package tourism in kerala
TRANSCRIPT
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SIGNIFICANCE IN
Project Report
By
RANJINI.N.V
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration
(Travel & Tourism)
KERALA INSTITUTE OF TOURISM & TRAVEL STUDIES
Residency compound, Thycaud, Trivandrum 14.
2006 2008
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I hereby declare that this project work entitled Package Tourism :Its
Significance in Tourism industry, is a genuine record of data and
information collected by me and submitted to Kerala Institute of Tourism
and Travel Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Post
Graduate Diploma in Business Administration Travel and Tourism.
Trivandrum RANJINI.N.V
15/02/2008 PGDBA - 7
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I wish to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to Mr. Venugopal
C.K Faculty, Kitts for his valuable advice and timely encouragement to
complete my project.
I express my profound thanks to Mr. Dileep, Course Coordinator,Mrs. Sindhu, Ms. Niruba Sethukumari- Librarian, Kerala Institute of
Tourism and Travel Studies for their enthusiastic encouragement and
sustained interest in my project.
I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards my family
members and friends for being a constant source of support and
encouragement whenever, I felt discouraged.
Above all I thank Almighty GOD for giving me health, courage andwisdom to complete this project.
RANJINI.N.V
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Chapter Page no.
1. Introduction.6
2. Early origins7
3. Significance and Effects of Modern inclusive Industry...8
4. Cyclical Nature Of This Inclusive Industry..8
5. Basic Holiday Model...9
6. Direction And Control In The Inclusive Holiday Industry.10
7. Service Quality in Inclusive Holiday Industry.....11
8. Customer orientation In Holiday Service Management..............12
9. Customer Satisfaction.12
10. Influence Of Holiday Makers Expectations Of Service Qualities.13
11. Creating markets.14
12. A hierarchy Of Holiday Buying Decisions...15
13. Branding Inclusive Holidays......1514. Distributing Inclusive Holidays..15
15. Push and Pull Distribution Strategies...16
16. Trade Association and Regulation Of Holiday Industry.....16
17. Tour Operating.17
18. Marketing Inclusive Holidays..18
19. Inclusive Holidays-Features and Advantages....19
20. How Can We Design A Holiday...20
21. Components Of Tourist Packages...21
22. A Brief Study About Kerala Package Tourism..25
23. Conclusion..29
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ABSTRACT
Inclusive holiday has significant importance in the tourismindustry. They are readymade holidays exclusive for the special interested
tourists.transport, accommodation and package concept has primary
importance in the inclusive travel. The secondary elements constitutesdestination attributes, activities,.attraction and leisure infrastructure.
Tourists expectations, entrepreneurial creativity, employee skills and
investors capital are the main inputs of this industry. This inclusive holiday
system has economic, community, environment and ecology impacts. There
may be external influences such as tastes, competition, technology,
legislation, demographics and politics. The service quality in the inclusive
industry is also important. There is a wide spread emphasis on ensuring the
quality of an organizations products and seeking improvements in
specifications and performance.
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Tourism, like most social activities, can be more fullyunderstood by identifying the events which led up to contemporary
situations and considering changes in relationships between key elements of
the system over time. The history of inclusive holidays is quite brief, but
since the end of Second World War it has enabled significant number of
people from the wealthier nations to travel for leisure through out the world.
The inclusive holiday industry consists of several discrete elements, notably
the various accommodation providers and other destination based
businesses, transport, tour operators and travel retailers. The success of
industry depends upon how effectively they work together to create
satisfying holiday experiences for the clients. The industrys success can be
considered from the perspective of each organization involved in supplying
elements to the industry, and from that of residents in destination areas.
There is a wide spread emphasis on ensuring the quality of an organizations
products, and seeking improvements in specification and performance.
All types of enterprise recognize the significance of
providing satisfying products and services to the customers. Similarly there
is a wide spread emphasis on ensuring the quality of an organizationsproducts, and seeking improvements in specification and performance. The
marketing and development of the inclusive holiday is also significant. a
clear understanding of the customers are ,what the benefits they seek and
how to present offers to them is crucial to success of any company operating
in a competitive environment. Inclusive holidays are only one form of
leisure travel, providing clients with the key advantages of economy and
convenience over making independent arrangements.
