CHAPTER 5 DESTINATION BRAND EFFECTIVENESS OF KERALA TOURISM

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 5 DESTINATION BRAND EFFECTIVENESS OF KERALA TOURISM

2 170 DESTINATION BRAND EFFECTIVENESS OF KERALA TOURISM For studying the Brand Promotion of Kerala Tourism it would be pertinent to conduct a survey on tour operators and accommodation providers. Two sets of questionnaires were designed for tour operators and accommodation providers (property owners) separately. The collected data was separately analyzed. Necessary hypothesis were developed for achieving the specific objectives of the study. Important findings of the study is explained below. 5.1 TOUR OPERATORS: Tour Operators are considered as the true manufacturers of tourism products and they plan the itinerary and conduct hassle free trips for tourists. As part of their marketing strategy, tour operators promote tourism products by communicating the brand attributes to their intended audience. The analysis is aimed to understand the role of Kerala based tour operators in brand promotion of State Tourism. Researcher collected information from 30 tour operators from various places of Kerala. 5.2 PROFILE OF TOUR OPERATORS: The profile of tour operators surveyed was measured with various parameters like offices in other states and abroad and the type of tourists handled by them. The study reveals that only 37 percent of the Kerala based tour operators have offices in other Indian states and 25 percent of them have offices abroad. Sixty percent of tour operators have only one office and 27 percent of them have two offices in the State.

3 171 This highlights that majority of the tour operators are operating from the state and they concentrate on marketing the tours and travels in Kerala Type of tourists handled Study reveals that 80 percent of the tour operators are very keen to handle both individual and group travellers. Seventeen percent of the tour operators prefer to handle tourists as groups while 3 percent of the tour operators are concentrating only on individual travellers. This shows that based on the requirement from the market, majority of tour operators offer their services to both individual and group travellers. 5.3 DURATION OF STAY IN KERALA : The behaviour of travellers with regard to their duration of stay in Kerala is further analyzed with the help of data collected from tour operators. The results are shown in table 5.1. Table 5.1 Duration of stay in Kerala Duration of stay No of respondents Percentage Less than a week One two weeks Three four weeks 1 4 One month one year - - More than a year - - Total Source: Field survey

4 172 Fifty nine percent of the tour operators opined that the tourists coming to Kerala are spending less than one-week in the destinations and 37 percent revealed that tourists stay up to two weeks. Only 4 percent viewed that tourists are interested to stay up to one month and none of them consider Kerala as a place for longer holidays. This supports the findings of tourist survey regarding duration of stay, which states that Kerala is fit for shorter holidays. Stay of tourists for a shorter period in the state will lead to less revenue generation to the exchequer. 5.4 TOURISM MARKETING The role of tour operators in promoting Kerala tourism is studied by measuring the variables such as tourism brand promotion, potential tourism products, mostly promoted destinations, mostly promoted income groups and mostly promoted packages Tourism Brand Promotion Tourism Brand Promotion was measured in terms of Promotion Strategy and Package Offered to the tourists. Researcher has analyzed the various promotional activities adopted by the tour operators in marketing destination, Kerala. The responses for the promotional strategies adopted for the brand promotion of Kerala Tourism are depicted in Table 5.2. Table 5.2 Tourism brand promotion strategy Promotional activities No of respondents Percentage Participation in fairs Through Brochures Direct contact through foreign agencies Agents in other countries Word of mouth Web site Source: Field survey

5 173 Brochures play an important role in the promotion of tourism in the state. Eighty percent of the tour operators revealed that Kerala as destination brand has been brought to the notice of the tourists-both national and international -through the supply of brochures and handouts. Seventy seven percent of the respondents are of the opinion that the web based technology, especially the web sites, has assisted in promoting the tourism brand of the state. The table also shows that 53 percent of the tour operators are participating in the tourism fairs organized with in the country as well as in foreign countries. It is interesting to note from the table that, publicity by word of mouth is an important media for promoting Kerala as a tourist s paradise. Fifty seven percent of the tour operators are of the opinion that the new tourists are arriving in the state due to the recommendations made by their friends and relatives. Forty seven percent of the respondents are of the opinion that they have agents in other countries to establish contacts as well as they have direct contact with foreign tour operators to attract tourists into the state Packages offered An attempt was made to find out the packages offered by the Kerala based tour operators to the tourists. The findings of the survey were given in table 5.3. Table 5.3 Package offered Package offered Frequency Percentage Stand alone package Part of south India 1 4 Both Total Source: Field survey

