Chapter - IV

MARKETING PRACTICE OF THE TOURISM

PROMOTION ORGANISATIONS

In the present chapter, the marketing practice of the State Level

Tourism Promotion Organisations is proposed to be identified and

examined under three broad heads:

i) Marketing research practices in the SLTPOs in Assam and

Meghalaya.

ii) Practice with regard to market segmentation, targeting and

positioning.

iii) Planning and developing the product-mix.

The tourism products, as in known, is an amalgam of several

products and services.' The tourist product covers the complete

experience, from the time the tourist leaves his home to the time he

returns.^ As Burkart and Medlik (1975) has observed, there are the

following three main components for the tourist product amalgam:^

a) attractions of the destination, including its image in the

tourist mind.

Robert Christie Mill aind A.M. Morrison (1985) ; The Tourism System - An Introductory Text, Prentice Hall International, New Jersey, p 357

K.M. Menon (1999) : Tourism Management in India, Print-well Publishers Distr ibutors, Jaipur, p 95

A.J. BurkcU't and S. Medlik (1975) : The Management of Tourism, Heinemann, London, p 132

I 13

b) facilities at the destination, particularly accommodation,

catering, entertainment and recreation; and

c) accessibility of the destination.

In view of the above, while examining the product mix of the

SLTPOs, each of the following aspects associated with the handling

of the different components of the product mix is examined separaterly:

i) Identification and development of locations endowed with

tourist attractions.

ii) Developing accessibility of the locations and the i r

networking.

iii) Provision of accommodation for tourists.

iv) Arranging other facilities and services.

4.1 MARKETING RESEARCH

In order to formulate marketing strategy, it is imperative for a

tourism promotion organisation to know the answer to the following

questions'* :

i) size and nature of the total tourism market;

ii) the different sets of travel motivations;

A.K. Sa rka r (1998) : Action Plan and Prionties in Tourism Development, K a n i s h k a Publishers, New Delhi, p 22

114

iii) the nature of the different segments of tourism market based

on different travel motivations;

iv) preferences and interest pattern of the prospective tourists

and their income-class origin and life-style pattern; and

v) the best possible medium to reach the prospective tourists.

It is this information link that makes marketing research an

essential ingredient of the overall marketing management process

for a tourism promotion organisation. As Kotler has defined, marketing

research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public

to the marketer through information - information used to identify

and define marketing opportunities and problems, to generate, refine

and evaluate marketing actions, to monitor marketing performance,

and to improve understanding of the marketing process^.

Middleton (1994) hasgivenalistof six different types of marketing

research'', which are shown in Table 4.1.

^ Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (1996) : Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, p 114.

'• Victor. T.C. Middleton (1994) : Marketing of Travel and Tourism, But terworth-He inemann , London, p 119

1 15

Table 4.1 : SIX MAIN CATEGORIES OF MARKET RESEARCH

Research category Used in Typical marketing use

1. Market Analysis and forecasting

Marketing planning

2. Consumer Research

Segmentation and positioning

3. Product and price studies

4. Promotion and sales research

Product formulation, presentation and

pricing

Efliciency of communication

5. Distribution research

6. Evaluation and p e r f o r m a n c e monitoring studies

Efficiency of distribution network

Overall control of marketing results

product quality

Measurement and projection of marketvolumes, shares and r e v e n u e s by re levan t categories of miarket segments and product type.

a)Quantitative measurement of c o n s u m e r profile, awareness , a t t i t u d e s and p u r c h a s i n g behav iou r including consumer audit, b) Qualitative Assesnment of consumer needs, perception and aspiration.

Measurement and consumer testing of amended and new product formulation and price sensitivity studies

Measurement of consumer reac t ion to a l t e rna t ive adver t i s ing concep t s and media u sage , response to var ious forms of s a l e s promotion, and sales force effectiveness.

Distr ibution awareness of products , effectiveness of merchand i s ing , inc luding retail audits and occupancy studies.

Measurement of customer satisfaction overall, and by product e lements , control inc lud ing m e a s u r e m e n t through marketing tests and experiments.

Source : Victor T.C. Middleton (1994): op.cit. p 119

116

Given the importance of marketing research in the formulation

of marketing plans and policies, we wanted to know specifically from

the tourism promotion organisations surveyed by us, whether these

organisations conduct marketing research regularly and whether the

findings of such research form the basis of their formulation of

marketing programmes.

The overall picture that emerged from the survey was rather

disappointing. During the period since their launching, both Assam

Tourism and Meghalaya Tourism conducted a few surveys on visiting

tourists'^. However, as far as marketing research is concerned, the

following important points could be noticed by us :

i) All the surveys undertaken so far by the selected organisations

in the two states have focussed mainly on consumer research.

These were intended mainly for measuring the consumer

profile and their evaluation of the attractions and facilities

offered in the two states. Scant attention has been paid so far

in assessing the total tourism market in the context of the

chang ing and competi t ive t o u r i s m scenar io or for

understanding the needs, perceptions and preferences of the

prospective tourists.

ii) As planning and controlling are continuous processes, so also

For instance, the Directorate of Tourism, Asssun conducted a sui-vey in Kamakshya on 23.6.84 to 26.6.84 (c.f. Summajy Result of the sui-vey conducted during Ambubachi Fair at Kamakhya Dham), Another two sui-veys were conducted by the same organisation in 1986 and 1987 on Sivdoul, Umananda and Majuli.

117

should be marketing research. However, in the selected two

states, as could be assessed from the reports made available

to us, marketing research is not conducted on a regular basis.

iii) Even when some research were undertaken, the findings of

such research rarely formed the basis of marketing plans and

p rog rammes formulated by the t o u r i s m promotion

organisations. The Directorate of Tourism, Assam clearly

admitted this serious lapse in its planning process when in

one of its recent reports christened as 'Assam Vision 2020/

25 Towards Tourism Sector' it was noted that "Infrastructure

development has been haphazard" and in many places the

organisation had constructed lodges and wayside amenities

"without proper a s s e s s m e n t of t ou r i s t a r r iva l s and

potentiality".*^

While interviewing the officers in the selected tourism promotion

organisations two questions were specifically placed before them by

us :

a) Whether they felt that marketing research should provide the

basis for product planning and formulation of the marketing

strategy?

b) Why due priority was not being assigned to marketing research

in Assam and Meghalaya as an integral part of the marketing

planning process?

