0.0010Kanpur 8,000 3,254 2.47 2 0.0006Amritsar 3,500 1,465 2.39 2 0.0014Jaipur 5,000 3,134 1.60 7 0.0022

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OUTBOUND MOVEMENTS

MUMBAI OUTBOUND MATRIX

0-100 km 101-200 201-300 301-500 500+Impulse Short Break Weekend Long Weekend Planned HolidaySame Day Over night 1-2 Nights 2-3 Nights 3 Nights +Car / Bus / Rail Car / Bus / Rail Car / Bus / Rail Car / Bus / Rail/Air Rail / Air

Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Madh-Marve Matheran Kashid Beach Khanvel ShirdiManori Khandala Malshejghat Raigad GoaThane Alibaug Jawhar Shriwardhan DelhiMadh Island Lonavala Pune Mahabaleshwar TirupatiKarnala Kamshet Bordi Chiplun Uttar Pradesh

Rajmachi Murud Panchgani KeralaKihim Nasik Saputara Karnataka

Silvassa Tamil NaduBhandardara RajasthanDaman & Diu

DELHI OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Manesar Kosi Agra Naukuchiatal ManaliSurajkund Mathura Lansdowne Nainital Vaishno Devi

Hansi Haridwar Gwalior Jammu KashmirAlwar Rishikesh Ramgarh GoaBharatpur Dehradun Sattal MumbaiSariska Chandigarh Mallital Varanasi

Jaipur Mukteshwar KhaujuraoParwanoo Shimla TirupatiCorbett Kufri KeralaMussoorie Chail KarnatakaShekhawati Tamil NaduKasauli RajasthanBhimtal

Air Traffic Movements Jan-March 2009 Oct-Dec 2008Delhi Mumbai Delhi Mumbai

Aircraft Movement 53,173 56,129 53,830 56,544Passenger Traffic 5931,629 5754,400 5651,354 5673,065

TABLE 17. Outbound Movements from Indian Cities


Chapter 6

AHMEDABAD OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Baroda/Vadodara Wankaner Jamnagar MumbaiSurendranagar Mount Abu Junagadh GoaPalanpur Rajkot Ranakpur DelhiChampaner Udaipur Sasan gir TirupatiBhavnagar Kutch Kumbhalgarh Uttar PradeshDanta-Ambaji Gondal Kerala

KarnatakaTamil NaduRajasthan

CHANDIGARH OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Parwanoo Mashobra Mussoorie Lansdowne Jammu KashmirMorni Shimla Rishikesh Corbett MumbaiHills Dehradun Amritsar Vaishno Devi GoaKasauli Mandi Dharamshala TirupatiChail Kangra Uttar PradeshKufri Haridwar Kerala

Hansi KarnatakaKullu Tamil NaduDelhi RajasthanPalampurGurgaonSanglaManali

82


JAIPUR OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Sariska Gurgaon Pali Ahmedabad MumbaiAjmer Manesar Nagaur Fort GoaRanthambore Agra Bikaner DelhiPushkar Kota Chittorgarh TirupatiAlwar Kosi Uttar PradeshSawai Delhi KeralaMadhopur KarnatakaKhimsar Tamil NaduBharatpur RajasthanShekhawati

LUCKNOW OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Kanpur Allahabad Agra JaipurVaranasi Gwali Mumbai

Delhi GoaMathura Delhi

TirupatiKeralaKarnatakaTamil NaduRajasthan

NAGPUR OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Panhala Akola Gwalior DelhiSeoni Pachmarhi Agra MumbaiPench Jabalpur Goa

Kanha DelhiRaipur Tirupati

Uttar PradeshKeralaKarnatakaTamil NaduRajasthan


Chapter 6

PUNE OUTBOUND MATRIX


Rs. 1000-2000 Rs. 2000-5000 Rs. 5000-10000 Rs. 10000-20000 Rs. 20000 +

Kamshet Matheran Aurangabad Ajanta & Ellora DelhiLonavala Mahabaleshwar Silvassa Goa TirupatiMadh-Marve Karnala Nasik Uttar PradeshKhandala Alibaug Chiplun KeralaRajmachi Raigad Sangli KarnatakaPanchgani Kihim Kolhapur Tamil Nadu

Bordi Khanvel RajasthanMumbai SolapurThane MumbaiMadh Island PanhalaKashid BeachBhandardaraShirdiManoriMurud

Gateway City Per Person Budget Per Person Budget Per Person Budget Per Person Budget< Rs. 20,000.00 < Rs. 30,000.00 < Rs. 50,000.00 > Rs. 50,000.00

Delhi Nepal Singapore Turkey UKThailand China AustraliaMalaysia New ZealandDubai EuropeHong Kong USA


Chandigarh Nepal Singapore Turkey UKAmritsar Thailand China AustraliaLudhiana Malaysia New ZealandJallandhar Singapore EuropeJaipur Hong Kong USALucknow Nepal ThailandAgra Dubai


Mumbai Dubai Singapore Turkey UKThailand China AustraliaMalaysia New ZealandSingapore EuropeHong Kong USANepal

TABLE 18. International Travel Matrix

84


Importance of Surrounding Areas near Delhi and Mumbai for Promotion of Tourism to Nepal

Delhi and Mumbai work as magnets to High Income and Medium Income families. There are excellent jobopportunities in these cities and qualified professional with an aspirational life style like to settle in thesecities.

Due to extreme pressure on infrastructure, there is a massive growth in the satellite areas of Delhi and Mumbai.These include towns such as Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad in Delhi and Navi Mumbai towns near Mumbai. Mostpeople would work in these cities and stay at close by areas. The growth of satellite towns and the gooddevelopment of infrastructure such as malls and golf courses is an indication of their rising status.

The young and spending middle class is buying houses and other amenities in these towns. They love tospend their money on luxuries and like to take holidays as and when possible. They are the right targetaudience for planning a tourist attraction campaign.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MATRIX


Ahmedabad Dubai Singapore Turkey UKPune Thailand China AustraliaSurat Malaysia New ZealandVadodara Singapore EuropeNagpur Hong Kong USA

Nepal


Suggestions on Market Segmentation with Special Reference to Nepal

Market segmentation is the process of dividing up a total market into smaller parts that share commoncharacteristics, in order to deliver services to those people most likely to be competitive tourism destinationsand industries have marketing strategies that target specific market segments in order to provide high valueproducts and services, and greater levels of tourist satisfaction. They acknowledge that the needs and wantsof tourists worldwide is not the same and that concentrating their efforts on a small part of the overallmarket will enable them to raise their credibility, have higher levels of tourist satisfaction and more cost-effective marketing efforts.

Markets can be divided in a number of different ways:

• Purpose of travel (Business, Leisure)• Geography (Which part of India)• Buyer needs and motivations (What are they seeking in the product)• Buyer or user characteristics (What will they do)• Demography (age, gender, lifecycle)• Economy (income, education, occupation)• Price (How much price are they willing to pay)

Before arriving at the suggested market segmentation for Nepal, the current situation needs to be reviewed.

Nepal traditionally has had very stable numbers from India. Typically customer segmentation for Nepal tourismwas focused on outbound International traveler from India who is leisure or a MICE traveler. A tourismpromotion strategy was devised to attract these consumers and despite all the promotions done, the numberswent down in the last decade.

The main reasons for the same could be the following:

• Perceived Security Risk• Undifferentiated product offering• Accessibility• Competition from other destinations

While focusing on the same customer segmentation, Nepal tried to create other possible tourism productmix such as Secondary destinations, Wildlife, Heritage, Adventure Sports etc and did tourism promotionactivities.

In the past, all Market segmentation of Indian Tourists have been done keeping the Indian Internationaltraveler in mind and which can be segmented in two broad categories:

• Leisure Traveller• Business Traveller

Chapter 7

86

Leisure Traveler

After reviewing the major travel websites, travel magazines, newspapers etc. Nepal as a destination doesn’tseem to leave a mark and lure Indian travelers interested in international leisure travel destinations.

Most Indian travelers seeking a holiday abroad can be divided in three major categories:

• First time travelers• Second time travelers• Well seasoned travelers

First Time Travelers

These categories of travelers are choosing Far East as their first point of travel from North India. From WestIndia, they are choosing between Far East and Middle East destinations. They are spending over Rs. 25000.00per person on their travel and a family of four ends up spending over Rs. 100,000.00 on their trip.

Second Time Travelers

This category is choosing UK and Europe as their travel destinations. They are spending over Rs. 50,000.00per person on their travel and a family of four ends up spending over Rs. 200,000.00 on their trip.

Well Seasoned Travelers

This category is now choosing exotic locales such as Egypt, Turkey, China, South Europe, Spain and USA astheir travel destinations. They are spending over Rs. 100,000.00 per person on their travel and a family offour ends up spending over Rs.400,000.00 on their trip.

Nepal with a per person cost of around Rs.15,000.00 is unlikely to be considered by Leisure Travelers andNepal hardly figures in their option list.

Business Traveler

For Nepal, there is minimal business travel from India and the only segmentation interesting for Nepal is theConference and Incentive sector. International Conference and Incentive sector can be divided into threemajor segments depending upon price segmentation.

Budget to Economy – For Corporations spending less than Rs. 25,000.00 – 45,000.00 per person, Thailand isemerging as the preferred option, followed by Singapore and Malaysia and UAE (Dubai)

Luxury – For Corporations spending less than Rs.1,00,000. 00 per person, London and other Europeandestinations are emerging as the preferred option.

Grand – For Corporations spending over Rs. 150,000.00 per person and USA and High end Europeandestinations are emerging as the preferred option.

Suggestions on Market Segmentation withSpecial Reference to NepalChapter 7


Domestic Market Segmentation

With a large and booming domestic tourism market in India, it is strongly suggested that Nepal should focuson Indian tourists planning holidays in India. The price point of Indian domestic holidays is quite similar to atrip to Nepal and it will be far easier to generate numbers from Indian domestic market than focusing onIndian International outbound market.

