SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE AWARD OF

DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT IN

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: SUBMITTED BY:

MBA 2014-16

1

SUMMER INTETRNSHIP REPORT ON

ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS TOURISM PRODUCTS

HIMACHAL PRADESH TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.,

Shimla for giving me the opportunity to undertake my Industrial Training program in the

Corporation which gave me an insight into the working of the oragnization as a whole.

I am very grateful to Mr.Vijay Sharma , DGM , HPTDC Ltd. for giving me an opportunity to

undertake my Industrial Training program at HPTDC.

I owe my sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude to Mr Accounts Officer, Finance

and Accounts section who has been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. I am

thankful for his guidance and constant supervision for providing necessary information regarding

the successful completion of the project. I would like to express my gratitude towards employees of

HPTDC Ltd. for their kind co-operation and encouragement. Their contribution gave me valuable

insights into this project and immense knowledge of the area.

2

DECLARATION

I , student of School of Management, hereby declare that I have completed the project on

“Analysis of Consumer Behavior and Perception towards Tourism Products” in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree in Master of Business Administration

Session (2014-16). The information submitted is true and original to the best of my

knowledge.

Place: Shimla

Date:

3

PREFACE

The training at H.P. Tourism Development Corporation Limited involved the day to day working at

the corporation. This project helped me to get the deeper understanding of the process of Marketing

Analysis and how decisions are taken to strengthen the position in tourism industry.

Main objective in undertaking this project is to supplement academic knowledge with absolute

practical exposure to day to day functions of the corporation.

“Analysis of Consumer Perception and Behavior towards Tourism Products” which is the topic of

my project report refers to an assessment of the perception and consumers behavior regarding

tourism products. The study of consumer behavior is the most important factor for marketing of

any goods and services. The consumer behavior suggest how individual, groups and organization

select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and wants.

It also clues for improving or introducing products or services, setting price, devising channels etc.

The study would benefit the corporation in a way of determine the key elements of competitive

market structure and their potential impact. One strategic marketing tool capable of generating

competitive advantage is market segmentation of visitors to develop and promote the tourism

products.

This study aims to further draw conclusions and implications for next round of the marketing

planning process to accelerate the development.

4

TABLE OF CONTENT

SR.

NO.

TITLE

PAGE NO.

1.

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

2.

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

3.

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

INTRODUCTION

Company Profile

Organizational structure

SWOT Analysis

Objectives of the study

LITERATURE REVIEW

Tourist behavior literature review

Introduction to tourism products

criteria

Tourist Behavior domains

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design

Sample design

Data collection methods

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Conclusion

Recommendations

Limitations

Bibliography

Appendix

Questionnaire

1 to 251-572123

26 to 4726-3031-3839-4041-44

49 to 48

48

48

49

50-72

73

74

75

76

77-78

79-83

5

Executive Summary

Tourism is very important economic activity for Himachal Pradesh. It contributes to both, the

domestic gross product and employment of the state. It is also an important contributor to the state

government’s finances. Tourism market is unique. Consumer behaviour involves certain decisions,

activities, ideas or experiences that satisfy consumer needs and wants .It is concerned with all

activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services. The

tourist’s perception and expectations includes the choice of selection of a destination, the social and

psychological influences on individual travel behavior.

The objective of the project report is to develop a conceptual framework analyzing the dominant

cultural values and the processes underlying the influence of these values in various domains of

tourist behaviors. Based on this analysis, three categories of tourist behaviors are identified. These

three categories are labeled as Social Interaction Driven Travel Behavior, Risk Tendencies Driven

Travel Behaviors, and Collectivity Orientation Driven Travel Behaviors.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the tourist’s behavior and perception in the choice of

selecting a destination, attractions, activities and availing of tourism product/services under the

perspective of Himachal Pradesh tourism environment. The results will help the management in

knowing that Tourism market has several segments whose members have distinctive needs and

preferences. Visitors can be put into groups with similar and identifiable characteristics.

Travel offerings appeal more to some segments than others. Tourism organizations can be more

effective in their marketing by developing specific offers for specific market segments. The

intangible nature of tourism services is that the visitor’s travel experiences exist only in memory

after the trip is over.

6

CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 COMPANY PROFILE

The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Limited was formed in

September, 1972 as an undertaking of the government of Himachal Pradesh under the

companies act, 1956. HPTDC Ltd. is a state government run organization. It is a premier

organization of Himachal Pradesh operating in tourism sector, having its registered office

at Ritz Annexe, Shimla-171001. It provides a complete package of tourism services,

including catering, conferencing, sports activities, accommodation and transport facilities

besides corporation is also running hotels, circuit houses, restaurants and cafes at various

places for tourists. In addition, corporation is engaged in production, distribution and sales

tourist publicity literature and providing entertainment and duty free shopping facilities to

the tourists.

VISION:

To become one of the finest and leading service providers in the Hospitality Sector.

MISSION:

To expand quality tourism infrastructure in the State and outside, in order to provide world

class facilities to the tourists, where guests can enjoy, relax and spend memorable time.

OBJECTIVE:

The objectives are formulated to agree with the present development program and

complement to the broad goals of Tourism development in Himachal Pradesh, such as,

judicious use of natural resources, economic benefit to the region, full employment, urban

revitalization balanced growth of areas, preservation of heritage resources, penetration in

the new find resources of tourism such as apple blossom and improved goodwill.

7

The objectives are as follows:

To improve and upgrade existing facilities in HPTDC units.

To modernize and upgrade existing facilities in HPTDC to meet out demands of

tourists.

To adopt modern HRD techniques to meet the growing demands of quality human

resource.

To adopt modern marketing facilities for enhancing the business by developing

attractive site based packages.

To provide best quality Food and services including Himachali Cuisines to our guests.

Adopt use of use of latest IT techniques to increase efficiency and delivery services.

To achieve maximum growth and profits to make HPTDC self sustainable.

Construct run and maintain tourist information centers and main centers in and outside

the state within the country.

Construct, Lease out, take on lease, run and maintain tourist bungalows, tourist inns,

circuit houses, hotels and cafeterias.

To promote culture, fairs, temples, tourist attractions, cuisines of the state.    

The prime objective has been to open new areas which other companies are not

interested in like- Rohru, Khada Pathar etc.

Lastly, to encourage private sector participation in tourism and create employment in

the state

GOALS:

Judicious use of natural resources.

Economic benefit to the region.

Generation of employment.

Urban revitalization.

Balanced growth of the area.

Preservation and development of the heritage resources.

Penetration in the new resources of tourism such as apple blossom and improved

goodwill.

HPTDC has taken tremendous steps to achieve these goals.

8

HPTDC role in promotion of tourism:

Official host of the government.

Prime mover after without advantage social mandate.

Dispersal of Tourism Expansion

Facilitated tourist during their travel and visits within the state.

Brand Name for safe secure stay.

Contribution to state revenue.

Generate employment.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICIES

HPTDC Ltd offers complete package of tourism services including:

Accommodation, Catering, Transport, Conferencing, Sports activities and Local

Sightseeing

Special Offers:

Monsoon/Winter Discount

Trekking Packages for Students

Karwachauth Packages for Ladies

X-Mas/New Year Packages at following locations:

The Palace Hotel Chail Hotel Holiday Home, Shimla

Hotel Pinewood, Barog Manali Complex

Hotel Peterhof, Shimla Hotel Manimahesh, Dalhousie

Hotel Ros Common, Kasauli

E-Booking

Instant online reservation : Railway, Bus and Hotel bookings

Volvo Bus bookings

Angler Lodges and Rest Houses

9

Tourist Circuits

Districts Maps with Medical Aids

Accommodation network:

H.P. Tourism Development Corporation Limited has a wide network of accommodation in

the state. At present it has 57 hotels having 1051 rooms. HPTDC also runs 60 restaurants

and cafes, serving varied cuisine, including Himachali delicacies. All these properties are

in superb locations in the lap of nature. The HPTDC hotels have three categories viz.

Premium – Heritage, Deluxe and Budget Hotels. The tariff for the year 2015-16 has been

revised and remain in force upto 31.3.2016. The Corporation also is running three

Bhawans of H.P. Govt. i.e. Himachal Bhawan-Chandigarh, Himachal Bhawan &

Himachal Sadan-New Delhi and also managing H.P. Secretariat Canteen and only one Lift

at Shimla is also run by HPTDC.

Conference network:

HPTDC has a comprehensive network of conference facilities in the State, which are

available in The Holiday Home-Shimla, The Peterhof-Shimla, The Palace-Chail, The

Pinewood-Barog, The Club House-Manali, The Club House-Mcleodganj, The

Dhauladhar-Dharamsala, The Tea-Bud-Palampur, Hotel Jawalaji-Jawalamukhi, The

Yamuna-Paonta, The Hamir-Hamirpur and The Manimahesh-Dalhousie. The Peach

Blossom-Fagu, The Lake View-Bilaspur and The Mandav – Mandi.

Wayside amenities:

The Corporation is providing wayside facilities on important tourist routes and destinations

which include national and state highways.

Marketing network:

HPTDC has set-up Marketing and Tourist Information Offices in all major and important

cities within and outside the State. Besides it has appointed 14 General Sales Agents in

different cities of the country for reservation of HPTDC Hotels and other facilities. For

this, it is paying these General Sales Agents and Travel Agents handsome commission on

10

slab basis. Depending upon the volume of business they fetch, they are being given

commission ranging from 15% to 25%.

Package tours:

The HPTDC has also prepared different package tours, which are further circulated, to its

marketing and Tourist Information Offices within and outside the State. These packages

include major destinations, Temples, Gompa, heritage buildings and Trekking Packages

for Students in Himachal Pradesh. It also announces special packages during Karva

Chauth, Skiing packages during winters.

Introduction of privilege card:

In view to have repeated clientele HPTDC has introduced the system of Privilege Card and

at present we have about 1500 Privilege Card holder. The Privilege Card holder is

allowed 20% discount on boarding and lodging & soft drinks.

Discount:

Corporation offers 10% special discount to senior citizens during season. During monsoon

and other season they offer special discounts. Corporate discount has also been offered.

Home stay scheme:

They have also floated Home Stay Scheme by which tourists are being invited to stay in

village houses offering them to have a feel of village atmosphere. HPTDC are the pioneer

in providing this scheme.

Rejuvenation health centre/panchkarma:

Rejuvenation Health Centre at Hotel Holiday Home, Shimla, Hotel Palace, Chail and

Panchkarma Therapy at Hotel Tea-Bud-Palampur has been started.

Reservation system:

All the HPTDC marketing/Tourist Information Offices have been networked. An

agreement for online reservation system/payment Gateway has been made with HDFC

Bank and Axis Bank reservation through Credit Cards.

11

Publicity and information network:

The HPTDC has brought out comprehensive range of Publicity literature. Every year

HPTDC prints an accommodation tariff and brochures which contains room tariff of

Hotels with available facilities, telephone numbers and e-mail address.

Transport The HPTDC has a full-fledged transport wing consisting of a fleet of 17

coaches (which includes 4 Volvo buses recently purchased). The online reservation of

HPTDC Volvo buses and AC Sleeper Buses and the same are operating on Delhi-

Manila and Manali-Delhi routes. It also runs long distance services between Delhi-

Shimla, Delhi-Manali, Delhi-Dharamsala and Manali-Leh etc. Branch Offices of

Transport Wing are at Shimla, Manali and Delhi.