" Govt, of Assam, Directorate of Tourism (2000): Assam Vision 2020/25 Towards Tourism Sector, Guwahati , p 4

I 18

Interestingly, all the fourteen officers interviewed recognised the

need for marketing research in today's highly competitive tourism

marketing scenario.

Regarding the low priority assigned to marketing research, nine

out of the fourteen officers felt that this was because of budgetary

constraints, three officers in the middle level stated their helplessness,

as conducting such research would necessitate decisions by the top

level of management and only two of the fourteen officers, somehow

tried to defend their position on the plea that at informal level, the

trends of the market were always being assessed and taken in to

account while taking major policy decisions.

4.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING

Market Segmentation is the process whereby marketers organise

their knowledge of current and prospective coustomers and pay

particular attention to the group or groups whose needs and wants

the organisations are best able to fulfil with their products . It is the

process of dividing the total market or a market sector into groups or

segments for marketing management process*^. Segmentation

identifies and analyses the socio-economic, life styles-related and

motivational characteristics of potential consumers into useful

categories'".

'' Philip Kotler & Gan,' Armstrong (1996) : Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, New Jersy , p 233

'" A.K. Bhat ia (1995): International Tourism-Fundamentals, Principles and Practices Sterling Publ ishers , New Dehli, p 153

119

Segmentation is necessary for defining the marketing objectives,

for targeting as well as for product positioning. It is also the basis for

effective planing and budgeting by any organisation".

Different bases are normally used for segmenting the market.

The segmentation may be :

A. Geographic Segmentation

B. Demographic Segmentation

C. Socio-economic Segmentation

D. Psychological Segmentation

E. Behavioural Segmentation

F. Product Based Segmentation

In tourism marketing segmentation of the total tourism market

is important. The strategy of market segmentation in tourism recognise

that hardly any tourist destination or area would be universally

acceptable and desired. Therefore, without wasting the marketing

resources in trying to please all travellers, the best marketing strategy

would be to identify the most potential segments. Segmentation is

necessary for targeting one or two particular segments of the entire

market and positioning the products in a way so as to rightly appeal

to the travel motivations of the targeted group of customers.

Geographically, the Indian tourism promotion organizations

normally divide the tourism market into two broad segments:

i) the domestic tourists and ii) the foreign tourists.

120

As far as the domestic tourists are concerned, a further

segmentation is possible on the basis of the state or area of origin of

the tourists. Many private hotels, in fact design their approach so as

to attract the Bengali tourists or South Indian tourists and so on.

As far as the SLTPOs in Assam and Meghalaya are concerned,

broad segmentation is normally done and the focus, as we could

notice, has been on the domestic tourists'^ However, no attempt is

made by the SLTPOs to further segment the market on the basis of

the state or area of origin. As tastes, preferences and buying behaviour

are profoundly influenced by geographical, community linked and

other background-related factors, we specifically raised this issue in

course of our prolonged discussions with the officers in the SLTPOs

in the two states. While 10 out of the 14 officers interviewed, while

agreeing that a detailed segmentation of the domestic tourists on the

basis of their states of origin would have been definitely helpful

particularly in identifying the most potential segment of the said

market and in designing the product strategy, frankly admitted that

such segmentation was currently not in practice in their respective

organizations.

Socio-economic segmentation of the tourist market is normally

based upon the income class origin of the tourists. In Assam and

Meghalaya, the focus was clearly on the tourists belonging to the

" Victor. T.C. Middlelon (1994) : Marketing of Travel and Tourism, Butterworth-Heineman, London, p 77

'- Govt, of Assam (2000) : Assam Vision 2020/25 Towards Tourism Sectors, Directorate of Tourism, Guwahati , p 6

121

middle income group. This becomes evident from the tariff rates

charged in the lodges managed by the SLTPOs in the two states. The

tariff for a double bedded room in the lodges owned and managed by

the Directorate of Tourism, Assam and the ATDC was found as varying

between Rs. 260/ - and Rs. 650/-. In Meghalaya, the tariff for a

double bedded room in the hotels managed by the MTDC was reported

to be in the range of Rs. 435/ - and Rs. 590'V-.

From the point of view of tourism marketing, more relevant seems

to be the product based segmentation, where the tourists are normally

divided into groups on the basis of their product preferences or travel

motivation. Such segmentation enables the marketing organisations

to target those segments of the markets whose product preferences

can be rightly served by their own endowments.

The maj1<eting organisation in this case tries to reach and capture

its target audience by appealing to their travel motivations.

To know how the product based segmentation, targeting and

positioning of their products were being tried out by the tourism

promotion organisations in Assam and Meghalaya, we analysed the

main slogans used by the SLTPOs in Assam and Meghalaya in their

respective advertisements during the period 1995-2000. The slogans

are shown in table 4.2 below.

" Rates do no t include the tariff in Hotel Pine Wood, Shillong which was acquired by MTDC from India Tourism Development Corporation (tariff in Pine Wood Hotel for a double bedded room ranges from Rs. 9 0 0 / - to Rs. 1800/- ) .

122

Table 4.2

SLOGANS INDICATING THE MARKET SEGMENTS TARGETTED BY

THE SLTPOs IN ASSAM & MEGHALAYA

Slogan Advertisement

Sponsored by

Targeted Segment

of Tourists

ASSAM - "THE LAND OF RED RIVER AND BLUE HILLS"

'ENCHANTING HILLS OF ASSAM"

"KAZIRANGA - THE LAND OF ONE HORNED RHINOCEROS"

"MEGHALAYA - THE ALL SEASON PARADISE"

'SHILLONG - THE SWITZER LAND OF THE EAST"

"JOURNEY TO THE CAVES OF OF MEGHALAYA"

Directorate of Tourism Assam

-Do-

ATDC, Assam

Directorate of

Tourism, Meghalaya

-Do-

-Do-

Nature lovers

Nature lovers

Wildlife Explorers

Holidayers

-Do-

Explorers

Table 4.2 is indicative of the market segmentat ion and targeting

s trategy of the SLTPOs in Assam and Meghalaya respectively. As it

a p p e a r s from the table the SLTPOs in both the s ta tes are focusing

mainly on their resources as given by na tu re . However, in the context

of tourism marketing, scholars have shown that in a highly competitive

market ing environment, what the touris ts actually demand is not

simply some attract ions in their given form, b u t they are constantly

in search of an enhanced product, i.e. a mix of subsidiary at t ract ions

a s well as facilities and services alongwith the core product . Rational

application of the marketing concept d e m a n d s tha t such subsidiary

a t t rac t ions and the services and facilities are to be designed and

developed by the market ing organisat ion in a way tha t c rea tes

123

'superior value' for the users and hence maximises consumers' (i.e.

the travellers) satisfaction. These points are examined in detail in the

sections that follow.