The role of tour operators in creating package holidays is
central to the inclusive travel industry. The travel retailers make these
services easily accessible to clients through the traditional full service travel
agencies and the holiday shops which can now be found in the majority of
shopping centers in a typical case, tourists purchase their holiday from a
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local travel agent after selecting between the brochures of many alternative
tour operators.
By the end of the nineteenth century ,although travel was
much slower than now and relatively more expensive, much of the present
day form of tourism was becoming evident ,with organized groups of
travelers paying a professional organizer to make the arrangements for their
leisure itineraries around Europe and further afield. One of the most
successful entrepreneurs was the Thomas Cook, who contributed a lot to this
industry. Many other travel organizers became established in Europe and
America, the core business activities common to them all being the
packaging travel, accommodation and excursion arrangements.Winter sports are begun to feature as a travel motive .within a
few years growing interest of skiing also encouraged. Thus the holiday
industries demand were beginning to alter the infrastructure and
environment of destination areas.
Factors in the growth of foreign holiday taking
technological developments in transport
improvements in telecommunications
developments of computerized reservation systems
tourism entrepreneurs creativity
investment in tourism infra structure development in destination areas
increases in standards of living in countries of tourist origin
increased awareness of destination
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lifestyle changes
demographic changes
Within a span of four decades, the varied forms of
international leisure tourism have become established as one of the
dominant economic and social activities of the late twentieth century .by theend of 1080s British tour operators, retail travel agents, airline and hotel
groups and many other organizations were geared up to produce an sell
some 12 million overseas package tour annually. How ever the mid
1990s , the volume of overseas holidays sold by British tour operators had
dropped to about 10 million ,and a range of problems were become apparent
.
The key social achievement of this industry is its ability to
provide easy and affordable international travel to large numbers of people,
thus broadening their experience of the diversity of human culture and otherenvironments and ecologies, in an affordable, leisure oriented context. But
this depends on the packaging the elements of travel, accommodation and
destination activities. As a result of this packaging of travel get opportunities
is that tourists tend to go to same places, meeting other holiday takers from
similar backgrounds, and sharing with them their experience of the cultures
and places which they visit.
Even within its brief history, tourism has exhibited the
characteristics s of a cyclical industry. The pattern is that higher level of
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demand is stimulated by price reduction or the relaxation of control over
international travel. In the resultant boom tour operators charter more plans
to book additional hotel rooms. In turn, this stimulates investment i air fleets
and in the construction of new hotels or new resorts.
Further more despite the industrys impressive four decade
record of growth, a variety of factors can occur both in origin and
destination markets to depress demand. These include economic
retrenchment, strikes, the outbreak of disease or civil unrest and unusual
weather conditions .Examples of later include seasons when snow cover in
the Alps is unusually limited, thus destroying the winter holiday market, or a
very hot summer in the Northern origin markets which greatly reduces the
demand for overseas Sun Belt holidays.
The rate of development of this industry and the scope of
its operations, has exhibited a number of steps mainly to the introduction of
new technology. Recently it again picked up pace when the more
economical twin engined jets were licensed to fly routes which took them
more than 90 minutes from an airport, thus enabling them to operate long
haul flights. This has begun to open up the Far East, America, the Caribbean
and Australia European markets for inclusive holidays based of charterflights a d to reduce their prices. while it is risky to predict the future ,it
seems likely that the next major developments to affect the industry will
come from the increasing power and sophistication of other forms of
technology, as widespread commercial and domestic access to
computerization and telecommunications will perhaps have the effect of
unpacking the way that inclusive holidays are currently presented.
An inclusive travel has 3 key elements; return travel,
accommodation and a range of activities at their destination. the industry
provides the services of packaging and distributing holiday products; its
function are often described in terms of supply and distribution channels in
which tour operators select and package the great variety of tourism services
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available at destinations ,for sale through travel agencies to their ultimate
clients. The alternative method of choosing a holiday, now used by some 10
million people annually in Britain, is to buy a packaged holiday. In this case
the tour operator contrasts for the separate elements of a holiday and the
customers have the choice of making their booking direct with the touroperator or through the services of a travel agency. Increasingly, these are
specializing in selling selected inclusive holidays, and are therefore
sometimes referred to as holiday shops.