6 174 Fig. 5.1 Packages offered Both Both 38.46% Stand alone Stand alone pakage package 57.69% 57.69% Part of south Part of South India India 3.85% 3.85% The responses of tour operators with regard to the package offered by them are given in table 5.3 and fig.5.1. As per the table 58 percent of the tour operators offer stand-alone package. It means they totally concentrate on promoting Kerala as a lonely brand to push in the world tourism map. Four percent of them offer the facility to visit some parts of South India like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It is interesting to note that 38 percent of the respondent tour operators offer the package of both Kerala and Southern parts of Kerala.

7 Most potential tourism product The tour operators were asked to identify the tourism product, which in their opinion has the greatest potential for tourism promotion in Kerala. The survey results are given in Table 5.4 Table 5.4 Most potential tourism product Tourism product No of Respondents Percentage Beaches 3 10 Backwaters Ayurveda 7 23 Hill stations 6 20 Medical care 2 7 Culture & Heritage 1 3 Total Source: Field survey Kerala is blessed with backwaters and is the most potential tourism product of the State. As per table 5.4, thirty seven percent of the tour operators revealed that the backwaters of Kerala are the most attractive product in the tourism brand promotion of the state. Twenty three percent of the respondents opined that Ayurveda would emerge as a potential product in the state of Kerala. Hill stations like Thekkady, Wayanad, Ponmudi etc are also paving the way for the tourism brand promotion of the state.

8 Mostly promoted destinations The various destinations in Kerala are offering diverse tourism products like backwater, beaches, hill stations etc to the tourists. The respondents were asked to rank the destinations mostly promoted by them. Multi Dimensional Scaling is used to know the most promoted tourism destination. The dimensional values and graphical presentation are shown in Table 5.5 and Fig Table 5.5 Mostly promoted destinations Number Name Dimension KUMARAKOM THEKKADY MUNNAR KOVALAM KOCHI POOVAR KAPPAD VYTHIRI BEKAL

9 177 Fig 5.2 Mostly Promoted Destinations 1.0 vythiri Vythiri munnar Munnar.5 Kappad kappad bekal Bekal thekkady Thekkady kumarako Kumarakom poovar Poovar kochi Kochi Dimension 2 Dimension kovalam Kovalam Dimension 1 Dimension 1

10 178 Results shows that Kumarakom is the most recommended destination by tour operators followed by Munnar and Thekkady. These places are enriched with tourism products like backwater, hill stations, wildlife and the resorts near these places offer comfortable accommodation with various leisure options. It seems that tour operators are not keen to promote the northern parts of Kerala like Vythiri, Kappad and Bekal. Researcher feels that it may be because of the lack of awareness level of the tourists about these places and shortage of premium properties Mostly promoted package Tour operators provide tailor made package tours to the travellers. In tailor made packages, tourists purchase their trip requirements and in package tours the operators assemble the components of tourist trip like accommodation, transport, entertainment etc into a package. The study examined the packages mostly offered by the tour operators. The results are presented in table 5.6. Table 5.6 Mostly promoted package Category No of respondents Percentage Package Tours 6 21 Tailor made 9 29 Both Total Source: Field survey

11 179 The study reveals that the tour operators provide both tailor made and package tours to the tourists. Fifty percent of the tour operators offer both packages. Twenty nine percent of the tour operators provide only tailor made packages. Based on budget and duration of the trip they design tailor made itineries, which cover maximum number of places of interest in limited time. Twenty one percent of the tour operators provide only package tours Mostly promoted income group Researcher made an attempt to know the income level of the tourist handled by the tour operator. The results are given in table 5.7. Table 5.7 Mostly promoted income group Category No of respondents Percentage High income Middle income Low income 2 7 Total Source: Field survey Table 5.7 shows that more number of tour operators prefer high-income group and middle-income group tourists as their clientele. Forty eight percent of the tour operators concentrate on high-income groups while 45 percent concentrates on middle-income groups. Only 7 percent are keen on business with low-income groups. This will help to bring more revenue to them and to the industry as a whole.

