Catapulting of AP Tourism Industry into High Growth
Trajectory –A Strategic Approach
Dr. Tapal
Dulababu*
Professor and Principal, The
Oxford College of Business Management, No.32, 19th Main, 17th ‘B’ Cross, Sector IV, HSR Layout, Bangalore 560 102
*Corresponding Author E-mail: tdbabu17@rediffmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Tourism is the world’s largest industry as 11 percent of world’s GDP is contributed by; eight percent of the world population is employed in, 7.9% of the total global exports are from and 9.4% of the global investments are made in this industry in 2000.
In India, the first ever Tourism Policy was announced by the Government of India in November 1982. The Seventh Plan advocated a two-pronged thrust in the area of development of tourism, viz., to vigorously promote domestic tourism and to diversify overseas tourism in India. The Planning Commission recognized tourism as an industry by June 1982. However, it took ten years to make most of the States to fall in line and accord the same status within their legislative framework. At the beginning of the Eighth Plan (1992-97), 15 States and 3 Union Territories had declared tourism as an industry. Four States had declared hotels as an industry. According to analysts, India represents one of the most potential tourism markets in the world. It has expanded rapidly over the past few years and underpinned by the government support, rising income level and various international sports events, the Indian tourism industry will continue to grow at the fastest pace in the coming years. The Indian tourism and hospitality industry is on a roll, driven by the huge surge in both business and leisure travel by domestic and foreign tourists. The country's travel and tourism industry is expected to generate approximately US$ 100 billion in 2008, rising to US$ 275.5 billion by 2018 over the next 10 years. The growth of tourist inflow into India was well above world average, leading to a rise of India's share in World arrivals from 0.37 per cent in 2001 to 0.53 per cent in 2006. The growth of Indian tourism industry was instrumental in the 'emergence' of South-Asia as a tourist destination. Further, tourism is an important industry in Indian economy contributing around 6.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and providing employment to over 41 million persons.
Andhra Pradesh is very
good place for tourism. The weather is mostly tropical. June to September is
the monsoon months and travel is not advised during this time. November to
January is the best time to visit. Andhra Pradesh has a rich cultural heritage.
Andhra Pradesh has a variety of attractions including beaches, hills, wildlife,
forests and temples.
Andhra Pradesh is known for its rich history, culture and architecture and its
multi-lingual culture, both geographically and culturally. Andhra Pradesh has
potential for all types of tourism, such as, pilgrim, religion and cultural,
eco, sports, medical, cruise, etc.
Andhra Pradesh has 23 districts and all the districts have the potential
for some or the other tourism development.
In this paper,
the author explores the potential for tourism in Andhra Pradesh state and
prescribes a model of high growth trajectory.
1. Role of Tourism Industry
The purpose of tourism is travel for recreational
or leisure. According to The World Tourism Organization tourists are as
people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment
for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes
not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place
visited". Tourism has become a popular ‘global leisure activity’.
Wealthy people have often traveled to distant parts
of the world to see great buildings and works of art, to learn new languages,
to experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines.
2. Facts of World Tourism
Tourism provides opportunity for economic growth,
employment generation and poverty alleviation. Tourism holds the key for
creation of rural wealth, opportunity for the hitherto neglected segments of
society, artisans and service providers in the backward areas. This sector
employs 212 million people worldwide, generates $3.4 trillion in gross output
and contributes $655 billion towards government tax revenues. Travel and
Tourism is the world’s largest industry. The world tourism day is celebrated on
every 27th September.
2.1 Contribution of World Tourism
Tourism industry plays a vital role in the world
trade. Tourism industry contributes 11 percent to world’s GDP, eight percent of
the world’s population is employed in this, 7.9 percent of global exports are
by this industry and around 10 percent of the world’s capital is invested in
this industry as depicted in table- 1.
Table 1 Travel and Tourism –
the world’s largest industry
|
S. No. |
Share of World |
Percentage during the year
2000 |
|
1.
|
GDP |
11.00 |
|
2.
|
Employment |
8.00 |
|
3.
|
Exports |
7.90 |
|
4.
|
Capital
Investment |
9.4 |
2.2 World Tourism Rankings
In table 2, different nations were ranked based on
the international tourists’ arrival for the years, 2006 and 2007. The share of
Europe is the largest followed by North America and the share of Asia is the
smallest. Within Europe, France is the topper among the top ten countries in
attracting the international tourists and followed by Spain, USA, China, and
Italy and so on. This is more or less same for both the years. China is the
only nation from Asia among the top ten in attracting the international
tourists.
2.3 International tourism receipts
In table 3 international tourism receipts (in $
billion) is presented for the years, 2006 and 2007. In the case of
international tourism receipts concerned, USA stands in first position followed
by European and Asian nations. Continent-wise Europe stands in first position
followed by North America and Asia. Almost all nations in Europe are attractive
for the international tourists hence dominating in the world tourism industry.
Philippines and China have received 24.7 and 24 percent more on its previous
year’s receipts respectively.
In table 4 International tourism top spenders (in $ billion) is
presented for the years, 2006 and 2007. It is revealed that Germany is the top
spenders and followed by USA, UK, France, China, Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia
and South Korea. Here also Europe stands in first position and followed by
North America and Asia. Country-wise, Germany stands in first position and
followed by USA, UK, France, China, Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia and South
Korea. China spent 22.6 percent more than that of its previous year’s similarly
Russia. France and UK spent 17.6 and 14.6 percent more than that of its
previous year’s respectively.
Table 2.
World Tourism Rankings
|
Rank (2007) |
Country |
UNWTO |
International tourist
arrivals in million (2007) |
International tourist
arrivals in million (2006) |
Percentage |
|
1 |
France |
Europe |
81.9 |
79.1 |
3.5 |
|
2 |
Spain |
Europe |
59.2 |
58.5 |
1.2 |
|
3 |
United
States |
North
America |
56.0 |
51.1 |
9.6 |
|
4 |
China |
Asia |
54.7 |
49.6 |
10.3 |
|
5 |
Italy |
Europe |
43.7 |
41.1 |
6.3 |
|
6 |
United
Kingdom |
Europe |
30.7 |
30.7 |
0 |
|
7 |
Germany |
Europe |
24.4 |
23.6 |
3.4 |
|
8 |
Ukraine |
Europe |
23.1 |
18.9 |
22.2 |
|
9 |
Turkey |
Europe |
22.2 |
18.9 |
17.5 |
|
10 |
Mexico |
North
America |
21.4 |
21.4 |
0 |
|
Source:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Tourism |
|||||
Table 3. International
tourism receipts
|
Rank (2007) |
Country |
UNWTO |
International tourist arrivals in million (2007) |
International tourist arrivals in million (2006) |
Percentage |
|
1 |
United States |
North America |
$96.7 |
$85.7 |
12.8 |
|
2 |
Spain |
Europe |
$57.8 |
$51.1 |
13.1 |
|
3 |
France |
Europe |
$54.2 |
$46.3 |
17.1 |
|
4 |
Italy |
Europe |
$42.7 |
$38.1 |
12.1 |
|
5 |
China |
Asia |
$41.9 |
$33.9 |
23.6 |
|
6 |
United Kingdom |
Europe |
$37.6 |
$33.7 |
11.6 |
|
7 |
Germany |
Europe |
$36.0 |
$32.8 |
9.8 |
|
8 |
Philippines |
Asia |
$22.2 |
$17.8 |
24.7 |
|
9 |
Austria |
Europe |
$18.9 |
$16.6 |
13.9 |
|
10 |
Turkey |
Europe |
$18.5 |
$16.9 |
9.5 |
Source:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Tourism
|
Rank (2007) |
Country |
UNWTO |
International tourist arrivals in million (2007) |
International tourist arrivals in million (2006) |
Percentage |
|
1 |
Germany |
Europe |
$82.9 |
$73.9 |
12.2 |
|
2 |
United States |
North America |
$76.2 |
$72.1 |
5.7 |
|
3 |
United Kingdom |
Europe |
$72.3 |
$63.1 |
14.6 |
|
4 |
France |
Europe |
$36.7 |
$31.2 |
17.6 |
|
5 |
China |
Asia |
$29.8 |
$24.3 |
22.6 |
|
6 |
Italy |
Europe |
$27.3 |
$23.1 |
18.2 |
|
7 |
Japan |
Asia |
$26.5 |
$26.9 |
-1.5 |
|
8 |
Canada |
North America |
$24.8 |
$20.5 |
21 |
|
9 |
Russia |
Europe |
$22.3 |
$18.2 |
22.5 |
|
10 |
South Korea |
Asia |
$20.9 |
$18.9 |
10.6 |
Source:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Tourism
|
World's |
Tourist
attraction |
City |
Country |
Number of
visitors |
|
1 |
Times Square |
New York City |
35 |
|
|
2 |
25 |
|||
|
3 |
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom |
Lake Buena Vista, Orlando |
16.6 |
|
|
4 |
Trafalgar Square |
London |
United Kingdom |
15 |
|
5 |
Disneyland |
Anaheim,
CA |
14.7 |
|
|
6 |
Niagara Falls |
Ontario and N.Y. |
Canada and USA |
14 |
|
7 |
Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate |
San Francisco, CA |
13 |
|
|
8 |
Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea |
Tokyo |
Japan |
12.9 |
|
9 |
Notre Dame de Paris |
Paris |
France |
12 |
|
10 |
Disneyland Paris |
Paris |
France |
10.6 |
|
11 |
Badaling |
China |
10 |
|
|
18 |
Eiffel Tower |
Paris |
France |
6.7 |
|
31 |
Grand Canyon |
Arizona |
4.4 |
|
|
36 |
Statue of Liberty |
New York |
4.24 |
|
|
37 |
The Vatican and its museums |
Rome |
Italy |
4.2 |
|
39 |
The Colosseum |
Rome |
Italy |
4 |
|
47 |
Giza Pyramids |
Cairo |
Egypt |
3 |
|
50 |
Taj Mahal |
Agra |
India |
2.4 |
Source: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Tourism
Top fifty most visited
attractions (No. of
visitors in Million) is presented with the world’s ranking in table 5. Times Square at New York City of United States of America is the top most tourist
attraction and was able to attract 35 million visitors every year followed by National Mall and Memorial Parks
at Washington D.C. of USA (25 million), Walt Disney
World's Magic Kingdom at Lake Buena
Vista, Orlando of USA (16.6 million) and so on. Taj
Mahal at Agra of India is listed as the last
attraction of top fifty with 2.4 million visitors in India.