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Tourists expectation
Entrepreneurial creativity
Employee skills
Investors capital
THE INCLUSIVE HOLIDAY
SYSTEM
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
Transport
Accommodation
Package concept
SECONDARY ELEMENTS
Destination attributes
Activities
Attraction
Leisure infra structure
INPUT
Tourists
expectation
Entrepreneu
rial
Creativity
Employee
skills
UTS
IMPACTS
Economic
Community
Environment
Ecology
STAKEHOLDERS
OUTCOME
Tour operators
Travel retailersTourists
Residents
Destination services
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Tastes Competition Technology
Legislation Demographics Politics
OUTCOMES
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Although some dominant companies have en\merged in
this industry, notably the large vertically integrated groups, there is no
strong leadership of the industry. The Association of British travel agent
(ABTA) represents the industrys interest to government, provides a frame
work for equitable relationships between tour operators and travel agents,
and mediates between them and their customers. The lack of agreement on
issues, priorities, policies and responsibility poses a threat to travel agencies,
tour operators and destinations.
The tourism industry, of which the inclusive holiday
industry is a part, offers many opportunities for entry, both to entrepreneurs
and staffing part, these results from the diversity and speed o development
of the tourism industry but it also reflects two related trends. The vision
which develops the continuing development of tourism services offers scope
for entrepreneurial initiatives, while the increasing scale of tourism
operation s provides a major source of a new employment in many
countries. the organizations supplying tourism services include public andprivate enterprises, and range from large to small in scale .entrepreneurial
opportunities tom establish a business can be found in most sectors of
tourism ,but small scale companies are most common in
catering,consultancy,attractions management and travel retailing or tour
operating.
How ever, through enabling the regular arrival of large
members of people with money indulge their interests and few constraints
on their time, the holiday industry also creates a significant opportunity
climate in the destination areas.
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The key to any organizations success is to understanding of
how the individuals who are its potential clients make decisions to spend
their resources of time, money and effort, and of benefits they seek from so
doing. Within any company, the marketing strategic role is therefore to
bring the organization around to an awareness of needs of its customers andto develop ways to delivering its services effectively. In a complex industry
such as tourism where clients rely for their satisfaction on the efforts of a
wide range very diverse company, the issue is much more challenging,
because satisfying experiences in tourism require both the coordination of
many service elements contributed by each company and its staff, yet
retaining, even emphasizing, their individual styles of service.
Management Responsibility for Quality In The Service Sector
The development of a new service is usually characterized by
trial and error. Developers translate a subjective description of a need in to
an operational concept that may bear only a remote resemblance to the
original idea. No one systematically quantifies the process or devises tests to
ensure that the service is complete, the rational, and fulfills the original need
objectively.
Technical Approaches To Tourism Service Quality
The technical approach to quality emphasizes the performance
criteria which are often specified for service delivery systems. Thus airlines
publicize the proportion of their on time arrivals and aim to open the
planes doors within 2 minutes of engines off .
One strategy which service managers often adopt in their
search for consistent service is to eliminate employees desecretion and
judgment when ever possible. This approach relies on the specification of
tasks to a standard of performance expected by management, and thenprovides them with a basis for measuring the effectiveness of staff
performing services.
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The tourism services can best be understood in terms of
customer expectations of satisfaction against which they match their
subsequent individual experiences during the service.
Kotler (1982) has defined services as an activity that one party can offer to
another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything. In other words, the people who work to create and deliver touristic
experiences have extensive contacts with other clients. People often discuss
the rapport which they struck up with the waiter, barman or courier (as well
as with other holiday makers) during the holiday. The quality of these
relationships and the service delivery are just as significant in tourists
satisfaction and enjoyment as the efficiency with which services are
performed.
Marketing theory argues that customers experiences with any
purchaser give rise to outcomes for them satisfaction to dissatisfaction. This
reflects a divergence from the standards of services which clients had
anticipated, as the following abbreviated quotations indicate:the seeds of
consumer satisfaction are planted during prepurchase phase of consumerdecision process.
