Tourism ProductA tourism product is any product that is marketed by a country or an institution to visitors so as to attract them to visit a nation as tourist and experience the said product.

Tour transportationAccommodationHistoric sites, Recreational ActivitiesFood

Elements of Tourism ProductAttractions and DestinationsFacilities at Destination:

TransportationAccommodation facilitiesFoodEase and Accessibilities of Destination

Characteristics of Tourism ProductsIntangible: Tourism being a service is an intangible product providing facilities unlike other products in terms of the physical appearance and nature.Psychological: The main motive to purchase tourism product is to satisfy the psychological need after using the product, by getting experiences while interacting with enviournment.Highly PerishableCompound Product: Combination of different product or services.Unstable Demand: Its demand is influenced by seasonal, economic etc

The Tourism Product Life Cycle

Tourism Product TypologiesThe activity of tourism constitutes various characteristics depending upon the time, place and purpose of tour/ tourist.

Tourism typologies are objectives for attaining a more effective and comprehensive formulation of tourism product.

The typologies of tourism closely focus on the two key aspects of the tourism activity: Demand Typology Supply Typology

Demand TypologyDemand typologies are projected to sub divide tourists into homogeneous groups.

The purpose of these topologies is to focus and position alternative strategies, selection of tourist destination, tour and service pricing, marketing, operations etc.

Tourists can be segregated into three major groups:

The first one is of those travelling alone to the unexplored and pioneer destinations which are yet to be discovered.

In second case, the tourists prefer to travel in very small groups to place of growing reputation with facilities at destinations. Third group of tourists travels with fully organized trips to very famous destinations and their impact on tourism environment and socio economic system is very high.

Supply TypologiesThese typologies are concerned with the characteristics of the destination area.These typologies show the development of tourism, shape and form of destination area.These typologies give an idea about basic difference of development between destinations as well as the different character of each destination.There are three basic methods to create a supply typology.

Ideographic: Focusing on the uniqueness of the environment and destination attractions.

The second method demonstrates the organizational perspective focusing on the spatial characteristics of size, scale and carrying capacity.

The last method is cognitive approach dealing with experiences and perceptions of the tourists.

Natural ResourcesWildlife Sanctuary

A wildlife sanctuary is a declared protected area, where very limited human activity is allowed.The ownership of this type of protected are could lie in the hands of either a government or in any private organization or person, provided the regulations are governed by the government.Additionally, the trees can not be cut down for any purpose; especially the clearing of the forest for agriculture is completely banned

National Park

National park was first introduced in 1969, by the IUCN as a mean of a protected area with a definition.However, in the 19th century, some western naturalists and explorers have put forward the ideas of preserving ecosystems in order to conserve wildlife without active human interference.A national park has a defined boundary, through which no person can get into the park without an approval.

Only an approved person can enter into a national park, either via paying a visitor ticket or an approved letter from the governing body (mostly the government). The visitors can only observe the park inside a vehicle that routes through defined trails and they can not get out the vehicle for any reason unless there is an approved place for visitors.

Photographs are allowed but research and educational work can only be done with a prior permission.

The park can not be used for any reason viz. firewood, timber, fruitsetc. With all these regulations, the national parks are established to conserve the natural habitats of the wild fauna and flora with a minimum human interference.

DifferenceAnational parkis a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns.

Awildlife sanctuaryis a space that is set aside exclusively for the use of wild animals, which are protected when they roam or live in that area.

Abiosphere reserveis a voluntary, cooperative, conservation reserve created to protect the biological and cultural diversity of a region while promoting sustainable economic development.

As Adrian Philips quote in the Parks journal in 2004, the protected areas come in all sizes and shapes and with a bewildering variety of management systems, ownership and governance patternsThe national parks are more restricted for the people but earn money that could be managed to develop nature conservation measures.In both these protected areas, people have the access for inspirational, educational, research, and recreational purposes but, with certain limitations in national parks.

Natural Reserves in IndiaIt is also known as biosphere reserve.

It is large protected area for natural habitat (larger than national parks and sanctuaries).

The government of India has recognized 18 biosphere reserves in India.

These biosphere not only protect the wildlife of the area, but also grant protection of the human communities and their lifestyle residing in that area.

Out of 18 biospheres 9 biospheres are the part of the world network of biospheres.

World Heritage Sites of India Ajanta & Ellora Caves Taj MahalAgra Fort Sun Temple Konark Monuments at KhajurahoMonuments at Hampi

Ajanta & Ellora CavesThe first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries A.D.)The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have had a considerable artistic influence.These caves were excavated during the supremacy of the Vakatakas and Guptas. According to inscriptions, Varahadeva, the minister of the Vakataka king, Harishena (c. AD 475-500), dedicated Cave 16 to the Buddhist sangha while Cave 17 was the gift of the prince, a feudatory.

The caves are situated 100km north-east of Ellora, 104km from Aurangabad and 52km from Jalgaon Railway Station

These magnificent caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art.

The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650 in favour of Ellora.

Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to have been occupied by some 200 monks and artisans.

Taj MahalAn immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife.

The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh.

For its construction, masons, stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from the Central Asia and Iran.

Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj Mahal.

Integrity is maintained in the intactness of tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the whole Taj Mahal complex.

An area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal is defined to protect the monument from pollution

The Supreme Court of India in December, 1996, delivered a ruling banning use of coal/coke in industries located in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and switching over to natural gas or relocating them outside the TTZ