4.3. PLANNING AND DEVELOPING THE PRODUCT - MIX

Tourist products are the bunch of different components including

travel, accomodation, attractions and other facilities like, catering

and entertainments'^

Consequently, the conceptualization of travel and tourism

products as a group of components or elements brought together to

satisf}^ needs of visiting tourists is a vital requirement for the marketing

manager. The components of the bundle should be designed, altered

and fitted together in ways calculated to match identified customer

needs.

While developing the above-noted components' view from the

standpoint of the tourists, Medlik and Middleton (1973) noted that,

'as far as the tourist is concerned, the products covers the complete

experience from the time he leaves home to the time he returns to

it'^'

Tourist product, as noted earlier, is basically an amalgam of

there components; viz attractions, facilities (including accommodation)

at the destination and accessibility to the destination.

'"' Ratan Deep Singh (2000) : Tourism Marketing: Principles, Policies and Straregies, Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi, p 131

'•'"' Victor T.C. Middleion (1994) : Marketing of Travel and Tourism, Butterworth - Heinmann, London, p 84

124

This original concept of the product was used subsequently by

Wahab et al (1976) and SchmoU (1977) and has been widely accepted

and used by analysts and practioners. Indeed, from the stand point

of a potential customer, the product may be defined as a bundle or

package of tangible and intangible components based on activity at a

destination. The following are the main components in the overall

products"^ viz :

(a) Destination attractions and environment;

(b) Accessibility of the tourist destinations;

(c) Accommodation;

(d) Other facilities and services at the destination

This overall view of tourism products is highly relevant to the

marketing decisions taken by individual producers, especialy in

establishing the interrelationships and scope for co-operation between

suppliers in different sectors of the industry. But, in order to design

their product offers around specific service operations, there are

internal dimensions of products for marketers to consider. These are

common to all forms of consumer marketing and form part of widely

accepted marketing theory'''. Marketing managers need to think about

the product on three levels.

These three levels are"^ :

'" Ibid

' ' A.K. Bhatia (1995) : Intematonal Tourism - Fundamentals, Principles and Practices, Sterling Pubhshers, New Deb);, p 149

'" Philip Kotler. (1996) : Pnnciples of Marketing. Prentice Hall India, New Delhi, p 463

125

1. The core product, which is the essential service or benefit

designed to satisfy the identified needs of target customer

segments.

2. The tangible product, which is the specific offer for sale

stating what a customer will receive for his money

3. The augmented product, which comprises all the forms of

added values producers may build into their tangible

product-offers to make them more attractive to their intended

customers.

By definition, the tourist product is highly differentiated one in

which substitutability is possible but perfect substitution is not.

The demand for tourism consists of three major components'^:

actual or effective demand, potential demand and deferred demand.

Effective demand is synonymous with the actual number of

visitors. Potential demand includes tourism minded people who are

unable to travel for financial constraints. And finally, deferred demand

m e a n s those people who lack the knowledge of location,

communication and so on.

Both potential and deferred components are extremely difficult

to measure. Hence, the concept of effective demand is frequently used

in quantitative sense of demand esimation'-^".

''•• Kunal Chattopadhyay (1995) : Economic Impact of Tourism Development- An Indian

Experience, Ksinishka Publishers, Distributors, New Delhi, p 42

-" See for example, S.Medlik and T.V.C Middleton (1973) : " Tourists product and hs marketing, In (the ) Management of Tourism, eds, Heinmann, London.

126

In fact, tourist products must have a strong relationship with

effective demand. The tourism industr}' has the capacity to transform

certain apparently economically useless goods and service into

marketable attractions^'. Such goods and service may include culture,

natural and social assets of the society. It is the tourism industry

which transforms the fragile resources to economic goods which are

the tourism products.

In what follows the tourist products developed and offered by

the selected state level tourism promotion organisations in Assam

and Meghalaya are analysed with reference to each of the products'

main components.

4.3.1 TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Attractions are generally location specific, which may be related to^^:

(a) natural elements

(b) relics of the historical events of the past, or

(c) cultural atmosphere.

The scenic beauty of North east India, the exiting forests and

turbulent waterfalls are the natural elements. They are the free gifts

of nature. Also, they do not have any perfect substitutes.

'-' Kunal Chat topadhyay (1995) : Economic Impact of Tourism Deuelopment - An Indian Experience, Kanishka Publishers , New Delhi, p 204

2̂ Ibid p 51

127

However in addition to the natural factors the ethnic diversity

and the cultural traditions in Northeast India, the ancient temples

as well as the architectures are also important elements of tourist

attractions . Selections of the appropriate spots endowed with such

elements and then promoting them in right ways is basically the

responsibility of the Tourism Promotion Organisations.

The Directorate of Tourism, Assam, in performing its function of

promoting the state as a tourist destination highlights the following

seventeen places as the tourist spots in the state^^

Place Distance from Guwahati (in Km.)

Attraction

1. Guwahati

2. Sualkuchi

3. Hajo

4. Chandubi

S.Bhairabkunda

Gateway to Assam and NE region. A fast growing metropolies and principal city of Assam.Places of interest : Kamakhya and Bhubaneshwari temples (9 Km.) Bas i s thash ram (12 Km.), Navagraha temple, S ta te Zoo .Museum, Gandhimandap etc.