Top 15 most visited cities
are presented in table 6. London of UK is top most cities visited by 15.64
million visitors, followed by Bangkok (10.35 million visitors), Paris (9.7
million) and so on. There is no city from India which is most visited.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) also
forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average
annual rate of 4 %. By 2020 Europe will remain the most popular destination,
but its share will drop from 60% in 1995 to 46%. Long-haul will grow slightly
faster than intraregional travel and by 2020 its share will increase from 18%
in 1995 to 24%.
|
Ranking |
City |
Country |
Number of
intl. visitors (millions) |
|
1 |
15.64 |
||
|
2 |
10.35 |
||
|
3 |
9.70 |
||
|
4 |
9.50 |
||
|
5 |
8.14 |
||
|
6 |
6.22 |
||
|
7 |
6.12 |
||
|
8 |
6.03 |
||
|
9 |
4.92 |
||
|
10 |
4.69 |
||
|
11 |
4.47 |
||
|
12 |
4.42 |
||
|
13 |
4.31 |
||
|
14 |
4.16 |
||
|
15 |
4.12 |
Source:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Tourism
3. Tourism Industry in India
The Indian tourism industry contributes 5.9
per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and provides employment to 41.8 million
people. Tourism is one of the third largest net earners of foreign exchange for
the country and also one of the sectors, which employs the largest number of
manpower. Currently, Indian tourism contributes 5.6 per cent of total
employment in India. The Indian tourism industry is ranked second after China.
The cumulative FDI into the hotel and
tourism sector from 1991 to March 2007 has been US$ 517.83 million. The World
Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) have named India along with China as one of
the fastest growing tourism industries for the next 10 to 15 years. India's
tourism industry is poised to grow to about US$ 90 billion from the current US$
39 billion in the coming decade.
3.1
Economic
benefits of tourism
A comparison of
economic benefits is depicted in table 7. The benefits in terms of contribution
to GDP and employment opportunities are presented:
Table 7. Economic benefits of tourism
|
Indicators
|
Year
|
India
|
World
|
|
Contributions tourism to GDP |
2002-03 |
5.83 % |
10.0 % 2002 |
|
2003-04 |
5.90 % |
10.2% 2003 |
|
|
2004-05 |
6.11 % |
10.4 % 2004 |
|
|
2005-06 |
NA |
10.6 % 2005 |
|
|
Employment in tourism sector |
2002-03 |
38.6 million (8.27 %) |
198.098 million (7.8%) 2002 |
|
2003-04 |
41.8 million (8.78 %) |
194.562 million (7.6 %) 2003 |
|
|
2004-05 |
NA |
214.697 million (8.1 %) 2004 |
|
|
2005-06 |
NA |
221.697 million (8.3 %)
2005 |
Note: Figures in parentheses indicate percentage share
in total employment
Source: 1. for India figures TSA 2002-03(actual and
estimates), 2. WTTC
The economic
benefits of tourism derived by India when compared to the world’s figures with
respect to both the parameters are low implying that there is much space to
capitalize.
3.2 Growth of Indian Tourism Industry
The growth rate of foreign tourist arrivals
and foreign exchange earnings from 1996 to 2006 are shown in Table 8. As per the
table foreign tourist arrivals were 2.29 million in 1996 rose to 4.45 million
in 2006 showing an average (for 11 years) increase of 7.35 per cent. Similarly,
the foreign exchange earnings from tourism also showed a phenomenal growth from
US$ 2832 million in 1996 to US$ 6569 million in 2006, achieving an average (for
11 years) increase of 17.3 per cent. This implies that there is significant
potential for the growth of tourism industry in India.
Reflecting the importance of India in the
Tourism sector, India was elected to represent South Asia on the Executive
Council of UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the highest policy making
world tourism body represented by 150 countries. Also, the Association of
British Travel Agents (ABTA) has ranked India as No.1 amongst the top 50 places
for 2006. The "Incredible India" campaign has been ranked as the
Highest Recall Advertisement worldwide by "Travel and Leisure".
Year
|
Foreign Tourist
Arrivals
|
Foreign
Exchange Earnings
|
||
Million
|
Percentage change
|
US $ Million
|
Percentage change
|
|
1996
|
2.29
|
8.0
|
2832
|
9.6
|
1997
|
2.37
|
3.5
|
2889
|
2.0
|
1998
|
2.36
|
-0.4
|
2948
|
2.0
|
1999
|
2.48
|
5.1
|
3009
|
2.1
|
2000
|
2.65
|
6.9
|
3168
|
5.3
|
2001
|
2.54
|
-4.2
|
3042
|
-4.0
|
2002
|
2.38
|
-6.3
|
2923
|
-3.9
|
2003
|
2.73
|
14.7
|
3533
|
20.9
|
2004
|
3.46
|
26.7
|
4769
|
35.0
|
2005
|
3.92
|
13.3
|
5731
|
20.2
|
2006
|
4.45
|
13.5
|
6569
|
14.6
|
Total
|
80.8 |
|
103.8 |
|
Average
|
7.35 |
|
17.3 |
|
3.3 Tourist arrivals to India
from top fifteen countries
The tourist arrivals to India from top fifteen countries for
the period from 1981 to 2005 is presented in the table 9, and the smooth line
graph is depicted in figure 1, as follows:
From the table 9, and Fig.1, it is observed
that UK and USA are the major segments where from the foreign tourists have
been arrived to India since 1981. In 2002 there was a huge jump in the arrivals
from Germany (8 times to that of previous year). There has been a gradual
increasing trend can be seen through the graph in the arrivals (can be
understood from total) from all the top 15 countries from 1981 to 2005,
implying that there is huge potential for branding India as the world’s tourism
spot.