12 Seasonality Problem: Seasonality is one of the widely recognized features of a tourism product. Open-ended questions were included to evaluate the respondents view of seasonality problem in Kerala tourism. Majority of the tour operators opined that the peak season extends from November to January and off-season from May July. 5.5 LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT In tourism sector, government is supposed to undertake an entrepreneurial role to ensure that pioneer activities are initiated, including the development and operation of tourist facilities. In this study, the level of government support towards private sector is evaluated by analyzing the variables such as role of government in promoting tourism, coordination between Department of Tourism and private tour operators, promotional materials and incentives offered to the tour operators Role of government in tourism promotion The role of the government in tourism promotion is crucial, as they can become catalysts for private sector initiatives. Researcher made an attempt to find out the opinion of tour operators regarding the role of Kerala government in tourism promotion. The results are shown in table 5.8.

13 181 Table 5.8 Role of Government in Tourism Promotion Opinion No of respondents Percentage Excellent 3 10 Good Satisfactory 5 17 Not satisfactory 3 11 Poor 2 7 Total Source: Field survey Majority of the tour operators are of the opinion that the state tourism department has succeeded in the promotion of the destination. It was interesting to note that 55 percent of them opined that the performance of the Government in tourism promotion is good. Ten percent of the tour operators expressed it as excellent whereas 7 percent regarded it as poor. Seventeen percent of the tour operators are satisfied with government activities in the promotion of tourism whereas 11 percent did not find it satisfactory Public-Private coordination: For a successful take off of the tourism sector, coordination between public and private sector is utmost important. Eighty one percent of the tour operators opined that there is proper coordination between the Department of tourism and tour operators. Only 19 percent felt that there is lack of coordination between Department of tourism and private tour operators. The results of this study proves that Govt. has succeeded in attaining the confidence of tour operators, and this public- private synergy is necessary for the overall growth of the industry.

14 Promotional materials and incentives: Promotional materials play an important role in destination branding. Regarding the type of promotional materials offered, 75 percent of tour operators opined that they get brochures and 21percent get slides from Department of Tourism. Only 4 percent of the tour operators receive audiovisual presentation of Kerala. Researcher also examined whether these materials were properly distributed among the tour operators to attain this common goal. The study reveals that 67 percent of the tour operators are not getting sufficient promotional materials from the government. This finding points out the need for more efficient distribution of the promotional materials to tour operators, who are the real ambassadors of the destination. This result also highlights the high demand of the promotional materials supplied by DoT. Another major drawback of the Dept. of Tourism, revealed through this research is that, 80 percent of tour operators are not getting any incentives from the government. It is learnt from reliable publications that Government is offering various schemes and subsidies to tourism based industries. But the result of this study pictured an unsatisfied group in this aspect. 5.6 ADEQUACY OF SUPPORTING SERVICES The services of tour operators include arrangement of easy transportation and provision of proper accommodation to suit the budget of the travellers. Study shows that 80 percent of the tours operators have their own fleet of transport and 20 percent have long term tie up with other fleet owners. Most of our tour operators are offering different types of transportations like car, coaches and boats to their customers.

15 183 Regarding the mode of accommodation, most of the tour operators prefer to put their customers in top category hotels. Nearly 36 percent of the tour operators prefer accommodation in 3-star hotels. Twenty one percent of tour operators provide accommodation in 5- star hotels and 25 percent in 4-star hotels. Tour operator s interest level in home stays is also noticeable. Eleven percent of tour operators arrange home stay accommodation for tourists. Only 7 percent are looking for accommodation at a low tariff. Tour operators focus more on high-end tourist instead of mass tourist, which in turn ensures sustainable tourism in the state. But at the same time there is a mixed response towards the room tariff; 66 percent of the tour operators opined that room tariff in Kerala is high compared to the other states while 35 percent rated it as moderate. The study also reveals that 75 percent of the tour operators have regular business association with leading hotels in various places. This enables them to provide customers the best accommodation at attractive prices. Researcher also examined the opinion of the tour operators about the quality of services in the hotels. It is observed that 36 percent of the respondents have rated cleanliness in hotels as the best among the services provided. Only 16 percent of the tour operators believed quality of manpower to be superior. A similar percentage of response (24%) was obtained for provision of local cuisine and quality of rooms in hotels (24%).