1.3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS (As on 31.03.2014)

CHAIRMAN: Sh.Virbhadra Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister, H.P.

VICE CHARIMAN: Sh. Harish Janartha

DIRECTORS: Sh. Sudripto Roy, IAS, Chief Secretary, H.P

Sh. V.C. Pharka, IAS, Principal Secretary to C.M. & (Tourism), H.P.

Dr. Srikant Baldi, IAS, Principal Secretary (Finance), H.P.

MANAGING DIRECTORS:

Sh. Mohan Chauhan, IAS

Sh.Subhasish Panda, IAS

12

ASSISTANTACCOUNTS OFFICER

Board of Directors

Managing Director

General Manager

JOINTCONTROLLERADMIN/HR

PROJECT OFFICERDGMPURCHASE

DGMTRANSPORT

FINANCEMANGER

COMPANY SECRETARYDGM MARKETING

& OPERATIONS

SUPERINTENDENTAGMAGM

MARKETING & PUBLICITYASST.

ENGINEERACCOUNTS OFFICERAGM ASST.

MANAGER

SENIOR ASSISTANTSENIORMANGER

SENIORMANGER

SENIORMANGER

1.2 VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

Figure 1.2: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE CHART of HPTDC Ltd.

13

Senior Asst. A.OSenior Asst. A.OSenior Assistant A.O.

ACCOUNTS OFFICER

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER

A) FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Fig. 1.3: Finance Department Chart

Finance department plays a very significant role in any organization. They maintain

various books of accounts, manage the budget and the cost functions of the company etc.

FUNTIONS:

HPTDC maintains the books of accounts according to the Companies Act, 1956.All their

financial functions are carried out according to this act.

The various books maintained by them are:-

1. Daily Sales Summary.

2. Journal.

3. Cash Book.

4. Ledger.

5. Bank reconciliation Statement.

14

6. Annual Balance Sheet at Branch Level and final consolidation is done at Corporate

Level.

Conducts Internal and Statutory audits:

They have internal as well as external audit. Internal audit is done by the CA and the

statutory audit is done by the government auditors.

Internal Control:

Internal control is done by proper monitoring at corporate level such as from the monthly

Profit and Loss account and other direct and indirect overheads.

Cost & Revenue centers:

Cost and Revenue maintained monthly by the Branches and finally consolidated at

corporate level annually.

Maintain Cost records:

Maintain Kitchen order tickets, Food cost register, Stock register, consumption registers

daily and reconciled with stock register.

Maintains various documentation

Receipts

Vouchers

Debit note

Credit note

Inward and outward invoices at store level.

Makes the budget:

The budget is maintained annually. There are two types of budget being maintained by

the corporation i.e. Revenue Budget and Capital Budget.

Control costs:

They control costs by following various techniques. By adopting various ratios-Debt-

Equity ratio, Quick ration, Liquidity Ratio, Working Capital, Debtors Ratios, Creditors

Ratios, Fuel Ratios and Food Ratios

15

DGM Marketing & Publicity

Asst.GM, Marketing Office, SHIMLA

Sr. Manager, Marketing Office, Chandigarh

Asst.GM, Marketing Office, DELHI

B) MARKETING & PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT

The most important function of HPTDC is marketing as it is

a tourism company. It has set-up Marketing and Tourist

Information Offices in all major and important cities within

and outside the State. Besides it has appointed 14 General

Sales Agents in different cities of the country for

reservation of HPTDC Hotels and other facilities. For this,

it is paying these General Sales Agents and Travel Agents

handsome commission on slab basis. Depending upon the

volume of business they fetch, they are being given

commission ranging from 15% to 25%.

The department collects information regarding current

market condition to maximize awareness of the product.

FUNCTIONS:

The HPTDC has also prepared different package tours.

They also announce special packages during New Year/ X-mas,

Trekking Packages for Students and Skiing packages during winters.

Introduction of privilege card:

In view to have repeated clientele HPTDC has introduced the system of Privilege card.

The card holder is allowed 20% discount on boarding and lodging & soft drinks.

Offer special discount on HPTDC Hotels:

Corporation offers 10% special discount to during season such as Monsoon / Winter

Discounts.

Offer various schemes like:

1. Home stay scheme

16

SUPERINTENDENT

JOINTCONTROLLER

They have floated Home Stay Scheme by which tourists are being invited to stay in

village houses offering them to have a feel of village atmosphere.

2. Rejuvenation health centre

Publicity and Information Network: Press release of managing directors of the

corporation.

C) ADMINISTRATION/HR DEPARTMENT

Cordial relations are maintained between the employees and management during the year

with the result the management gets whole-hearted cooperation from the employees to

boost the sale of our accommodation, Food & Beverages.

FUNTIONS

Planning:

Human resource planning involves planning of required quantity of manpower to

perform the job. During the recent period 52 employees working on contractual/

daily/fixed wages in the various cadres/categories have been regularized, about 88

officers/officials have been promoted and 9 Drivers appointed on contractual daily

wage basis.

wage and salary administration:

17

The wage payment in HPTDC is monthly paid on the last working day of every month and

it is directly credited to the respective bank account of employees. Grade Pay allowed to

Staff of HPTDC as per Govt. Notification. Dearness allowance and house rent allowance is

also paid to the employees. Capital allowance is paid to those working in the capital.

Training :

In HPTDC both on-the-job and off-the-job training are given. Further, students of the

various Hotel Management Institutes have been imparted “on the job training” in the

Hotels/Marketing Offices of HPTDC.

Grievance Redressal:

Employees of the Corporation have easy accessibility to the Management to raise and get

redressal of their grievances. Special attention is paid to the redressal of employee’s

grievances and their appeals/ representations are attended to and decided promptly. Matters

pertaining to grievances of employees are also settled by discussion with the representative

of Employees Union. No individual in the company is allowed to contact Head of the

Department directly. These grievances are taken up by the grievance committee.

v) The various employee welfare measures prevailing in HPTDC are:-

o Diwali gifts.

o Uniform and shoes.

o Bonus.

o 50% discount on food.

o Special discount on accommodation.

o Medical facility.

o LTC facility.

D) TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT18

ASST. GM TRANSPORT WING

ASST. MANAGER MANALI

o

The Transport Wing of this Corporation was operationalized in the year 1974. At

present it has a fleet of 21 coaches comprising of 6 Nos. 41 seater AC Volvo Coaches,

13 Nos. 35 seater, 2 Nos. 15 seater Non AC Deluxe Coaches. Apart from the above,

the private AC Volvo Coaches are also hired from the private transporters/tour

operators particularly in the peak tourist’s season in order to meet out the additional

demand of the tourists. The Transport Wing runs direct services between Delhi-

Manali, Delhi-Shimla and Delhi-Dharamshala besides conducting local sightseeing

tours around Shimla & Manali. The Transport Wing has established three depots at

Manali, Delhi & Shimla for the convenience of the tourists. This was done keeping in

view the tourist traffic. Apart from the above, the Transport Wing also been conducts

tours to tribal areas of Leh, Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur District and earned a wide

publicity among the foreign as well as domestic tourists. HPTDC Ltd. also providing

the online reservation of Volvo buses through payment Gateway.

FUNTIONS

i) Provide facility to the tourist.

ii) Operates busses to provide LTC facility to government employees.

E) PURCHACE DEPARTMENT

This department looks into the needs of all the other departments. They make all kinds of

purchase on behalf of the company. All big to small purchases are made by this

department. They make purchases at Head Office level as well as at the unit level

depending on their day-to-day requirements. Purchase is being made in the most

19

economical, transparent manner and also in accordance with the requirements keeping in

mind the aspect like quality, colour, design etc. Tenders for purchase and rate contract of

Central Store items for the year 2014-2015 were made during the current financial year

after wide publicity in the leading national, regional news papers and through tender portal,

so that reputed manufacturers and genuine suppliers could participate in the tender process

and the corporation could get the best quality material on competitive rates. They make

centralized purchases, apart from this efforts are being initiated to purchase the commonly

required provisions directly from the manufacturers or their authorized distributors so that

the standardized provision material are available on competitive rates.

FUNCTIONS

Procurement of items.

Vendor quality evaluation.

Recurring storing and issuing all incoming Material.

Maintaining good relations with the sellers.

Making orders as and when required.

Keeping in touch with the needs of the other departments.

They issue central store items.

F) OPERATION DEPARTMENT

FUNCTIONS

i)New Year and X-Mas Eve celebrated in the different hotels/units of HPTDC.

ii) The trainers of HPTDC Ltd. imparts the training/workshop to the youth belonging to

economically weaker strata of the society in F&B services, Food Production and House

Keeping .

iii) Special attention is paid to the complaints from the guests/ tourists against HPTDC

hotels and the same were attended to on priority basis.

iv) HPTDC is providing free WiFi internet facility to the passengers of HPTDC Volvo

Buses and to the guests visiting and staying at Hotels/Units.

20

1.4 UNITS & SUBUNITS OF HPTDC Ltd.

1) Hotel Holiday Home Complex 2) Hotel Peter Hoff, Shimla

Hotel Holiday Home 3)Chail Complex

Apple Cart inn, Kiarighat 4)Goofa/Ashiana

Hotel Baghal, Darigahat 5)Transport Wing

Hotel Golf Glade, Naldehra 6)Lift, Shimla

Café Lalit, Kufri 7)Hotel Shiwalik, Parwanoo

Hotel Mamleshwar, Chindi M.O. Shimla

Hotel Apple Blossom, Fagu M.O. Delhi

8) Manali Complex 9) Rampur Complex

HotelRohtang Manalsu, Manali Hotel Hatu, Narkanda

Log Huts Manali café Satluj, Rampur

Hotel Beas, Manali Hotel Srikhand, Sarahan

Club House, Manali Bushehar Regency, Rampur

Hadimba Cottage Hotel Chansha, Rohroo

TB Keylong and Sarchu Hotel Kinner Kailash, Kalpa

Hotel Kunzam Manali Giri Ganga Resort, Kharapathar

Tourist Lodge, Kaza

11) Dharamshala Complex

10) Dalhousie Complex Hotel Dhauladhar, Dharamshala

Hotel Deodar, Khajjiar Kashmir House, Dharamshala

Hotel Geetanjali, Dalhousie Hotel Kunal, Dharamshala

Hotel Manimahesh, Dalhousie

13) Bhagsu Complex

12) Chamba Complex Hotel Bhagsu, Dharamshala

Hotel Iravati, Chamba Club House, Dharamshala

Café Ravi view, Chamba

Hotel Champak, Chamba 14) Jawalaji Complex

Hotel Mahadev Hotel Jawalaji, Jawalamukhi

21

Yatri Niwas, Chintpurni

15) Kullu Complex Hotel Hamir, Hamirpur

Hotel Sarvari, Kullu

Hotel Silvermoon, Kullu 16) Palampur Complex

Tourist Hut, Kasol Hotel Tea Bud , Palampur

Café Monal, Kullu Café Neugal, Palampur

Camping Site, Raison Yatri Niwas, Chamundaji

Hotel Castle, Naggar Hotel Uhi, Jogindernagar

Angler Bunglow Katrian

Café Raft 17) Paonta Complex

Café Jhiri Hotel Yamuna, Ponta Sahib

Hotle Renuka, Renkuaji

18) Bilaspur-Mandi Complex Café Nahan

Tourist Inn, Rewalsar

Hotel Lake View, Bilaspur 19) Barog complex

Hotel Hilltop, Swarghat Hotel Pinewood, Barog

Café Bilaspur Hotel Ros Common, Kasauli

1.5 MARKETING STRATEGIES

i) Branding:

With its slogan “come as a tourist and leave as a friend” HPTDC is trying its best to attract

tourists. The state government promotes Himachal using slogans like ‘Unforgettable

Himachal’ and “A Destination for All Seasons and All Reasons” .

ii) Adventure tourism:

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Policy to promote Himachal Pradesh as an adventure sport

destination, adventure tourism activities like trekking, mountain biking and para-gliding,

ice skating, skiing, river rafting, heliskiing, car rallies are being organised in different areas

of the state for tourists. HPTDC supports the Adventure activities such as Himalayan Car

Rally, Mountain Biking, Skiing courses etc. so as to promote tourism in the State.

iii) Festivals and events:

22

To attract national and international tourists to Himachal Pradesh, the government

organizes several events throughout the year. These include - ‘International Shimla

festival’, ‘Winter Carnival’ at Manali, ‘Ice Skating festival’, ‘Tribal festival’ and many

more. Himachal government currently organized a few international events like Ice Skating

Festival, International Paragliding competitions, etc.

iv) Information & Technology:

The Corporation has carried out the following activities during 2013-14 to provide prompt

and latest Technology to the Tourists. The state government invested INR 22.50 lakhs in

setting up IT enabled tourist information in Himachal Pradesh in 2011. The funding was

provided by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

o WiFi facility in HPTDC Volvo Buses

HPTDC started providing free WiFi internet facility to the passengers of HPTDC

Volvo Buses. The passengers can access internet on their laptops, mobiles, tablets etc.

through WiFi access point provide inside the Volvo buses.

o WiFi facility at Palace Hotel, Chail

The guests visiting and staying at Palace Hotel, Chail can access WiFi internet on their

hand held devices within and around complex area.

Promotional Activities carried out during period 2014-15:

During the recent period all the efforts were made to market and publicize the tourists

activities of HPTDC Ltd. and launched comprehensive publicity campaigns.

The following activities were carried out during the period:-

To increase the occupancy particularly during off season reasonable discount on

accommodation was announced.

The Corporation has participated in the TTF(Travel and Tourism Fair) jointly with

Department of Tourism, Government of H.P. to publicize the Tourism in the State,

During TTF meetings with the Travel Agents/Travel Writers/Media Persons has been

recognized with a view to attract maximum tourists to visit Himachal Pradesh so as to 23

increase the occupancy and business of the Corporation thereby generating more

revenue.

Attractive Corporate discount was offered to encourage Corporate to stay in HPTDC

properties.

HPTDC supports the Adventure activities such as Himalayan Car Rally, Mountain

Biking, Skiing courses etc. so as to promote tourism in the State.

Reciprocal arrangements with other State Tourism Development Corporations to book

properties of each other properties on commission basis have been made to promote the

tourism of each other State. This arrangement will increase the business.

1.6 GOVERNMENT POLICIES

Initiatives in the pipeline

i) Policy incentives:

To encourage private sector participation in tourism and create employment in the

state, the state declared a 10 year tax holiday for entertainment units and deferred

payment of luxury tax by hotels and tourism units. This has provided a major boost for

development of tourism infrastructure in the state.

ii) Golf courses:

Recognizing the potential to develop golf as a niche tourism product for attracting both

international and domestic tourists, especially the high end visitors, state government is

planning to set up golf courses at industrial township of Baddi and tourist resort at

Manali under Public private-Partnership (PPP) model and has offered land and other

facilities to the private sector.

iii) Connectivity improvements:

The government is also in the process of increasing the ropeway connectivity in the

state by setting up ropeways.

iv) Developing new circuits:

24

The state government is also working to develop new tourist circuits in the state. A

new adventure and eco tourism circuit has been identified in Himachal Pradesh

covering Kullu, Katrain and Manali.

v)Foreign currency transaction:

Foreign Currency Transactions during the year are accounted for at exchange rates

prevailing on the date of transaction.

Tax Policies and procedures: Tax policies and procedures are observed with the

Internal and Statutory Audit.

1.7 Quality Standards: To encourage quality standard and service so as to promote

tourism in India, the Govt. of India, Ministry of Tourism has established National apex

body of the tourism industry which includes Domestic Tour Operator (DTO), Indian

Association of Tour Operators (IATO) etc.

Certificate: ISO-9000, “ISO-9001 and quality management in travel and tourism”

and The “Quality in Travel” certificate in the category Responsible and Sustainable

Tourism.

1.8 MAJOR PROBLEMS

Himachal Pradesh government invests 0.28 percent of its budget in tourism which is

below the average investment of the top 8 states. This highlights that some states like

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been consistently able to draw maximum

number of tourists due to the presence of religious sites, whereas there are other states

like Maharashtra and Karnataka that have invested in tourism in the state and have

been able to garner the attention of the tourists.

1.9 FUTURE PROSPECTS

Inviting private investment: The state government may focus on encouraging

investment from private players for improving infrastructure facilities, accommodation

and service quality, developing and maintaining tourist sites.

25

SAYYOGH

SWAGAT

SOOCHNA

SURAKSHA

SUVIDHA

SANRACHNA

HOSPITALITYFacilitation on ArrivalMemorable Experience

INFORMATIONMarketing & PromotionInformation Dessimination

INFRASTRUCTURETourism Product DevelopmentCore & Linkage Infrastructure

COPERATIONCoordinateQuality Control & Assurance

SECURITYTourist SafetyEnvironment Management

FACILITATIONAccommodation & StayAmenities & Conveniences

PolicyPlanningInitiativesResults

CLEANLINESS SAFAAI NA

Fig:1.5 7s of HP Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.

26

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths Weaknesses

1. Superior quality of the services offered.

2. Political and economic stability.

3. Centrally located hotels

4. Parking facilities for visitors

5. Trained guides and staff

6. Upgraded technology

1. Negligible air link and rail link in the

state.

2. Inadequate flow of tourists.

3. Saturation at the established

destinations.

4. No new major tourist destination.

5. Problems of land acquisitions.

Opportunities Threats

1. Strong potential for activity based

tourism such as rafting, paragliding,

trekking, mountaineering, water sports,

mountain biking, car rallies, skiing etc.

2. To develop an ideal destination for

nature lovers by promoting eco- tourism.

3. Position as an ideal for film industry.

4. Create new destination in yet unexplored

but beautiful areas.

1. Aggressive competition amongst the

leading tourist states and a strong

promotion of tourism by other states.

2. Haphazard growth and construction

threatening the environment, especially

at the leading tourist destination.

3. Threat of substitutive products almost

does exist in case of services

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

27

This project report is based on a conceptual framework analyzing the dominant cultural

values and the processes underlying the influence of these values in various domains of

tourist behaviors. Based on this analysis, three categories of tourist behaviors are

identified. These three categories are labeled as Social Interaction Driven Travel Behavior,

Risk Tendencies Driven Travel Behaviors, and Collectivity Orientation Driven Travel

Behaviors.

Tourism marketing is unique. Market segmentation and positioning are important in

having effective marketing strategies in tourism. There is a systematic process for tourism

marketing. The context of this study is an examination of the process by which destination

areas and tourism businesses products, services and facilities can be marketed to potential

customers with an emphasis on the effective use of promotion and distribution channels.

Marketing and promotion activities are intrinsic to tourism products/services. Various

mechanisms are used to finance these activities in a destination. Tourist services often

contribute funding to common marketing and promotional initiatives. This study focus on

how the tourist products in terms of the marketing, provides sufficient transparency of the

return on investment.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

28

The purpose of this project report is to determine the following factors:

The reasons for the study of consumer’s helps organizations and firms improve their

marketing strategies by understanding issues such as:

To analyze the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between

different alternatives (e.g., destination, attractions, activities, products/services).

To identify the factors that influence tourist destination choice.

To compare the opinions and perceptions of visitors towards product/services.

To analyze the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her

environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);

To identify the behavior of consumers while buying or making other marketing

decisions;

To understand which elements motivate a tourist to choose a trip and identify how

consumers’ motivation and decision strategies differ between products/ services, that

differ in their level of importance or interest.

To evaluate how marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and

marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

To understand the profiles and general characteristics of domestic tourist products and

the factors that influence domestic tourism decisions.

29

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Having learned about the basic principles and concepts of marketing as applied to tourism

industry, this study will be able to describe the procedures that should be used in marketing

tourism destinations, organizations and their products. The study would benefit the

corporation in a way of determining the key elements that most of the tourists perceived

that a tourist buying behavior is highly depend on destination brand image, internet

adoption followed by customer’s satisfaction. This project report will assist the

organization and operators of tourism industry in Himachal to understand the influential

factors which are influencing tourist’s perception and behavior to choose a tourism

product.

1. Increase in the Demand of tourism products/services: Tourism demand is highly

elastic, seasonal in nature, and is influenced by subjective factors such as modern

attractions at the destination as well as more objective factors such as price.

2. A Large Rural Urban Penetration: The penetration ratio in rural market is very

challenging and prospective. So, there is a good scope in these areas.

3. Opportunity in Semi-Urban Market: Many tourist destination are located in semi-

urban areas. There is a good opportunity of tourism products in the semi urban market. The

people are looking towards a good brand name and quality within them and it provides

infinite opportunity for locals too.

4. An Untapped Rural Market: There is an untapped market in the rural area of

Himachal. It is an awesome opportunity for private players of tourism industry.

30

NEED OF THE STUDY

The need of this study is to know the how much consumers give preferences to the brand

of services and whether the customers are satisfied with the services of the tourism

industry and how far the industry is able to satisfy the customer in terms of quality and cost

factors since in today’s modern era customers are the focus for any organization. Now the

policy every organization is to provide satisfaction as there exists a lot of competition for

them. Hence it becomes necessary to conduct a comprehensive research in terms of

customer behavior and perception towards tourism products. This also helps to judge

whether if there is any lag in the policy and could take immediate action to rectify it.

The need of this project also arose because an extensive survey can help the corporation

whether the work done by the corporation in the area of new products/services is able to

satisfy the customers or not. The major focus of the research conducted therefore is to

discover the factors that people are aware about the upcoming new products and services

and to find the attribute of these services which attracted them for a trial. The study was

restricted to only around 50-60 percent of our target audience, because the respondents

included in the study are people who are frequent travelers of the state.

CHAPTER - 2

LITERATURE REVIEW31

2.1 TOURIST BEHAVIOR STUDIES: LITERATURE REVIEW

Hofstede’s (1980, 2001) five cultural dimensions have been applied to the study of tourist

behaviors. This section of the paper summarizes the findings of the research studies

identifying the specific cultural dimensions used for explaining specific tourist behaviors.

The literature review provided in this section is by and large organized as per the list of

tourist behaviors identified.

Studies of Tourist Behaviors Before-Travel

Travel motivations/benefits sought:

The subject of travel motivations has been extensively studied in travel and tourism

research. As a psychological factor explaining human behavior (Kotler and Keller 2009;

Manrai and Manrai 1996, 2001), travel motivations provide very significant insights into

travel decision making processes and various behaviors during the travel experience.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are extremely relevant for the study of travel motivations

because cultural values influence all aspects of human life including personal factors like

lifestyle and psychological factors like motivation.