Famous for Assamese silk, muga and pat.

Where religions meet (Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism).

A natural lagoon and picnic spot.

A beautiful picnic spot at the border of Arunchal Pardesh and Bhutan.

•̂ •' Govt, of Assam (1997) : Many Splendour in Assam, Directorate of Tour ism, Guvvaliati.

128

6. Daranga

7. Batadrawa

8. Barpeta

9. Tezpur

10. Bhalukpung

11. Sibsagar

12. Haflong

13. Jatinga

14. Kaziranga

100

134

137

181

205

369

355

364

217

15.Manas 176

16. Pabitora 65

Famous wintermela held (every year)

Birth place of Shri Shankar Dev, Famous Va i shnava reformer of Assam.

Vaishnava monastery of Shri Madhav Deva.

Temples, ancient ruins and monuments.

Famous for scenic beauty. Picnic and angling spots.

Seat of Ahom rule in Assam.

Hill s ta t ion in Assam. U n s u r p a s s e d in sylvan beauty.

Famous for bird mystery near Haflong.

National Park in Assam. Home of great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, breading place of palicon. Other wild lives are e lephant , tiger, buffelo, dear, wild ducks and geese, heron reptiles etc. Season - November to April.

Only tiger reserve in Assam. Important for rarest spacies like hispid hares, pigmy hog, golden langur; other wild lives are elephant, buffelo, dear, hornbill etc. Season November to April.

Wild life Sanc tuary . The animals to be seen in this sanctuary are one-horned rhinoceros, leopard, tiger, varieties of birds etc.

129

17. Majuli Largest river island of the world. It is the centre of Vaishnava Culture. There are many satras which are regarded as the main centres for Assamese art , music , dence, drama etc. There are plenty of migratory birds of great variety.

Spots selected so far by the Directorate of Tourism, Meghalaya

as tourist sites and their attractions are presented below^^

Place Distance from Shillong (in Km.)

Attraction

1. Shillong

2. Cherrapunjee

3. Mawsynram

4. Jakrem

A very beaut i fu l city offers panoramic view from every side of the city. The main a t t r a c t i o n s a re Shillong Peak, Sohpetbneng Peak Word's Lake, Botanical Garden, Lady Hydari Park, Golf course. State Museum, Bishop and Beadon Falls, Elephant Falls, Sweet Falls, Spread Eagle Falls.

Roaring wate r falls. Nohsangithiang, Limestone caves and orange honey. Centre of Khasi Culture and Literature.

Famous for the g i an t s t a l ag ian te format ion shaped into a shivalinga.

Popular health resort having hot springs of sulpher water believed to have curative medicine properties.

•-"' Govt, of Meghalaya (1996) : Welcome to Meghalaya, Directorate of Tour i sm, Shillong.

130

5. Ranikor

6. Dawki

7. Jowai

8. Syndai

140

96

64

65

A scenic spot and an angler's pa r ad i s e of corp and masheers.

A border town, where one can have a ghmpse of the ne ighbour ing coun t ry of Bangladesh. The colourful annua l boat race dur ing spring at the Umgot river is an added attraction.

A picturesque tower circled by the majestic Mynthdu river.

A village do t ted wi th a n u m b e r of caves and caverns, used as hide-outes during war times between Jaint ia Kings and foreign intruders.

9. Balpakram

10. Naphak Lake

11. Siju Caves

-

167 Km. from Tura.

112 Km. from Tura

115 Km from Tura

National Wildlife Park , known as abode of perpetual winds.

Ideal fishing and bird watching place.

Limestone cave and . Simsang Game Reserve.

The Directorate of Tourism or the Sta te Level Tour ism

Development Corporations in the states of Assam and Meghalaya

generally seek to project the state as the tourist spots for nature

tourism^^.

On analysing the various tourist spots in the region promoted

by the Tourism Promotion Organisations of these two select states ,

'•*" Govt, of Assam (1997) : Many Splendour in Assam, Directorate of Tour i sm, Guwahat i ; a n d Govt, of Meghalaya (1996) : Wei come to Meghalaya, Directorate ofTourism, Shillong.

131

it could be noticed that the thrust of the promotional drive in the two

states is not clearly defined. The leaflet, brochures and other

promotional materials brought by the said organisations, in fact,

indicate a multiple thrust. In course of our prolonged discussions

with the officers in the four selected tourism promotion organisations

in the two states we tried to understand the thrust of the tourism

marketing activities in the two states and how the different locations

were being linked to the chosen thrusts.

The picture that emerged from the discussions is presented below

in the table 4.3.

Table 4.3 : THRUST AREAS OF TOURISM MARKETING

ACTIVITIES IN ASSAM & MEGHALAYA

Thrust Tourist Location linked to the specific thrust

1. Nature Tourism (Flora fauna & Wild life)

2. Culture & HeritageTourism

3. Adventure Tourism (Cave, River island, River rafting, Trekking, Para flying and Golf etc.)

: Kaziranga, Manas , Orang , Bhalukpung, Haflong, Jatinga, Pabitora of Assam and shillong, Cherrapunjce, Ranikor, Jowai, Balprakram and Lapak Lake of Meghalaya etc, are basically endowed with the natural beauty, wild life, landscape etc.

: Sibsagar and Tezpur of Assam are projected on the historical monuments and heritage of Ahom Kingdom; like wise Kamakhya of Guwahati, Batadwara and Hajo are projected on the vaishnava culture of Assam.

: Krem Mammluh, Krem Phyl lut , Kremdom, Krem Syndai , Siju, a re nature made caves which are unique in their own ways, Majuli is the largest river island in the world, Golf course in Shil long and C h a b u a (Assam) are projected.

River rafting in Brahmaputra, Paraflying in Borjhar and Chabua of Assam are given projection for tourism.

132

4.3.2 ACCESSIBILITY AND THE NETWORKING OF TOURIST

SPOTS

Success in the marketing of tourism spots depends to a very

large extent on the accessibility of the given spots for tourists coming

from outside^*". Infact accessibility may be seen as an important

product feature particularly when a given location as a whole is

considered as a product.