16 Shortage of rooms: The study seeks to find out the destinations facing shortage of rooms and the results are highlighted in table 5.9. Table 5.9 Destinations facing shortage of rooms Destinations Frequency Percentage Munnar 9 33 Thekkady 5 21 Kochi - - Kumarakom 8 29 Kovalam 2 9 Kappad 1 4 Bekal 1 4 Wayanad - - Total Source: Field survey Table 5.9 depicted the destinations which face shortage of rooms. As per the results, Munnar stands on top with 33 percent. Nearly 29 percent of the tour operators experienced lack of accommodation facilities in Kumarakom while 21 percent have faced acute shortage of rooms in Thekkady. Less than 10 percent of the tour operators noted shortage of rooms in destinations such as Kovalam, Kappad and Bekal. Tour operators are not facing any such problem in Kochi and Wayanad. Based on these results researcher feels that there is a tremendous opportunity of private investment and public-private participation to set up infrastructure facilities for tourism in Kerala. Wayanad is not fully explored by tourists and tour operators and hence the result.

17 INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES Infrastructure facilities are imperative to make Kerala tourism a super brand. Tourists seek a wide range of facilities and services that are provided by different suppliers at different stages of the trip. Accommodation, transportation and communication forms very important part of tourism infrastructure. Tourism develops in those areas where extensive transportation network is available. Transportation is the means to reach the destination and also the means of movement at the destination. Proper maintenance of road is essential since it provides regular direct route services for short and medium distances to the destination. Accommodation facilities are the core component in the tourist supply. An efficient communication network is vital for upholding and augmenting tourism activity. Thereby it becomes relevant to review the infrastructure facilities especially in view of maintenance of roads, accommodation, transportation and communication. The opinion of tour operators about the infrastructure facilities in Kerala is depicted in Table Table 5.10 Infrastructure facilities Infrastructure Facilities Poor (%) Satisfactory (%) Good (%) Excellent (%) Total (%) Road maintenance 19 (62%) 8 (28%) 3 (10%) _ 30 (100%) Transportation 6 (21%) 14 (45%) 10 (35%) _ 30 (100%) Communication 5 (17%) 6 (21%) 16 (52%) 3 (10%) 30 (100%) Accommodation 2 (7%) 4 (14%) 23 (76%) 1 (3%) 30 (100%) Source: Field survey

18 186 As the table demonstrates, majority of the respondents have good opinion about the accommodation facilities but found the quality of roads in Kerala as poor. Seventy six percent of tour operators considered the accommodation facilities as good whereas 14 percent felt it satisfactory. As regards communication facilities, only 10 percent of the respondents found it excellent. It is also noted that 52 percent of the respondents indicated facilities to be good and 21percent considered it as only satisfactory. Thirty five percent of the tour operators considered transportation facilities to be good and 45 percent as satisfactory. About 62 percent of the respondents viewed that the conditions of roads in Kerala is very poor and it is the major drawback of many tourism destinations. 5.8 HOSPITALITY UNITS: Researcher feels that the study of Tourism Brand Promotion will not be complete with the survey of tourists and tour operators. Accommodation providers are also playing an important role in tourism promotion. Therefore data were collected from hotels and resorts, which are located in nine districts, Thiruvananthapuram (10), Kollam (1), Alappuzha (2), Kottayam (2), Idukki (5), Ernakulam (5), Kozhikode (2), Wayanad (2) and Kasargode (1). 5.9 PROFILE OF UNITS: The profile of properties comprising hotels and resorts surveyed was measured with four parameters - Status of the hotel, Category of hotel, No of employees in the organization and Nature of tourists handled.