Dissatisfaction has also been defined as sate of cognitive or
affective discomfort. The response to any dissonant experiences is an effort
to correct the situation while other people decide to avoid it in the future. it
is critically important to ensure that the facilities and services promised in
advertisements actually are provided to the tourists they attract. Unless the
expectations which led to them to purchase a particular vacation are
matched by their experiences during the holiday, dissatisfaction will be the
result.Consumer satisfaction I the outcome when expectations are matched by
service experience, conversely, dissatisfaction occurs when there is a
mismatch and the expectations are not fulfilled by service delivered.
Dissatisfaction can be understood as cognitive dissonance, a physiological
conditions making it unlikely that the customer will purchase from that
supplier in the future.
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Tour operators have different ways of communicating the
quality of their products to customers.Statemants about quality are often
contained in a tour operators marketing communication and in its
brochures. in both the cases this may be explicit, as for example when a tour
operators brochure states that hotels are of a certain category of star rating,
or implicit, conveyed in the text and images us3ed to position the product.
Examples of latter include photographs of stylish restaurant service or of
well furnished rooms, and descriptions of the knowledge and the skill of
resort staff. Some long established companied refer proudly to the length oftheir experience in the industry; others lost travel industry awards which
they have won. This latter feature strongly in trade promotions and the trade
press also publicizes the presentation of awards at lavish annual dinner
functions.
The test ultimately lies in customers judgment of the
satisfaction which they experience during their holiday.these points are
interconnected, since the theoretical approach to understanding service
satisfaction is based on a comparison of expectations formed during their
holiday. it should be borne I mind of tour operators set out to attract
different segments of the holiday market, and therefore the way in whichthese quality statements are phrased or placed in the brochure and relative
importance given to each varies from one company to other. Overall the
purpose of these and other references to the tour operators quality in their
brochures has been explained by Middleton (1988) as to promote confidence
in buyers.
A clear understanding of who its customers are, what benefits
they seek and how to present offers to them is crucial to the success of any
company operating in a crucial environment. Inclusive holidays are only one
form of leisure travel, providing clients with the key advantages of economy
and convenience over making independent arrangements. How ever the
inclusive holiday industry, through its success in packaging travel
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arrangements, has also made many places more accessible to the individual
travelers, and they now find greater range amenities there because of
developments associated with mass tourism.
To purchase a packaged holiday
the desire tom take an overseas holiday
price advantages of buying packaged holidays
ease of purchasing packaged holidays
advertising for holiday brands
To take a holiday in a type of destination
programs portraying the culture or ecology of foreign places
advertising for other products set in exotic locations
media coverage of sports events held overseas
To go to a specific destination
previous knowledge about the destination
recommendation by friends who have enjoyed it
advertising by destination
additional features on travel destination
Branding strategy is mainly for establishing and maintaining
a clear identity for the company so that customers will ask their products by
name.branding are at the centre of much modern marketing effort. A strong
identity will give opportunities and benefits to the company. From a
promotional point of view the task is to establish strong market awareness
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for the brands so that it becomes first choice of the consumer.Brandibng
build the core features of product or service, offering additional benefits
which distinguish one product from similar alternatives.
The stronger the brand the less readily will a customer
accept an alternative. Branding can be implemented through the consistentuse of corporate symbol or trade name. The objective is to ensure that the
brand is one of those which the consumer is most likely to purchase. How
ever, it is also possible that a particular brand may have failed to satisfy a
consumer in the past, in which the case it is unlikely that he or she will
repurchase it. These 2 groups of brands have been described as evoked and
inept sets. Evoked sets have been described as the collection of brands the
buyer actually considers in his decision process. Inept brands are those
which the consumer has rejected from the purchaser consideration.
The tour operators role in creating package holidays is
central to the inclusive holiday industry, but just as their success depends on
suppliers such as hotels and charter airlines for elements of which their
holiday products are composed, most of them are rely heavily on retail
travel agencies to sell holidays to the public. In a typical case, tourist
purchase their holiday from a local travel agent after selecting between the
brochures of many alternative tour operators. The retailer is acting as an
agent for the tour operator, earning a commission on sales price of holiday
and being rewarded with higher commission rates by tour operators for
whom he sells above a target volume or value of packages.