Indian domestic market for Nepal could be segmented in the following categories:

Family Holidays

People in the age group 30-39 year old may have children under 10 and are likely to travel with partner oras a family. Likely to pursue physical activities, visit nature reserves and place importance for their childrenlearning from travel. Normally plan a 4-7 days holidays break. This group is more likely to visit Nepal thanother groups and normally will plan their holidays well in advance.

Chapter 7

Family Holidays Characteristics

Type of Group FITEstimated period of stay 4-7 daysGroup composition Family with kidsThings most likely to do Tourism sites

Historical sitesShoppingCasino

Things least likely to do Extreme AdventurePlanning Horizon 2 monthsDecision Making Kids and FamilyPlaces to visit Kathmandu and PokharaBudget Spend Rs. 30000.00 – 50000.00Hotel Type 3-5 stars

TABLE 19. Characteristics of Family Holidays

88

Chapter 7

Young Working Couples

People in the age group 25-40 year old, both members have earning and no kids. Normally plan short termbreaks and prefer interactive travel experiences to passive holidays. They tend to crave physical or psychologicalchallenges and generally have a higher than average money to spend per trip. They plan their holidays at ashort notice.

Young Working Couples Characteristics

Type of Group FITEstimated period of stay 3-4 daysGroup composition FriendsThings most likely to do Unique experiences

Extreme AdventureNight Life and Shopping

Things least likely to do Religious CircuitPlanning Horizon 10-15 daysDecision Making What’s availablePlaces to visit VariedHotel Type 3-5 stars, Boutique, CampsBudget Spend Rs. 20000.00 -25000.00

Young and Restless Characteristics

Type of Group Group, by BusEstimated period of stay Both short and long breaksGroup composition FriendsThings most likely to do Nightlife

Adventure and ShoppingThings least likely to do Religious CircuitPlanning Horizon 15-20 daysDecision Making Price + OptionsPlaces to visit Kathmandu and suburbsBudget Spend Rs. 5000.00 – 10000.00Hotel Type 1 – 2 stars

Young and Restless

People in the age group 18-25 year old, fresh out of college are likely to travel with partner or a group offriends. Likely to pursue physical activities. Normally plan weekend breaks and can also consider longer 10-12day break. They plan their holidays at a short notice.

TABLE 20. Characteristics of Young and Restless

TABLE 21. Characteristics of Young Working Couples

Suggestions on Market Segmentation withSpecial Reference to Nepal


Chapter 7

Middle Age Consumers

People in the age group 40-55 year old, have children at home and are likely to travel with partner or as afamily. Travel focuses on getting close with nature and immersing in local culture while having a chance torest and recharge.

Middle Age Consumers Characteristics

Type of Group Group by AirEstimated period of stay 5-10 daysGroup composition FriendsThings most likely to do Sightseeing cultural and heritage

Night Life ShoppingThings least likely to do Extreme Adventure-Rafting, bungee jumping etcPlanning Horizon 4 weeksDecision Making Friends, past experiencePlaces to visit VariedHotel Type 3-5 stars, Boutique, CampsBudget Spend Rs. 25000.00 – 30000.00

Religious*

People in the age group 45-65 year old with no children at home are likely to travel with partner or group offriends. Personal growth is important when choosing destination and would like to visit and complete variousreligious destinations normally plan their holidays well in advance.

*This age group is also highly likely to visit Kailash Mansarover depending on their spending capacity as thetrip can cost upto Rs. 100,000.00 or above per person.

Religious Characteristics

Type of Group GroupEstimated period of stay 5-10 daysGroup composition Professional Tour operatorThings most likely to do Religious circuit

CultureHistorical

Things least likely to do Shopping/CasinoPlanning Horizon 2 monthsDecision Making GroupPlaces to visit All religious sitesHotel Type 2-3 starsBudget Spend Rs. 10000.00 – 20000.00

TABLE 22. Characteristics of Middle Age Consumers

TABLE 23. Characteristics of Religious Groups

Retired and Leisure Holiday makers Characteristics

Type of Group GroupEstimated period of stay 5-10 daysGroup composition Professional Tour OperatorThings most likely to do Culture

ReligiousHistorical

Things least likely to do Night LifePlanning Horizon 1-2 monthsDecision Making FamilyPlaces to visit Kathmandu and PokharaHotel Type 2-3 stars

Budget Spend Rs. 25000.00-30000.00

*This age group is also highly likely to visit Kailash Mansarover depending on their spending capacity as thetrip can cost upto Rs. 100,000.00 or above per person.

Retired and Leisure Holiday makers*

People in the age group of 55 to 60 + years, with children settled are likely to travel with partner or tourgroup. Travel is about relaxation and learning something new and something they will talk about afterwards.Want to be inspired and challenged by a destination. This group can spend maximum time at a holiday andwant quality accommodation.

TABLE 24. Characteristics of Retired and Leisure Holiday Makers

Chapter 7

90

Suggestions on Market Segmentation withSpecial Reference to Nepal

Suggestions on Marketing Strategy, Policies and Programs for Nepal to AttractIndian Tourists

Tourism plays a very important role in Nepal’s economy and is the key element to economic development.Every one related to this industry gains by offering products and services to the tourists. This includesstakeholders such as Hotels, Restaurants, Tour operators, Trekking Agents etc. All these linkages arereflected as shown in figure 7.

FIGURE 7. Tourism Supply Chain

Chapter 8

TOURISTS

Wastemanagement

CateringFood

production

Infrastructure(including

real estate)

Marketing/sales

Source: Deloitte Analysis.

LaundryEnergy

supplies

Transport todestinations

Groundtransport

Excursions/attractions

Restaurants LodgingFurniture/

craftsTour

operating


92

There is a major linkage between the Tourism Volume expansion and the Tourism Supply Chain Industry.If the Tourism Volume increases without a corresponding support by Supply Chain then the Tourists feelthat they are not getting the appropriate value for the money which they are spending. Supply chainshould be developed first before Tourism promotion exercise is planned. The figure 8 summaries theabove mentioned linkages:

FIGURE 8. Supply Chain and Tourism Volume

Suggestions on Marketing Strategy, Policies and Programsfor Nepal Tourism Board to Attract Indian TouristsChapter 8

• High absorptive capacity for indirect andinduced benefits

• Well-developed supply chains• Available domestic skills and labor force• Effective tourism strategies focusing on

enhancing value and volume of visitorswould contribute greatly to wider eeconomic development

• Well-developed supply chain andtourism sector

• Focus here needs to be enhancing valuegenerated through segmentation andfocus on high value added markets

• Sustain competitiveness and respond toemerging markets

• Low levels of tourism• Supply chains in the sector not fully

developed• Tourism strategy in this scenario must

work alongside supply chaindevelopment to capture and maximizeeconomic benefits

• High levels of tourism activity• Significant leakage of value due to

limited supply chain links• Any growth in tourism is unlikely to

deliver net benefits, after taking intoaccount infrastructure costs andimplications for congestion

• Focus must be to use vibrant tourismsector to strengthen supply chains andcapture value for the local economy

Supp

ly c

hain

s

Lim

ited

Exte

nsiv

e

Low HighValue and volume of tourism

Source: Deloitte analysis.


Deloitte has made a thorough analysis on how perceptions impact the destination. Some of the keyfactors which impact tourists have been highlighted in the figure 9. Security safety perception has thehighest impact on Tourism movement. This is closely followed by what alternatives tourist has and whatlevel of infrastructure is available. (Deloitte, 2008)

FIGURE 9. Tourism Leverage Points

Chapter 8

Pote

ntia

l im

pact

Low

Hig

h

Low HighPotential to influence

Security/safety

Alternatives (availability)Alternatives(relative cost)Taxation

Globalization

Incomes

Inflation

Weather/seasonality

Landscape and environment

Tastes/attitudes

Population

Infrastructure

AdaptabilityWelcome

Place-making

Choice of goods and services

Quality

Information provision

Skills

Access

Destination attractiveness

Investment

Relative cost

Spending power

Demographic factors


Destination attractiveness is the relative attractiveness of a tourist destination over time andattempts to quantify the impact of any improvements made in policy, tourism infrastructure,and so on.

Investment refers to tourism infrastructure (hotels, airplanes, recreation sites, etc.) as well as publicinvestment in areas supporting tourism (e.g., transport infrastructure) and the development ofthe tourism supply chain.

Relative cost is a key factor influencing decisions of both domestic and international travelers. Therecent significant appreciation of the dollar is a clear example of this at play.

Spending power is a significant driver of tourism amongst both domestic and source marketresidents.

Demographic factors comprise overall population growth, the dynamics of specific socioeconomicsegments, and trends and such as the aging of the population in many developed economies.

94

Perceptions and Stakeholder Viewpoints

The purpose of this study was to gather information, gain perspectives and share visions on what Nepalshould do to attract more tourists from India.

Discussions with stakeholders in India indicated major perception issues. Marketing tactics need to overcomethe prevailing view that Nepal is an unsafe and unpredictable destination with little to do besides local siteseeing and casino. Communications strategies need to address widespread uncertainty about local situationand the availability of confirmed services with variety of accommodations and amenities.

Nepal needs to be positioned from the Indian consumers’ point of view. Travel agents and customers talkedabout mixed messages leading to marketplace confusion and the need to be consistent, to ensure that Nepalis a safe 365 days destination.

Travel Agents talked about how best to organize the industry, to best position Nepal. Currently a lot of IndianTravel Agents are doing a lot of marketing on a lot of fronts to promote Nepal as a destination. But all of theseendeavours are being done at their costs and there is more support required from government of Nepal andNepal Tourism Board. For example, they feel they should get regular supply of brochures and at the sametime feel that too many brochures are out there and Nepal should come with a special brochure with keyhighlights on what the tourist should do.

Travel Agents also feel that Nepal has not defined itself as a destination, product offering lacks novelty,infrastructure is poor, and it is not optimising its potentialities. There was considerable agreement that theindustry is fragmented, that it is not organized to be a highly desirable destination. While some regions inNepal are more organized than others, it was realized that too many players and too many layers. There iscompetition from Nepal Hotels, Nepal Travel Agents and Tour Operators keen to make direct bookingsfrom the Indian Market. On the one hand there was a call for a strong marketing strategy led by NTB withaffordable buy-in opportunities – fewer advertisements in more effective brochures. On the other hand,the need for an overriding call to action was stressed —”Nepal Travel Now”— to counter the lack of safetyperception in Nepal.