19 187 The properties included 59 percent holiday resorts and 4 percent business hotels. Twenty percent of the properties were positioned as Heritage and 15 percent as Health resorts. It is revealed that Fifty eight percent of properties belonged to 3- star categories and the remaining form various other categories of hotels such as 2-star (14 percent), 4-star (14 percent) and 5-star (14 percent). About 87 percent of the responding hotels handle both individual tourist and group travellers. Ten percent of the hotels are handling only individual travellers and 3 percent are dealing with only group travellers. The researcher enquired about the number of employees in hotels in order to know the employment potential in hospitality sector. Table 5.11 No of employees No of employees No of respondents Percentage Less than Above Total Source: Field survey

20 188 Table 5.11 reveals that the total number of employees employed by 43 percent of the properties is under 50. Twenty percent of the respondents have employees in their organizations ranging between About 23 percent of the respondents said that the strength of their employees ranges between A very few units are employing more than 150 employees. So the interesting fact is, 56 percent of the accommodation providers are directly employing more than 50 employees in their properties which gives a clear picture of employment generation in this industry and the resulted economic growth Occupancy status: The average occupancy rate was more than 60 percent for 77 percent of the hotels. The researcher was interested to know the influence of room rate in the occupancy rate for hotels in the state. For this, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used as the statistical tool. The Hypothesis framed is Room rate and Occupancy rate are independent. The results are depicted in table 5.12.

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22 190 Coefficient of average room rate is statistically significant at ten percent. Average room rate can be taken as a proxy for the facilities provided by tourist units. Results reveal that one percent increase in average room rate increases occupancy rate by 0.2 percent DURATION OF STAY: The researcher examined the trend of duration of stay of tourists in properties. The results are displayed in table Table 5.13 Duration of stay in properties Duration of stay No of respondents Percentage One day 1 3 Two Three days One week 6 20 More than one week 2 7 Total Source: Field survey Seventy percent of the respondents opined that their guests usually stay between 2-3 days in their properties. One week stay in hotels are represented by 20 percent and only a few respondents said that their guests stayed for more than one week. Results of both tourists and tour operators survey also gave similar findings, that further highlight the fact that Kerala is considered a preferable destination for shorter holidays.

23 NATIVITY OF TOURISTS The researcher was concerned to know the nationality of foreign tourists accommodated by the properties. With this intention the respondents were asked to mention the countries from where they got most guests. Multi Dimensional Scaling was conducted to analyze the market performance of different countries. The dimensional values of different countries are given in table Table 5.14 Country of origin of foreign tourists Number Name Dimension U.K U.S.A MALDIVES FRANCE GERMANY SRILANKA ITALY AUSTRALIA SWITZERLAND

24 192 Fig. 5.3 Country of Origin of Tourist.6 germany Germany.4.2 USA u.s.a switzerl Switzerland.0 maldives srilanka Maldives Srilanka France france u.k U.K -.2 italy Italy Dimension 2 Dimension australi Australia Dimension 1 Dimension 1

25 193 The results of MDS shown in graph 5.2 indicates that UK is the top of all tourist generating countries for Kerala and this is followed by France, Germany, Italy, USA, Switzerland, Srilanka, Maldives and Australia MARKETING INPUTS : Properties are formulating different strategies for marketing their products and services, which in turn leads to the promotion of Tourism destination. Therefore the researcher collected and analyzed information regarding the use of various media in promotion, source of getting advance booking from the tourists, use of tagline, package offered to the tourists, mostly promoted income group and tie-ups with tour operators Channels of promotion Hotels and resorts are using various channels for promoting tourism products and services in India and abroad. Table 5.15 summarizes the different channels used by them for their promotion. Table 5.15 Channels of Promotion Channels of promotion No. of respondents Percentage Participation in fairs Through Brochures Direct contact through foreign agencies 9 30 Agents in other countries Advertisements Web site Source: Field survey

26 194 Since this is a multiple-choice question the percentage does not add up to 100. It is evident from the above Table 5.15 that participation in fairs is the most used marketing medium by the units in Kerala. Seventy three percent of the accommodation providers use brochures for their promotion. Sixty percent of the hospitality units studied give advertisements in various media inside and outside the country and 53 percent depend on agents in other countries for product promotion. Only 33 percent of the respondents mentioned website as their medium of publicity and 30 percent prefers promotion through foreign agencies Source of advance booking Table 5.16 highlights the various sources of advance booking at hotels. Table 5.16 Source of advance booking Source of advance booking No of respondents Percentage Direct entry Internet 9 30 Tour operators & travel agents Total Source: Field survey The data reflected in table 5.16 reveals that direct enquiry is one of the main sources of advance reservations at hotels in Kerala, which is certainly good news for Kerala Tourism. Thirty seven percent of the respondents opined that they get reservations mainly through direct enquiry whereas 33 percent of the respondents pointed out tour operators and travel agents as the preferred source of advance booking. The use of