Table 9. Tourist Arrivals to India from Top Fifteen
Countries for the Period from 1981 To 2005
|
Year |
U.K. |
U.S.A |
Canada |
France |
Sri Lanka |
Germany |
Japan |
Malaysia |
Total |
|
1981 |
116684 |
82052 |
25358 |
57272 |
75842 |
55471 |
29032 |
26458 |
468169 |
|
1982 |
120772 |
86806 |
25991 |
59267 |
76143 |
50885 |
29103 |
26552 |
475519 |
|
1983 |
136823 |
95847 |
29857 |
50158 |
81716 |
52120 |
26662 |
25796 |
498979 |
|
1984 |
124205 |
95651 |
25135 |
47148 |
75449 |
48930 |
29566 |
22993 |
469077 |
|
1985 |
119544 |
95920 |
29022 |
44091 |
69063 |
45738 |
30573 |
23265 |
457216 |
|
1986 |
160685 |
125364 |
39837 |
65948 |
75631 |
64811 |
36402 |
26209 |
594887 |
|
1987 |
166590 |
134876 |
37677 |
64432 |
74351 |
72300 |
46240 |
28480 |
624946 |
|
1988 |
200509 |
122888 |
37498 |
69799 |
70640 |
77543 |
49244 |
29635 |
657756 |
|
1989 |
229496 |
134314 |
40306 |
78001 |
67680 |
78812 |
58707 |
33120 |
720436 |
|
1990 |
231551 |
125303 |
41046 |
79496 |
68400 |
71374 |
59122 |
34278 |
710570 |
|
1991 |
212052 |
117332 |
36142 |
69346 |
70088 |
72019 |
46655 |
30617 |
654251 |
|
1992 |
244263 |
152288 |
43386 |
74304 |
71935 |
84422 |
60137 |
35201 |
765936 |
|
1993 |
274168 |
158159 |
47800 |
70694 |
76898 |
83340 |
49616 |
35334 |
796009 |
|
1994 |
300696 |
176482 |
56441 |
73088 |
89009 |
85352 |
63398 |
40762 |
885228 |
|
1995 |
334827 |
203343 |
63821 |
82349 |
114157 |
89040 |
76042 |
50039 |
1013618 |
|
1996 |
360686 |
228829 |
74031 |
93325 |
107351 |
99853 |
99018 |
53370 |
1116463 |
|
1997 |
370567 |
244239 |
78570 |
91423 |
122080 |
105979 |
99729 |
60401 |
1172988 |
|
1998 |
376513 |
244687 |
80111 |
97898 |
118292 |
93993 |
89565 |
47496 |
1148555 |
|
1999 |
345085 |
251926 |
82892 |
85891 |
120072 |
85033 |
73373 |
52613 |
1096885 |
|
2000 |
432644 |
348292 |
84013 |
100022 |
129193 |
83881 |
98159 |
60513 |
1336717 |
|
2001 |
405472 |
329147 |
88600 |
102434 |
112813 |
80011 |
80634 |
57869 |
1256980 |
|
2002 |
387846 |
348182 |
93598 |
78194 |
108008 |
646891 |
59709 |
63748 |
1786176 |
|
2003 |
430917 |
410803 |
107671 |
97654 |
109098 |
76868 |
77996 |
70750 |
1381757 |
|
2004 |
555907 |
526120 |
135884 |
131824 |
128711 |
116679 |
96851 |
84390 |
1776366 |
|
2005 |
651803 |
611165 |
157643 |
152258 |
136400 |
120243 |
103082 |
96276 |
2028870 |
Source:
http://scstsenvis.nic.in/tourinflow.html
Table 10. Share of India
in international tourist arrivals in world
|
Year |
Tourist arrival |
Tourist receipts |
||
|
In world In million |
Share of India in percentage |
In world In US $ billion |
Share of India in percentage |
|
|
1996 |
573.5 |
0.4 |
450.5 |
0.63 |
|
1997 |
597.5 |
0.4 |
454.2 |
0.64 |
|
1998 |
616.0 |
0.39 |
451.7 |
0.65 |
|
1999 |
639.5 |
0.39 |
465.7 |
0.65 |
|
2000 |
686.7 |
0.38 |
483.8 |
0.66 |
|
2001 |
686.0 |
0.36 |
472.3 |
0.64 |
|
2002 |
706.4 |
0.34 |
487.0 |
0.60 |
|
2003 |
693.2 |
0.39 |
533.1 |
0.66 |
|
2004 |
761.0 |
0.46 |
633.0 |
0.75 |
|
2005 |
802.0 |
0.49 |
678.0 |
0.85 |
|
2006 |
842.0 |
0.52 |
735.0 |
0.89 |
Source: Tourism Market Trends 2005 edition
(WTO) for the years up to 2003 and WTO Barometer June, 2007 for other years
3.4 Share of India in
international tourist arrivals in world
The share of India in international tourist arrivals and international tourist receipts in world is presented
in table 10. As per the table, it is disclosed that the share of
India is meager both in terms of international tourist arrivals and receipts.
Further it is noticed that there is great need of extra efforts to brand India
as an international tourist spot.
4. Tourism Industry in Andhra Pradesh (AP)
The position of tourism
industry in Andhra Pradesh is discussed as follows:
Profile of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (AP) is one of the largest states of
Independent India. The area of the state is 275100 Sq KMs, with 23 districts
and Hyderabad city as its capital city. Further Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupathi, Warangal, Guntur, Kakinada, Nellore and Kurnool
are some of the other major cities. Most commonly spoken languages are Telugu,
English, Urdu and Hindi. The state is divided into three major regions;
coastal, rayalaseema and telengana.
The state has 974 KM length coastal belt. Krishna, Godavari and Thungabhadra are the major rivers in AP. Hinduism, Islam
and Christianity are the major religions practiced here. The maximum
temperature in AP is 44.8° C in summer and minimum is 11.3°C in winter seasons.
The state is suitable for international tourists from September to February
every year and for domestic tourists, excepting (from June to August) monsoon
season, all other seasons are suitable. Average annual rainfall in the state is
940 mm. There are 620 railway stations with 5107 KM railway track and 1.78 lakh KM of road network is in use. Further the AP has
4014KM national highway road and 8763KM state highway road. Besides, one
international airport at Shamshabad just 30KM away
from Hyderabad and a handful number of domestic air ports at Vijayawada,
Vishakhapatnam, Rajamundry, Tirupathi
and others. Similarly, there are two major seaports namely, Vishakhapatnam and Gangavaram, which is under development.
Andhra Pradesh is divided into three regions broadly,
namely, Rayalaseema (including Ananthapur,
Kurnool, Chittoor and Kadapa
districts), Telengana region (including Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar,
Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda,
Nizamabad, Rangareddy and Warangal) and coastal
region (including East Godavari, Guntur, Khammam, Krishna,
Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam,
Vishakapatnam, Vizianagaram and West Godavari). The
potential of districts/regions is discussed as follows:
Rayalaseema – its potential in tourism destination
As per the table 11, it is found that there is a huge
scope for religious tourism in Chittoor district
followed by Kurnool, Kadapa and Ananthapur.
In Chittoor ‘Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam’, the world
famous religious destination attracting Hindus and others and whose annual
income is more than Rs. 2 billion. This
is the richest and the number one attraction at the national level and number
two (after the Vatican City based church) in terms of popularity, number of
pilgrims visit per day and collection of donations. The next best tourist
destination is Eco and Wildlife tourism. As far as this destination concerned
excepting Ananthapur the other districts are being
developed. For historical and monuments related tourism, all the four districts
are providing good space. In the case of leisure, Kurnool and Chittoor have only one spot called ‘Srisilam
dam’ and ‘Sila Thoranam’
respectively.
Telengana – its potential in tourism destination
In telengana, there are nine
districts as shown in the table 11. Here also, there is more scope for
religious tourism. In Adilabad, Sri Gyana Saraswathi Devasthanam Basara is a
famous temple, in Warangal there are ‘Ramappa temple (at Palampet) and
‘Thousand Pillar’ temple are historically popular. In Hyderabad the
popular temple and mosque are ‘Birla Mandir’ and
‘Mecca Masjid’. In Ranga
Reddy district, ‘Ananthagiri Kshetram’
and ‘Keesaragutta’ temples are well known. In Medak, ‘Medak Church’ is famous
but many temples also exist. In Nizamabad there are temples like at Dichpalli and Neelakanteshwara
Temple is known. In Karimnagar, ‘Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy Devasthanam’ at Vemulawada is one
of the historically famous temples. In Mehabubnagar
also there is good number of temples of which Someswara
Swamy temple at Somasila is
a well known one. In Nalgonda too there are a handful number of temples but
‘Sri Lakshmi Narasimha
Swami Temple’ at Yadigiri gutta
is a very renowned. With respect to historical and monument related tourism,
Hyderabad is well known followed by Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Medak. With regard to Leisure tourism again Hyderabad is
standing in number one followed by Warangal and Nizamabad. In eco and wild-life-tourism
and rural tourism, all the districts have a good potential excepting Ranga Reddy district. Other than Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, all other districts have a distinct
and significant potential for rural tourism in addition to religious tourism.