Accessibility of the important spots identified and projected by

the selected organisations in the states of Assam and Meghalaya are

examined in this section from three distinct points of view :

i) Physical accessibility;

ii) Accessibility in the economic sense; and

iii) Accessibility from socio - political point of view.

Accessibility of a tourist spot in the physical sense is determined

by such locational factors as the distance from tourist-generating

regions and the availability of transport networks like : highways,

railways and airport^''.

Accessibility in the economic sense is determined by travel time

and cost. In this connection, the time required to complete the journey,

See in this connection, T.V Singh (1975) : Lucknow : The spirit grooms as the edges grow, The Avadh Geogrpher.

Kunal Chat topadhyay, (1995) : Economic Impact of Tourism Development- An Indian Experience, Kanishka Publishers, Distributors, New Delhi, p 28

133

the cost of inconvenience in terms of delay or waiting time should be

considered.

Accessibility is dependent on socio-political factors also. Political

disturbance, insurgency and social turmoil, governments restrictions

to visit a place may be important inhibiting factors for the visiting

tourists.

To assess the physical accessibility of the important tourist spots

that are highlighted by Assam Tourism and Megalaya Tourism, we

used the road and railway maps of Notrh eastern Region. It was found

that all the important spots in Assam and Meghalaya, are connected

either by rails or roadways and also are serviced by atleast five airports

( Guwahati , Shillong, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Jorhat ) . Hence,

accessibility in a purely physical sense seemingly does not pose a

barrier for marketing of the tourist spots in the two states.

Accessibility from an economic or socio-political point of view

has necessarily to be assessed from the prospective or actual tourists'

point of view. This depends on how much value a given tourist would

attach to his own time and money spent in covering a particular spot

as well as on how he would perceive the threat arising out of any

political disturbance or insurgency etc. Considering this, in course

of our tourist opinion survey, we specifically asked the respondents

the following questions :

134

i) Which tourist locations the respondents planned to cover

in their current visit ?

ii) Supposing that time and money were no constraints,

which other locations (apart from the selected ones) they

would have liked to cover ?

iii) (a) Which other states in Northeast India had already been

visited by the respondents ?

(b) Which other state or states in Northeast Region evoked

interest among the respondents?

iv) Did the respondents favour the idea of introducing long

distance inter-state conducted tour services by the

tourism organisations so that more locations in the region

could be covered by a tourist in the same visit ?

v) Why in the opinion of the respondents Northeast India has

so far been not able to attract visitors in large numbers ?

The opinion survey led to some very important revelations. The

views expressed by the respondents are summerised below in Table

4.4., 4.5., 4.6., 4.7., and 4.8.

135

Table 4 .4

TOURIST LOCATIONS IN THE RESPONDENTS CURRENT TOUR

PROGRAMME

Tourist Location No. of Respondents who % of total

(in Assam and Megalaya) covered or proposed to respondents

cover the locat ion _ _ _

Assam

l.Guwahati 55 89%

2.Kaziranga 18 29%

3.Hajo 2 3.2%

4.Pobitara

S.Majuli 5 8%

6. Manas 2 3.2%

7.0rang

S.Haflong 5 8%

9.Jatinga 5 8%

lO.Sibsagar 6 9.6%

l l .Chandubi

12.Bhalukpung

13.Tezpur 8 12.8%

Megalaya

l.Shillong 28 44.8%

2.Cherrapunjee 27 43.2%

3.Tura 11 17.6%

(Centre of caves)

4.Jowai 2 3.2%

Note : The total of Col.2 will not be equal to the total number of respondents as some of the tourists interviewed reported that they would cover two or three places in their current single visit.

Source: Tourists Opinion Survey.

136

Table 4.5 SECOND PREFERENCE LOCATIONS IN THE RESPONDENTS

ADDITIONAL WISH LIST

Tourist Location (Assam and Megalaya)

Assam

l.Guwahati

2.Kaziranga

3.Hajo

4.Pobitara

S.Majuli

6.Tezpur

7. Manas

S.Orang

g.Haflong

lO.Jatinga

1 LSibsaear

No. of respondents who indicated their

interest (second Preference) in the location not

covered in current tour

2

17

5

-

12

14

2

-

15

20

11

% of total respondents

3.2%

27.4%

8%

-

19.6%

22.6%

3.2%

-

24.2%

32 .3%

17.8%

12.Chandubi

13.Bhalukpung

Meghalaya

l.Shillong

2.Cherrapunjee

3.Barapani

4.Tura

(Centre of caves)

No. clear

second preference

22

17

7

11

35.5%

27.4%

11.3%

17.8%

3.2%

Source ; Tourists Opinion Suivey

137

Table 4.6

THE OTHER STATES IN NORTHEAST INDIA WHICH EVOKED

INTEREST AMONG THE RESPONDENTS

States

Number of Tourists who have already

visited

Number of Tourists having interest to

visit in near feature

No. of

Tourists

%of total No. of % of Total

Tourists

Arunachal Pradesh

Nagaland

Manipur

Mizoram

Tripura

3

2

1

3

4.8

3.2

1.6

4.8

12

15

14

18

19.3

24.1

22.6

29

Source : Tourists Opinion Survey

Table 4.7

RESPONDENTS OPINION ABOUT INTRODUCTION OF LONG

DISTANCE INTRA AND INTER STATE CONDUCTED TOUR SERVICE

Respondents opinion No.of Respondents % of Total

1.Favouring the idea

2.Against the idea

No clear opinion

54

Nil

8

87.1

12.9

Total

Source : Tourist opinion survey.

62 100.0

38

Table 4.8

REASONS CONSIDERED RESPONSIBLE BY THE TOURISTS FOR THE LOW RATE OF TOURIST ARRIVALS IN NORTHEAST INDIA

Main problems as identified Number of % of total by the respondents Respondents

i 2 3

1. Sense of insecurity arising out of the problem of insurgency 21 33.8%

2. Poor promotional efforts and inadequate projection 18 29%

3. Inadequate transport network 12 19.35% and poor hospitality service

4. Inadequate tourism information 6 9.7%

5. Government Regulations (particularly prevalence of Inner-line permit etc.) in various states 5 8%

Total 62 100%

Source : Tourist opinion survey.