At the end of the day, however, an underlying message was evident that an under-resourced structure andundervalued industry is much less of a problem than product development and infrastructure support. TravelAgents talked about key target markets which remain Kathmandu and Pokhara, as well as emerging and nichemarkets worth investigating and what needs to be done to these markets. There were also comments aboutfocussing on high-yield, low-impact markets rather than on high-volume, high-yield markets, which are lessecologically demanding.

The importance of identifying Nepal’s niche and enhancing market readiness was stressed by Travel Agents.Packaging should not be synonymous with discounting. Approaches such as bundling products, making amenu of offerings available and à la cart shopping were seen as key to attracting emerging and niche markets,as well as expanding target markets. Packages with a family focus were viewed as a core market, as well asthose that accentuate the diversity of a Nepal holiday. This should help to strengthen both the core andattract new markets.

Flexibility and customization will be required as operators figure out how to attract new visitors. This maymean appealing to visitors who do not think they are the outdoors type, or who reflect a broader diversity ofcultures and lifestyles or who are part of an aging demographic. The “accessible excitement,” was the wayone travel agent characterised it.

Chapter 8 Suggestions on Marketing Strategy, Policies and Programsfor Nepal Tourism Board to Attract Indian Tourists


Indian visitors are looking for sustainable experiences. Instead of just passing through an area they will spendtwo or three days and they want to leave with something to share the experience. Travel Agents stressed theimportance of taking advantage of demographic shifts. For example, the India is getting wealthier and it is notpractical to promote Nepal as an International destination to outbound travellers. Most stakeholders expressedthe value in offering services to the Indian middle class who are looking for a nice and affordable holidayexperience.

The need to review and refresh products was a consistent theme. Travel Agents need to take a good look atthe types of products and accommodations available in Nepal and match them to the needs and wants ofvarious clienteles. Infrastructure will need to be developed that will appeal to emerging and niche markets.

Inland transportation in interior Nepal is a challenge. Road infrastructure needs to be kept in a state of goodrepair for comfortable journey. Air travel needs to become more commonplace and affordable. Getting to adestination needs to be safe and predictable.

The lack of support for travel and tourism infrastructure such as trains and road transport was identified bytravel agents as a major issue. Further, there is a need to focus on rest stops, directional and interpretivesignage and customer service in general.

To summarise, it is suggested that promotional aspects of Nepal should focus on:

• Indian Middle Class• Increase effectiveness of Promotion Campaigns• Provide Indian industry with a communication tool• Keep Indian Travel Agents informed with the latest status

Streamline product offerings

Target Markets

No surprise the key activity drivers for Nepal have not changed. A nice affordable family holiday with sightseeing,shopping, soft outdoor adventure activities, visiting religious sites and Casino remain the most frequentlymentioned activities for travellers who express interest in visiting Nepal.

Over the short-term, say the next five years the growing Indian Middle Class will remain the mainstay forNepal Tourism. As such, Kathmandu and Pokhara should remain central to but not the only focus of marketingefforts in order to broaden the visitor base. Secondary and emerging-market opportunities to draw youth,adventure tourists and honeymooners need to be explored over the longer term. Interest in a Nepal holidayis sustainable for Indian Middle Class as long as it is coupled with opportunities for shopping, dining andexploring cities, local culture and history.

Investigating emerging markets of theme oriented niche tourism and the MNC weekend market also mayprove fruitful. The challenge is to position Nepal to appeal to these markets. Single activities are not sufficienttrip motivators as Indians want to do a lot in a short holiday. Many consumers want to see a combination ofoutdoor adventure and medium to high-end accommodations and amenities. For most travellers all inclusiveor menu-type packages are attractive.

Nepal regularly needs to communicate with Indian visitors in an organized, efficient and friendly manner to

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try to overcome the limited knowledge and safety misconceptions of potential visitors to Nepal. A consistentmessage delivered by all players is essential if potential visitors are to understand the quality and variety ofthings to see and do.

There are certain pertaining questions: How the Nepal experience is uniquely different from other vacationexperiences in India? Why would one choose this destination over others in India? Rich consumers want tobe assured that their trips will create a memorable experience so that they can treasure it for a long time.After all, there’s a lot of interesting destinations which are competing on the similar price range.

Deloitte has made an analysis of factors influencing visitor behaviour. Political and economic factors have thehighest rating on what particular destinations a tourist will select. Other factors such as social andinfrastructure/ assets have been highlighted as shown in the figure 10.

FIGURE 10. Factors Influencing Visitor Behaviour

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• Perceptions about safety and security• Globalization• Capacity (airports, water, sanitation)• Marketing of country• Open Skies agreement

• Experience with safety and security• Taxation on goods and services

POLITICAL

ECONOMIC

SOCIAL

INFRA-STRUCTURE/ASSETS

• Incomes• Inflation• Exchange rates• Migration• Taxation

• Socio-environmental awareness/consciousness

• Tastes—e.g., holiday type: historic vs.beach

• Reputation for extreme weather—e.g., rain,flooding, wildfires

• Internet• Low cost airlines• Digital information/mobile technology as a

substitute for business travel/onlineshopping

• Natural environment/landscape

• Competitive prices for good and services• Impact of taxation• Impact of inflation

• Available choice of goods and services• General experience on trip—e.g., quality• Experience with weather/seasonality—e.g.,

rain, flooding, wildfires• Culture clash/agreement

• Ease of travel during trip• Integrated systems—e.g., fast-tracking

PRE-TRIP FACTORS POST-TRIP FACTORSFACTOR

Suggestions on Marketing Strategy, Policies and Programsfor Nepal Tourism Board to Attract Indian Tourists


Next Steps

Nepal needs to build a foundation for the new marketing strategy and the key issues are:

• Identifying opportunities for growth• Identifying opportunities for aligning tourism stakeholders• Working with the team that is developing the strategy to ensure that information is shared with the

Indian Travel Agents and industry stakeholders

There has never been a better time for Nepal to become more competitive as a tourist destination. Never hasthe tourism industry and its stakeholders been more of one mind about the need for a marketing change todrive the fortunes of the business in a more positive direction.

Market Nepal Differently – Beautiful place to visit…clean, pristine, safe with different experiences, solitude.One brand, one printed piece.

Need to be truly Indian Middle Class consumer-focused. Provide incentives to Indian Travel Agents to do abetter job of marketing. Align efforts better. Organise regular FAM trips educating about different productsthat Nepal has to offer and to develop markets like adventure tourism, etc.

Nepal needs to sell what you do best. Don’t market products to the wrong target market.

Start marketing a destination offering best value for the Indian Middle Class. For example “We are Nepal andour product is the experience of exotic, interesting and memorable experiences.”

Make it clear that that Nepal is the destination which is assessable at low cost, but with all the options ofexperiencing everything in one country – natural beauty, peace, rejuvenation, adventure. Need to keep itsimple.

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Let’s Get Started

Nepal – Now!

The goal of the new strategy is to maximize the limited marketing resources available to NTB through thealignment of industry and NTB marketing ventures. The strategy that follows suggests that all levels of theindustry and government should initiate to take risks to get ahead of the competition. To do this, they shouldfocus on following three areas:

• A competitive offer for Nepal, targeting the right people, in the right places with the right message.• A new way of working together that aligns the efforts of all the players as opposed to duplicating them.

Support and guidance for the industry in the form of tools that everyone can use to help align theirefforts under the overarching strategy.

• The proposed strategy should be based on “best numbers” outlook. It should not replace the marketingefforts currently underway focusing on the avid and touring markets rather it should guide these andpresent a road map for quick successes for new business. This strategic approach should be measured atevery stage of its implementation, so that it can be adjusted during the implementation period.

Recommendations

Markets: The main focus should be on “best numbers” markets – the growing Indian Middle Class – Nepal’sstrategy should be consumer-focused and keep on top of emerging lifestyle trends. Indian consumers aregenerally not the travellers to International high end destinations. They normally choose Indian domesticdestinations and will chose Nepal, if it meets their holiday budget and desire expectations.

Stay Ahead of Competitors: NTB should leverage technology and effectively heed domestic competitors suchas Mussoorie, Agra and Jaipur.

Product: The main focus should be on the Family Holiday with emphasis on sightseeing and shopping. It isvery important to add and promote bundles for variety and new markets in addition to leveraging marketready Kathmandu and Pokhara Products.

Positioning: There is a need to create a distinct underlying image of Nepal and use it to link efforts.

Competitive Advantage: The lessons learned over the years should be applied and implemented and bestpractices from others should be taken into consideration to gain a competitive advantage.

Align and Coordinate: There is a need to re-align source markets and marketing tactics to leverage trip-planning behaviour. This could be done with consistent communication strategies.

Take Advantage of Trends: There is an increasing disposable and discretionary income in the Indian MiddleClass. These consumers, and their pent-up demand, are prime targets for Nepal.

Time Deprivation: The trend is less time for leisure and more for shorter vacations. Therefore 3N/4Dholiday package can meet their requirements.

Listen to Perceptions and Act: NTB’s platform should link all levels of marketing initiatives and be distinctive.



The current low awareness with the focused audience gives us the liberty to create a “new” Nepal.

Make it Easy to Buy and Use: Trips planning tools to capture consumer leads online and offer all inclusivepackages.

Media Consumption Shifts

There is a monumental change taking place in the way consumers are accessing and using media across Indiaand there should be a judicial mix of spending patterns in all media vehicles including:

• TV• Newspaper• Magazines• FM Radio• Billboard• Internet

A review of target markets show how Nepal need to allocate efforts discreetly to build opportunistic business,while ensuring its core business is protected.