Table 11. The Scope of
Districts – Tourism Destinations
|
Districts |
Tourism Destinations |
||||
|
Religious |
Historical |
Leisure |
Rural |
Eco
and Wildlife |
|
|
Rayalaseema Region |
|||||
|
Ananthapur |
Strong |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
Poor |
|
Kurnool |
Extremely strong |
Strong |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
|
Chittoor |
Extremely strong |
Strong |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
|
Kadapa |
Strong |
Strong |
Very poor |
Very poor |
Average |
|
Telengana Region |
|||||
|
Adilabad |
Strong |
Very poor |
Average |
Average |
Strong |
|
Warangal |
Strong |
Poor |
Average |
Average |
Average |
|
Hyderabad |
Strong |
Extremely strong |
Extremely strong |
Strong |
Strong |
|
Rangareddy |
Average |
Very poor |
Very poor |
Very poor |
Very poor |
|
Medak |
Extremely strong |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
Average |
|
Nizamabad |
Average |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
Average |
|
Karimnagar |
Strong |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
Average |
|
Mehabubnagar |
Strong |
Very poor |
Very poor |
Average |
Very poor |
|
Nalgonda |
Strong |
Strong |
Very poor |
Average |
Average |
|
Coastal
Andhra Region |
|||||
|
Khammam |
Strong |
Average |
Average |
Very poor |
Average |
|
Srikakulam |
Average |
Poor |
Poor |
Average |
Average |
|
Vijayanagaram |
Average |
Strong |
Very poor |
Average |
Very poor |
|
Vishakhapatnam |
Strong |
Average |
Extremely strong |
Average |
Average |
|
East Godavari |
Strong |
Poor |
Strong |
Poor |
Average |
|
West Godavari |
Extremely strong |
Poor |
Poor |
Average |
Strong |
|
Krishna |
Strong |
Average |
Strong |
Strong |
Very poor |
|
Guntur |
Extremely strong |
Strong |
Strong |
Average |
Poor |
|
Prakasam |
Strong |
Poor |
Strong |
Very poor |
Average |
|
Nellore |
Strong |
Average |
Strong |
Average |
Average |
Note: Summarized on the basis
of Annexure-I: table 15, titled “Types of Tourism destinations- Regions and
Districts of Andhra Pradesh”
Coastal Andhra – its potential in tourism destination
The potential of coastal Andhra covering ten districts
is discussed as follows. As per the table 11, all the ten districts have strong
potential in projecting themselves as good destination for religious tourism,
for example, in Khammam district, ‘Sri Sitarama
Share of Top 10 States/UTs of India in
number of Foreign Tourist Visits
Now let us make analysis on the share of top
ten states /UT (Union Territories) in number of foreign tourist visits to India
the data of which is presented in table 11.
As per the table 11, the share of top 10 states of India in number of
foreign tourist visits, in 2007 the share of Andhra Pradesh and West
Bengal has been maintained to 5.9 and 8.8 percent of the total foreign tourists
visit to India respectively. There has been overall increase of one percent in
the foreign tourists’ arrivals from 2006 to 2007 for the top ten states. Delhi,
UP, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Goa and other states have shown a declining rate
of foreign tourists’ visit and Maharashtra, Tamilnadu
and Kerala have shown a small increase in the arrivals of foreign tourists from
2006 to 2007.
Table 12. Share of Top 10 States/UTs of
India in number of
Foreign Tourist Visits in 2006 and 2007
|
Rank |
State/UT |
Percentage |
|
|
2006 |
2007 |
||
|
1. |
Delhi |
17.3 |
15.3 |
|
2. |
Maharashtra |
14.5 |
14.6 |
|
3. |
Tamilnadu |
9.1 |
12.9 |
|
4. |
Uttar Pradesh |
11.6 |
11.3 |
|
5. |
Rajasthan |
10.7 |
10.6 |
|
6. |
West Bengal |
8.8 |
8.8 |
|
7. |
Andhra Pradesh |
5.9 |
5.9 |
|
8. |
Karnataka |
4.4 |
4.1 |
|
9. |
Kerala |
3.8 |
3.9 |
|
10. |
Goa |
3.3 |
3.0 |
|
Total of top 10 |
89.4 |
90.4 |
|
|
Others |
10.6 |
9.6 |
|
|
Grand total |
100 |
100.0 |
|
Source: State / UT
Tourism Departments
This implies that India has not been able
to tap its potential to the fullest extent as far as attracting the foreign
tourists and similar is the case with all the states irrespective of the
increase or decrease from 2006 to 2007, as the increase is very meager. The
share of AP state is less than 6 % of the total foreign tourists visit in India
per year.
Share of Top 10 States/UTs of India in number of Domestic Tourist Visits
The data on number Domestic Tourist Visits in 2006 and 2007 is presented in table 12. It is
found that Andhra Pradesh has been leading in attracting the number of Domestic
Tourist Visits in 2006 and 2007 followed by UP, Tamilnadu
and Karnataka. Rest of the states has
less that five percent of the total number of
Domestic Tourist Visits.
However, the
total of the top ten states’ share has been decreased by 0.1 percent from 2006
to 2007. AP, Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand,
West Bengal, Gujarat, MP and other states have shown an increase of their share
in the arrivals of domestic tourists, whereas UP, Karnataka and Rajasthan have
shown their deceasing share and Maharashtra has been maintaining to 3.7 percent
as its share in the number of domestic tourist visits both in 2006 and 2007. This implies that India has not
been able to tap its domestic tourism potential also to the fullest extent and
similar is the case with all the states. The share of AP is highest but year to
year increase is dismal.
Table 13. Share of Top 10 States/UTs of
India in number of
Domestic Tourist Visits in 2006 and 2007
|
Rank |
State/UT |
Percentage |
|
|
2006 |
2007 |
||
|
1. |
Andhra Pradesh |
24.2 |
24.3 |
|
2. |
Uttar Pradesh |
22.9 |
22.1 |
|
3. |
Tamilnadu |
12.7 |
13.5 |
|
4. |
Karnataka |
7.8 |
7.2 |
|
5. |
Rajasthan |
5.1 |
4.9 |
|
6. |
Maharashtra |
3.7 |
3.7 |
|
7. |
Uttarakhand |
3.6 |
3.8 |
|
8. |
West Bengal |
3.4 |
3.5 |
|
9. |
Gujarat |
2.5 |
2.6 |
|
10. |
Madhya Pradesh |
2.4 |
2.6 |
|
Total of top 10 |
88.3 |
88.2 |
|
|
Others |
11.7 |
11.8 |
|
|
Grand total |
100 |
100.0 |
|
Source: State / UT
Tourism Departments
Budget allocations for AP tourism
development
The financial allocations for purpose of developing
tourism in AP state gradually growing but allocations are not adequate to tap
the potential to the fullest extent. The allocations from 1999 to 2003 are
shown in table 13. as per the table, it is found that only 45 percentage
increase in allocations in 2003 when compared to that of 1999.
Table14. Budget allocations for AP. tourism development
|
Year |
Budget (Rs. Lakh) |
Trend Percentage |
|
1999 |
460.0 |
100 |
|
2000 |
NA |
-- |
|
2001 |
417.8 |
90.8 |
|
2002 |
491.9 |
106.9 |
|
2003 |
664.5 |
144.5 |
Source: http://tourism.gov.in/survey/Report
Table 15. Types of Tourism destinations- Regions and
Districts of Andhra Pradesh
|
Rayala
seema Districts |
Type of Tourism |
|||
|
Eco and Wild-life |
Religious |
Historical and Adventurous |
Leisure and Rural |
|
|
1. ANANTHAPUR |
Alur Kona, Thimmamma
marri manu Guti bayalu |
Dharmavaram temples, Kadiri
temples, Penna Ahobilam,
Lord Veera Bhadra Temple Lepakshi, Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, Tadipatri Temples |
Gooty fort, Hemavathi
monuments, Penukonda Fort, Royadurga
Fort |
Dharmavaram handlooms |
|
2. KURNOOL |
Rollapadu Bird Sanctuary, Srisilam-Nagarjuna
SagarTiger Reserve |
Mahanandi Temples, Mallikarjuna
swamy Temple Srisilam, Raghavendra Swamy Temple Manthralayam, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha |
Belum Caves, Kurnool Fort, Yaganti
Caves |
Srisilam Dam |
|
3. CHITTOOR |
Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary Palamaneru,
Sri Venkateswara Sanctuary |
Akasa Ganga Tirupathi, Alamelumanga Temple,
Hare Rama Hare
Krishna Mandir, Kalyana Venkateswara temple Narayanavanam,
Kanipakam, Kapilathirtham,
Kodandarama Swamy temple,
Lord Venkateswara Temple, nagalapuram
temple, Sri Agastheswara Swamy
Temple, Sri Kalahasthisvara Temple, Swami Pushkarini, The Govindarajaswami
Temple, Tiruchanur |
Chandragiri Fort, Talakona
(Hills and Valleys) |
Sila Thoranam |
|
4. KADAPA |
Sri Lanka Malleswara Wild life Sanctuary, Sri Venkateswara
Wild Life Sanctuary Rajampeta |
Kandimallayapalli Brahmamgarimatam, Masjid-e-Azam, Pushpagiri Temples, Sri Kodanda Ramaswamy Temple, Tallapaka Temples |
Bhagavan Mahavir
Government Museum, Chand Phira
Gumbadh (monument), Gandikota
Fort |
---- |
|
5. ADILA-BAD |
Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary Jannaram, Pranahita Wildlife |
Jainath Temple Adilabad, Nagoba
temple Keslapur, Sri Gyana
Saraswathi |
-------- |
Dokra metal Crafts, Kuntala Waterfalls, Nirmal Arts – Paintings and Toys, Pochera Waterfalls |
|
6. WARANGAL
|
Eturnagaram Sanctuary, Pakhal
Wild life Sanctuary |
Bhadrakali Temple Warangal, Khush
Mahal, Kota Gullu Ghanpur, Ramappa Temple Palampet, Thousand PillarTemple
|
Warangal Fort |
Cheryala Nakashi
Paintings, Pakhal Lake, Pembarti
Metal Ware, Ramappa Lake Palampet |
|
7. HYDERABAD |
Mahaveer Harina Vanasthali |
Birla Mandir, Mecca Masjid |
A.P.State Museum, Asman Garh Palace, Charminar, Falaknuma Palace, Golconda Fort, Legislative Assembly, Paigah Tombs, Purani Haveli, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Raymonds Tomb, The Birla Planetarium and |
Aalankrita-the Ethnic Gateway, Bidri
Craft, Botanical Gardens, Dhola-ri-Dhani, Dream
Valley Resorts, Durgam Cheruvu(Secret
Lake), Gandipet Lake, Hitec
City, Hussain Sagar Lake,
Lumbini Park, Mir Alam Tank,
NTR Gardens, Nehru Zoological Park, Ocean Park, Osmansagar
Lake, Pragati Green Meadows and Resorts,
Public Gardens, Ramoji Film City, Runway 9, Shamirpet Lake, Shilparamam-The
Crafts Village, Treasure Island |
|
8. RANGAREDDY |
------- |
Anantagiri Kshetram Vikarabad, Keesaragutta Temples |
------- |
-------- |
|
9. MEDAK |
Manjira Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Sangareddy, Pocharam Forest and
Wild Life Sanctuary Medak |
Kanaka Durga Temple Edupayalu, Kasi Visweshwara Temple, |
Kondapur Museum, Medak
Fort |
Siddipet Paintings of Batik technique |
|
10. NIZA-MABAD |
Alisagar Deer Park, Mallaram
Forest |
Dichpalli Temple, Neelakanteshwara
Temple |
Domakonda Fort, Quilla Ramalayam, Rock Formations – Armoor Road |
Alisagar lakes, Ashok Sagar
lakes, District Archeological Museum(Gupta gardens) |
|
11.