27 195 online reservation system is denoted by 30 percent. Researcher feels that vast scope of this area is yet to be exploited Use of tagline Respondents were asked to mention the use of tagline attached to the name of the properties in the marketing. About 85 percent of the properties have designed taglines in order to create an attachment with the brand and to connect with their clients. Ninety five percent of the respondents feel that these taglines are helping them in brand positioning. The results affirm the view that slogans and taglines enhance awareness about the destination and build a beneficial brand image Package offered Survey results show that 56 percent of the hotels are providing both package tours and tailor made tours to their guests. Twenty two percent of the properties are offering only package tours and a similar percentage of hotels are offering only tailor made tour iteneraries to the travellers Most potential tourism product Respondent properties were asked to give their opinion about the most potential tourism products in Kerala.

28 196 Table 5.17 Most potential tourism product Tourism products No of respondents Percentage Beaches 2 7 Backwaters Ayurveda Hill stations 5 13 Culture & Heritage 3 10 Total Source: Field survey The analysis as per table 5.17 displays that ayurveda and backwaters are the most potential tourism products in Kerala. A few respondents identified beaches as the most potential tourism product. Thirty five percentage of the properties preferred Ayurveda and Backwaters as the most potential tourism product. Hill stations were denoted as the most potential tourism product by 13 percent of the hotels and culture and heritage by 10 percent of the units Super Brand Awareness The researcher wants to know awareness level among the respondents regarding super brand status of Kerala tourism. Ninety seven percent of the respondents are aware that Kerala is one of the super brands in India.

29 Mostly promoted income group Like tour operators, majority of the accommodation providers are interested in handling high income and middle income segments as their clients. Results show that 55 percent of the respondents are focusing on the high-income groups and 41 percent on the middle-income groups. Only 4 percent of the properties are interested in low-income group Tie up with tour operators Majority of the properties have tie up with tour operators. About 70 percent of the respondents have direct business association with the tour operators in Kerala LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT Researcher tries to find out the level of Government support to private players by way of incentives and promotional materials. It is seen that 35 percent of the facilitators are benefiting from various incentives offered by the Government. Eighty three percent of the respondents revealed that they are getting sufficient brochures through Department of Tourism, 11 percent are getting videos and 6 percent are getting slides Public-Private co-ordination: Eighty nine percent of the respondents opined that there is better coordination between Department of Tourism and facilitators. Regarding the role of government in tourism promotion, 33 percent of the respondents expressed good opinion whereas 20 percent remarked it as excellent. Forty percent of the respondents considered the efforts of the government as satisfactory and 7 percent felt not satisfactory.

30 ADEQUACY OF SUPPORTING SERVICES For an effective provision of quality tourism experience, the organizations need to offer a variety of supporting services to its guests. Researcher has considered transportation facilities, backwater cruise, bar facility, conference facility and ayurveda as the supporting services provided by the hospitality industry in Kerala. An attempt has been made to understand the various services provided by the accommodation providers in Kerala to the visiting people. Table 5.18 Adequacy of supporting services Response Supporting Services Yes No Total (%) (%) Transportation 29 (97%) 1 (3%) (100%) (100%) Backwater cruise 27 (90%) 3 (10%) 30 (100%) Art forms 26 (87%) 4 (13%) 30 (100%) Bar facility 7 (24%) 23 (76%) 30 (100%) Conference 26 (87%) 4 (13%) 30 (100%) Ayurveda 22 (73%) 8 (27%) 30 (100%) Source: Field survey

31 199 Table 5.18 reveals that 97 percent of the accommodation providers arrange transportation facilities for their guests. Researcher feels that it will enable them to give better service to tourists that will lead to high customer satisfaction. Ninety percent and 87 percent of the respondents reported that their guests request for backwater cruise and art forms respectively. The study further reveals that the properties make arrangements for backwater cruise and art forms in order to meet the request of their guests. In Kerala there are lots of restrictions to obtain a bar license and government is collecting huge amount as license fees. The table shows that only 24 percent of the properties have a bar attached to the property. Sixty four percent of the facilitators are of the opinion that bar facility is required for customer satisfaction and revenue generation. Eighty seven percent of the facilitators have their own conference halls with various capacities, attached to the property. This indicates that properties are very keen on promoting the MICE concept. Seventy three percent of the properties are offering ayurvedic packages for their customers. Adequate transportation infrastructure is one of the important pre requisites for the development of any destination. Therefore it becomes relevant to consider the role of accommodation providers in arranging transportation facilities to the tourist. The results are depicted in table 5.19.