Travel occasion/event/travel life cycle:

The concept of Travel Life cycle (TLC) was coined by March (2000) and basically implies

that depending upon the life cycle stage, an individual will take certain types of

institutionalized or group tours. The paper discusses the implications of the collectivity-

driven travel life cycle concept in terms of travel companions, travel duration, activities

and experiences sought, and various purchase related behaviors for each of the eight

segments.32

The “family trip” includes both parents and at least one child under 12 years old. The two

main motivations for family trips mentioned by tourists in this group were the opportunity

for kids to experience foreign cultures and the reasonable costs of overseas trips.

The “silvers” segment refers to 60+ tourists. According to JTB (1998), 40% of the silvers

travel with their spouses, 24% travel with family members and 20% travel with friends and

acquaintances. Almost two-thirds of silvers buy full packages to the most preferred

destination. This segment stays for longer duration abroad and is both able and willing to

spend more money on overseas The “in-company” trip, this trip usually lasts any where

from a few days to a weak and is mostly sponsored by the company and the employees

paying a small proportion of the cost. The topmost destination for this segment was the

USA.

The “overseas wedding” segment is the fastest growing market. March (2000) lists the

main advantages of overseas weddings as lower cost, efficiency of arrangements, more

intimate and relaxed atmosphere, the heightened romance, and the opportunity for the

couple to escape from social demands particularly considering the collectivistic nature of

the society. Overseas weddings typically include immediate family members/relatives and

close friends. The top destination for overseas weddings was Hawaii .

The “school excursions” refers to the organized travel activity undertaken by high school

juniors and seniors. Schools typically choose a particular overseas destination for at least

two or three years because of the time and money involved in making new arrangements

every year.

The “graduation trip” refers to overseas travel undertaken by university graduates before

they begin full time employment. Typically graduates travel with a few close friends. The 33

average length of these graduation trips are 8 days and the top three destinations are USA,

Hawaii, and Asia. This group of tourists travels on a budget and employ money saving

options. There are also the tourists group with the lowest proportion of package tour

purchases.

Lastly for the “language study” segment, the three top destinations included the three

English speaking countries i.e., USA, U.K., and Australia (in that order).

Travel risk perception, safety concerns, and travel anxiety:

Several researcher studies have addressed the issue of perceived travel risk (Moutinho

1987; Roehl and Fesenmaier 1992; Ressinger and Mavondo 2005). Researchers have

identified the determinants of risk perception in tourism as well as the individual

characteristics related to personal and psychological factors such as personality, lifestyles,

and motivations (Bello and Etzel 1985; Carr 2001) as well as nationality (Seddighi,

Nuttall, and Theochaous 2001) and cultural differences.

The perception of travel risk affects a tourist’s assessment of travel safety and also leads to

travel anxiety. The governments of several countries have issued alerts for their citizens

related to the safety concerns in certain international travel destinations. While such safety

alerts are certainly warranted, they further enhance the safety concerns and travel anxiety

of international tourists. In turn safety concerns and travel anxiety adversely influence

international tourism activities.

Trip planning/prior arrangements:

Tourists undertake such risk reducing behaviors both in before-travel and during-travel

stages. The before-travel risk reducing behaviors include extensive trip planning, use of

34

travel agents and tour operators, making prior travel arrangements, pre-payment for

tourism components etc. Two research studies dealing with these issues are Money and

Crotts (2003) and Crotts and Litvin (2003). The findings of both of these studies indicated

that tourists from high uncertainty avoidance cultures had taken risk and uncertainty

reducing measures such as inclusion of pre-paid tours and pre-booked lodgings to a greater

extent than tourists from low uncertainty avoidance cultures.

Studies of Tourist Behaviors During-Travel

This sub-section includes five tourist behavior domains, four of which capture the risk-

reducing behaviors related to the during-travel stage. These four domains are trip

duration/length of stay, number of destinations in the itinerary, travel party size/travel

companions, and travel frequency. The fifth tourist behavior domain included in this

subsection is behavior of tourists on group tours.

Trip duration, number of destinations in the itinerary, travel party size, travel frequency:

The two research studies related to the risk-reducing behaviors in the before-travel stage

discussed earlier i.e., Money and Crotts (2003) and Crotts and Litvin (2003) also examined

several risk-reducing behaviors related to the during-travel stage. The findings of these two

studies indicated that tourists from the high uncertainty avoidance cultures had taken risk

and uncertainty reducing measures related to the during-travel stage also to a greater extent

compared to the tourists from the low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Specifically the

findings of these two studies indicated that tourists from high uncertainty avoidance

cultures compared to tourists from low uncertainty avoidance cultures had shorter stays in

USA, visited fewer destinations in the itinerary, and traveled with a larger party size.

35

Studies of Tourist Behaviors After-Travel

In this subsection, five types of post-travel behaviors are included i.e., quality evaluation,

price/value evaluation, overall evaluation/image, satisfaction/dissatisfaction and repeat

purchase/revisit intention. Each of these five post-travel behaviors can be applied to the

domains of travel mode, destination, transportation, accommodation, food, and

activities/tours.

Destination: quality, perceived value, overall evaluation, satisfaction, revisit intention

A large number of studies have compared Asian versus Western tourists examining

behaviors such as service quality evaluations, perceive value evaluations,

performance/overall evaluations, satisfaction/dissatisfaction and repeat travel/visit

intentions. Asian tourists in general tend to have higher expectations and evaluate the

service performance less favorably compared to their Western counterparts. Hsu and Kang

(2003) investigated differences in perceptions of service quality, perceived value, overall

image/destination attractiveness, satisfaction, and revisit intention between Asian and

western tourists to Hong Kong.

Transportation: quality evaluation, price evaluation, repeat purchase intention

Crotts and Erdmann (2000) examine the relationship between the Masculinity versus

Femininity dimension and traveler’s evaluation of airline ticket prices, evaluation of flight

and loyalty to airline.

Accommodation: service quality evaluation

36

NATURESPECIAL INTERESTSPORTSCULTURE & HERITAGE

Summer FestivalLocal FestivalsPopular events

Site seeingParaglidingHorse RidingClimbingRiver rafting

Theme Parks

Winter Sports(ice-skating, ski, snow, sleds etc)Mountain bikeCar Racing routesGolf

MuseumPilgrimageArchitectureFestivals & Fairs

National ParkPicnic AreasCamping SitesFountains

EVENTS RURAL TOURISM

Rural activities

A study by Mattila (1999) examined difference between Asian and Western tourists in

their perceptions of the service encounter and service quality evaluation for two luxury

hotels in Singapore. The researchers observed the encounters between hotels’ front desk

employees and guests after which they asked the guests to complete a questionnaire.

2.2 Introduction to Tourism Products:

Meaning of Tourism: Tourism is considered as a product because just like any product it

is something that attract. Tourists are those who visited different places and enjoy the

activities and adventures it offers them. And the tourism increases income and provide

economic stability to the particular community of the area. Tourism industry also attracts

foreign investors.

Tourism Product : A tourism product is any product that is marketed by a country and

states or an institution to visitors so as to attract them to visit a country and experience the

said product. Tourism Products includes accommodations, tours, transportation,

recreational activities and historic sites.

Tourist Destination : A tourist destination is as an area which is separately identified and

promoted to tourists as a place to visit, and within which the tourism product is

coordinated by one or more identifiable authorities or organizations.

37

Figure:2.3 Tourism products portfolio

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TOURISM PRODUCTS  

Intangibility: It is one of the main feature i.e. tourism products can’t be touched as

they include view of mountain, visit to a museum, cruise liner in a sea, flight

experience in an air plane and much more. The intangible nature of tourism services is

that the visitor’s travel experiences exist only in memory after the trip is over.

Inflexibility: The tourism industry is fully inflexible in terms of capacity for example

the no. of beds in a Hotel or seats on flight is fixed so, It is not possible to meet sudden

upsurges in them. Similarly restaurants tables remain empty and unused in periods of

low inflow.

Inconsistency: A general norm is that in travel and tourism industry the product or the

package of the tourism can be easily standardized.

Inventory: It is related to fact that travel products are intended to be consumed as they

are produced for example as a juice glass is produced in juicer and consumed by the

tourists at particular destinations.

TYPES OF TOURISM PRODUCTS:  

Tourism products are further classified in to four categories these are enlisted below:

Tourism Oriented Product (TOP’s) Tourism oriented products are those products or

services which are specially created primarily for the tourists but also for locals. In this

type of product investment is largely made in the private sector.

. Hotels , Motels, Flotals, Rotals, Restaurants (Like Taj Hotel, Oberai Hotel etc.)

38

. Tourist Transportation (Taxis, Luxury buses etc.)

. Travel Agencies, Tour Operators

. Shopping Malls (PVR, FR Cinemas and various shopping centers)

. Food and Beverages

. Tourism Information Centres

. Souvenirs Outlets

. Museums

. Temples

. Gardens

. Theme parks

. Eco Clubs

. Golf glade

Resident Oriented Products (ROP’s): In this type of products the products and

services are built largely for local residents of particular tourist destination also used

largely by tourists. For example IPL Stadium Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. But

used by spectators and players from all part of the country. In this type of product

investment from the public sector is more.

. Health Services

. Public Parks

. Retail Shops

. Banks for foreign currency exchange

. ATMs

. Petrol Pumps

. Postal Services

. Local Transport

Background Tourist Elements (BTE’s: These type of tourism product include

. Man Made

. Events

. Theme Parks

. Natural Attractions39

. Geographical Attractions

It also includes flora and fauna all the wild life sanctuaries, Natural places conserved,

national Parks and artificial lakes. In this nature of products involves appealing non

appealing sites. These sites are attracted most tourist to visit those. So we can say that it

is the most important product of the tourism industry.

Retrievable tourism products  Retrievable tourism products it includes memories of

different topics like various heritage sites, historical monuments, important pilgrimage

destinations, Archeological sites, Cave and rock cut temples places those attract

tourists to visit at particular destination.

. Advance studies, shimla

. Kullu Shawls & Topi-Himachal Pradesh

. Milk Cake Rishikesh, Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh

Conclusion: From the above discussion we can conclude that these types of products are

basic forms of tourism Industry and also tourism industry survives on these products.

Tourist Destination Development:

A destination comprises a core of facilities; amenities and services fashioned to cater the

needs of the tourists, generally represented as 4A's. Nevertheless, all the elements :

(i) Attractions; (ii) Access; (iii) Amenities; (iv) Ancillary services has to be in order in the

form of a complete mix before tourism experience is delivered.

Changing Tourism Paradigms:

The emerging tourism paradigms are as follows:

(1) Eco-tourism has emerged as one of the fastest growing travels in the worldwide

tourism industry. Eco-tourism is being promoted as a means of giving nature value

and hence of achieving sustainable tourism. Importantly, it is one of the most

popular alternative tourism forms.

40

(2) Green tourism, farm tourism and rural tourism have emerged as the new perceived

approaches of tourism which involves a healthy tourism development through local

participation and precise assessment of carrying capacity of the area and its

locality.

(3) Soft tourism, another dimension of tourism, is environmentally and socially

compatible tourism, i.e. close to nature, respecting the host-culture and not relying

on technology. The private sector is mainly responsible for delivering products and

services to the tourist and enjoys major chunk of economic benefits. Therefore, the

focus is made on protection of biosphere by undertaking green marketing by

promoting soft tourism that minimizes adverse environmental impacts.

(4) Heritage tourism has emerged as one of the potential areas of tourism

development. It refers to tourism in the natural, cultural and built environment of an

area providing the tangible links between past, present and future.

