Delivering Excellence: Tourism Industry in Perspective
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Delivering Excellence: Tourism Industry in Perspective Nisha Karunakaran IInd Year, PGDM Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore |
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Introduction The contribution of tourism and trade industry towards a nation’s economy is manifold. It not only makes its impact on the economic growth of the country, in terms of revenue generation and employment opportunities, but also in terms of the cultural enhancement of the nation and its people. What differentiates one country from another is the kind of service that is offered to the visiting population; and also the customer-centric approach of the government and the natives to the influx of tourists to their country. The paper analyzes the position of India in terms of the various yardsticks that define any great tourist destination across the globe. The paper is singularly India focused analysis of the potential way forward for the native travel and tourism industry. It critically examines the current scenario of the Indian tourism industry with its pitfalls and then strategizes for the future. Importance of Tourism Industry A strong travel and tourism network system spanning the entire nation has the potential to pull off a multiplier effect on the economic growth of the country. It necessitates employment opportunities in direct interfaces of tourism such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and related services. The industry is fundamentally responsible for diversifying the economic activities in the country and opening up new means of trade and commerce. Corporate travel is the new buzzword and any amount of investment into the existing businesses and creation of new business will only favour the local economy in terms of increased trade through exports and internal job creation. However, the biggest gainer in terms of travel and tourism industry is the mutual exchange of culture and ideas and most importantly, the way of life. A keen knowledge of another culture throws open a wide variety of prospects in terms of not only commerce, but also perspectives and practices of a group of people that is worthy of emulation by the visiting nationals. Besides, the natives incorporate foreign nuances into the ethos of the local culture. The paper analyzes the performance and possible areas of improvement for the Indian tourism industry. It would objectively looks at a) domestic tourism b) international tourism c) medical tourism d) corporate travel. A nation’s ability to provide a standardized tourist experience will reflect its ability to provide professional services to the visiting population. Indian Tourism Industry – A Snapshot India was ranked as the 42nd most desired tourist destination by the United Nations World Trade Organization {UNWTO} in the year 2007. The same report mentions India as the 6th best in terms of price competiveness and 39th in terms of safety and security. The global tourism industry is expected to touch $7.2 trillion in the next two years in economic activities, together with a generation of 260 million jobs across the world. India is expected to command 1.5% of this mammoth figure by 2011. It has also been observed that although corporate travel has taken a hit, the tourism industry has not suffered heavily because domestic travel and medical tourism have been as buoyant as before. Currently, tourism and travel contribute about 6% of the Gross Domestic Product of our country, while in the world the industry contributes an average of 10.2 % of the GDP. International tourism contributes 6% to the total exports of the nation, and 6.4 % of the total employed force of India belongs to tourism and related services. It is expected to jump to 7.2% in a decade’s time. India Tourism Industry Forecast 2007-2011 reports some interesting facts about the nation’s travel and tourism perspective. Some of the key findings are as follows:
There are several fear factors that inhibit tourism to a country. Some of those that could be potential threats to Indian tourism could be as follows: A) Political instability: although the UPA government has come back to power, Indian politics has a long way to go before they stabilize into real governance and professionalization of politics. B) Shock factors: Terrorist activities could be a major deterrent to tourism in any country. The 26/11 attacks in Mumbai targeted the foreign tourists who were residing in premium hotels such as The Grand Oberoi and the Taj Mahal Hotel. The fear factor could seriously create a dent in the image of the nation. C) Corporate infrastructure: Considering that corporate travel is an indirect effect of general tourism and factors that are beyond immediate influence, it is imperative that India builds on an infrastructure that would facilitate corporate travel. Strategies for Success Five strategies that should propel India’s tourism industry in to the limelight are: 1. Segregated Tourism: Although an emphasis can be made on the pan-India initiative, segregation of tourist types could be done in order to attract differentiated tourist base. India should concentrate on the following areas with specific advertising and promotion: A) Medical tourism: although it has been touted as the next big thing for tourism, it has had a lacklustre performance so far. Even within medical tourism, orthopaedic-, neurological-, cancer- and cardio-treatment could be dealt with and promoted separately. This will also depend very heavily on the available infrastructure for stay; as well as the medical facilities available. Yoga could be promoted extensively. There could be two aspects to this. One, for the ailments and their treatments and the second, for rejuvenation-centric tourism. B) Adventure tourism: To showcase the cascading waterfalls, the rocks and valleys, adventure sports could be a brilliant medium to promote. River rafting, Bungee jumping, trekking, rock climbing, paragliding amongst others could be focussed on, to attract sport enthusiasts from both within and outside the country. C) Coastal Tourism: Amongst travellers, a majority have been found to love the sea. With a mainland coastline of 5700 kilometres and an added 1800 kilometres of coastline of the Andaman and Lakshwadeep, India has a huge coastline to boast of. D) Historical Tourism: Steeped in rich history of a civilization older than 5000 years, India’s march down the annals of history can be packaged interestingly. The forts of Gwalior, Jodhpur, Udaipur; temples of Madurai, Caves of Ajanta and Ellora are exemplary locations that attract tourists in herds. Tourism can also be segmented region wise. 2. IT-based infrastructure: Aimed at corporate tourism as well as high-end travellers for leisure, IT-enabled solutions could turn out to be a great service differentiator. India should especially, in mid-sized and premium hotels, enable Wi-Fi connectivity with good and robust bandwidth. Not only does it facilitates business decisions and deals but also allays work-related tensions that could possibly be communicated through the Internet. 3. Safety: The recent spate of incidents that question, in many ways, the strength of the police and safety infrastructure in the country has to be a prime area of concern. The 26/11 attacks on the Taj and Oberoi hotels had terrorists targeting foreign tourists. There has to be safety cells with greater decentralization and fast track courts that cater to tourism related incidents specifically. 4. Pan India Integration: The Incredible India campaign was a brilliant exercise which successfully roped in greater number of tourists to India. However India, being so diverse a nation, cannot be packaged into a single ethos that can be described by the word ‘Incredible’. There has to be a differentiation in terms of pan India packages and regional packages. 5. Public Private Partnership: There are several advantages that can be listed about such an initiative between public sector involvement (for their available funds) and private sector (through professional management of services). Some of the advantages are: •Acceleration of Infrastructure Provision •Faster Implementation •Value for Money •Genuine Risk Transfer •Performance-Related Reward •Improved Quality of Service Conclusion One of the obvious conclusions about the Indian Tourism industry is that it has great potential to be one of the best tourist destinations of the world. The need of the hour is to milk the opportunity and apply a two-pronged approach. One, for first time visitors of other nationalities, there could be India wide tours and two, a segmented approach towards niche category of tourists, who should be served according to the specificity of their needs. In an increasingly customer-driven approach, the training of professional staff for serving the customer, who dictates the needs and the delivery, is aptly rewarded. It represents not just an opportunity to showcase the true hues of Indian landscape and culture but also an immense platform to break the jinx of India as the land of snake charmers and black magic to a land of true beauty. |