Once a potential client enters a travel agency, the objective
of staff is to close a sale during the visit. This objective closely matches, but
is not identical to; the clients purposer.the clients objective is to select avacation offering the range of benefits he or she desires. The client may
therefore require advice and a range of potential holidays to discuss at
leisure with his or her traveling companions.
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Two major strategies have been distinguished for marketing
communication. In one case the service provider advertises to the client
through public media such as news papers, magazines, television and radio.
The interest thus stimulated is felt by channel members as a pull through thedistribution system when clients request specific brochures or information
from travel agencies. This interest act as a signal to the tour operator and
principals, who respond by increasing the stocks of their brochures held by
agents.
The alternative strategy for tour operators to promote their
services to channel members ,through public relations
campaigns,educvational visits, trade seminars, discounts or free offer
schemes ion recognition of sales results achieved either by an agency or by
individual staff members. The real criterion for selling one holiday ratherthan another is its match to a specific clients needs ,thus there is an
undercurrent of ethical concern of about the wide spread industry practice of
proving educational visits for staff, even these are well organized.
Codes of conduct in trade between tour operators and travel agents
Tour operators code of conduct
To ensure that the public receive the best possible service from tour
operators. Also to maintain and enhance the good name of ABTA and its
members, to encourage initiative and enterprise ,to ensure that the public
interest shall predominate in all considerations of the standards of
competitive trading between tour operators ,and to encourage growth and
development of the travel industry.
Conduct between tour operators and members of the public
A variety of standards are given covering brochure standards
,cancellation by the tour operator, alteration to the holiday ,cancellation
by clients, overbooking building works, liability, complaints
correspondence from clients ,correspondence from the association
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arbitration ,advertising,surcharges,airport etc.taxes,misleading use of
ABTAs symbol and resort representatives.
Conduct between tour operator and travel agents
Members of the tour operators class must not sell their foreign inclusivetravel arrangements through anyone who is not a member of the travel
agents class
Members of the travel agents class must not sell the foreign inclusive
travel arrangements of anyone who is not either a member of the tour
operators class or another member of the travel agents class
TOUR OPERATING
Tour operators are the key organizations in the inclusive
holiday industry, providing logical skills to package travel,
accommodation and destination activities in ways which appeal to
traveling public. the tour operators can create interest in its holiday
program through media communications campaigns directed at the public,
and by educating the travel retailers it deals with the special characteristics
and advantage of its holyday offers. The tour company bears the risk of
researching and organizing a program many months ahead of its sale, and
it incurs the cost of brochure design, production and distribution and of theinstallation and staffing of a reservation system.
Tour operators deal in holiday concepts consisting of basic
elements such as, particularly hotel or other accommodation, travel
between home and resort, and various activities at the destination. The
skills of successful tour operating lie in selecting an appealing
combination of these elements ,marketing the packages effectively so that
sufficient number of holidays can be sold at prices which enable the
industrys participating companies to earn realistic levels of profit, and
operating the holidays in a manner which pleases the clients.
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Increasing spending power, increased awareness of holiday
opportunities and falling cost of holidays has enabled more people to
exercise choice between an increasing numbers of holiday options. As more
people travel the range of destinations and the types of holiday offered have
become more varied, reflecting the tour operators increasingly sophisticateddifferentiation of their holiday products. This variety of holiday types also
helps the tour operator to fill the capacity on flights between origin and
destination by targeting a variety of segments in the market for holidays
with different products.
Marketing theorist have pointed out that all purchases are
made to satisfactory needs. Any item purchased must be able to perform
the function claimed of it, and for which it was primarily acquired. This isthe core of the product.