The following points clearly come out from the opinion survey :

1. Although the locations of tourist interest in the two states of Assam

and Meghalaya are not inaccessible in the physical sense, the

accessibility of North east Region as a whole and of most of the tourists

locations in the two states, in the opinion of the respondents, is

severely constrainted in the economic as well as in socio-political

sense. This is evident from Table 4.4. As the Table shows, about 34%

of the visitors interxaewed by us felt that the sense of insecurity arising

out of the problem of insurgency in this region was the main problem

discouraging prospective tourists in undertaking a trip to North east

39

Region. This is not surprising as Richter and Waugh (1994) observed^^:

Tourist a reas are logical targets for ter ror is ts seeking to satisfy tactical needs - certainly movement is easier for foreign terrorists who can blend in with other tour is ts . The tour i s t s themselves would generally be more vulnerable to a t tack less many of suspic ious activity and more likely to be carrying large quant i t ies of money and expensive goods.

In a recent study K.C. Sharma^^ (1995) noticed that Jammu 8&

Kashmir had a tourist arrivals of 7.22 lakhs in 1989 which came

down to only 9000 in 1994 due to the constant political disturbance

and terrorism.

2. In the opinion of the tourists (c.f. Table 4.4) among the socio­

political factors, Government Regulations, particularly the restrictions

put on aspiring tourists through the enforcement of Inner-Line Permit

etc. in several of the states in Northeast India are also responsible for

adversely affecting accessibility to this region. Interestingly, in course

of the prolonged discussion with the tourists interviewed by us we

could gather the impression that most of the visitors from outside

Northeast India considered the whole of Northeast as one tourist

region. In such a situation, when the visitor feels that it would have

been in his best interest had he been able to cover two or three states

(Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, for example) in a single

visit, the prevalence of such restrictions obviously not only retarded

the growth of tourism, in the concerned states imposing restrictions

'^'^ Linda Richter and Willim Waugh (1994) : Terrorism and Tourism as Logical Companions, In S. Medlik edited Managing Tourism, Routledge, London & New York, p 20

''''' K.C. Sharma (1995) : Tourism - Policy, Planning and Strategy, Pointer Publisher, Ja ipur , p 45

140

on the movement of visitors, but also had discouraging influence on

tourists arrivals in the two states surveyed by us.

3. About 30% of the visitors ( as many be seen from table 4.7) felt

that a good transportation network to facilitate easy movement from

one locations to another and standard hospitability service to facilitate

comfortable stay at the locations were still in an underdeveloped stage

in Noerth East Region These two inadequacies linked to accessibility

of the region in the economic sence, according to the respondents

were the main impediments .

4. In the context of the above mentioned perception of the tourists, it

does not seem unnatuaral why only few of the places of tourist interest

(namely, Guwahati and Kaziaranga in Assam & Shillong and

Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya) in the two states suveryed by us witness

the bulk of the tourist-concentration.

In fact, while we found that business travellers generally, came

from outside for one location (e.g. Guwahati or Shillong) only, for the

holidayers and leisure time travellers, the reported preference was a

group of two or three places which they would be covering in their

current visit. The circuits opted for by most of the holidayers were

found to be the following:

i) Guwahati-Shillong-Cherrapunjee (repoted destinations for 16

out of the 62 interviewed)

ii) Guwahati-Kazn^anga (reported destinations for 12)

141

iii) Guwahati-Shillong-Kziranga (reported destinations for 6)

iv) Shillong-Cherrapunjee (reported destinations for 3).

5. A good number of tourists interviewed by us who had opted for a

particular circuit mentioned above or for any one or two places,

indicated that, had money and time been no constraints, they would

have covered some more places in the states of Assam or in Meghalaya.

The second preference locations as indicated by these travellers in

shown in Table 4.5. The Table is indicative of the fact that faster

movement among the various places of interest would have enabled

travellers to widen their circuit of travel covering more places.

6. It also come out from the survey that a significant proportion of

the tourist interviewed were interested in visiting the other states of

North east India. The response pattern depicted in Table 4.6 shows

that had time, money and problems relating to security or government

restrictions been not there, 21 out of 62 respondents would have

visited Arunachal Pradesh and 12 would have visited Nagaland; for

Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, the number of aspirants (among those

interviewed) were 15, 14 and 18 respectively.

7. About 87 percent of the tourists interviewed felt that introduction

of long distance intra and inter-state conducted tour service that

were now not available in the two states of Assam and Meghalaya,

could have made movement of the tourists between the various

locations easier and comfortable.

142

The foregoing discussion in fact, point to the need for a more

cautious approach in the investment planning for promotion of tourist

spot. Instead of thinly spreading the resources over a large number

of spots, it would probably have been better had the promotion

organisations concentrated on a smaller number of tourist locations

and adopted an integrated approach by promoting particular tourism

circuits consisting of wellconnected locations. As the interest of a

traveller was found by us to often transcend the boundary of a single

state, inter state collaboration for developing wider circuits and

removing restrictions on free movement of travellers could have gone

a long way in attracting tourists to this region.

4.3.3 ACCOMMODATION

The provision of accommodation is made in tourist lodges or

hotels. Tourist lodges include all such establishments offering

overnight accommodation on a commercial or quasi commercial basis

to all category of tourists-^". These may be serviced or nor-sendced

(i.e., self-catering).

As what the traveller seeks is a complete experience and as a

comfortable stay at the location is often viewed as an essential part

of the said experience, planning the lodges, at the right places and

arrangement of services to make the tourists' stay comfortable and

pleasing consti tute an important part of the overall product

development process in tourism marketing.

"'" Victor T.C. Middleton (1994) ; Marketing of Travel and Tourism, Buttei-worth Hememann, London, p 274

143

It is not always necessary for a tourism promotion organisation

that it should take on itself the responsibility of building and managing

lodges. Through effective facilitation, a tourism promotion organisaion

may induce private sector to come forward in this regard. However,

in underdeveloped tourism areas where private sector investment is

not forthcoming to the required scale or where the private sector is

unable to provide facilities or services of the required standard, it

predominantly falls on the tourism promotion orgnisation itself to

take the responsibility.