(5) Cultural tourism development is community based participatory and designed to

improve the economic and social, well being of local residents.

(6) Ethnic tourism has emerged as a typical cultural and social dimension of tourism

development. It is sometimes also referred as a combination of culture and nature

tourism. It is travelling for the purpose of observing the cultural expressions of life

styles of truly exotic people such as caste, community, group, tribe etc.

Paradigmatic Shift in Tourism Scenario

From To

Old Travel Patterns New Travel Patterns

Long Trips Short Breaks

Travel Barriers Free Trade

Established Destinations Emerging Destinations41

Shimla, Kufri Kunzam, Kaza

Manali, Dalhousie Dharamshala, Mandi

Old Products New Products

Sensitive Environments Artificial Environment

Separate Activities Integrated Experiences

Single Activity Focus Multiple-Activity Focus

Seasonal Visitation All Weather Tourism

Fragmented Industry Economic Development Tool;

Number of Visitors Economic & Social Benefit

Regional Competition Intelligent Cooperation

Price Competition Time Competition

Product Dominance Customer Orientation

Developer Control Community Control

Political Lobbying Approvals Via Referendum

Economic Impact Jobs & Small Business

Environment Protection Environmental Improvement

Cultural Intrusion Heritage Protection

Financial Illusion Financial Reality

Mega Attractions Franchise Opportunities

Meeting Everyone’s Needs Meeting Investors’ Needs

42

New Investment Revenue Enhancement

Price Inflation Price Resistance

Passive Consumers Involved Participants

Inexperience Tourist Value Conscious Traveler

Fully Packaged Tours Menu of Experience Options

Theme Parks Experience Centers

Meeting Customer Needs Surpassing Expectation

Observing Technologies Orchestrating Technologies

Print Media Internet

Reality Virtual Reality/Simulation

Necessary Travel Discretionary Travel

Language Barriers Instant Voice Activated Translation

Maps GPS & navigators

Mass Markets Specialty Markets

Undifferentiated Consumers Eco Tourism

Adventure Tourism Recreational Tourism

Share of Market Share of Customer

Mass Marketing Direct Communication

Socio economic Groups Customer Databases

Media Placement Websites, Mobile Apps, Telemarketing

43

One-way Communication Building Relationships

Print Material Visual Images

Product Management Customer Management

2.3 CRITERIA FOR MARKETING OF TOURISM PRODUCTS:

Following is the criteria on which the tourist products are marketed:

a) Location : When traveling, you'll find that the locations of your hotels will play a big

role in your overall enjoyment of the trip. That's because a well-located hotel will

significantly cut down on the amount of time you waste in traffic or trying to navigate an

unfamiliar place. For Example: HPTDC hotels are centrally-located all over the state, for

business travelers, centrally-located hotels will increase productivity by allowing them

more time to work and meet with colleagues. For vacationers, a hotel that is located near

major attractions means less hassle and more fun. Visitors won't have to waste money on

cab fare or public transportation, it is possible to get to places on foot.

b) Branding of Tourism Products :

Accommodation: Five Star Hotels, first class International Hotels. HPTDC Hotels

Examples : Peterhoff, The chail Palace, Chail, Orchard Huts,Manali, HHH Shimla.

Private Players: Wildflower Hall, The Oberoi Cecil, Radisson Hotel, Clarkes Hotel.

Destination as a brand: Cultural &Heritage places, religious places, parks, recreational,

natural reserves etc. which requires presentation and refurbishing as they are to stay

looking modern.

c) Services: The hotels are also known for its services that it offers. Since hotel is a

part of service industry, it has to provide the best services if it wants to see a good balance

sheet. It has been found that the importance of employee attitudes to service and the level

of satisfaction with the service vary significantly among customers.

44

MARKETING MIX

Product Supply(destinations)

ActivitiesAttractions

AccommodationOther facilities

Market Demand(areas of origin)

VisitorsTourists

ExcursionistsInternational

Domestic

Travel Organizers

Tour Operators,Travel Agents,

Others

Destination Organizations

National Tourist OfficesRegional Tourist Offices

Local bodies

Product development: Establishing clear positioning, on-site offerings, the choice of

self-caterer products and strengthening of the entertainment and recreational activities.

Unique selling point:

Packages as per client’s budget

Serves as personal travel concierge

Communication route is simplified

Cross Selling: The tourism organization instead of just selling its own products, sells

ancillary products provided by other organization. For Example: Travel agents and tour

operators often offer a range of complementary products with their basic holiday

packages(insurance, car hike, guide books, attractions, vouchers etc.). Tourism

information centers may sell guide books, maps, souvenirs or even arranged

accommodation & transport bookings taking a percentage of charges. This is being

widely used and likely to develop even further.

d) Pricing : The Monetary value at which tourism products are offered. Hotel revenue and

general managers employ effective short- and long-term rate optimization strategies that

rely on accurate, rapidly updated market data. The use of the Internet as a effective sales

tool is changing the rules when it comes to revenue management. Websites: MakeMy trip,

ixigo Trip Planner, goibibo, journeymart etc.

e) Tourist Demand :

45

Figure:3.2 Systematic links between demand and supply

Tourism demand is highly elastic, seasonal in nature, and is influenced by subjective

factors such as modern attractions at the destination as well as more objective factors such

as price. Peak Seasons tourist inflow depends on weather and temperature.

For Example: Shimla is a year-round holiday destination popular with families and

couples. March to June: This is a popular tourist season in Hills as the weather is quite

pleasant and perfect for outdoor activities. July to September: This is not peak season in

himachal because of heavy rainfall and occasional landslides. October to February: This is

again a popular season for hills because, people who are looking for snow, which typically

falls between December and February. This is the time skiing and ice skating take off.

Competition is involved in all observable phenomena of tourism market – the prices at

which products are exchanged, the kinds of the products produced, the quantities sold, the

methods of distribution, and the emphasis placed on promotion.

2.4 TOURIST BEHAVIOR DOMAINS

Need recognition/purchase motives,

Information search and information acquisition,

Evaluation of alternatives, which involves rating of options and leads to formation of

preferences and formation of behavioral intentions,

Actual purchase decision, which involves purchase transaction and related decisions, 46

Post-purchase behaviors such as consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction brand

loyalty/brand witching, complaining/complementing behaviors etc. Thus, each of

these five stages of consumer decision making is associated either explicitly or

implicitly with certain consumer behavior domains.

Hofstede (1980) labeled these four dimensions as Power Distance, Avoidance,

Individualism versus Collectivism and Masculinity versus Femininity respectively. He

defined these four dimensions as follows:

Power Distance: The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and

organizations accept that power is distributed unequally.

Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous

situations, and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid such situations.

Individualism versus Collectivism: A situation in which people are supposed to

look after themselves and their immediate family only. (Individualism)

Masculinity versus Femininity: A situation in which the dominant values of society

are success, money, and things.” (Masculinity). A situation in which the dominant

values of a society are caring for others and quality of life. (Femininity)

a)Tourist Behaviour Domains Before-Travel:

The first decision which a potential tourist is faced with is whether to travel or not. There

are various reasons for this dilemma. On the “No” side there may be personal, social, or

financial constraints, there may be concerns related to the travel risk and safety, and the

individual may have travel anxiety etc. On the “yes” side, there is ample evidence

documenting the benefits of travel and tourism. It fulfills a variety of personal, social, and

recreational needs providing motives and incentives for travel.

We call this first decision “Yes-No to Travel” and label it as BT1. The Yes-No factors

taken into account as discussed above are labeled as follows: On the “yes” side, Travel

47

Benefits and Travel Motivations (BT2), Travel Occasion/Event/Life Cycle (BT3). On the

“No” side Travel Risk and Safety concerns and Travel Anxiety (BT4),

Personal/Social/Financial constraints (BT5).

The individuals also vary in terms of their need for planning and prior arrangements. While

the information search and acquisition processes continue through the During-Travel stage,

a substantial proportion of information search and acquisition activity takes place prior to

travel. The above travel behaviors are labeled as follows: Information Search and

Acquisition (BT6), Sources of Information (BT7), Trip Planning/Prior Arrangements

(BT8).

Next, the individuals aggregate the collected information and evaluate their alternatives to

form preferences. The evaluation process takes into account four main variables i.e., 1)

attributes used for evaluation of alternatives, 2) Perceptions of alternatives on the key

attributes, 3) Importance weights the individuals attach to the different attributes, and 4)

Method of aggregating the information on the above three variables to arrive at overall

preferences. The key decision areas in this stage of preference formation relate to the travel

mode (package/group versus independent non-package), destination, transportation,

accommodation, food, and activities. Considering the complexity of the tourism product

many tourists are either not able to or not willing to make their own arrangements and

resort to taking package tours instead of making their own independent arrangements. On

the other hand, many tourists are willing to deal with making their own arrangements for

the sake of benefits they see and the capabilities they have to make these arrangements.

Therefore, the research area of determinants of travel mode preference (package versus

independent travel) is in itself an important area of tourist behavior research. In fact many

tourists rely on their tour operators and travel agents for suggestions on destinations for

consideration. We identify six more travel behaviors in the “Before-Travel” stage i.e.,

Travel Mode Preference (BT9), Destination Preference (BT10), Transportation Preference

(BT11), Accommodation Preference (BT12), Food Preference (BT13), and Activities at

Destination Preference (BT14).

b)Tourist Behaviour Domains During-Travel:

48

While the last set of travel behavior domains identified in the “Before-Travel” stage i.e.,

deals with the formation of preferences and behavioral intentions, the travel behaviors

discussed in this section deal with choices and behaviors related to purchase and

consumption of travel products. The first set of During-Travel behaviors identified

corresponding to the preferences describes the following choices: Travel Mode Choice

(DT1), Destination Choice (DT2), Transportation Choice (DT3), Accommodation Choice

(DT4), Food Choice (DT5), and Activities at Destination Choice (DT6).

Each of the above decision areas includes a variety of sub-decisions on which differences

amongst tourists from different cultures can be expected. These differences capture the

norms of various societies, individual differences or personal characteristics as well as the

psychological processes underlying travel and tourism behavior. These differences affect

the characteristics of trips taken by tourists from different cultural backgrounds. In the

current research, following trip characteristics are included for study: Number of

Destinations in Itinerary (DT7), Travel Party Size/Travel Companions (DT8), Travel

Frequency (DT9), and Trip Duration/Length of Stay (DT10). The topic of Tourist

Behavior on Group/Package Tours has also drawn a lot of attention in the travel and

tourism research and is included as a separate travel domain in the current study for

analysis.

c)Tourist Behaviour Domains After-Travel:

This category of travel behaviors relates to the evaluations of different components of the

tourism experience subsequent to the purchase and consumption of the tourism product.