32 200 Table 5.19 Arrangement of transportation Response No of respondents Percentage Own fleet of vehicles Long term contracts with other fleet owners 5 17 Casual contracts with fleet owners 7 24 Total Source: Field survey Results of table 5.19 show that 59 percent of the hotels have their own fleet of vehicles. The rest of them are outsourcing the services to various fleet owners. Seventeen percent are arranging transportation through long-term contract with other fleet owners while 7 percent arrange through casual contracts with fleet owners. In order to know the potential of MICE tourism in Kerala the researcher enquired about the seating capacity of conference halls in various hotels. The results are presented in table Table 5.20 Conference facilities Seating Capacity No of respondents Percentage Less than Above Total Source: Field survey

33 201 It is also observed that 35 percent of the properties have conference hall, which can accommodate people whereas 31 percent of the properties have conference hall that can accommodate people. Nearly 23 percent of the properties have conference hall with more than 150 seating capacity. Researcher made an attempt to understand the facilities for ayurvedic treatment in hotels and resorts. Out of 30 accommodation providers only 22 provide ayurvedic packages to the tourists. It is interesting to note that only 18 hospitality units have government-approved ayurvedic centres. Though the duration of ayurvedic treatment depends on the suggestion of the doctors, the study reveals that usually one week package is offered by majority of the units DISCUSSION The study gives a clear picture of the profile of the tour operators and the type of tourists they handled. Most of the tour operators surveyed were operating only from Kerala and their business interest is exclusively in Kerala tourism. The profile of the tour operators also shows the scope of this industry through their outside branches. Thirty seven percent of the tour operators have offices outside the state and 25 percent have offices abroad also. Destinations may benefit considerably from the national and international marketing network of tour operators. Researcher also noted that our tour operators have much confidence to handle the tourists as group or individual. Findings of table 5.1 are in tune with result of the tourist survey. Like domestic tourists, majority of the tour operators consider Kerala as a destination for shorter holidays. Seventy percent of the accommodation providers are also of the same opinion. Researcher considers that this perception of Kerala as a shorter holiday destination as a major factor,

34 202 which may adversely affect the image of destination Kerala. It seems that the state has yet to showcase the diverse products and services to the target audience and have to benefit out of it. The various promotional strategies adopted by the tour operators for strengthening the destination are explained in Table 5.2. The highest priority was given to brochures and a fairly high priority was accorded to web site information. The least priority among the promotion strategies was given to the promotion of tourism through agents in other countries and direct contact through foreign agencies. The study conducted by Palmer Adrian 1 (2003) also supports the significance of website in tourism promotion. It reports that internet facilitates a stronger presence for individual tourism suppliers in the market place, who are now able to reach their potential markets more directly. It offers great flexibility for tourism suppliers operating in volatile markets. The promotional message can be changed much more quickly than in the case where the requirement to print brochures leads to long lead times between a policy decision being made and the implementation of that decision. Connolly 2 (1998) also considers tourism related services as the leading product category that is to be promoted and distributed to consumer markets through the Internet. Results as per table 5.3 points out that a major portion of the tour operators market Kerala as a stand-alone package. A small percentage of tourists sell Kerala as a part of South India. Researcher feels it as a notable point that highlights the conscious efforts of these private players in the promotion of destination branding. Table 5.4 reports the opinion of the tour operators regarding the most potential tourism products in Kerala. The results highlight backwater as the most potential tourism product whereas less response is obtained for culture and heritage. This observation is found reinforced by the findings of tourist s survey. Researcher feels the preference for