The important questions therefore that deserve our attention are

the following:

a) Were the tourist lodges planned at the right places? In other

words whether the site selection for the lodges reflect an

integrated tourism marketing and promotion policy ?

b) What services are being provided in the lodges and what is the

occupants' evaluation of the service quality ?

c) As the construction as well as the managing of a lodge calls for

investment on a significant scale, did the tourism promotion

organisations try out the alternative options particularly that of

involving the private sector in providing for accommodation and

the related facilities for the tourists.

These three questions are examined in detail in the following

paragraphs.

144

The tourism promotion organisation of Assam and Meghalaya

have set up tourist lodges and hotels in some select spots.

The twelve tourist lodges set up in Assam, their year of setting

up and the tariff rates are as given below:

Place

1. Guwahati

2. Kaziranga

3. Barpeta Road

4. Tezpur

5. Diphu

6. Haflong

7. Sibsagar

8. Bhaluk pung

9. Jo rha t

lO.Chandubi

l l .S i l cha r

12.Nagaon

Year of

setting up

1990

1977

1976

1984

1985

1985

1969

1977

1995

1980

1985

1988

Bed

capacity

56

117

14

27

20

22

20

18

24

10

30 .

12

Rs.

Rs.

Rs

Tariff

325 to Rs. 460

410 to Rs. 650

Rs. 210

. 50 (dormitory)

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

Rs. 260

The state of Meghalaya is having the following five hotels under

the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation ;

Name of the hotels/ Lodges

1. Pine wood Hotel

2. Orchid Hotel

3. Orchid Rest House

4. Orchid Lake Resort

5. Orchid Hotel

Location

Shillong

-Do-

Cherranpunji

Barapani

Tura

Bed capcity

78

86

ee 18

15

16

Tourists

Rs. 600 to Rs. 1800

Rs. 320 to Rs. 590

R s 3 2 0

Rs. 320 to Rs. 410

Rs. 320 to Rs. 590.

145

Regarding site selection or place selection of tourist lodges in

different parts of Assam and Meghalaya, it appeared that the decisions

in most cases were not based on a survey of the market potential.

This is borne out by the recorded occupancy rates of the Tourist

lodges and hotels run by the SLTPOs in both Assam and Meghalaya

(as shown in Table 4.9 and 4.10), some of the tourist lodges like

those at Diphu, Chandubi, Bhalukpung, Silchar show an occupancy

rate of below 5% during the poeriod 1995 to 2000. Some lodges which

are located in commercial areas are also not showing high occupancy

(c.f., Table 4.9. and 4.10). As may be shown from Table 4.9, in 8 out

of the 12 lodges run by the Directorate of Tourism and the ATDC in

Assam, the occupancy rate during the period 1995-2000 was

persistently below even the 10 percent level. In case of only 4 lodges,

namely, Guwahati, Sibsagar, Tezpur and Kaziranga, the occupancy

rate normally varied between 10 percent to 30 percent of the bed

capacity.

In Meghalaya, the situation, although not satisfactory, was better

than that of Assam. As Table 4.10 shows in all the 5 lodges run by

the MTDC, occupancy rate during the period 1995-2000 normally

varied between 20 percent and 50 percent of the prevailing bed

capacity.

146

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148

The very low occupancy rate in majority of the lodges run by

t o u r i s m , p romot ion organisa t ion in Assam is reflective of the

deficiencies in marke t ing planning part icularly in t he ma t t e r of

selection of locations for setting up of the lodges. However, the ra ther

un impress ive overall occupancy rate in the lodges promoted by

SLTPOs in Assam and Meghalaya were also indicative of the poor

market ing efforts by the said organisations as well a s of their service

quality.

Table 4.11 shows how the tourists interviewed by u s evaluate

the service qual i ty of the lodges run by SLTPOs in Assam and

Meghalaya.

Table 4 .11 : TOURIST OPINION REGARDING QUALITY OF SERVICES

IN SELECT LODGES

Opinion Tourist Lodge Guwahati No. %

Tourist Lodge Kaziranga No. %

Orchid Hotel Shillong

No. %

Very good

good

so so

Not up to the mark

Very poor

-

1

12

8

7

-

3.5

42.8

28.6

25

2

3

3

2

2

16.7

25

25

16.7

16.6

2

5

10

3

2

9.1

22.7

45.4

13.7

9.1

Total 2 8 100 12 100 2 2 100

Source : Touri.st opinion, survey.

The above Table shows that , taking the three lodges together,

only 6.45 percent of the tourists intennewed were ready to rate the

quali ty of service in their respective lodges, a s 'very good' and

149

14.5 percent as 'good'. On further querry, it came to our notice that

the dissatisfaction of the reporting tourist was linked to a large extent

to the narrow range of services provided within the lodges.

The tourism promotion organisations in many parts of India, in

addition to lodging and fooding, now-a-days orovide the following,

services and facilities to the tourists :

i) Bar service.

ii) Package tour service.

iii) Conducted tour.

iv) Sight seeing facilities.

v) Booking of rail and air travels.

vi) Health care.

vii) Laundry facilities.

viii) Entertainment and cultural shows.

ix) Shopping facilities.

x) Adventures and sports etc.

In our survey we found that around 64 percent of the tourist

inter\'iewed by us had expressed their expectations of such facilities

in Assam and Meghalaya.

Table 4.12 shows the range of services (other than fooding and

lodging) provided in the three select tourist lodges and hotels.

150

T a b l e 4 . 1 2 : TOURIST L O D G E S AND INCIDENTAL S E R V I C E S PROVIDED

Services Whether the service is provided within or by the Lodge?

Guwahati Kaziranga Orchid Hotel tourist lodge tourist lodge Shillong

Bar services No Yes Yes

Package tour system No No No

Conducted Tour Yes Yes Yes

Sight seeing facilities Yes Yes Yes

Booking of rail and air tickets No No No

Health care No No No

Laundry facilities Yes No Yes

Entertainment by cultural shows No No No

Shopping facilities No No No

Adventure and Sports [River cruise, [Elephant [Journey to irregular safari ] caves, rock

para flying, climbing 8& rock climbing, boating ]

boating]

Source: Compiled on the basis of information collected personally.