The tourism product is evaluated on various attributes/criteria. Tourist evaluations are

followed by a variety of post-purchase and consumption processes. These processes

include tourist satisfaction/dissatisfaction and intention to revisit/repurchase. The

satisfaction is based on expectations, which the tourist typically have in the “Before-

Travel” stage and perceived performance or evaluations, which result after the travel

49

Purchase DecisionsProduct choiceBrand choicePricePurchase methods

Buying Decision ProcessInformation sourceChoice of alternativesPurchase decisionPost purchase decision

Marketing StimuliProduct /servicesPriceDistributionCommunication

other StimuliImpulsive decisionPast experience/ familiarityInterest

Consumer PsychologyMotivationPerception

Memory

Consumer characteristicsCulturalSocial

personal

experiences in the “During-Travel” stage. Typically the satisfaction is positively related

with the repeat visit or repeat purchase intention. Thus, for each of the six basic

components of tourism experience i.e., travel mode, destination, transportation,

accommodation, food, and activities at destination, five measures of tourist behavior in the

“After-Travel” stage are considered i.e., service quality evaluation , price/value evaluation,

overall evaluation, overall satisfaction, and repeat visit/repurchase intention. This results in

various tourist behavior domains in the “After-Travel” stage. These travel behavior

domains are identified in the after-travel group

2.5 Consumer Behavior Models:

The study of consumer behavior focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their

available resources (time, money, effort) on consumption-related products. Behavior

occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group, or an organization. Consumer

behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how they are

purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may

influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased

consumption.

50

Stimulus Input

Communication channels

Buyer characteristics and decision process

Purchase outputs (response)

Communication filters Motivation

Demographic economic and social position

Psychographic characteristic

NeedsWantsGoals

Attitudes

Experience

Range of competitive produced and marketed by the tourist industryAdvertisingSales promotion

BrochuresPersonal selling

PR

FriendsFamily

ReferenceGroup

Learning

Perception

Experience

ProductBrandPriceOutlet

Fig: 2.5 Model of consumer behavior,Sources: marketing management, kotler Pg140

The model fig:2.6 separates out motivators and determinants in consumer buying behavior

and also emphasizes the important effects that an organization can have on the consumer

buying process by the use of communication channels. Schmoll developed a model which

hypothesized that consumer decisions were a result of four elements as follows:

travel stimuli, including guide books, reports from other travelers and advertising and

promotion

personal and social determinants of travel behaviour including motivators, desires and

expectations

external variables, including destination images, confidence in travel trade

intermediaries and constraints such as cost and time

Characteristics and features of the service destination such as the perceived link

between cost and value and the range of attractions and amenities offered.

51

Consumer orDecision-maker

Socioeconomic influences Cultural influences

Motivation or energizers

Personality/ attitude

Perception

Learning

Figure:2.6 a Stimulus-Response Model of Buyer Behavior

Model of Travel-Buying Behavior Mathieson and Wall

Mathieson and Wall suggested a linear five-stage model of travel buying behaviour, which

is shown in Figure 2.8 Model of Travel-Buying Behavior

Model of Consumer Decision-Making Framework

Gilbert suggested a model for consumer decision-making in which is shown in Figure3.6

This model suggests that there are two levels of factors that have an effect on the tourists.

The first level of influences is close to the person and includes psychological influence

such as perception and learning. The second level of influences includes those, which have

been developed during the socialization process and include reference groups and family

influences. All these models that have been adapted for tourism offer some into the

consumer behavior process involved during the purchase post-purchase decision stages.

52

Felt need/ travel desire

Information collection and

evaluation image

Travel decision (choice

between alternatives)

Travel satisfaction

outcome and evaluation

Travel preparation and

travel experiences

Figure 2.7 Consumer Decision-Making Framework

CHAPTER - 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design used in this study was both ‘exploratory’ and ‘descriptive’.

Research problem :

The purpose of this research is to analyze the tourist’s perception and behavior in the

choice of selecting a destination, attractions, activities and availing of tourism

product/services under the perspective of Himachal Pradesh tourism environment. The

survey instrument was employed by using convenience sampling procedure on 100 tourists

from significant tourist’s destination places from Himachal. Exploratory factor analysis

(EFA) followed by descriptive analysis was used to test the key influential attributes. The

53

Independent variable

Tourists’ DecisionRevisiting

Length of StayProduct choice

Marketing Mix FactorsProduct, Price, Place, Promotion

Demographic FactorsGender, Age, Income

Dependent variable

result shows that most of the tourists perceived that a tourist buying behavior is highly

depend on destination brand image, internet adoption followed by customer’s satisfaction.

This project report will assist the organization and operators of tourism industry in

Himachal to understand the influential factors which are influencing tourist’s perception

and behavior to choose a tourism product.

Conceptual Framework

3.2 SAMPLE DESIGN

Simple random sampling is used for this study. Nature of the research is Descriptive.

Descriptive, it also known as statistical research, describes data and characteristics about

the population being studied.

Sampling Technique: Sampling Technique used in this study is Non-Probabilistic

Convenient Sampling.

3.3 DATA COLLECTION METHODS:

The data will be collected using both by primary data collection methods as well as

secondary sources

54

Primary data: The methods that will be used to collect primary data are:

Questionnaire, Interview

Secondary data: Books, Internet

Stastical tools: The collected data were analyzed with the help of tables and percentages.

Various statistical were viz., percentage analysis, mean score, Garret ranking and Chi-

Square analysis were applied to analyze the primary data.

Sample size: 100

Statistical tools: The collected data were analyzed with the help of tables and percentages.

The tools used in this study were MS-EXCEL. Various statistical were viz., percentage

analysis, mean score, and Garret ranking analysis were applied to analyze the primary data.

Simple tabulation of data using tally marks.

Calculating the percentage of the responses.

Formula used = (Frequency or average no. / total responses) * 100

Tool of Analysis: Tool of analysis used was pie charts, bar graphs and values

DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

AGE , SEASON AND INFLOW WISE DISTRIBUTION OF TOURISTS :

Statement 1: Age group of Tourists

Sr no.

Age No. of Tourists %age

1 20-25 75 15

2 26-35 100 20

3 36-45 150 30

4 45 & above 175 35

55

Total 500 100

Table1: Age group

15%

20%

30%

35%

20-25 26-35 36-45 45 & above

Figure 1: Age group

Interpretation :

The respondent of the survey were mostly in the age group of 20-25 years i.e. 42%.

Followed by the people in the age group of 35 years and above-31 %. 23% in age group of

36 to 45 years and the least were people in the age group of 45 years. This shows the type

of sample that we are analyzing.

Statement2: The Season in which the maximum number of visitors visit to Himachal

Pradesh.

Sr no.

SEASONS No. of Tourists %age

1 Spring 100 202 Summer 175 35

56

3 Autumn 90 18

4 Winter 135 27

Total 500 100Table2: Seasons witness maximum tourist flow

20%

35%18%

27%

Total %age of tourists

Spring season

Summer season

Autumn season

Winter season

Figure 2 : Seasons witness maximum tourist flow

Interpretation: March to June: This is a popular tourist season in Hills as the weather is

quite pleasant and perfect for outdoor activities. July to September: This is not peak season

in himachal because of heavy rainfall and occasional landslides. October to February: This

is again a popular season for hills because, people who are looking for snow, which

typically falls between December and February This is the time skiing and ice skating take

off. Maximum number of tourists i.e. 43 % tourists visit Himachal Pradesh in summer

season as it is most suitable climate for tourist from adjoining states, hotter places such as

Delhi, Chandigarh . Winter season is also filled with good tourists flow i.e. 25.19 % of

tourists for winter sports and recreational activity.

Statement3: Average no. of visitors in a month

57

Average number of visitors Domestic visitors Foreign visitors

10-30 27 6

30-60 53 37

Above 60 47 17Table 3 : Total number of a tourist in a month

2 - 3.5 lakh 3.5 - 6 lakh 6- 10 lakh 10 lakh and above

05

1015202530354045

Tourist Inflow

Figure 3 : Tourist flow in a month

Interpretation : The tourist inflow in Himachal Pradesh over 2009-2014 period has

witnessed increase in both domestic and foreign tourists. The number of domestic tourists

in the state has increased from 77 lakhs in 2011 to 129 lakhs in 2014, growing at a CAGR

of 14 percent as compared to a CAGR. In terms of foreign tourists, their number has

increased from 3 lakhs to 4.5 lakhs in the same period. The mix of foreign and domestic

tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh has stayed almost constant from 2009 to 2014. Tourists

on an average of 10-30% per month visit the state.

Consumer preferences in choice of tourism products :

Statement 4: What is most common purpose of your travel ?

58

Sr no.

Purpose of travel No. of Tourists %age

1 Social Trip 35 7

2 Business Trip 62 12.4

3 Holiday 130 51.8

4 Educational 90 18

Total 500 100Table 4: Purpose of Travel

Social Trip11% Business Trip

20%

Holiday 41%

Educational28%

Purpose of Travel

Social Trip

Business Trip

Holiday

Educational

Figure 4: Purpose of Travel

Statement 5: What in general attracts you to a destination?

Type of Products Avg. no. of tourists Total %age of tourists

Pilgrimage 44 34.64

Adventure Sports 17 20.42

Recreational Activity 50 46.71

59

Heritage 9 4.11

Eco Tourism 31 24.02

Education Tours 38 27.41

Accommodation 28 22.73

Table 5: Tourists seeking most of the information

Pilgrim

age

Accommodati

on

Sports

Recreati

onal

Heritag

e

Eco To

urism

Business

01020304050

Total no. of touristsTotal %age of tourists

Figure5: Tourists seeking most of the information

Interpretation: As shown above, the maximum flow of tourist . 46.71 % of total tourists

seek information for recreational activities in Himachal. Pilgrimage experiences the

34.64% of total tourist’s flow very month. Rest of the 20.42% of the total tourist’s flow is

witnessed by the other tourism products.

Statement6: Which type of Communication Media you use to gather information to

plan your travel?

Sr no.

Media No. of Tourists %age

1 Word of mouth 155 31

2 Print Media 95 19

3 Broadcast 40 8

4 Internet 210 42

60

Total 500 100 Table 6 : Total number of modes of communication used

Word of Mouth; 31%

Print Media; 19%Broadcast; 8%

Internet; 42%

Mode of communication

Word of Mouth

Print Media

Broadcast

Internet

Figure 6 : Total number of modes of communication used

Interpretation: It includes all the means of communications used by tourists in order to

get relevant information. For this HPTDC’s Information Centers plays an important role.

Around 35.43% tourists visit to the centers personally in order to get complete and relevant

information. It also provides telephone service and 40.94% of queries of tourists are

resolved on telephone. Except these services HPTDC also adopted the internet facility in

order to make its wide range of customers satisfied. Around 23% tourists fulfill their need

of information through the internet facility and mobile apps.

Statement7: What mode of transportation do you opt ? Rate them(1-3) on the basis

of your preference.

Sr no.

Transportation No. of Tourists %age

1 Buses 135 27

2 Volvo 50 10

3 Rail 100 20

4 Car Hire 40 8

5 Own Transport 155 31

Total 500 100

61

Table 7 : Average number of modes of Transportation used

Buses; 27%

Volvo Buses; 10%

Rail; 20%Car Hire; 8%

Own Transport;

31%

others; 4%

Mode of Transport

Buses

Volvo Buses

Rail

Car Hire

Own Transport

others

Figure 7 : Average number of modes of Transportation used

Interpretation: It is identified that 31.4 per cent of the tourists travel by own vehicle and

24.8 percent of the tourists travel by tourist bus. It is found that majority of the

tourists use the own vehicle for traveling purposes. It is found that 29.4 percent of the

tourists choose the mode of transport for family convenience and 21.6 percent of the

tourists choose Rail, the mode of transport for enjoyment of nature.

Statement 8: Method of booking tickets for travel

There are different ways in which the tourists book ticket for travel such as

direct spot, direct advance, travel agent and online.

Sr no.