Factors affecting choice of media include:

• Existing Clutter level of specific medium within the market• Reach of medium across the target group• Consumer preference for a specific medium• Suitability of the medium given the objective of the advertising /marketing exercise• Prior experience of the marketer with the success of the medium in a specific market

All media spend should focus on the Indian Middle Class Target group in both West and North India and matchNepal’s interests to their demographic characteristics, travel habits, media consumption and lifestyle drivers.

Change Marketing Delivery to Meet Consumer Needs

Marketing Communications Strategies

The strategic direction that follows prioritizes how marketing communications tools can be leveraged againstthe “best numbers” targets and markets described.

Public Relations

The use of public relations as a marketing tool is growing by leaps and bounds, as consumers disassociatethemselves from the fragmented and ever increasing number of advertising messages they are receiving ona daily basis. The public relations strategy for the marketing of Nepal should support the positioning andexperiences that best exemplify the distinctive nature of the “Best Numbers” offer. Trends should be carefullymonitored to ensure that the appropriate blend of traditional and new media are used as, per target grouphabits.

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Consumer Touch Points

Traditionally, consumer and tradeshow participation has been a primary consumer touch point utilized byNTB, Travel operators, and other stakeholder groups.

Currently, NTB participates in trade shows, despite the fact that they have a high cost per visitor acquisitionand are, as a marketing communications medium, on the decline in terms of both frequency and attendance.

The recommended strategy is to limit show participation to those that are:

• located in geographic target markets• attended by “best numbers target group members• permit floor activation techniques, such as field marketing and onsite promotions

Familiarization Trips

Criteria for media and trade familiarization trip funding should be based on the ability of the visiting media toshowcase Nepal to the target audience.

Publications and Collateral

Try and reach potential visitors by paying attention heavily on the communications channels preferred bypeople planning to travel to Nepal. Publications should be used as fulfillment pieces for pre-qualified leads,with less emphasis on directories and more on trip planning tools.

Consumers want information specific to the experience that facilitates their purchase decision. Furthermoretheir purchase decision depends on appropriate design of collateral that should be readily available fromtourism shows, sites, tourism offices and kiosks.

Maintaining Competitive Advantage

For this strategy to be successful there needs to be an ongoing commitment to continuously undertake researchto ensure Nepal maintains a competitive advantage. To effectively implement the new strategy and achievethe implementation of the cascading approach and the alignment of efforts, the current funds spent onmarketing initiatives and human resource efforts should need to shift over the course of the strategy.

The environment that the Nepal tourism industry operates is a dynamic one that regularly shifts and changesas new opportunities and challenges emerge out. Seeking new investment from the public and private sectorshould be a priority for all parties to increase the marketing spend to reach the “best numbers” markets anddrive consumers to take a holiday decision that should eventually link to the suppliers who can fulfill thepromise.



Budget Activity Suggested Spendfor 12 months (IRs)

1. Television Rs. 40,00,000.002. Newspapers Rs. 20,00,000.003. Magazines Rs. 10,00,000.004. FM Radio Rs. 20,00,000.005. Internet Rs. 10,00,000.006. Public Relations Rs. 15,00,000.007. Consumer Promotion Rs. 30,00,000.008. India Travel Trade Road shows Rs. 40,00,000.009. Media Fame trips NTB costs

10. Travel Agent Fam trips NTB costs

Budget Allocation and Strategy

The following budget allocation strategy should assist stakeholders in understanding the shift in effort requiredto address the changing marketing landscape.

The new marketing investment strategy should support conventional as well as Internet marketing strategies,public relations, and should result in lead generation and targeted industry co-operative marketing programs.

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Television

As the focus is on increasing volumes, the following suggestion should be taken into consideration:

1. Reduce spending money on High End Consumer focussed channels.2. Need to focus on Vernacular channels and with a special focus on News channels in particular.3. Should spend money on news scrollers with package rate options and with a toll free number to provide

instant information access.4. Special promotions on religious channels such as Aastha and Sanskar for Kailash Mansarovar and

Pashupatinath darshans.5. Long term scroller contracts rather than advertisement to have sustained visibility.

Suggested Mediums

Hindi Marathi Gujarati• Aajtak • Star Majha • ETV Gujarati• Zee News • IBN Lokmat • TV9 Gujarat• IBN 7 • Zee 24 Taas• Sahara Samay• India TV• NDTV India• STAR News

TABLE 25. Budget Activities

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Newspapers

Due to extreme clutter and expensive rates for English Medium newspapers, it is suggested to follow a focussedapproach on the target audience using Vernacular newspapers. This shall result in greater exposure amongsttarget audience at a much lower cost.

To ensure prompt conversions, tactical advertising should be done during the beginning of holiday decisionmaking period along with travel agent contact details for ensuring faster conversions.

Suggested Mediums

Hindi Marathi EnglishHindustan Maharahtra Times Delhi TimesNavbharat Times HT CityPunjab Kesari Gujarati Indian ExpressAmar Ujala Gujarat SamacharDainik Jagaran Divya BhaskarDainik BhaskarRajasthan Patrika

Magazines

Following the same approach, it is recommended to choose appropriate Vernacular language publication.Suggested publications are Griha Shobha and Meri Saheli in Hindi, Chitralekha in Marathi and Gujarati. Asponsorship contest along with an advertorial with travel agent participation would create the maximumimpact.

FM Radio

In 2007, Indian Radio Advertising Industry recorded a growth of 24% and is now becoming a preferred mediumfor targeting the local audience of the region. Hence, intensive use of FM Radio as a medium to attractinterested holiday makers is a great option. (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2008)

Internet

Tactical use of popular websites such as google, msn and facebook can create lasting impressions on the user.While this medium has not been used in the past, it can be used to interact with a new audience.

Consumer Promotions

Following the overwhelming success of shopping mall promotions in Delhi in June 2009, it is stronglyrecommended organising similar promotions in the target markets for getting stronger conversions.At least 6 promotions in one year are suggested and the target cities should be:

• Delhi • Jaipur • Lucknow• Mumbai • Ludhiana• Chandigarh • Ahmedabad



Travel trade needs to be an important component for this exercise as most consumers need an instantsolution for prompt decision making.

India Travel Trade Road Shows

Road shows result in networking of local travel agents with Nepalese travel agents and this gives an opportunityto discuss the business requirements in details. Greater number of Road Shows are required for greaterpenetration in the Indian markets. Suggested cities for next 12 months are:

North & Central India West IndiaDelhi MumbaiJaipur PuneAmbala SuratChandigarh AhmedabadAmritsar RajkotLudhiana NashikJallandhar NagpurGwaliorVaranasiDehradoonShimlaJammuKanpurLucknowBhopalIndore

Travel Trade and Media FAM Trips

These activities are necessary to sustain the Indian market. At least 10 travel trade and media FAM tripsshould be organised for ensuring better results.

Visitors could be selected from:

North India West IndiaDelhi Patna MumbaiAmbala Kanpur PuneChandigarh Lucknow SuratAmritsar Varanasi AhmedabadLudhiana Dehradoon RajkotJallandhar Shimla JaipurGwalior Jammu NashikIndore NagpurBhopal

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The Next Step

A concerted effort on the part of the NTB, Airlines, and Travel agents to commit to a new partnership is thestarting point to make this work.

Increased investment to support new and innovative tactics and marketing reach, clarity of roles and functions,strategically directed implementation are strongly suggested.

In order to ensure that this strategy is sustainable, the following measures need to be considered andimplemented:

• Listen to the consumer – Be consumer-focused rather than industry-focused, and leverage trends andbehaviours strategically.

• Focus on “best numbers” markets and targets. Allocate the scarce marketing efforts to focus on theplaces and people with the most potential, but not limit to them. Leverage the demographic and economicrealities, and ensure that the potential of Nepal as a market is well-tapped.

• Start with North India and do it well - Leverage the potential of Nepal itself as an easy to reach and a nearby domestic holiday destination.

• Stay ahead of competitors – Nepal should leverage technology and effectively bring out the story andexperiences of visitors via the Internet.

• Measure and report - It’s crucial to the success of this strategy that a track of success of the investmentand ROI is kept to on focus the target, and to meet objectives and stay ahead of competitive destinationsof Nepal.



Recommendations and Guidelinesfor Nepal Tourism Annual Promotion Plan 2010/11

TABLE 26. Suggested Activities

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Month Core Focus Suggested Activities Brand North India West IndiaBuilding Market Market

Jan Enabling online sales RFP for website design * * *

Travel Trade Education Travel Agent FAM trips * *

Feb Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showPune –Mumbai-Nashik * *

March Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showLucknow-Varanasi-Patna * *

Destination Awareness Media FAM trip * *

April Consumer Awareness Television Advertising * * *

Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai * * *

Consumer Awareness Internet banner campaign * * *

Consumer Promotion Direct Interaction –Shopping mallPromotion Mumbai & Pune * *

May Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai * * *


June Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai * * *


July Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showChandigarh-Shimla-Ambala * *

Aug Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showAhmedabad-Bhopal-Indore * *

Travel Trade Education Travel Agent FAM trip * *

Sep Consumer Awareness Television Advertising * * *

Consumer Awareness Newspaper Advertising * * *

Consumer Awareness Magazines Advertising * * *

Consumer Promotion Direct Interaction –Shopping mallPromotion – Noida & Gurgaon * *

Oct Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai * * *

Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showsAmritsar-Ludhiana-Jallandhar * *

Nov Consumer Awareness Newspaper Advertising * * *

Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai * * *

Consumer Promotion Direct Interaction –Shopping mallPromotion – Amritsar & Chandigarh * *

Consumer Awareness Magazines Advertising * * *

Dec Consumer Awareness FM Radio Delhi- Mumbai *

Travel Trade Education India Travel Trade Road showDelhi-Jaipur Gwalior * *

Destination Awareness Media FAM trip * *

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The Trends in Information, Communication and Technologyin Tourism Development

Tourism is a leisure activity but can be associated with a definite purpose like pilgrimage or health. With thedevelopment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), tourism has achieved a new momentum.The website of Lonely Planet attracts more than five million people every month, most of who log on repeatedly.As per the forecast by PhoCus Wright, a travel and technology research company, it is estimated that about35% of leisure travel have been booked online by 2008.