Tour operates market their holiday packages in the fullest
sense: they develop their products; take pricing decisions which they feel
will attract the greatest volume of travelers or yield the best profit,
promote their holidays to customers and travel retailers through
appropriate media, produce and distribute detailed information in the form
of holiday brochures by which clients can take buying decisions, set up
reservation systems to handle bookings and administrative systems to deal
with suppliers and distributors ,and develop new holiday concepts forforth coming seasons and work towards business goals of growth, market
share and profit such as any other business does. The key to tour
operators success is to understand what their customers want, and to
provide it in convincing, enticing ways.
Most tour operators improve on the basic holiday package
by including features such as transfers between airport and hotel at the
destination, and the services of resort representatives who provide clients
with further opportunities for a variety of leisure, cultural, sporting or
entertainment activities during their destination stay.
The precise mix of additional service elements and thestyle with which they are presented helps the tour operator to establish a
unique position in clients minds, contrasting with that of competitors.
These additional service elements are a managerial tool by which
managers can distinguishing their organizations style from that of the
competitors along dimensions such as completeness of holiday experience,
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and its cost ,quality and convenience. On tour extra benefit include better
flight scheduling, more comfort or up rated service standards, welcoming
drinks or other tokens and full service at the destination. After the holiday
satisfaction questionnaires, with any follow up needed, may be offered.
convenient purchase of all tourism elements
quality guarantees
protection through branding
convenient arrangements
tourists bundled in to economic groups for transport and
accommodation
reduced marketing expanses
simplified booking and payment arrangements
regular arrival of groups
predictable requirements
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reduced marketing expenses
easy to provide a full holiday for clients
pre-existing market demand
low capital and staffing cost
widespread awareness and interest
easy to expand or change program
standardized products offered
HOW CAN WE DESIGN A HOLIDAY?
Listening and clarifying with the customer.
Checking the interest of the customer.
Preferred mode of travel.
Category of hotel, type of room etc.
How many are traveling (adults and children)
Budget of the traveler
Time and duration of the trip
Type of food
Favorable season of that place
Geography of the destination
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Approximation of expenses that incurred
Knowledge about the activities that can offer by the destination
Knowledge about the entertainments
Backbone of a package tour is itinerary. Itinerary is a detailed plan for a
journey listing places to visit and plan of travel.
Itinerary includes
Main body of the program
Correct information about Number of passengers, nationality etc
Types of transport
Narration of day by day activities
Cost factor
Miscellaneous information
Tour cost
Cost of the tour as per itinerary
Specification about - cost doesnt includes
Other information
- Time difference- About the hotels and restaurants
- Appropriate driving time from one place of the destination to
another place.
- If it is possible to put photographs of the different attractions it
will be better.
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TRANSPORTATION
ACCOMODATION
ATTRACTION
Transportation is defined as means to a destination and means of movement
at a destination. Certain mopes of transport are Roadways
Railways
Airways
Waterways
Ropeways/cable
Roadways manly include coaches and car mainly for freight, tourists and
passengers
Railways mainly include Express trains, Passenger trains SatabdhiAirways we have Scheduled and nonscheduled
Waterways mainly includes ships, ferries and cruises
Ropeways and cable cars: Two types short and long.
The main features are service availability and connectivity, cost
comparison with competitors, design and performance, comfort and onboard
sevice, passenger handling at terminals, confirmation of booking andticketing, image and positioning. Factors affecting selection of transport are
distance and time, comfort, safety and utility, availability and frequency,
competitive cost price, ground services, status and prestige, geographical
position and isolation, departure and arrival times and level of competition
between services.
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Opportunity to see the country side
Interaction with local people
Safety and low operational cost
Low cost vehicles
Possibility of using an alternative vehicle
Extensive availability of repair facilities
Fast and efficient mode of transportation
Carry large volumes- passenger and freight
Higher employment provider and competitive cost
Unparalleled experiences
Fast and reliable
Very competitive
Most comfort way of transportation
ATTRACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
These are which draw the people to a destination. Thedestination should have strongest pull factors, which is capable of draw the
people to that place. It should supplement all the principal components
which will help to as a tourist destination.
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Natural and manmade environment
Culture and festivals and events
Activities
Purpose built facilities
Natural attractions: it may be landscapes, beaches, coral reefs, islands,
deserts, sand dunes, volcanos, montains etc
Cultural attractions: wide variety o features including the aspects of past
and present life styles. It may be social settings which include elements of
history such as castles, palaces, forts and all historical buildings. Or it may
be religious places such as temples, churches and mosques.