Method of Booking Frequency %age

1 Spot 125 25

2 Travel 90 18

3 Online 175 35

4 Advance 110 22

62

Total 500 100Table8 : Method of booking tickets for travel

Spot book-ing

25%

Travel agent18%

Online booking

35%

Advance booking

22%

Ticket Booking

Spot booking

Travel agent

Online booking

Advance booking

Figure8 : Method of booking tickets for travel

Interpretation: For statement 9 which highlights that 34.6 per cent of the tourists book

tickets by online booking and 18 per cent of the tourists book tickets by travel agent. About

22.2 per cent of the tourists book tickets in advance and 25 per cent of the tourists book

tickets by spot booking. It is pretty to mention here that majority of the tourists book

ticket by online booking.

Statement9: Accommodation attributes that you consider the most during your stay?

Sr no.

Type of ProductAccommodation

Avg. no of tourists

percentage

1 Hotel 152 30.29

2 Resort 98 19.60

3 Cottages 60 11.90

4 Log Hut 109 21.70

63

5 Holiday Village 18 3.50

6 Lodge 133 26.60

7 others 18 3.50

Total 500 100

Table 9: Tourists seeking accommodation facility

Hotel Inn; 30.80%

Resorts; 19.60%Cottages; 11.90%

Circuit houses, 26.60%

Holiday village; 3.50%

Log Huts; 21.70%others; 3.50%

Hotel Inn

Resorts

Cottages

Lodge

Holiday vil-lage

Log Huts

others

Figure 9: Tourists seeking accommodation facility

Interpretation: For statement 6 which highlights, majority of the sample tourists i.e. 30

per cent stay in the hotels, 26.60% stay in private lodge and 21 per cent of the tourists stay

in Log Huts which is most preferred accommodation in himachal tourism and way to

encourage rural tourism or eco tourism. 20 percent stay in resorts for fun and entertainment

experiences. Minority of tourist also facilitates holiday village, also know as stay home

facility.

Statement10: What kind of accommodation suit did you choose?

Sr no.

Suit Type No. of Tourists %age

1 Premium 35 7

2 Deluxe 62 34.4

3 Economy 130 47.8

4 Dormitory 90 18

Total 500 100Table10 : Accommodation Suit visitors opinions

64

Premium

Economy

Dormitory

Deluxe

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Avg no. of touristsPercentage of tourists

Figure10 : Accommodation Suit visitors opinions

Interpretation: It is identified that 47.8 percent of the tourists’ opinion about the cost of

accommodation is costly, 34.4 percent of the tourists’ opinion about the cost of

accommodation is normal and the remaining 17.8 percent of the tourists opinion about the

cost of accommodation is cheap. It is found that 60.2 percent of the tourists have good

opinion about the accommodation and 26.4 percent of the tourists have satisfactory

opinion in the accommodation. It is identified that majority of the tourists have good

opinion about the accommodation.

Tourist buying behavior towards products/ services:

Statement 11: Which activities interest you the most during tours ?

Activity Type Total no. of tourists Avg. no. of tourists

Site-seeing 30 40.10

Cuisine 14 23.64

Folk Festivals 4 5.73

65

Theme Parks 10 20.94

Eco tourism 9 12.03

Camping 11 19.63

Adventure sport 22 30.90

Golf 2 4.99

Handicrafts 7 10.73

Family friendly

activities

11 20.11

Table11: Activity attractions among tourists

Site-s

eeing

Cuisine

Folk F

estival

s

Them

e Park

s

Eco to

urism

Camping

Adventure

sportGolf

Handicr

afts

Recreati

onal 05

1015202530354045

Total no. of touristsAvg. no. of tourists

Figure11 : Products/Services used by tourists

Interpretation: It is identified that majority of the sample tourists had given top rank to

site-seeing as the popular tourism products. Majority of the sample tourists had given

top rank to adventure sport as the most preferred tourism product in hills. It is

identified that the sample tourists had given last rank to religious festivals.

Statement 12: To What extent do the following elements motivate you to

choose a trip?

66

Motivational factors that drive tourist to a destination and even tourist products usage also

drive them to other attractions for exploring new attractions or revisiting. These factor is

mainly due to pull and push stimuli of consumers.

sr Motivation factors No. of Tourists %age1 Popularity of

destination/ attraction99 19.8

2 Escape from daily routine

113 22.6

3 Adventure 93 18.6

4 Past experience/ Familiarization

30 6

5 Temples 53 10.66 Health & rejuvenation 85 177 Relaxed atmosphere 27 5.4

Total 500 100Table12: motivational factors among tourists

Popularity of destination/ attraction

Escape from daily routine

Adventure

Past experience/ Familiarization

Temples

Health & rejuvenation

Relaxed atmosphere

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

%ageNo. of Tourists

Figure12 : motivational factors among tourists

67

Interpretation: The table12 clearly shows that 22.6 percent of the tourists are highly

motivated by something new and different to do and escape from daily routine. Maximum

tourists are driven by popular destination and attractions of a place i.e. 19.8 percent.

Adventure and health are also motivating factors for tourist 18.6% and 17percent. Rest are

temples and atmosphere.

Statement 13: How far do the following elements influence your travel planning?

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

Sr no.

Elements Disagree Undecided

Agree

1 2 3 4 5

1. I plan my travel 10 1 1 1 51

2. Approach travel agent to plan my visit

25 1 11 35 50

3. I don’t plan, prefer traveling

6 1 1 2 1

68

impulsively

4. Tourism products encourages me to discover other tourist activities

20 1 10 20 49

5. Discount/offers motivates me to travel

20 23 1 20 34

6. I visit only Popular places

40 30 1 10 10

7. I am an explorer 15 17 12 45 20Table13 : elements influence travel plans

I plan my travel

Approach travel agent to plan my visit

I don’t plan, prefer traveling impulsively

Tourism products encourages me to discover other tourist activities

Discount/offers motivates me to travel

I visit only Popular places

I am an explorer

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

54321

69

Figure13 : elements influence

Interpretation: The table13 clearly shows that 55 percent of the tourists plan their visit

before visiting. Minority of visitors agree upon visiting places impulsively. Maximum

tourists strongly agree that they let travel agents plan their visit 5o percent. Many 49 of the

tourist also agree that tourist products influences them to discover other tourist activities.

Which shows that one product motivates consumers to experience variety of other

services/products. 34 to 20 visitors also agree that special package offers influences their

buying behavior. While 40 to 23 disagree with the statement. 45 to 20 tourist personality

are of type, explorer. The above analysis clearly indicates that visitors plan their visit and

look for cost effective measures.

Statement 14: According to you which of the following attributes are important for

selecting a tourists’ destination?

Type of attributes Avg. no of tourists

percentage

1 Service quality 30.29 152

2 Location 22.60 98

3 Physical Attributes 11.90 60

4 Tour package offers 26.60 133

5 Value for money 3.50 18

6 Safety & security 21.70 109

Total 500 100

Table 14: selecting a tourists’ destination

70

Servic

e qualit

y

Location

Physical

Attributes

Tour p

ackag

e offers

Safety

& se

curity

value f

or money

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Avg. no of tourists

percentage

Figure 14: selecting a tourists’ destination

Interpretation: It is inferred from the table that service quality highlights knowledgeable

to recommend product/trending tourist spot, appearance of employees, amenities, decors

etc. majority of the sample tourists i.e. 30.29 percent say, 22.60% say hotels should be

centrally located for easy access to tourist attractions, transportation etc. Safety is another

important factor.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION IN AVAILING PRODUCTS/SERVICES:

Statement15: Visitors’ Opinion about the services

Sr no.

Visitors’ opinion Rank Average no. of tourist

1 Poor V 10

2 very poor IV 50

3 Average III 173

4 Good II 126

5 very good II 90

Total 500

Table 15: Tourist opinions

71

90

126173

50 10

Tourists opnions

Very goodGoodAveragePoorVery poor

Figure 15: Tourist opinions

Interpretation: Travelers have positive opinion about tourism products. Minority of

tourists have average views.

Statement16: Problems faced by visitors with Tourism Information Centers

Few percentage of tourists face problems in availing of Tourism Products and service

quality.

Sr

no.

Problems faced Average no. of Tourist

Yes No

1 contact the centre easily 90 10

2 Reservations problems

during peak season

75 25

3 Lack of adequate publicity 60 40

4 Provision for Helpline 97 3

72

numbers

5 Impolite behavior of staff 5 95

Table16: Problems faced with information centers

Yes (Y)31%

No (N)

69%

information centres problems

Interpretation: Location and easy access to information centers is necessary for

development and promotion. All tourism information centers are centrally located

within state. Maximum tourist experience problem for advance bookings due to heavy

tourist inflow during peak seasons. A no. of visitors at all the centers felt lack of

adequate publicity and display of sign boards etc. about the location of the centre.

Hence there is a need for publicity of all these centre with neon sign boards, posters

along with address, arrows sign and phone number (if installed) so that tourist can

contact the centre easily.

Statement17: What kind of problems have you faced during intercity travel?

Tourists face different kinds of problems in getting preferred mode of intercity travel or a

short distance travel. The problems are exorbitant charges, poor services and bargaining,

poor time schedule and breakdown of vehicles, non-availability of reservation.

Sr no. Problems Faced No. of Tourists %age

1 Poor service 54 10%

2 Overcharges 144 35%

3 Bargaining 87 25%

4 Problem in reservation 71 19%73

5 Poor time schedule 38 7%

6 Breakdown of vehicles 20 3%

Total 500 100Table17: Improvement required in tourism products

Figure17 : Improvement required in tourism products

Interpretation: It is identified that majority of the tourists face the problem of overcharges

35% and bargains 25%. For the Intercity travel overcharges for hiring a taxi is the main

problem faced by visitors. Reservation problems occurs during peak seasons.

Statement18: Kinds of problems faced by visitors in Visiting places - Garretts Ranking

Method

Sr

no.

Problems Average Rank

1 Inadequate Parking facilities 75 I

2 Poor maintenance of tourism products 60 II

3 Impolite behavior of Taxi owners 57 II

4 Environmental pollution 50 III

74

Poor service

Bargaining

Poor time schedule

Breakdown of vehicles

Overcharges

Problem in reservation

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

10%

25%

7%

3%

35%

19%

%age

5 Impolite behavior of hotel staff 16 IV

6 Insufficient Transport facilities 12 IV

7 Inadequate Banking facility 7 V

8 Problem caused by shop owners 8 V

Table18 : Problems faced

I II II III IV IV V V

01020304050607080

AverageProblems

Figure18 : Problems faced

Interpretation: It is inferred from the table that majority of the sample tourists had given

top rank to problems of parking facility in the visiting places. It is found that majority

of the tourists use their own vehicle for traveling purposes. They choose this mode for

family conveniences. The table also shows that the sample tourists had given second rank

to exploitation by taxi drivers. The table further shows that the sample tourists had

given third rank to environmental pollution. It is further clear from the table that the

sample tourists have given last rank to insufficient transport facilities. It is identified that

the tourists are highly satisfied with the shops and banking facility. Only 8 per cent of the

tourists are highly dissatisfied with the shops.

Statement19: According to you which of the following attributes should be

75

improved ?

Sr no.