Industry & IT

Tourism and Travel Industry - a heterogeneous industry made of complex and consists of many componentsparts. Intangible, perishable and international service industry is getting right business curve backed byinformation technology now days.

The best example of information technology application in Travel and Tourism is automated reservation systemfor Railways & Airlines. There are IT solutions for hotels, motels, hospitality, travel intermediaries, entertainmentand tourism at par to streamline business processes, improve customer relationships and more efficientoperations.

Trends in Industry (Applicable to Most of Countries)

1. A competitive industry with new entrance of global players coming from abroad2. Continuous change in customer demands3. Expectations of a tourist are increased and look for more convenience and value for money4. Tourists are more informed5. There is a need of automated technologies

Who needs information? Before starting use of information technology, it is important to know the groundneeds of information sharing and accessibility. Travel and Tourism Industry is consisted of tourist, travel agents,service providers, government and private tourism offices or consultants.

Tourist – a key consumer needs details on destinations, facilities, availabilities, prices, and geography & climateinformation. If it is out of country then details about border controls & relations.

Travel agents look for detail information about tourist (consumer) trends in the market, service providers,destinations, facilities, availabilities, prices, tour packages and direct contact with other branches. Serviceproviders need to know details of consumer, travel agents, competitors and agencies.

Tourism offices search for trends in industry, size and nature of tourism flows, policies and plans fordevelopment. IT enabled tourism is coined as ‘e – tourism’. Online tourism is at a platform that enables directbooking, easy payment for end-user, business-to-business trading for product providers, travel agents andresellers.

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E–Commerce—all the web sites and portals launched by government as well as private organizationsoffer a wide range of tourism products and services like airlines, hotels, restaurants, camp-sites, tours,activity centers, concerts, festivities, shopping and many more with choices of assortments of services.

Plan their tour online through agents’ web sites. Reservation or shopping of facilities for train, airlines, cruise,hotels, resorts, motels, rental cars and adventures can be done on line. Still leaving a part of simple webbased portal, which just provides static information and beautiful pictures with less updated knowledge anddata transfer, tourism industry is expecting more practical and satisfied chain solutions from InformationTechnology.

Advance technologies in Tourism Industry rather than dot com and e-commerce, travel and tourism industryis looking for solution like E-Business or U-Business (Universal Business) solutions.

Customer relationship management – CRM, based system enables service provider to provide knowledge,value and efficient service to its clients. CRM enables service provider to build up a life time relationship byproviding on time solutions. Especially tourism industry needs excellent CRM solutions to assist visitors orclients before flying on tour, during tour and after tour services. CRM solutions can be provided to a visitorthrough web, email, call center, kiosks and traveling information offices.

Value chain integration – Tourism industry is a chain of many service providers. In long term solutions, costcutting & effectiveness in data & information transfer, speed in transactions and looking towards heavymultimedia based services – back end systems need excellent value chain integration through solutions likeERP and CRM. However till today applications of CRM and ERP are not up to the industrial remarks as tourismindustry is kind of service industry. Knowledge Management Systems and business intelligence systems havewide scope of implementation in tourism industry.

Comparing history timelines and providing instant knowledge about place on the spot makes eager to knowmore about place to a tourist. Even information enables analyst to find tourist’s behavior and trends withdata and information. To find out customer’s demand is no more difficult task. Use of advance technologiesInteractive Digital Television (IDTV), Mobile technologies and Internet are carving new faces in customerservices for tourism industry. That’s great for adventure tourist. Through a mobile, tourist can be guidedthrough cultural heritage through multi – language voice, text or images. Even it is possible for a tourist tofind details on fees, opening days and timings for nearby places, find bookshop, cafe, restaurant or ATM fromwhere ever s/he is present.

In advanced countries, e – tourism concept was applied and put in practice in last decade. However e –tourism is still in growing phase with advance technology’s application. But for developing countries andunderdeveloped countries it is under capitalised. With application of e-tourism, the travelers would be ableto make online reservation, bookings and receive immediate confirmation, this would remove a lot of obstaclesthat are faced by a tourist. Europe is ahead of other continents in development of travel industry with nearly49% market share. America is second with 26 % and Asia with 17 % at third position.

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Human Resource & Tourism Development

Tourism being an employment oriented sector, it is estimated that the hotel and the catering sector providemore than 10% of the total employment generated by the tourism industry. Being a labour oriented industry,directly in contact with the country’s tourists, skills required by personnel engaged in this sector are differentfrom those required by personnel engaged in other sectors. At present there are 24 Institutes of HotelManagement (IHMs), and 11 Food Craft Institutes (FCIs). The IHMs conduct diploma courses, post graduatediploma courses, craft and certificate courses. The FCIs conduct diploma courses in cookery, food and beverageservices, housekeeping, etc.

In order to harness the resources and provide a central thrust, the MoT has also established the NationalCouncil for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHM&CT). The main objectives of the Council areto advise the Government on coordinated development of Hotel Management and Catering Education toprescribe educational and other qualifications for staff in the institutions to give certification and accreditation,and to standardize the courses. Indian MoT encouraged the Institutes of hotel management to exploreappropriate means to generate their additional resources during the 10th Plan, so that these institutionsgradually become self supporting at least on revenue accounts. Assistance was given to them to enhancetheir infrastructural facilities.

The NCHM&CT, which has emerged as an apex body in the country for hospitality management education,was assisted for construction of its new building at Noida. The building is almost ready and it is expected thatit will meet the requirements of Council. The existing FCIs, IHMs and the institutes in the private sector caterto mainly the organized sector. The unorganized sector consisting of small hotels, dhabas, restaurants andother joints spread all over the country hardly get an opportunity of training from skilled and professionaltrainers in the hospitality sector. As it is not possible and viable to set up FCIs in every district, a number ofCapacity Building Programmes for the workers of unorganized sector were organized by FCIs and IHMs duringthe 10th Plan through outreach training programmes.

Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), established in 1983 as a registered society underthe MoT primarily for developing and promoting education, training and research in travel and tourism, whichwas just running a single P.G. Diploma Course, has started two new courses during the 10th Plan i.e., a BachelorDegree in Tourism (a three-year course) and a Masters Degree in Business Administration (a two-year course)with specialization in tourism. During the year, the Institute has started construction of its Campus atBhubaneswar for its Eastern Regional Centre on the land provided by the State Government free of cost. TheInstitute also conducted a number of capacity building programmes for the workers in the unorganized sectorlike Railway Coolies, Taxi walas, Dhaba and Hotel Staff, unemployed youth, etc. The Institute also conducteda number of Guide Training Programmes during the plan period to upgrade the skills of existing guides as alsoto recruit new guides. During the 10th Plan, the Institute has become almost self sufficient to meet its regularrevenue expenditure.

Guide training courses are organized by the MoT and also by the State Governments. These courses includeprogrammes for fresh tourist guides and refresher courses for those already active in guide services. Thecontents of these courses were restructured during the 10th Plan. Courses were also organized for Governmentofficials who have an interface with the tourists.

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Annexure II


The Commonwealth Games 2010

Since the Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in the India’s capital city – Delhi, the governmenthas come up the new development plans to change the look and feel of the city. Further the new project havecome up to discover new heritage religious, adventurous tourists sites in the northern states of India borderingDelhi including Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

All the athletes would be offered free accommodation, security, a pollution free environment, freetransportation and entertainment options for the non competition times. They will be offered a free trip tothe famed Taj Mahal – the ‘Seventh Wonder of the World’ clubbed with the other heritage sites such as theRed Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandra Itmad-ul-Daulah’s Tomb, Chini Ka Rauza, Ram Bagh, Soami Bagh, DayalBagh and many more.

Apart from that other major tourists spots in India including the Shimla, Jhansi, Kerala Backwaters, Goa beaches,Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Rajasthan Forts and Palaces, Dehradun, Haridwar, Ranikhet, Punjab etc arelikely to attract large number of foreign tourists in the year 2010. Medical and ayurvedic sectors will also beequally beneficiary during the commonwealth games in view of India’s popularity in ancient tradition of yogaand ayurveda and the availability of low cost medical treatments in India.

Tour agents in India are opened with the new hot travel deals for 2010 Commonwealth Games for the foreigntourists. They have come up with the exclusive packages at the most attractive prices that are truly rewardingfrom the economic point of view. Tourists have been making online reservation in advance for the upcomingCommon Wealth Games.

The Government of India has Launched a Bed and Breakfast Scheme

Over 1,000 Delhites have registered to be part of government’s Bed and Breakfast scheme for Commonwealthgames visitors. With world class interiors, top-of-the-line facilities, well-maintained bathrooms and smokedetectors, many homes in the posh southern and central parts of the city are getting ready to welcome theone lakh extra tourists who are expected to descend on the Capital for Commonwealth Games 2010.

Some additional initiatives taken by the Government-the Delhi government’s Bed and Breakfast scheme hasattracted 1,000 Delhites who have a room to spare. However, the government is already under duress as theplanned hotel rooms to make up for the shortage are running behind schedule. A parliamentary panel hadpredicted a shortage of 14,000 rooms in the city. The government had planned to register 3,000 rooms underthe Bed and Breakfast scheme launched two-and-a-half years ago but so far, only 1,000 rooms have beenregistered.

The event will witness a lot of foreign tourists coming to India. Most of the foreigners are unaware aboutIndian traditions and culture. Staying with an Indian family and sharing the food on the breakfast table willcertainly help them to know country better and create a bond .The scheme was launched to provide a cleanand affordable place for foreigners and domestic tourists, including an opportunity for foreign tourists to staywith an Indian family and to experience Indian customs and traditions and relish authentic Indian cuisine.This will also add to the income of these home owners without adding much to their expenses. The India-wide scheme has particular importance in Delhi, which is expected to be short of about 18,000 rooms whenits hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010. The tourism ministry is banking heavily on the scheme to bail itout of the severe shortage of rooms. “The ministry is expecting around a lakh international tourists to thecountry during the Games and it is a golden opportunity

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How Nepal Can Benefit

Advertising during this time will rope in Indian as well as international visibility and attention and the cost foradvertising in metros and popular tourist destination will bring in priceless benefits. Hoardings, bus standshelters, metros are some of the options which can have major impact on the onlookers looking for a weekendgetaway. Creating weekend gateways packages and advertising at the right time with easy booking processmight be able to lure the visitors traffic towards Nepal as thousands of international tourists are expected toarrive for Commonwealth game and a three day getaway is something that can be aimed for.