As far as the tourist lodges are concerned, the physical aspects of the

accommodation (constituting the hardware) and the service aspects

151

of it (constituting the software) together make the quality and image

of the tourist product. The deficiency with regard to site selection

and service planning in the tourist lodges in Assam and Meghalaya

as observed by us point in turn to the deficiencies in the entire product

development process.

4.3.4. OTHER FACILITIES AND SERVICES

Facilities are those additional elements, which augment the value

of a place (and hence its attractions) to the actual and prospective

visitors. Facilities include accommodation facilities, internal transport

facilities, catering services, shopping facilities, recreational facilities,

sports facilities and personal services'^'. It is the provision of these

additional facilities and services that enhances the value of a place to

its customer (i.e., the tourists) and thus leads to his or her satisfaction.

Facilities may be arranged both by private sector or public sector.

For development of tourism and to increase the tourist flow in to a

region or spot, the range of facilities should be wide through the

involvement of both private and public sectors.

In the light of the services provided generally by the tourism

promotion organisations in the states where tourism is relatively more

developed, a list was prepared by us to examine how far these facilities

were available in the states of Assam and Meghalaya through the

tourism promotion organisaions.

•" Kunal Chat topadhyay, (1995) : Economic Impact of Tourism An Indian Experiment, Kanishka Publishers, Distributors, New Delhi, p 51

152

This list included:

i) sight seeing facilities

(including education tour)

ii) entertainment facilities and cultural shows.

iii) shopping facilities

iv) facilities for sports and adventures (rafting, trekking, para flying, etc.)

It could be noticed that while the Memorandum of Associations

of both Assam Tourism Development Corporation and Meghaiaya

Tourism Development Corporation mention almost all the services in

their 'object clauses'^^, in practice, very few of these facilities are within

the offered range.

The ATDC and the Directorate of Tourism Assam offer the

following Services in addition to lodging and fooding;

1. River cruise in the Brahmaputra river managed by ATDC.

2. Sight seeing in Kaziranga arranged by ATDC with the help of

the Directorate of Tourism and the Department of Forests,

Assam.

3. Way side amenities in some select spots.

4. Annual camps of paraflying, rock climbing and river rafting

arranged by ATDC.

••- The Memorandums of Association of ATDC and that of MTDC mention twenty such sei-vices to be provided to tourists by each of the organisations.

53

Also the ATDC h a s u n d e r t a k e n the respons ib i l i ty of

infrastructrual development in the states which include:

a) development of picnic spots, and

b) beautification of tourist spots, etc.

The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation is offering the

following facilities or services:

i) Accommodation - hotels and tourist lodges

ii) Conducted tours to and from Shillong

iii) Rock climbing and cave journey.

iv) Boating facilities at Shillong lake and Barapani Lake.

The Directorate of Tourism, Assam arranges a number of

conducted tours from Guwahati, the details of which are given in

this section. The system of package tour programme is not yet

introduced in Assam by the tourism promotion organisations. But

the Directorate of Tourism, Meghalaya has started since 2000, package

tour programmes which include cave tour to Syndai, Siju, Lumshnong

and Cherrapunjee from Shillong. However, such package tour

programme run only subject to demand from adequate number of

tourists.

Daily tour programmes of The Directorate of Tourism, Meghalaya

include:

154

i) City tour in Shillong

ii) Daily tour from Shillong to Cherrapunjee.

iii) Daily tour from Shillong to Barapani.

The Conducted tours operated by the Directorate of Tourism, Assam

are the following:

Tour programme Arranged on Duration

1. Guwahati to Kaziranga

(Nov. to April)

2. City tour Guwahati

3. Guwahati to Hajo

Sunday

Saturday

Thursday

Monday

Wednesday

Sunday

Wednesday

Sunday

Two days

One day

One day

4. Guwahati to Sualkuchi Sunday One day

5. Guwahati to Shillong Sunday

Wednesday

One day

In course of our tourist opinion survey, we asked the tourists

two specific questions to know how they assess the offered range of

other facilities and services in Assam and Meghalaya. The points

coming out of the survey were indeed interesting. It was found that

generally the tourists had no specific complaint regarding the available

sen'ices as far as the service quality was concerned. However, majority

of the tourists were of the opinion that the range of facilities that

155

were actually being offered was too narrow.

To be more specific, 64% of the tourists interviewed expressed

the view that the conducted tours operated by the tourism promotion

organisations should be so planned that these tours could cover the

important tourist spots of the states. In their opinion, to know a state

and to experience a state's tourism endowments, city sight seeing

trips alone were not sufficient, rather well-planned package tours

were necessary.

Further, about 30% of the tourists interviewed told that they

would have loved to have a taste of the local culture of Assam and

Meghalaya particularly folk dances etc. and also the taste of local

food items and dishes. They felt somewhat disappointed as there was

currently no arrangement for such cultural shows for tourists; also

private or public restaurants specialised in serving local dishes did

not come to the notice of the travellers. Seven out of the sixty-two

tourists interviewed mentioned about the absence of sufficient

numbers of wayside souvenir shops particularly at the tourist spots

that could have offered for sale to tourists local handicrafts items

and cottage industry products. According to them such shops run by

private individuals could have been promoted in larger numbers by

the tourism organisations in Assam and Meghalaya.

The tourists interviewed particularly in Meghalaya were rather

emphatic in complaining about the restriction put on their movement

after the sunset by the disturbed law and order situation. As one

tourist put it, 'What shall I do here after the sun sets ? The hotel

156

manager would not encourage you to go out for shopping or for a

restaurant for there are chances of your being harassed in the streets

by unsocial elements. So, for me it is like sitting in a prison cabin

with the TV switched on in front of you. How do you expect your

tourism to grow in such situation of harassment and fear. Do people

come only for the sights?" In fact, 17 out of the 22 tourists interviewed

in Shillong expressed their dissatisfaction over the monotonous

evening hours. Innovative introduction of entertainment items (like

casinos), cultural shows and sports facilities within the hotel premises

could have compensated the tourists to some extent. However, such

in-house facilities were generally found to be absent in case of most

of the lodges and hotels.

157