KARIM NAGAR |
Shivaram Wildlife Sancturary
Manthani |
Dharmapuri Temples, Kondagattu,
Manthani Temples, Nagunur
Temples, Mukteshwara Swamy
Temple Khaleswaram, Raikal,
Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy Devasthanam Vemulawada |
Dhulikatta Buddhist center, Elg |
Silver Filigree
(Handicrafts) |
|
12.
MEHABUB NAGAR |
------ |
Alampur Temples, Chenna
Kesava Temple Gadwal, Jetprole (piligrim), Kollapur Madhava Swamy temple, Kurumurthy Kshetram Gadwal, Ranganayaka Temple Srirangapur,
Someswara Swamy temple, Somasila. |
------- |
Gadwal Sarees
(handlooms), |
|
13.
NALGONDA |
Rajiv Gandhi
Wildlife |
Chaya Someswara
Temple, |
Bhongir Fort, Gajulabanda
(Buddhist center), Kolanupaka Museum, Nagarjuna Konda (Nagarjunasagar), Nagarjuna Konda Museum, Phanigiri
(Buddhist center), Suryapet, |
Ikat Weaving, Pochampalli
Silk and Cotton |
|
14.
KHAMMAM |
Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary |
Parnasala, Sri Sitarama |
Khammam Fort, Nelakondapalli
Buddhist center |
Kinnerasani Dam, Papi Kondalu Parentalapalli |
|
15.
SRIKAKULUM |
Telineelapuram and Telukunchi
bird sanctuaries |
Arasavalli, Ravivalasa, Sangam, Sri Kurmanadha Swamy, Mahendera Hills, Srimukhalingeswara |
Salihundam Buddhist center, |
Budithi Brassware, Kalingapatnam
Beach |
|
16.
VIJAYANAGARAM |
------ |
Govindapuram, Kumili, Punyagiri Ramathirdham temples |
Bobbili Fort, Vizianagaram
Fort |
Veena Manufacturing Bobbli,
|
|
17.
VISHAKHAPATNAM |
Indira Gandhi Zoological park, Kailasagiri Hills, Pavuralakonda
Bhimily, Tyda-Jungle
Bells Nature Camp |
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, Simhachalam |
Sankaram Buddhist center, Thotlakonda
Buddhist center |
Ananthagiri Hills, Araku
valley, Bheemunipatnam Beach, Borra
Caves Kirinr |
|
18.
EAST GODAVARI |
Coringa Wild Life Sanctuary, Papikonda
Wild Life Sanctuary |
Annavaram, Antarvedi, Biccavolu temples, Draksharamam,
Dwarapudi, Gollalamamidada,
KotiPalle, Kotilingalarevu
RJM, Ryali, Mandapalli, Samarlakota
temples, Pithapuram temples, Talupulammalova
Tuni |
Adurru (Dubaraju Gudi) Buddist site, |
Balayogi Gardens Amalapuram,
Kadiyapulanka Rajamundry,
Rampachodavaram water falls,
Uppada Sarees |
|
19.
WEST GODAVARI |
Kolleru Lake Bird Sanctuary |
Gunupudi Someswara Temple, Mavullamma
Ammavari Temple Bhimavaram,
Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple Natta Rameswaram
Temple Palakollu, Sri Adikesava Embermannar Swamy Temple Sri Durga Laxmaneshwara Swamy Temple Narasapur, Sri Dwaraka Tirumala (Chinna Tirupati) temple, Sri Rameswara Swamy Temple, Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari temple Penugonda,
Sri Veerabhadra Swamy
Temple Pattiseema |
Guntupalli Buddist site |
Eluru Carpets, Lace Work Crotchet Narasapur,
Perupalem Beach |
|
20.
KRISHNA |
------- |
Hazrat Bal Mosque, Kanaka Durga Temple, Movva Temple, St. Mary's Church, Gunadala |
Gandhi
Hill vza, Ghantasala Buddist site, Jaggayyapeta Buddist site, Kondapalli Fort, Mogalarajapuram Caves,
Victoria Jubilee Museum |
Bhavani Island vza, Kalamkari
Fabrics Machilipatnam, Kondapalli
Toys, Manginapudi Beach, Prakasam
Barrage, Rajiv Gandhi Park, VMC Sibar Disneyland |
|
21.
GUNTUR |
Uppalapadu Birds Sanctuary |
Amaravati Temple, Bhava narayana
swami TempleBapatla, Chebrole,
Chejerla, Karampudi, Kotappa Konda temples, Mangalagiri Temple, Mary Matha
- Phirangipuram, Pedakakani
temples, Sitanagaram temples, Sri Laxmi Chennakesava Swamy Temple Macherla, Tenali Temples |
Amaravati Buddist site, Amaravati Museum, Guthikonda Caves, Kesanapalli Buddist
site, Kondaveedu monuments, Undavalli Cave |
Bapatla Beach (Suryalanka), Durgi Stone Craft, Ethipothala Water falls Nagarjunasagar, Mangalagiri Sarees, NTR Manasa Saovaram, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam |
|
22.
PRAKHASAM |
Gundla Brahmeswara
Sanctuary |
Mandukeswara Swamy temple, Motupalli Temples, Ongole
Pilgrimage, Rock-Cut Temples Bhiravakonda,
Sri Chenna Kesava Swamy Temple Markapur, Sri
Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Singarayakonda |
Chandavaram Buddist site |
Chirala Textiles, Kothapatnam
Beach, Ramapuram Beach, Vodarevu
Beach Vodarevu |
|
23.
NELLORE |
Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary Sulurupeta |
AnumasamudramPeta(Rahamatabad), Chengalamma Temple Sulurupeta, Jonnawada, Kasumur, Penchalakona, Ramathirdham, Ranganayaka Temple, Sri Raja Rajeshwari
Ammavari Devasthanam, Sri
Venugopala Swamy |
Udayagiri Fort |
Koduru beaches, Maipadu
Beach, Pulicat Lake, Somasila
project, Venkatagiri handlooms |
Source: Compiled based on the
basis of information from ATTDC, Hyderabad, March, 2009
5. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES:
The following are the problems and challenges AP
Tourism industry:
i)
Share
of India is meager both in terms of international tourist arrivals (0.52 %) and
receipts (0.89%) of the global tourism industry. Further it is noticed that
there is dismal in efforts to brand India as an international tourist spot.
ii)
In 2007 the share of Andhra Pradesh has been
maintained to 5.9 percent of the total foreign tourists visit to India, no
increase in the foreign tourists visit.
iii)
Andhra Pradesh has been leading in
attracting the number of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2006 (24.2%) and 2007
(24.3%) but with negligible increment from 2006 to 2007 (0.1%).
iv)
Most of
the districts of AP are strong in religious tourism and a few of them are also
strong in historical and monument-related and a very few of them are focusing
on leisure and eco-wild-life related tourism destinations. Every district has a
strength in handicrafts (Dulababu Tapal,
2009) with which easily be projected for rural tourism dimension, but in vain.
v)
Anti-social activities of Extremists (naxals) and terrorists have been increasing. In Andhra
Pradesh the naxals’ activities create fear as when
are they going to attack and whom are unpredictable. The security measures are
not effective and sufficient. Similarly in the state bomb blast on Mecca Masjid at Hyderabad on 18th May 2007 and two bomb
blast at Lumbini Park and Gokul
Chat on 25th August 2007 created a strong negative impact on the
turnout of foreign tourists and even domestic tourists as for as AP concerned.