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Annexure II The Commonwealth Games 2010



Annexure III

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian Tourism

One of the most notable features of economic globalization has been the increased importance of foreigndirect investment around the World. Some view it as an engine of economic growth and developmentwhile others look upon it as a panacea for all ills. It is, however, important to weigh the costs and thebenefits of FDI to gauge whether FDI has positive impact on economic development. FDI has the potentialto generate employment, raise productivity, enhancing competitiveness of the domestic economy throughtransfer skills and technology, strengthening infrastructure, enhance exports and contribute to the long-term economic development of the world’s developing countries. More than ever, countries at all levels ofdevelopment seek to leverage FDI for development. FDI as a developmental tool in all sectors and tourismis considered no exceptions. Liberalization policies have led to rapid growth in FDI flows in recent years.Based on the benefits associated with FDI several developing, as well developed countries compete fiercelyfor FDI. They try to attract foreign investors by providing financial and fiscal incentives, undertaking corporaterestructuring and economic reforms and inviting foreign investors in the privatization of state-run units. In2001, for example 71 countries made 208 changes in their FDI regulatory policies, out of which 194 havedone to attract higher FDI.

100% FDI is Permissible in the Sector on the Automatic Route.

The term hotels include restaurants, beach resorts, and other tourist complexes providing accommodationand/or catering and food facilities to tourists. Tourism related industry include travel agencies, tour operatingagencies and tourist transport operating agencies, units providing facilities for cultural, adventure and wildlife experience to tourists, surface, air and water transport facilities to tourists, leisure, entertainment,amusement, sports, and health units for tourists and Convention/Seminar units and organizations.

For Foreign Technology Agreements, Automatic Approval is Granted if

1. Up to 3% of the capital cost of the project is proposed to be paid for technical and consultancy servicesincluding fees for architects, design, supervision etc.

2. Up to 3% of net turnover is payable for franchising and marketing/publicity support fee, and up to 10% ofgross operating profit is payable for management fee, including incentive fee. (Department of IndustrialPolicy & Promotion, 2003)

Need for FDI in Tourism

Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to grow to 10 million by 2010-12 and the domestic tourism is expectedto increase by 15% to 20% over the next five years as per the MoT expectations based on the growth in thelast one decade. There is a rapid growth in average room rates and is expected to continue until sufficientnew supply come on stream (average increase is 21% since 2004-06 in 4 & 5 star segment). Government ofIndia is allowing 100% FDI in Hotels and Tourism, through the automatic route and has also identified theinvestment opportunity of about $8-10 billion in the next 5 years in tourism sector. India has significantpotential for becoming a major global tourist destination. It is estimated there is a need of around 10 billionUS $ required for development of tourism as per the different state tourism estimates for the next five years.The long term capital requirement of all states is estimated around 56 billion US $ for the next 20 years.

A rapidly growing middle class, the advent of corporate incentive travel and the multinational companies intoIndia has boosted prospects for tourism. India’s easy visa rules, public freedoms and its many attractions asan ancient civilization makes tourism development easier than in many other countries. In order to attract

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more visitors, India needs to increase room supply, open further its skies to increase air capacity, andupgrade its airports, roads and other infrastructure to global standards. Also tourism development needsto be pursued with a focus on sustainability. Though the Government of India is allowing 100% FDI inautomatic route to India in tourism sector and there is a wide gap between the demand and supply ofhotel rooms and other tourism infrastructure projects, Tourism has attracted the FDI 660.87 million US $which is 1.46 percent of the total FDI inflow into India from April 2000 to December 2007.

Reasons to Invest in this Sector

• Economic liberalization has given a new impetus to the hospitality industry.

• The Indian hospitality industry is growing at a rate of 15 percent annually. The current gap betweensupply and demand expected to widen further as the economy opens and grows.

• The travel and hospitality industry continues to be the sector, which has largely profited from the fastgrowing economy of India. This has largely been due to the 3.9 million tourist arrivals in FY06 (15%growth)over the previous period. The compounded growth in tourist inflow over the last ten years (FY96-FY05)has been 8.2%, while in the last five years, growth stands at 9.1% per annum.

• This increase in the number of tourist arrivals in the country lifted the country’s standing in the world oftourist destinations. The country is ranked fourth among the world’s must see countries. The sectorcontinues to face certain problems.

• A rapidly growing middle class, the advent of corporate incentive travel and the multinational companiesinto India has boosted prospects for tourism. India’s easy visa rules, public freedoms and its manyattractions as an ancient civilization makes tourism development easier than in many other countries.

• The five star hotel segments have grown the fastest during the last five years at a CAGR of 12%. Further,this segment can be divided into 3 sub-segments Luxury, Business and Leisure. The growth in this segmentindicates the genre of travelers coming into the country. Over the last few years the country has witnesseda large influx of business travelers in the country owing to relaxation of the government’s stand on FDIfor most of the sectors in the country.

• Many foreign companies have already tied up with prominent Indian companies for setting up new hotels,motels and holiday resorts. The entry of McDonald’s, PepsiCo’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Domino’s andPizza Hut has given an international glitz to the hospitality sector.

• It costs an average of US$50-80 million to set up five-star hotels with 300 rentable rooms in India. Thegestation period is usually between three and four years. (Subbaro, S. P. 2008)

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Annexure III Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inIndian Tourism



Annexure IV

Role of Bollywood and International Tourism Boards

Bollywood or the Hindi Indian film industry as is popularly known has unmistakably led fans of this popularcine culture to experience fresher climes in the Finnish Lapland of Rovaniemi and Poland (Fanaa), Victoria inAustralia (Salaam Namaste), Korea (Gangster), Brazil (Dhoom II), Kandahar and Kabul (Kabul Express), Ras AlKhaimah (Deewane Hue Pagal, 36 China Town) and Malaysia (Don II). The trend which began perhaps with“Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge in the 90’s lapping up the UK and Swiss borders has now transcended its’boundaries across the Atlantic to New York with Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna and Kal Ho Na Ho.

As Dubai along with Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore have been added as new destinationsto the Mumbai film repertoire, Tourism Boards the world over along with Mumbai and India are clamoring fora slice of the Indian film industry which is expected to cross a turnover of Rs.140 billion, as per a KPMGconsultancy report. With the Hindi movie sector in India selling a billion more tickets annually than perhapsHollywood, showcasing themes from all over the world, Kashmir and Kerala have given way to worlddestinations sites as more producers go westwards to film their movie musicals.

The Indian Tourism Ministry and the Maharashtra government too are gearing up looking forward to createprivate or public partnerships to promote Bollywood Tourism, especially in the United Kingdom which hasalready worked out a counter tourism strategy to lure Hindi film fans. The British move is to allow Hindi filmbuffs to walk the paths of the now famous British locales of London, Scotland and Yorkshire and relive theirfavorite Bollywood’s filmy moments. With India’s official carrier proposing to add new flights to London andEuropean sectors to rope in the large Indian expatriate community, Britain’s Tourism department is alreadypitching high on Bollywood through the sale and distribution of an innovative “Bollywood Map of Britain”,with dozens of dots that identify now-seen scenes from Hindi blockbusters- locations such as the BlenheimPalace, Waddesden Manor- used extensively for the shots of Kabhie Khushie Kabhie Gham (K3G) and manymore such spots made famous in Bollywood movies.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has recently accepted Bollywood’s populism and has stepped up its might toattract and promote Hong Kong as a destination for filming Bollywood films. In the recent past, Hong Kongrecorded a 24.7 per cent growth in visitors from India and this has led the tourism board to learn certainmovie making linkages between Mumbai and Hong Kong which has plans to develop destination and tourpackages revolving around Bollywood and also market the extensive production centers in Hong Kong toIndian movie makers. The Singapore Tourism Board in 2006 launched a “Krrish” tour package.

The Swiss success of Bollywood has now trickled onto Finland and the Finnish Tourism Board (FTB) in therecent past has organized programs for Bollywood’s dream merchants to familiarize themselves with Finland.The FTB proposes to give location subsidies. The idea of the FTB is to sell the midnight sun and NorthernLights of the archipelago and bring it under Bollywood’s arch lights. With a direct flight to Helsinki from India,the prospects look very promising .With over 900 films being produced in India each year, the entire fanfollowing in Bollywood has definitely redefined the tourism sectors globally. With film festivals and awardsshows the rage of the times, more and more countries are offering their destination points to set shop forBollywood’s pre and post productions, also setting aside budgets for awards and glitterati shows. The MalaysianGovernment had set aside about $US 2.7 million to host the 2006 Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) thuspushing up sales for Malaysia as a prime Bollywood destination, already made famous in a host of Hindi films.Most popular being the Petronas twin towers, Langkawi and Penang.

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Tourist’s destinations in Amsterdam, Zakopane in Poland and New Zealand had a new lease from Indian touroperators following the success of films such as Hum Tum, Fanaa and Kaho Na Pyar Hein respectively. What“Lord of the Rings” did to New Zealand with the surge in its “Frodo economy”, the Indian Bollywood Industryis toning up to the global travel and hospitality industry.

Nepal is yet to tap in the mainstream Bollywood Industry and with such close proximity to India and with avariety of destinations to offer to the Indian movie industry, Nepal’s Hospitality & Tourism industry and theIndian film industry can both benefit mutually as the cost involved for the industry would dramatically belower as compared to any other international destination without compromising on the scenic beauty andNepal would get priceless recognition, visibility needless to say much better than what a 30 sec commercialcan establish on prime time. However some interesting schemes need to be launched keeping in mind therequirements of the Indian film industry and it should be brought to notice of Indian Film makers, however itwould take a lot of effort to lure this clientele. NTB is suggested to develop:

• Strategic Planning• Schemes• Great Incentives• High End FAM trips• Presentations followed by Gala Nights

These are just few examples of practices followed by various tourism Boards to entice the film Industry totake notice.