Events or festivals: Vast array of festivals, tournaments, business
activities which serve both for tourists and have separate business
function. it may include dance and music festival ,wine or food festivals,
national games, trade shows etc.
Activities: It gives opportunity for the visitor to engage in any activities.
Activity category includes many purpose built / leisure attractions and
facilities include entertainment centers, theme parks etc.
It provides commercial establishment of offering lodging
to travelers and sometimes to permanent residents .it may be hotels,
resorts, restaurants, homestays, motels, floatels, youth hostels, inns, clubs,
palaces, havelies etc.Different types of rooms are also available such as
Single,Double,Twin,King,Queen,Suite,Duplex,Pent house, Cabana
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considerations, but is often treated as a priority in planning personal or
family expenditure. This implies either that the tourists have chosen not to
spend money or time or alternative products and he or she can not visit
alternative destinations during that vacation. The pricing policy adopted
by the inclusive holiday industry have been subjected to increasinglycritical comment ,although for different reasons ,by consumer interest
groups, experienced managers and by academic commentators. The price
at which a service is offered has two functions for the consumer, and of
course it is critical to the service provider. Firstly price act as a primary
signal of quality and accessibility for consumers. Secondly the price fit for
any goods or services is a filter-too high a price excludes the service from
consideration by many people.
There are different types of tours are available in the
market. Based on the type of operation one important classification is
packaged tours.Accomodation and Transportation is two inevitable
components of package tours. Along with sight seeing, local guides are also
provided.Kerala has all the potential to grow as a package tour destination.
Kerala, the narrow green strip of fertile land truly looks like a
tropical paradise and is an experience to relish. Renowned for its romantic
backwaters, serine beaches, lush vegetation, heavenly hills, and spice
perfumed air and amiable culture that embraces many religions.Kerala is
rightly called as the Gods own country. More recently its guests have been
from the world over and have been certified by the National geographic
traveler as one of the ten paradises of the world. A rich art and dance forms
like kathakali and kalaripayattu (martial art) make Kerala a must see
destrination.Kerala abounds in a rich tradition of holistic medicine known asayurveda- a wonderful way to rejuvenate body and soul.
The potentials of Kerala to develop as an inclusive holiday destination
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Backwaters are an amazing phenomenon of Kerala - a necklace
of lagoons lakes, canals and rivers that run through the length of this
beautiful land. In fact much of Kerala's uniqueness lies in its backwaters
found now where else in the world. Visit to the backwater destinations of
Kumarakom, Kollam and Kozhikode can be a most rewarding experience.The lagoons at these destinations with their spectacular view and fringed by
coconut trees have been featured in travel books all over the world. No
journey to the backwaters is complete without a stay on board a
"Kettuvallam" or a houseboat which takes you on a journey through the
length and breadth of the lagoons and waterways!
The Western Ghats mountain ranges make up an impressivefortress all along Kerala. These mountains ranging from the southern tip of
Kerala all the way to Mumbai, on the western coast of India have been a
natural barrier in the eastern border of Kerala and a helping hand to reap the
bounties of both the Northeast and southwest monsoons.
The hill stations of Kerala have drawn the attention of tourists for their
agreeable climate and proximity to the wildlife sanctuaries. These hill
station ranges are also home to most of world's spices and have over the
centuries attained a certain mystique. The principal hill stations are at
Wayanad in North Kerala, Munnar and Thekkady in Central Kerala andPonmudi in South kerala.
The elephants the symbol of kerala, signifying the deep links
that the forests have on the lives of the people of kerala. These forests have
been closely associated with the customs, traditions, and social life of kerala
for centuries. The forests here are indeed some of the most magnificent andvaried found anywhere in the world. To protect the forests and the
multitudes of animals therein. Periyar Tiger Reserve, Silent Valley National
Park, Eravikulam National Park are some among the best managed
sanctuaries in India!