Further, when similar attacks or bomb blasts take place in other states, such
as recent attack by terrorists on Mumbai
killed foreign tourists and prior to that there were series of bomb blasts
in Gujarat state etc will definitely have negative impact on Tourism of India
and AP tourism.
vi)
Lack of
sufficient infrastructure such as quality roads, rail net-work, airports,
seaports, power and boarding and lodging facilities etc
6. SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION:
The following suggestions are put forth for the
improvement of AP tourism industry and its performance.
i)
Create
a Great Experience
To create memorable experience in a great
manner we should focus on adventure tourism such as Sea
and inland water cruise and wild-life tourism.
It is rightly said that ‘Tourism
is concerned with the tourist experience of visiting, seeing, learning,
enjoying, and living in a different mode of life’ (Stamboulis
and Skayannis 2003). In other words, “Experiences are
events that engage individuals in a personal way”; but we surmise that they
would define experience from a consumer perspective as enjoyable, engaging,
memorable encounters for those consuming these events (Pine and Gilmore, 1999).
Cohen (1979) opined that it is behavioral or perceptual, cognitive or
emotional, or expressed or implied, and searching for self-identity as a
tourist was an early classification criterion in the phenomenology of tourist
experiences. The marketers of AP tourism have to think to create unique and
memorable experiences through special value-added techniques for tourism
services that have already achieved a consistent, high level of rational and
functional quality. Such as,
· A demonstration on cooking of special foods
(food festival)
· A themed guestroom at a rural cultural
bed-and-breakfast facility offers guests educational-cum-entertaining and
esthetic and colorful experiences,
· Forms of experiential value added to its
highly personalized, professionally managed boarding and lodging with
ultra-modern facility.
Pine and Gilmore (1999; Gilmore and Pine, 2002) have
found the same thing through their research. Research evidence says that (Pine
and Gilmore, 1999) businesses need to shift their paradigm from the
“delivery-focused” service economy that emphasizes high quality offerings to
the “staged” experience economy that creates a memorable consumption
experience. Further, it is researched that “tourism primarily sells a ‘staged’
experience is the tourism’s central productive activity which is responsible
for the creation of the touristic experience” (Sternberg, 1997). Hence, entire
tourist destinations are beginning to be positioned as “experiences” (Richards
2001). It is advised by Pine and Gilmore (1999; Gilmore and Pine 2002) that a well-staged
experience would be a superior memory which
will instrumental in shaping the tourist’s attitude toward the destination in a
positive mode and put forth certain practical strategies of offering tourists
motifs or memorabilia to create vivid memories about the target-destination
experience.
It is important
to understand the nature of tourists and due to what factors the tourist looks
for framing the best experience (Crick-Furman and Prentice, 2000; Uriely, Yonay, 2004). The two
intrinsic motivation models, the romantic
and mass tourism paradigms,
in order to explain the variety of tourist experiences by means of those
factors is done by Prentice (2004). It is proved in a research by Dolcos and Cabeza (2002) that
memories may be enhanced by the presence of sensorial experiences, for example,
emotional events (surprise greetings on birthdays, wedding days etc to the
customers in the tourist hotels) appeal to the senses tend to be remembered
better and is long lasting which reflects on repeat purchases of tourism
services.
ii) Create Destination Image
Image of a
tourist’s destination is defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions
individuals carry about the attributes/features and/or activities prevailing at
a tourist’s spot (Crompton 1979; Gartner 1986; Hunt 1975). Such formation of
overall mental pictures (imagery) of that destination (Echtner
and Ritchie 1993) is called as destination image.
The factors
determining image of a destination have also been researched and revealed by Mazursky (1989) and Beerli and Martín (2004). According to them past experience with the
destination is the most important factor to predict the image of a destination
for tourists with past experience tend to search for less information from
external sources. Further it is found that the sources through which
individuals receive information (e.g., symbolic stimulus from promotions,
social stimulus from recommendations) also influence destination image (Baloglu and McCleary 1999b), and
the amount and type of information required also will influence the image of
the destination (Gartner 1993; Woodside and Lysonski
1989).
Gunn (1972) found
in his research that destination image could be classified into organic through
informative advertisements (i.e., newspapers, magazines, the opinions of
friends) and induced through persuasive advertisements (i.e., promotional
advertisements, commercial promotions). Further it is observed that proper
understanding of the destination image is important. There are ways to do so;
first, attribute-based component referred to the perception of individual
destination features and the second, holistic component regarded the mental
imagery of destination. Both are in possession of functional (measurable) and
psychological (abstract) characteristics. It is suggested that destination
image included attributes common to all destinations as well as attributes
unique to specific types of destinations (Echtner and
Ritchie 1993). It is also opined that destination image may be critical to
favorably positioning a destination in relation to its competitors (Baloglu and McCleary 1999a; Echtner and Ritchie 1993; Laws 1995; Mayo and Jarvis 1981;
Stringer 1984).
Therefore for the
enhancement of image of AP as for as tourism destination concerned, the
marketers have to formulate intensive and effective marketing communication in
a persuasive manner by the use of beautiful pictures and the essential features
of the tourism spots and complete information about facilities offered there
and also use of the well experienced past consumers’ opinions with their
contact numbers and addresses if any.
iii) Perceived risk and Tourism
There are
different types of perceived risk:
·
Physical—the
risk of physical harm to the consumer as a result of the malfunctioning of the
product (for example, accidents in traveling, hijacking of planes, kidnapping
by terrorists or thieves and killing, raping and physical harassment of women
tourists etc);
·
Financial—the
risk that the money invested in the product will be lost (for example, theft of
tourist’s money and other valuables, exploitation of local travel, lodging and
boarding facility owners, employees and agents etc);
·
Performance—the
risk identified with the possibility that the product will not operate as
expected (for example, cancellation of plains, trains
local busses, delivery of services lower than the promises made etc);
·
Social—the
fear that the purchase will not conform to the standards of the reference group
(for example, lower quality food, lodging, traveling facility etc);
·
Psychological—the
fear that the product will not be compatible with the self-image of the
consumer (for example, traveling by busses as there are no taxi, staying in a
low profile hotel etc tourist may not feel compatible );
·
Time—the
possibility that consumption of the product will be overly time consuming (for
example, a tour that was planned for a week time if extended foe two due to
incorrect planning based on wrong information); and
·
Opportunity
loss—the risk that by taking a course of one action, the consumer will miss out
on something else (if a tourist has a month vacation and planned for touring
USA or Japan for the entire month, if one is chosen the other is forgone).
Gronroos (1990), Lovelock (1996),and Zeithaml and Bitner (1996) have
observed “tourism has become an integral part of the service sector and is
characterized by its intangibility, inseparability, variability (inconsistency
or lack of standardization) and “perishability”
features that intensify consumers’ perceived risk compared to products or
goods. Sönmez and Graefe
(1998) also observed that the tourism product is prone to influence by bad
weather, unfriendly locals, airport strikes, distasteful local food, terror,
crime, political unrest, disease, and natural disasters definitely increase the
degree of perceived risk. The study by Pearce (1996) on experience and tourist
behavior disclosed that less-experienced tourists were concerned about health,
terrorism and food concerns, whereas more-experienced tourists were mainly
concerned about risks associated with cultural barriers. Similarly the study on
gender and tourist behavior by Sönmez and Graefe (1998) revealed that men and women fell same level
in terms of perceived risk, implying that there is no difference in consumers
by gender, but by Mattila et al. (2001) did research
on student vacationing on spring break and found that gender has significant
impact on health-risk behavior and also Lepp and
Gibson (2003) disclosed through their study that men were less concerned about
health and food-related risks in comparison with women while going on tour.