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Annexure IV Role of Bollywood andInternational Tourism Boards



Annexure V

References

Assocham Research Bureau. 2008. Globalisation Growth and People. New Delhi: The Associated Chambers ofCommerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Deloitte. 2008. The Economic Case for the Visitor Economy: Final Report. London: Deloitte.

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. 2003. Manual on Foreign Direct Investment in India: Policy andProcedures. New Delhi: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

Director General Tourism. 2000. Tourism Development in India. New Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Govt.of India.

ICRIER. 2009. Working Paper No. 234: Indian Economic Outlook 2008-09 and 2009-10. New Delhi: IndianCouncil for Research on International Economic Relations.

Investment & Technology Promotion Division. 2009. Monthly Economic Analysis: Fortune 2009. New Delhi:Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Kanjilal, G. 2006. Opportunities Today: Tourism & Economic Benefits. New Delhi: Ministry of Tourism, Govt.of India.

Kapoor, P. R. American Express study: Inside the Affluent Space in India. American Express.

Keong. L. W. 2008. India’s Consumption Story Stays Strong Despite Global Crisis: India Retail Forum 2008.Germany: India Retail Forum.

National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER). 2003. Domestic Tourism Study. New Delhi: Ministryof Tourism & Culture, Government of India.

Planning Commission of India. 2006. Steering Committee on Tourism for the Formulation of the EleventhPlan (2007-2012). New Delhi: Government of India.

PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2008. Report on Indian Entertainment and Media Industry. Gurgaon:PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Sharma, G. 2009. Job Opportunities in the National Capital: A Comparative Analysis of Delhi region & NCRcities. New Delhi: Research Bureau, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Subbaro, S. P. 2008. Conference on Tourism in India – Challenges Ahead, 15-17 May 2008: A Study on ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) in Indian Tourism. Kozhikode: Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.

The McKinsey Global Institute. 2007. ‘Bird of Gold’: The Rise of India’s Consumer Market, by the year 2025.New York: McKinsey & Company.

UNWTO. 2009. The Indian Outbound Travel Market. Madrid: World Tourism Organisation.

Urban Age. 2007. Integrated City Making Report. London: London School of Economics.

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World Economic Forum. 2009. Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

World Travel & Tourism Council. 2009. Travel & Tourism Economic Impact. London: World Travel & TourismCouncil.

World Travel & Tourism Council, 2009. Key Facts at a Glance: Tourism Economic Research Country Reports,India. London: World Travel & Tourism Council.

Electronic Article

Airline Network News & Analysis. 22nd May 2009. Indian domestic traffic down 13% in 2009 Q1; internationaldemand also down. Surrey: Airline Network News & Analysis. Available from:http://www.anna.aero/2009/05/22/indian-domestic-traffic-down-13-in-2009-q1-international-demand-also-down/. (Accessed on 01 June 2009).

Credit Suisse. 2008. Credit Suisse Opens Wealth Management Business in Mumbai. Mumbai: Credit Suisse.Available from:https://www.credit-suisse.com/news/en/media_release.jsp?ns=40793. (Accessed on 01 June 2009).

Economic Times. 25th Dec 2004. India, development incomplete with 62 percent living in slums. Mumbai:Economic Times. Available from:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5936/is_200412/ai_n23939402/. (Accessed on 08 May 2009).

IAMAI. Tue, 27thJan 2009. 45 Million Internet Users in India. New Delhi: The Internet & Mobile Association ofIndia. Available from:http://www.iamai.in/PRelease_Detail.aspx?nid=1801&NMonth=1&NYear=2009.(Accessed on 24 March 2009).

The Financial Express. 12th March 2008. Indian Tourism to generate $100 bn in ’08. New Delhi: The FinancialExpress. Available from:http://www.financialexpress.com/news/indian-tourism-to-generate-100-bn-in-08/283514/. (Accessed on 23rd

May 2009).

Websites

Government of India budgets. Available from:http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2009-10(I)/eb/sbe93.pdf

Incredible India. Available from:http://www.incredibleindia.org

Nielsen India Outbound Travel Monitor. September 2008. Available from: www.asiatraveltips.com/news08/189-IndiaTourism.shtml

Planning Commission. Government of India: Five Year Plans. Available from: http://www.planningcommission.gov.in/

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Annexure V References


Singapore Tourism Board. Available from:www.visitsingapore.com

Tourism Authority of Thailand. Available from:www.tourismthailand.org

Tourism Malaysia. Available from:www.tourism.gov.my

Other Resources Used

ETC Market Intelligence Group. 2007. ETC Market Insights: India. Brussels: European Travel Commission.

Market Research Division. March 2007. Report on Evaluation Study in Selected Overseas Markets for MarketResearch Division. New Delhi: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

Ministry of Tourism. 2007-2008. Annual Report. New Delhi: Government of India.

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) Research Team & India Convention Promotion Bureau.India as a Global Conventions Destination Prospects & Strategies Study. New Delhi: Ministry of Tourism,Government of India.

Annexure V


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Research Questionnaires

Filled at the Consumer Promotion Events

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Annexure VI



Annexure VI

Format of the Questionnaire for Indian Travel Trade

Nepal Tourism BoardQuestionnaire for the Indian Travel Trade

Travel AgentPerson ContactedAddressAddressCity & Pin1. Are you selling International Packages ?

2. If Yes, What countries ?

3. Are you selling Nepal ?

4. What Numbers per month ?< 5 5-1 10-50 50+

5. How do you compare these numbers from last yearUp Down No Change

6. Which is the closest destination competition to Nepal ?

7. What is the tourist profile ?High Income Group Medium Income Group Low Income Group

8. What are there preferred Activities ?Site Seeing Religious CasinoAdventure Beyond KTM Shopping

9. What is the approx spend per person for Nepal< Rs. 15000.00 Rs. 15-25000.00 Rs. 25000+

10. What is the most important issue you face while selling Nepal ?SecurityFlights AvailabilityHotels AvailabilityLack of InformationLack of NTO SupportOthers (Please specify)

11. Support Needed from NTB for Nepal PromotionFAM TripsAdvertising & PublicityConsumer Promotions & EventsSales Brochures

12. Comments & Suggestions

120120

Annexure VII

Responses to Queries Made during Presentationat Kathmandu, Nepal on 25th October 2009

Query 1

How Nepal Tourism Board can work out strategies with Indian Tour Operators as well as how Nepalese TourOperators can work out strategies with their Indian counterparts?

In order to ensure that Indian Tour Operators promote movement to Nepal, it is very important for NepalTourism Board to give sufficient support to the Indian Tour Operator.

This could be done in several ways and we recommend the following strategies:

• Marketing Collaterals and Sales Support Material• Joint Advertising in Indian Newspapers and Magazines• Travel agent support in local events• Time bound campaigns with monetary incentives• Special Incentives for MICE movements• FAM trips for sales staff

Marketing Collaterals and Sales Support Material

Currently Nepal Tourism Board is distributing Marketing Collaterals and Sales Support Material only duringTrade Exhibitions and Road Shows. It is suggested that Nepal Tourism Board should offer personalised MarketingCollaterals and Sales Support Material to top 10 travel agents in each key city on an year round basis. This willensure that travel agents have enough promotion material to sell Nepal on an year round basis. PersonalisedMarketing Collaterals will increase motivation levels of Travel agents and also enable prospective travelers tocontact Travel agents with available contact details on the sales material as and when they wish to travel toNepal.

Joint Advertising in Indian Newspapers and Magazines

Currently, there is no advertising support to Indian travel agents who wish to promote Nepal. Nepal TourismBoard could consider floating a scheme offering certain percentage of cost share to all Indian Travel agentswho are promoting Nepal by releasing Newspaper advertisements.

This will ensure that we get regular publicity in mainline publications on all year round basis.

Cost share should be given only for:

• 100% Nepal Centric advertisements with NTB logo and other details• Publishing in prominent publications.

Whenever Nepal Tourism Board is releasing their own advertisements in Indian Publications, they shouldconsider giving contact details of Indian Travel agents in the advertisements. This will ensure that conversionsare faster as intending visitors can immediately contact the travel agent and book packages upon reading thenewspapers.


Travel Agent Support in Local Events

Nepal Tourism Board can consider offering cost share support for travel agents promoting Nepal in local citybased events such as:• New Year / Diwali Expositions• Local Club / Cultural Centre celebrations• Shopping Mall promotions

This ensures that Nepal gets top of the mind recall in local events and the travel agents can sell packagesfaster.

Time Bound Campaigns with Monetary Incentives

To push maximum traffic from India, Nepal Tourism Board could announce Travel agent schemes with cashincentives. This will ensure that travel agents have high motivation to sell Nepal packages and get rewardedas well.

The scheme could run for 3 months and travel agents be paid cash incentives for achieving passenger targets.

Special Incentives for MICE Movements

There is a requirement to make a special incentive scheme for promotion of MICE movements to Nepal aswell.

Nepal Tourism should consider creating a special MICE promotion package for travel trade including thefollowing:

• Complimentary FAM trip for the corporate which are planning a MICE delegation to Nepal.• Special cash based incentives for travel agents who are bringing in a large delegation.• Special MICE offering for the corporate who has brought the delegation. This could include:

- Gala Dinner for the MICE delegates- Complimentary entertainment during the visit for one evening- Mementoes for the guests- Special ticket prices for monument visits for large MICE delegations

FAM Trips for Sales Staff

Currently, all FAM trips are being organized for owners / senior managers of the Travel agencies. Nepal TourismBoard should consider organizing a sales staff FAM trip for sales employees of the travel agencies. This willeducate the sales staff and also motivate them to sell Nepal packages better.