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Kerala is uniquely suited for the adventure traveler the Sea on
the West for water sports, the Backwaters suited for canoeing, the fast
flowing rivers for rafting and the trails along the Western Ghats mountain
ranges which are among the very best found anywhere in India for trekkers.A host of adventure activities have come up in Kerala - trekking,
paragliding, river rafting, mountain biking, canoeing and wildlife / birding
tours. Perhaps no other state in India can boast of all elements of adventure
that Kerala can offer!
Kerala has long stretches of silvery beaches for those interested
in the Sun. Most of it is still in a pristine stage, giving a chance to thewanderer to enjoy these stretches in relative peace. Kovalam to the south of
capital Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala, Cherai, and Alleppy are some of the
best beaches on the Southern stretches of the state.
The beaches to the North are beautiful, unspoiled and not too crowded. The
districts of Kannur and Kasargod have many miles of unbroken silvery
beaches. Some of these have been developed into resorts, but the vast
majority is still there for the travelers interested in Solitude and Sun.
Ayurveda, harmony of body, mind and soul . . . it's a unique,
indispensable branch of medicine. Ayurveda believes in the treatment of not
just the affected part, but the individual as a whole, making it the natural
way to refresh yourself, eliminate all toxic imbalances from the body and
thus regain resistance and good health. Kerala is the land of Ayurveda..
Kerala's equable climate, natural abundance of forests with a wealth of herbs
and medicinal plants and the cool monsoon season are best suited for
Ayurveda's curative and restorative packages!
Isolated from the rest of India by the mountainous belt of the
Western Ghats but with a long coastline open to foreign influences, Kerala
has evolved as a unique culture. Western and Eastern influences have helped
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shape it's uniqueness in culture, art forms, music, dance and the very ethos
of the people of Kerala. Art forms of Kerala range from Kathakali, one of
the dance forms of Kerala considered to be amongst the oldest Indian Dance
styles to the graceful Mohiniyattam. The vibrant and distinct music of
Kerala so closely related to temple festivals and the elegant snake boat raceshave always been the favorite of tourists visiting Kerala.
Kerala has immense potential in the case of adventure tourism.
Tourists can enjoy bird tours, canoeing, trekking and camping and water
sports.kerala is a paradise of bird watcher, with 100s of species of birds.
The birds tour can be conducted from kumarakam bird sanctuary, periyar
tiger reserve, thekkady wild life sanctuary, chinnar wild life sanctuary
etc.kerala is well known for its canals, rivers, lagoons and lakes. These all
makes it an ideal destination for trekking and water sports.
From this brief study of package tourism it is obvious that it
could gain the popularity and could also satisfying the customers. The
history of inclusive holidays is quite brief .after second war it is enabled the
significant number of people to travel. Inclusive holidays have a close
relationship between other forms of tourism. The main elements of this
industry, transport and accommodation, are utilized for a variety of
purposes. The rate of development of this industry and the scope its
operation has exhibited a number of steps related mainly to the introduction
of new technology. Although some dominant companies have emerged inthe inclusive holiday industry, there is no strong leadership in this industry.
The tour operators role in creating package holidays is central to the
inclusive travel industry. Travel agents also have a main role in inclusive
holiday industry. They perform a number of important functions for tour
operators after a holiday sale is made. Tour operators providing logistical
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skills to package travel, accommodation and destination activities in ways
which appeal to the traveling public.
Marketing is also very important in inclusive travel industry.
Tour operators market their holiday packages in the fullest sense; they
develop their products, take pricing decision, promote their holidays tocustomers and travel retailers through appropriate media. The key to tour
operators success is to understand what they want, and to provide it in
convincing, enticing ways. some tour operators specialize in a particular
destination or type of holiday providing services for one , or a few , distinct
segments or niches in the market, and they are therefore relatively small-
scale tour operators have more varied approaches to their businesses. The
market philosophy of small and specialist tour operators is to identify and
service small sections, or niches in the general inclusive holiday
market.Kerala has also a great future in package tourism. Its enormous
potential will be an asset to this type of hlolidays.because it is easy toprepare inclusive holiday itineraries
1. Managing Packaged Tourism by Eric Laws
2. Introduction to Travel and Tourism by Dennis L Foster