Therefore AP
tourism operators have to plan for safety measures such as proper guidance and
provision for protective clothes etc to protect from bad weather, provision of
mobile heath care facilities to protect from ill health possibilities using the
services of experienced tourist operators (who have been rated A++ by the
authorized or concerned government department) to foresee the unforeseen
circumstances so as reduce or remove the perceived risk on the part of
consumers of tourism.
iv) Risk due to terrorism and Measures against it
It is proved that
international tourism gets affected badly due to terrorism (Dhariwal
2005). Enders, Sanders, and Parise (1992) have also
found in their study that terrorism and political instability emerge as most
deterring factors and work reversely on the growth of international tourism in
India, but Aly and Strazicich
(2000) examined that the demand for tourism falls in short term and then
recovers to their prior level. The same thing is observed by Pizam and Fleischer (2002) and Sloboda
(2003) observed through their research that demand for tourist destination will
be recovered if such terrorists’ acts are not repeated and in such situations
the impact of terrorists’ acts will get reduced gradually. Further it is found
that the international tourists, to avoid the risk, will show interest to
travel domestically (Sönmez and Graefe
1998) and hence there is more chance that the tourists intend to use their own
vehicles and visit destinations nearer to their home, staying within their
comfort zones (Ready and Dobie 2003). Political leaders also encourage domestic
tourism to avoid the inherent risk associated with international tourism (Chen
and Chen 2003) in Pakistan recently the Srilankan
cricket players were fired by the terrorists groups and hence Australian
government decided not to send their team to Pakistan. Present day’s media has
grown so much technologically. The often media coverage and the speedy dissemination
of the information to the public on a terrorist attack can also affect the
demand for world and domestic tourism services in general and at some
destinations in particular observed by Sonmez and Graefe (1998), but no good of stopping of media coverage
rather concerned governments of the countries should take appropriate measures
to curb terrorism. More over a past act of terrorists’ damages the reputation
and attractiveness of the destination (Sönmez, Apostolopoulos, and Tarlow 1999)
as happened in recent terrorists’ attack on Mumbai has reduced the foreign
tourist number.
Therefore,
perception plays a critical role on the tourists’ decisions on destination.
Hence the government of AP has to provide full police security at the
destination spots and the places where the travelers stay at the hotels, guest
houses and railway stations, bus stations, air ports, seaport and others.
v) Value
addition as the parameter showcasing Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh has exotic
destinations. Aggressive marketing is
needed to board on strategy to place the state as the most hunted after
short-haul destination for outbound travel from other states and with in the state. Awareness campaigns on a sustained basis
showcasing AP’s exotic destinations in terms of diversity, religion and culture
should be undertaken. The principal task is to educate/train the trade/tour
operators about the unique selling destination points of AP in order to
cultivate interest in them. The tour agents should not chase just the numbers
but the value of tourists with the ability to spend more and rake in more
foreign currency for the country.
vi) Tourism segmentation and promote new types
of tourism
The detailed
study of AP in tourism perspective definitely give a huge scope for segmenting
tourism services and formulation of a variety of packages to suit the tourist
requirements (Woodside and Motes 1981). The possible broad classification of
tourism services in AP is as follows:
i)
Pilgrim tourism
ii)
Buddhist circuit and Buddhist sites
iii)
Historical
tourism
iv)
Leisure tourism
v)
Wild life tourism
vi)
Eco tourism
vii)
Rural / Village tourism
viii) Fairs and Festivals and
ix)
The convention and heritage tourism
x)
Beach tourism
xi)
Adventure tourism
xii)
Sea and inland water cruise tourism
xiii) Health tourism
xiv) Science and technology tourism
Of all the above stated, pilgrim, historical
or monument related, Buddhist, leisure, eco, wild-life and rural tourism are in
limelight. Further, the other types such as Fairs and
Festivals, the convention and heritage tourism, Beach
tourism, Adventure tourism, Sea and inland
water cruise tourism, Health tourism
and Science and technology tourism are to
developed in a huge scale as many districts of AP have the potential.
a) Leisure tourism
Leisure tourism is an emerging one. Leisure
satisfaction occurs due to increase in quality of leisure time and its
enhancement (Buchanan 1983; Driver 1976). In other words more the length of
quality leisure time, more is the leisure life satisfaction. The more time a
tourist spends on vacation, the more chance the tourist will get to interact
with destination service providers and hence more experiences at the travel
destination in which the tourist is likely to engage as there is evidence
through research that ‘satisfaction emanating from the service aspects of
travel/tourism phases and travel/tourism services will be greater for those
remaining longer on the trip’. Therefore industry professionals should take
special care in satisfying the needs of those staying greater lengths of time,
because they are likely to remember the experience more than those staying for
lesser amounts of time.
b) Rural tourism
Rural tourism is a niche segment of the total tourist
industry which is important in India with the spectacular natural
attractions such as with seashores, high mountains, rainforest
or herds of exotic animals, attractive cultural landscapes with small villages,
rivers and
lakes, combined with the traditional hospitality, are able to
offer pleasant experiences to the kind of tourist who is looking for relaxation
and recreation in a calm setting. The benefits are more if proper measures are
taken to promote rural tourism. The merit of AP is that there are twenty three
districts and each district is distinct in its handicraft skills in addition to
the nature’s beauty. The benefits of
this tourism should go to the rural community only hence their quality and
standard of life will go up and starvation, unemployment and other ailments
will go down (Dense and Barrow 2003).
c)
Medical
or health tourism
Medical tourism is the new initiative in Andhra Pradesh
for the last 10 years. The growing international links and the existence of
strong corporate hospitals are the key ingredients to promote health / medical
tourism by the Govt. of A.P. The govt. was spending Rs.1500 crore
to strengthen infrastructure and facilities at the primary health centers and
secondary referral care. The state govt. is the first in India to propose and
execute telemedicine throughout the state. The board of A.P Tourism also
focusing to attract foreign tourists for medical treatment. Apollo hospitals
group has partnered with hospitals in Middle East and Africa to leverage its
brand equity share, as these are highly potential medical tourism markets.
Apollo has entered into partnerships to provide operational management services
to Lagos based Hygeia Nigeria Limited, one of the largest health care groups in
West Africa. Apollo has also bagged a project consultant job for a 100-bed
multi-specialty hospital in Ghana projects in Kuwait, Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia,
UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia. Most projects are handled from the concept
to commissioning and eventually the management (Babu,
T.D. 2004). However, a special emphasis should be given on the promotion of
medical or health tourism as Hyderabad is rich in all types of tourism
destinations and super specialty hospitals.
d) Study tourisms
Promotion of study
tourism on monuments, heritage, culture leisure spots among the school, and
college goers by the tourism marketers at subsidized rates as this gives bulk
consumers at a time so as to see that a strong aptitude builds-up on the part
of the new generation. At school level at least once in a year study tour has
to be conducted. At college level, two study tours; one on historical and
second should be on rural or culture and heritage or other should be made
mandatory in an academic year. With this every student in his 15 years of
education (till graduation) twenty tours will be made and hence he/she acquire
a good amount of knowledge and understanding. This also helps industry to grow.
For “Pushakaralu” of each river also there is more
demand and hence such packages will help in pulling more and more demand.
e) Mass marketing through Cost effective packages
On certain tourist
destinations especially to promote rural and tribal culture, rural festivals
and ‘jataras’ etc as per the season should be
designed in the form of cost effective packages to appeal the masses. Our
country is dominated by the middle and low class. Further the country is
dominated by villages. There are 600,000 villages in India
65% of the Indian population lives in villages and is almost 12% of the world
population. Therefore it is the need of the hour to focus on rural
culture/festival/jataras type of tourism. It is a
known fact that in ‘Medaram Jatara’
at Medaram village of Warangal district, even NRIs
and foreign tourists also participate.
f)
Promotional Literature
Promotional Literature
such as (brochures, pamphlets, flyers, calendars, dairies and short films) for
publicity purposes in different languages; national and international and
interactive CDs on tourism destination spots should be brought with latest
facilities and amenities and the cost details thereof in order to bring up the
awareness of the destinations to both domestic and international tourists and
prospective tourists.
g)
Projects
on district base destinations and conducting of district fairs and festivals
Promotion, development of projects on district base
destinations and conducting of district fairs and festivals is essential to
achieve sustainable tourism. This is possible through intensive
private partnerships on one side and there are universities in almost every
district hence concerned district should be given scope to adopt the district
to develop it as destination for appropriate tourisms.
h)
Mythology
related tourism between/among states and nations and Regional tourism (SAARC)
Special packages on mythology related like on ‘Ramayana’ covering Ayodhya
temples in UP, Bhadrachalam temples in AP and Srilanka spots where the battle between Sriram
and Ravan took place to give the complete picture of
Ramayana. Similarly on ‘Mahabharata’
covering major places of different states of India and on ‘Buddhism’ covering related places of India and Nepal can be
prepared.
i)
Training
to tourism personnel
This is utmost requirement in India as well as in AP.
There is a dearth of trained force to tap the potential of AP to the fullest
extent. Most the personnel involved in this are un-professionals. To solve this
problem, department of tourism should be promoted in every university of AP and
that should be collaborated with the departments of history, archeology and
culture and popular hotels so that a holistic training programme
can devised for the workforce of tourism industry.
j)
Others
In addition to the above liberal and open sky policies,
promotion of low-cost-carriers and Co-branding with credit cards are the need
of the hour.
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Aly, H. Y., and M. C. Strazicich
(2000). “Terrorism and Tourism: Is the Impact Permanent or
Transitory? Time Series Evidence
from Some MENA Countries”. Retrieved November 18, 2005,
from http://www.bus. ucf.edu
2.
Babu. T.D, (2004), “Destination India for Health Tourists”, Facts
for you, EFY group, New Delhi, September, Pp. 9-11
3.
Baloglu, S., and K. W. McCleary (1999a). “U.S.