Synergy Development of Nepal Tour Operators with Indian Tour Operators

Following activities could be undertaken to develop synergies between Nepalese and Indian Tour Operators• Organization of more Travel Trade Road Shows in India with active participation from Nepalese tour

operators• Inviting Indian Tour operators to Nepal Trade Events such NATA mart• Conducting Joint workshops with Nepalese and Indian Tour operators in Nepal


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122

Query 2

Growth of Indian FITs Outbound Travel over the Years

As per the latest figures released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the number of Indianstravelling abroad in 2008-09 (April 1 to March 31) touched 10.8 million, which was up by a million over the2007-08 figure of 9.8 million.

The Indian outbound travel market had grown from 3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 million international departuresin 2007; the pace of growth has accelerated since 2004 at an average annual growth rate of over 16%.

The Indian outbound travel has now crossed the 10- million mark for the first time ever and as per the WTTCreport, India now is the third largest outbound travel market in the Asia Pacific region. It also predicts that theworld’s travel and tourism economy’s size will contract by 3.6 per cent this year, but economies such as India,China and Brazil will still be drivers of growth.

India is expected to grow by 10 per cent in the number of outbound Indian tourists in 2009-10.

Query 3

Use of Internet Marketing in Capturing Outbound Indian Tourism

As per a recent survey done by IMRB International and Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI],India had as on September 2008 45.3 million active internet users. Urban users continue to dominate internetuse contributing to 42 million of the 45 million odd users.

Nepal Tourism Board could consider following options for capturing Indian Outbound tourism market via themedium of Internet marketing:

• Using Google Adsense and Adwords ServicesAdsense Displays targeted Google ads on Nepal related content pages and Nepal Tourism Board canshow ads that are suited to Outbound Indian Tourist audience’s interests.

Google AdWords is Google’s advertising product, which displays ads to people looking for specific productsor services on Google or its partner sites.

When NTB advertises with AdWords, NTB can pick words or phrases (called “keywords”) that are relatedto travel business and products or services. NTB then use these keywords to create ads that target Indianpotential customers when they search for travel related products or services on Google.

When a potential customer searches Google using the same or similar keywords, your Google AdWordsads may appear alongside or above the search results as a “Sponsored Link,” in response to thekeywords searched, making the NTB website just a click away from the potential customer.

• Promotions by Banner Ads in popular Indian websites such as www.ndtv.com, www.timesofindia.com,etc.

• Promotions by Banner Ads in popular messenger services such as MSN messenger.• Using Social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut and Linkedin and reach target audience by

advertising on these sites.

Annexure VII Responses to Queries Made during Presentationat Kathmandu, Nepal on 25th October 2009

122


Query 4

How Nepalese Tour Operators can take Advantage of the Internet Marketing Opportunities

As mentioned in the previous page, Nepal Tourism stakeholders should use Internet as a major medium tobook Indian travellers.

Following roadmap could be used by Nepal Tourism Board for enabling internet as a booking medium forNepal

Step 1 Design of a Nepal Centric direct sales website with the following facilities:

Information on Nepal- Provision of Readymade instant availability packages by Nepalese travel agents- Provision of instant Air ticketing by Nepal Air, Air India and Jet Airways.- Indian Rupee payment gateway for travel packages and airline tickets.

Step 2 Usage of Google Adwords and Adsense to capture interested Indian Outbound tourists and bring toabove website

Step 3 Increase of traffic to above website by heavy promotions on popular Indian websites such aswww.ndtv.com and www.timesofindia.com

Step 4 Brand Reinforcement by advertising and promotions on social networking sites such as Facebook,Orkut and Linkedin.

Step 5 Regular website update for interest maintenance.


Annexure VII

124

List of the Travel Agents Contacted

Akbar Travels of India P. Ltd.Akbar Bhavan, 69/71Janjikar Street,Crawford Market,MUMBAI - 400003India

Anderson Travels P. Ltd.Veena Chambers,21, Dalal Street Fort,MUMBAI - 400023India

A-One TravelsGround Floor, Suraj Chanda CinemaComplex, City Centre,AMRITSAR - 143001India

Balaji Travels Pvt Ltd6, Raheja Centre, 214 Free Press JournalRoad,Nariman PointMUMBAI - 400021India

Bhagwati Travels171, Subhash Chandra Bose Road,NAGPUR - 440018India

Bhagyashri Travels Pvt. Ltd.11, Namjoshi Bhavan,486, Sadashiv Peth,L.B. Shastri Road,PUNE - 411030India

Bhavi Tours & Travels8, Rainbow Complex,Stadium Road,AHMEDABAD - 380009India

Blue Sky Worldwide TravelsSCO-188-190,Sector 34-ACHANDIGARH - 160034India

Buena Vista Travels Pvt Ltd23,Swastik Chambers, Sion-TrombayRoad, Chembur,MUMBAI - 400071India

Chawla Travel ServicesShop No. 23, Residency Road,NAGPUR - 440001India

Civica Travels Private LimitedAakriti Towers,19, Vidhan Sabha Marg,Uttar PradeshLUCKNOW - 226001India

Contact Tour & TravelsLGF-1, Dhan Nirman Complex,15 A-Ashok Marg, (Near S.B.I.)LUCKNOW - 226001India

Crystal Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd.401, Sakar-IV, Opposite Town-HallAshram Road, Ellisbridge,AHMEDABAD - 380006India

Disha Travel103,Shreya House, Pereira Hill Rd,Andheri Kurla Rd,Andheri (E),MUMBAI - 400099India

Evergreen TravelsS.C.O. # 87-88, Sector 34-A,Subcity Centre,CHANDIGARH - 160022India

Girikand Travels Pvt Ltd759/90 B Bhandarkar Institute Raod,Deccan Gymkhana,PUNE - 411004India

Globe Forex & Travels Ltd.Goodluck Mansion,Panch Batti Crossing, M.I. Road,JAIPUR - 302001India

Grand Travel Planners (P) Ltd.14-16 1st Floor, S.C.O. 55-56,Sector 17-C,CHANDIGARH - 160017India

Grandeur Travels & Tours P Ltd4, Scindia House,Second Floor,NEW DELHI - 110001India

Great Escape Travels Pvt.Limited5, Cambata Building J T Road,Next to Eros Cinema, Churchgate,MUMBAI - 400020India

Great Value Travels1st Floor, Hotel Clarks Avadh,Avadh Bazar, 8 M.G. Marg,LUCKNOW - 226001India

Hargobind TravelsS.C.O. 94-95, Sector 34-A,Behind Picaddaly TheatreCHANDIGARH - 160022India

Heena Airways29-Ground Floor, Sriram TowerAshok Marg, Near Shakti Bhawan,LUCKNOW - 226001India

Holiday Maker (India) Pvt LtdUSO House, 6, Special InstitutionalArea,Qutab Hotel RoadNEW DELHI - 110067India

Impact Tours (India) P. LtdN-33/10 Middle Circle,Connaught Place,NEW DELHI - 110001India

Incentive Destinations P. Ltd.M-10, Greater Kailash Part - IINEW DELHI - 110048India

Indica Travels & Tours Pvt LtdD-52, Ground Floor, NDSE Part I,NEW DELHI - 110049India

Travel Agents


Indoglobal Travels Pvt LtdShridhar Smriti Behind Dr.Deodhar’sNew HospitalGokhale Road, Thane (W)MUMBAI - 400602India

Indra Travel ConsultancyServices12, Shree Sai Tower,273, Narayan Peth,PUNE - 411030India

International Travel House Ltd.T-2, Community Centre,Sheikh Sarai Phase - I,NEW DELHI - 110017India

J & S Travels Pvt. Limited203, New Delhi House,27 Barakhamba Road,NEW DELHI - 110001India

Jagsons Travels Private Limited.Jagsons Enclave,117-A, Central Avenue,NAGPUR - 440018India

Jasbhag Tours & TravelsIst Floor, Shop No.15,Chandpole Bazar,Near Hanumanji Temple,RajasthanJAIPUR - 302001India

Kaleidoscope Travel Consultants(P) Ltd.208-209,’A’ Wing,Parmar Trade Centre,Sadhu Wasvani Chowk,Pune CampPUNE - 411001India

Krisia Holidays & Travels PrivateLimited82 Arcadia,195Nariman Point,MUMBAI – 400021India

Leisure Trips207, Aditya, B/H.AbhijeetMithakali Six RoadsAHMEDABAD - 380006India

Lynx Tour and Travels140, 1st Floor, Antriksh Bhawan,Connaught Place,NEW DELHI - 110001India

Master Tour Organisers1, Yashdeep Apartments,S.No. 696, Maharashinagar,PUNE - 411037India

Mayfair Airtravel Services Pvt.Ltd.1st Floor, Mayfair Building, Hazratganj,LUCKNOW - 226001India

Narula Travels Pvt LtdMohan Dev Building,13, Tolstoy Marg,NEW DELHI - 110001India

Nationwide TravelsGanpati House, 4 Way Road,Madan Mohan Malviya Marg,LUCKNOW - 226001India

Om Air Travel Pvt. Ltd.A-1, Sarita Darshan Appts,Opp. Jai Hind Press,Ashram Road,AHMEDABAD - 380009India

One World Travels16, (1st Floor) Pt. Din Dyal UpadhyayComplex,Bhandari Bridge,AMRITSAR – 143001,India

Orient Travels10-A, Maqbool Road,Opp. Customes House,AMRITSAR - 143001India

Paras Worldwide Tours andTravels1/Side M K Hotel, Distt. ShoppingCentre,Ranjit Avenue,AMRITSAR - 143001India

Perfect Connections LimitedT/A Uniglobe Perfect Connections,101, Setu, S.P. Nagar Road,Off. C.G. Road,AHMEDABAD - 380006India

Prasanna Tours Pvt. Ltd.Sai-Prasad 8/12, Historian Joshi Marg,Next to Solaris Gym.Nal Stop Off Karve Road,PUNE - 411004India

Prompt TravelsCabin 3,4,5 (First Floor),New HiTech Chambers,S.C.O.44-45 Madhya Marg, Sector 9-DCHANDIGARH - 160009India

TGS Tours & Travels P LtdTholia Circle, Mirza Ismail Road,JAIPUR - 302001India

Travel Agents

india tourism outbound 2010

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