Improvement Avg. no. of Tourists

%age

1 Service standards 21 39.6

2 accessibility 10 18.9

3 Personal equipment 16 25.1

4 Suggestive selling 12 22.6

Total 50 100Table 19 : Improvement required in tourism products

Service standards

Accessibility Personnel Equipment

Suggestive Selling

techniques

0102030405060708090

100

Avg. no. of Products usedTotal no. of tourists

Figure19 : Improvement required in tourism products

Interpretation: It is identified that majority 40 percent of the tourists have good opinion

about transport. Service standard require improvements 30 percent are of this opinion.

Selling techniques has been improved a lot since past five years in tourism industry. But

suggestive selling techniques such as word of mouth, broadcast and print medium can still

be improved. Online facilities have shown a tremendous development in marketing of

tourism products and is the best selling technique.

EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF THE PACKAGE TRIPS :

76

Distribution of Total expenditure on a package trips by tourists on an average. The

expenditure pattern of the tourists regarding accommodation, food & beverages,

transportation, recreation, and other miscellaneous expenditure is presented below:

Statement 20: How much do you spend on a trip on an average ?

Every tour is a temporary visit. Some of the tourists go on tour every year as a regular

practice. Such people spend more money on tour. But other tourists go occasionally

and they spend less amount of money on a trip. The amount spent on a trip varies from

one tourist to another tourist.

Product/service Percentage of

Expenditure

Avg. Expenditure on a

Package Trips

Accommodation 15 16.82

Transport 60 53.64

Food 30 27.73

Entertainment 50 40.94

Medicine 30 27.70

Table20: Average amount spent on a trip

Accommodati

on

Transport

Food

Enter

tainmen

t

Medicin

e0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Percentage of Expenditure

Avg. Expenditure on Package Trips

Figure20: Average amount spent on a trip

77

Interpretation: It is identified that majority 53 percent of the tourists spend much on

transport. 41percent of visitors expenditure occurs on the recreational/ entertainment

activity. A holiday trip is all about enjoying the destination, experience fun. Tourists spend

money for emergency medical treatments. Major attraction of Himachal tourism is

adventure tours, Mountaineering and Allied Sports which involves chances of injuries. But

in the modern techniques of ski training and with advanced equipment the chances of

injuries are greatly reduced as 27percent is spent on medicine and miscellaneous.

CONCLUSION

Competition is involved in all observable phenomena of tourism market – the prices at

which products are exchanged, the kinds of the products produced, the quantities sold, the

methods of distribution, and the emphasis placed on promotion. As the research has shown

the comparison between toruist behavior regarding tourism in recent time. Since the

toruist behavior is the important factor to forecast the sales of any product/services in a

particular area. So company should keep close eye on the market situation. yet, customer

were price sensitive, but the changing market trend and customer view and preference

shown that customer are now quality sensitive .They want quality product, good services,

easy availability of products and better performance by the services. These days no of

tourist experiencing tourism products has been increased. Also the frequency to visit the

popular destinations has been increased substantially. This is because of the relatively

higher standard of services provided by hospitality industry and modernization in tourist

destination and varied products offered by tourism industry.

FINDINGS:

The results will help the management in knowing that Tourism market has several

segments whose members have distinctive needs and preferences. Visitors can be put into

groups with similar and identifiable characteristics.

78

Maximum of the tourist agree that tourist products influences them to discover other tourist

activities. Which shows that one product motivates consumers to experience variety of

other services/products. visitors also agree that special package offers influences their

buying behavior. Many tourist visit places because of their previous experience or

familiarity to the place. The analysis clearly indicates that visitors plan their visit and look

for cost effective measures.

Travel offerings appeal more to some segments than others. Tourism organizations can be

more effective in their marketing by developing specific offers for specific market

segments. The intangible nature of tourism services is that the visitor’s travel experiences

exist only in memory after the trip is over.

RECOMMENDATIONS

One strategic marketing tool capable of generating competitive advantage is market

segmentation.

Products should be adapted to the desires of large and small sub-groups.

Measure and evaluate marketing plan results and outcomes.

Limited financial resources make promoting and advertising the services offered very

challenging.

The marketing planning process should be accelerated for the development.

Modern approaches should be used in marketing tourism destinations, organizations and

their products/services than traditional approach.

Organizations should keep a close eye on competitor strategy.

Suggestions:

A no. of visitors at all the centers felt lack of adequate publicity and display of sign boards

etc. about the location of the centre. Hence there is a need for publicity of all these

centre with neon sign boards, posters along with address, arrows sign and phone number

(if installed) so that tourist can contact the centre easily.

79

The corporation should try to avoid taking projects, which have location disadvantage like

projects in remote areas because it leads to ignorance on parts of tourist as they avoid

going out of city.

The corporation should not be so much dependent on income from liquor/bar sale. It

should try to find out some other good sources of income.

There are certain areas of Himachal, which have customs and events, which are unique and

peculiar to that particular region. These events if promoted properly have the potential to

attract large number of national and international tourists. All these attractions make

Himachal a state with varied products and attractions. Corporation should tie up with

private players of tourism sector to develop himachal tourism.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The probable limitations of this study are as under :

The first and foremost limitations was time constraint which was only two months,

but still efforts have been made to put the picture as clear and candid as possible.

Samples were randomly selected as per convenience so error is bound to creep in the

observation.

Limited focus area: This study is concentrated only on the consumer side.

Limited number of participants: The number of participants was restricted to 45,

and the sample was a judgmental sample. The lack of random selection and the

small sample prohibited generalized results. ·

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Lack of the information of price: No price was given in the study to prevent biasing

the expectation of the study. This omission became a weakness because participants

expected to know a price range and found the omission also influenced their

experience

The conservative attitude of the respondents was a limiting factor in gaining

information.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

JOURNALS:

Annual Report of HPTDC(2013-14), july 2015

Results-Framework Document (RFD) for Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development

Corporation-(2012- 2013)

Analysis of Tourist Behaviors: A Conceptual Framework Based on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, Lalita A. Manrai, Ajay K. Manrai (University of Delaware, USA), 2009 Oxford Business & Economics Conference Program, ISBN : 978-0-9742114-1-1

BOOKS:

MARKETING MANAGEMENT, AUTHOR PHILIP KOTLER, EDITION 14E, PEARSON

PUBLICATION, SECOND IMPRESSION 2014, PAGES REFERRED 133-154

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WEBSITES:

HPTDC Official website (http://hptdc.nic.in/)

Himachal Tourism website (www.himachaltourism.gov.in)

Tourism-in-himachal-pradesh.pdf

www.publisishingindia.com

http://www.performance.gov.in/sites/default/files/document/states/Himachal%20Pradesh/rfd-2012-13/Tourism%20Develoment%20Corpn.pdf

http://rem-main.rem.sfu.ca/theses/SmithKim_2001_MRM284.pdf

https://theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/60375/Thesis_Saroj.Pradhan.pdf?sequence=1

http://india.gov.in/topics/travel-tourism

http://iato.in/

Future-of-tourism.pdf

APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES

SR.

NO.

Name of Table

PAGE NO.

82

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11

12

13

14

15

16.

17

18

19

Table-1: Age group

Table2: Seasons witness maximum tourist flow

Table 3 : Total number of a tourist in a month

Table 4: Purpose of Travel

Table 5: Tourists seeking most of the information

Table 6 : Total number of modes of communication used

Table 7 : Average number of modes of Transportation used

Table8 : Method of booking tickets for travel

Table 9: Tourists seeking accommodation facility

Table10 : Accommodation Suit visitors opinions

Table11: Activity attractions among tourists

Table12: motivational factors among tourists

Table13 : elements influence travel plans

Table 14: selecting a tourists’ destination

Table 15: Tourist opinions

Table16: Problems faced with information centers

Table17: Improvement required in tourism products

Table18 : Problems faced

Table 19 : Improvement required in tourism products

50

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54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

63

65

66

67

68

69

70

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LIST OF FIGURES

SR.

NO.

Title of Figures

PAGE NO.

83

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11

12

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15

16.

17

18

19

Figure-1: Age group

Figure2: Seasons witness maximum tourist flow

Figure 3 : Total number of a tourist in a month

Figure 4: Purpose of Travel

Figure 5: Tourists seeking most of the information

Figure 6 : Total number of modes of communication used

Figure 7 : Average number of modes of Transportation used

Figure8 : Method of booking tickets for travel

Figure 9: Tourists seeking accommodation facility

Figure10 : Accommodation Suit visitors opinions

Figure11: Activity attractions among tourists

Figure12: motivational factors among tourists

Figure13 : elements influence travel plans

Figure 14: selecting a tourists’ destination

Figure 15: Tourist opinions

Figure16: Problems faced with information centers

Figure17: Improvement required in tourism products

Figure18 : Problems faced

Figure 19 : Improvement required in tourism products

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Personal Information

Name :

84

Age :

Gender :

City :

Occupation :

Your Income Level ( per annum ) :

□ Upto 2 lac

□ 2.5 lac-5 lac

□ 5.5 lac - 10 lac

□ 10.5 lac- 34 lac

□ 35 lac and above

□ Not earning presently

Q1) How often do you travel outstation ?

□ Once in a Year

□ Once in 6 Months

□ Once in 3 Months

□ Every Month

□ Every Week

Q2) What form of advertising is more effective to you?

□ Internet

□ Travel Agent

□ Tourist Information Centre

□ Print Media

□ Word of Mouth

85

Q3) What is most common purpose of your travel ?

□ Family Vacation

□ Adventures

□ Business

□ Pilgrimage

□ Heritage

□ Education

Q4) What mode of transportation do you opt ? Rate them(1-3) on the basis of your

preference.

□ Own Transport

□ Car Hire

□ Tour Bus

□ Bus

□ Train

□ Airplane

□ Ship

Q5) What kind of accommodation suit did you choose?

□ Premium

□ Deluxe

□ Economy

□ Resorts

□ Dormitory

□ Camping/Caravan

86

Q6) According to you which of the following attributes are important for selecting a

tourist's destination? Rank(1-5)

□ Service quality (e.g. appearance, amenities, decors, knowledgeable to recommend

product/trending tourist spot)

□ Location (e.g. location of hotel)

□ Physical Attributes (e.g. atmosphere of hotel, spacious layout, water & lighting)

□ Tour package (e.g. discounts for repeat customer, extended hours of operation)

□ Value for money

□ Safety & security

Q7) Which activities interest you the most during tours ?

□ Site-seeing

□ Cuisine

□ Folk Festivals

□ Theme Parks

□ Eco tourism

□ Camping

□ Adventure sport

□ Golf

□ Handicrafts

□ Recreational activities

Q8) To What extent do the following elements motivate you to choose a trip?

□ Popularity of destination/ attraction

87

□ Escape from daily routine

□ Adventure

□ Past experience/ Familiarization

□ Temples

□ Health & rejuvenation

Q 9) How far do the following elements influence your travel planning?

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

□ I plan my travel

□ through travel agent

□ prefer impulsive travel

□ tourism products influences to discover other tourist activities

□ discount/offers motivates me to travel

□ I visit only Popular places□ I am an explorer

Q 10) What kind of problems have you faced during intercity travel?

□ Inadequate Parking facilities

□ Poor maintenance of tourism products

□ Environmental pollution

□ Advance Booking

□ Overcharges & Bargaining

Q11) Have you used any online travelling website/App ?

88

If so, .........................................................

Q12) How much do you spend on a trip on an average ?

□ Upto 5,000

□ 5,000 – 15,0000

□ 15,000 – 25, 000

□ Above 25,000

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Thank you for taking the time to complete our questionnaire. Your input is important to us and we value your comments and contribution.