International Pleasure Travelers’ Images of Four Mediterranean Destinations: A
Comparison of Visitors and Nonvisitors.” Journal
of Travel Research, 38 (2): 144–52.
4.
Beerli, A., and J. D. Martín (2004). “Tourists’
Characteristics and the Perceived Image of Tourist Destinations: A Quantitative
Analysis – A Case Study of Lanzarote, Spain.” Tourism
Management, 25 (5): 623–36.
5.
Buchanan,
T. (1983). “Toward an Understanding of Variability in Satisfaction within
Activities.” Journal of Leisure Research, 15: 39–51.
6.
Chen,
R. J. C., and J. S. Chen (2003). “Terrorism Effects on Travel Arrangements and
Tourism Practices.” International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Administration, 4(3): 49–63.
7.
Clarke,
Jackie (1997). “A Framework of Approaches for Sustainable Tourism.” Journal
of Sustainable Tourism, 5: 224–233.
8.
Cohen,
E. (1972). “Toward Sociology of International Tourism.” Social Research,
39 (1): 164–189.
9.
Cohen,
E. (1979). “A Phenomenology of Tourist Experiences.” Sociology, 13:
179–201.
10.
Crick-Furman,
D., and .R. Prentice (2000). “Modeling Tourists’ Multiple Values.” Annals of
Tourism Research, 27 (1): 69–92.
11.
Crompton,
J. L. (1979). “An Assessment of the Image of Mexico as a Vacation Destination
and the Influence of Geographical Location upon That Image.” Journal of
Travel Research, 17 (4): 18–23.
12.
Dense,
J., and C. Barrow (2003). “Estimating Casino Patrons’ Expenditures by
Out-of-State Patrons: Native American Gaming in Connecticut.” Journal of
Travel Research, 41, 410–15.
13.
Dhariwal, R. (2005). “Tourist Arrivals in India: How Important
are Domestic Disorders?” Tourism Economics: The Business and Finance of
Tourism and Recreation, 11 (2): 185–205.
14.
Dolcos, F., and R. Cabeza (2002). “Event-Related
Potentials of Emotional Memory: Encoding Pleasant, Unpleasant, and Neutral
Pictures.” Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 2 (3):
252–63.
15.
Driver,
B. L. (1976). “Toward a Better Understanding of the Social Benefits of Outdoor
Recreation Participation.” In Proceedings of the Southern States Recreation
Research Applications Workshop. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-9. Asheville, NC: U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station,
pp. 163–89.
16.
Dulababu, Tapal, (2009), “The Need of
Region-Specific Resource-Focused Education for Affiliated B-Schools in Andhra
Pradesh”, The FedUni
Journal of Higher Education, February, 4 (1): 20-30.
17.
Echtner, C. M., and B. Ritchie (1993). “The Measurement of Destination Image:
An Empirical Assessment.” Journal of Travel Research, 31 (4): 3–13.
18.
Enders,
W., T. Sandler, and G. F. Parise (1992). “An
Econometric Analysis of the Impact of Terrorism on Tourism.” Kyklos, 45: 531–554.
19.
Fall,
L. T. (2004). “The Increasing Role of Public Relations as a Crisis Management
Function: An Empirical Examination of Communication Restrategising
Efforts Among Destination Organisation Managers in
the Wake of 11th September, 2001.” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 10
(3): 238–252.
20.
Gartner,
W. C. (1986). “Temporal Influences on Image Change.” Annals of Tourism
Research, 13 (4): 635–644.
21.
Gartner,
W. C. (1993). “Image Formation Process.” Journal of Travel and Tourism
Marketing, 2 (2/3): 191–215.
22.
Gilmore,
H. J., and B. J. Pine II (2002a). The Experience IS the Marketing.
Amazon.com eDoc: Brown Herron Publishing.
23.
Gilmore,
H. J., and B. J. Pine II (2002b). “Differentiating Hospitality Operations Via
Experiences: Why Selling Services is Not Enough.” Cornell Hotel and
Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 43 (3): 87–96.
24.
Goodrich,
J. N. (2002). “September 11, 2001 Attack on America: A Record of the Immediate
Impacts and Reaction in the USA Travel and Tourism Industry.” Tourism
Management, 23: 573–580.
25.
Grönroos, C. (1990). Service Management and Marketing,
Managing the Moments of Truth in Service Competition. Lexington, MA:
Lexington Books.
26.
Gunn,
C. A. (1972). Vacationscape: Designing
Tourist Regions. Washington DC: Taylor and Francis/University of Texas.
27.
Hunt,
J. D. (1975). “Image as a Factor in Tourism Development.” Journal of Travel
Research, 13 (3): l–7.
28.
Klenosky, D. B., C. E. Gengler, and
M. S. Mulvey (1993). “Understanding the Factors
Influencing Ski Destination Choice.” Journal of Leisure Research, 25:
362–79.
29.
Laws,
E. (1995). Tourist Destination Management: Issues, Analysis and Policies.
London: Routledge.
30.
Lepp, A., and H. Gibson (2003). “Tourist Roles, Perceived Risk and
International Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research, 30 (3): 606–624.
31.
Lovelock,
C. (1996). Services Marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
32.
Mattila, A. S., Y. Apostolopoulos, S. Sonmez, L. Yu, and V. Sasidharan
(2001). “The Impact of Gender and Religion on College Students’ Spring Break
Behavior.” Journal of Travel Research, 40: 193–200.
33.
Mazursky, D. (1989). “Past Experience and Future Tourism
Decision.” Annals of Tourism Research, 16 (3): 333–44.
34.
Pearce,
P. (1996). “Recent Research in Tourist Behavior.” Asia-Pacific Journal of
Tourism Research, 1: 7–17.
35.
Phelps,
A. (1986). “Holiday Destination Image: The Problem of Assessment.” Tourism
Management, 7 (3): 168–80.
36.
Pine,
B. J. II., and H. J. Gilmore (1999). The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre
and Every Business a Stage. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
37.
Pizam, Abraham and Aliza Fleischer (2002).
“Severity, vs. Frequency of Acts of Terrorism: Which has a Larger Impact on
Tourism Demand?” Journal of Travel Research, 40(3): 337–339.
38.
Prentice,
R. C. (2004). “Tourist Motivation and Typologies.” In A Companion to Tourism,
edited by A. Lew, M. Hall, and A. M. Williams. Oxford: Pergamon,
pp. 261–79.
39.
Prentice,
R. C., S. F. Witt, and C. Hamer (1998). “Tourism as
Experience: The Case of Heritage Parks.” Annals of Tourism Research, 25
(1): 1–24.
40.
Ready,
K. J., and K. Dobie (2003). “Real and Perceived Terrorist Threats: Effects of
September 11, 2001 Events on the U.S. Motorcoach-Based
Tourism Industry.” Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 15(1) :
59–76.
41.
Richards,
G. (2001). “The Experience Industry and the Creation of Attractions.” In Cultural
Attractions and European Tourism, edited by G. Richards. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, pp. 55–69.
42.
Ritchie,
J. R. B., and M. Zins (1978). “Culture as Determinant
of the Attractiveness of a Tourism Region.” Annals of Tourism Research,
5 (2): 252–67.
43.
Sloboda, B.W. (2003). “Assessing the Effects of Terrorism on Tourism by the Use
of Time Series Methods.” Tourism Economics: The Business and Finance of
Tourism and Recreation, 9 (2): 179–190.
44.
Sönmez, Sevil F., Yiorgos Apostolopoulos, and Peter Tarlow
(1999). “Tourism in Crisis: Managing the Effects of Terrorism.” Journal of
Travel Research, 38: 13–18.
45.
Sonmez, Sevil F., and Alan R. Graefe
(1998). “Influence of Terrorism Risk on Foreign Tourism Decisions.” Annals
of Tourism Research, 25 (1): 112–144.
46.
Stamboulis, Y., and P. Skayannis
(2003). “Innovation Strategies and Technology for Experience-Based Tourism.” Tourism
Management, 24: 35–43.
47.
Sternberg,
E. (1997). “The Iconography of the Tourism Experience.” Annals of Tourism
Research, 24 (4): 951–69.
48.
Stringer,
P. (1984). “Studies in the Socio-Environment Psychology of Tourism.” Annals
of Tourism Research, 11 (1): 148–64.
49.
Uriely, N., Y. Yonay, and D. Simchai
(2002). “Backpacking Experiences: A Type and Form Analysis.” Annals of
Tourism Research, 29 (2): 520–38
50.
Woodside,
A. G., and S. Lysonski (1989). “A General Model of
Traveler Destination Choice.” Journal of Travel Research, 27 (4): 8–14.
51.
Zeithaml, V., and M. Bitner (1996). Services
Marketing. New York. McGraw-Hill.
Received on 04.10.2010 Accepted on 20.10.2010
©A&V
Publications all right reserved
Asian J. Management 1(2): Oct. – Dec. 2010 page 69-83