35 203 backwater is perhaps due to the reason that these products can attract more quality tourists, which in turn helps to garner more revenue for the state. These results highlight the need for fully tapping the potential of this natural gift to Kerala, the backwaters. A considerable number of tour operators have also suggested ayurveda and hill stations as potential tourism product. It also appears from the table that some tour operators are giving preference to beaches, Medical care and culture and heritage. The MDS as per table 5.5 and fig 5.2 reveals that Kumarakom is the most promoted tourist destination in the state. This suggests that there is regional imbalance in tourism development in the state. This again supports the finding that tour operators are highlighting Backwater as the Unique Selling Proposition of Kerala. Other destinations promoted by tour operators are Munnar, Thekkady, Kovalom and Kochi. Research also proves that tour operators are showing less interest in promoting the destinations in North Kerala such as Vythiri, Kappad and Bekal. This may be due to lack of basic infrastructure and amenities for tourists. In order to enhance the overall appeal of destination Kerala, it is necessary to highlight the various tourism destinations within it, which are blessed with a wide variety of attractions. Over selling of tourist destinations like Kumarakom and Munnar may create ecological imbalance, which in turn affect the sustainability of the destination. The results as per table 5.6 highlight that most of the tour operators offer both tailor made and package tours, which may produce high customer satisfaction. It is also evident that tour operators concentrate more on tailor-made packages than package tours. Tourists will frequently differ in their perceptions, expectations and desired satisfaction of the tourist places. Customized packages offered by the tour operators will cater to the specific needs of the travellers.

36 204 Result of table 5.7 shows the various segment where the tour operators are interested. As per the figures from this table tour operators are more interested in handling cash rich customers especially high income and middle-income group. Researcher feels that higher economy, higher disposable income, changing lifestyles and higher consumer confidence index is resulting in more people going on holidays. Tour operators identify this group as their target segment. The study also points out that Kerala is being turned into a quality tourism brand with the help of tour operators. They focus on quality conscious upmarket tourists who contribute to sustaining and preserving the natural splendors of this land, which in turn help to earn more revenue. These results also match the efforts of Department of Tourism. The tourism vision aims at promoting and marketing Kerala tourism products at national and international levels thereby making Kerala a premier global tourism destination. The study reveals that the problem of seasonality has always existed in the industry though it has accentuated in the recent years with the diversification of tourism products in different destinations. Recently introduced concepts like monsoon tourism, MICE, grand Kerala shopping festivals etc. help the state to keep the season more live and lengthier. Result of table 5.8 give a picture of tour operators comments on the role of the Government in the promotion of tourism. Majority of the tour operators expressed their happiness in the present style of functioning of the tourism department. Government of Kerala has already executed lots of promotional exercises in the tourism industry, while such activities are absent in other states. According to Venu. V (2008)3 Kerala tourism participates in more than eight or nine international fairs every year and Kerala conducted ten business oriented road shows in the year 2007 alone.

37 205 The investigation on the destinations facing shortage of accommodation facilities as per table 5.9 reveals an interesting fact that Kochi and Wayanad are the two spots that do not face any shortage of rooms. Though the tourists survey identifies Kochi as the highest - visit destination, it does not face any shortage of accommodation. This may be because this city is filled with a number of hotels and resorts with different status. The shortage of rooms is mainly found in destinations such as Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom and Kovalam. This may be due to the fact that these destinations are oversold during peak season and this emphasizes the need for more premium hotels here. It is quite surprising that though Kappad and Bekal are the least promoted by the tour operators, they face shortage of rooms during peak seasons. This necessitates the development of more accommodation facilities in these destinations. Table 5.10 demonstrates how adequate our infrastructure is in hosting a large number of tourists. Majority of the respondents have good opinion about the communication and accommodation facilities in Kerala. This result shows a positive aspect of Kerala Tourism because lack of adequate infrastructure of roads and transportation may adversely affect the image of the destination. The result of table 5.11 gives a picture of employment generation in the hotel industry. Since the figures mentioned here is the direct employment in the hotel industry, the creation of indirect employment will definitely be higher than this figure. It supports the reported fact that tourism is the sector which has the highest employment potential in Kerala. The recent increase in the number of Hotel Management institutes also justifies this finding. Result of table 5.13 is also in tune with the survey result of tourists and tour operators in the case of duration of stay in the hotels. Majority of accommodation providers

38 206 agreed that average stay of the guests in the property is 2-3 days. It slightly contradicts with the survey results of hotel industry that state capital s four-star, three-star and two star hotels have the highest length of stay by foreign guests and leisure guests at 4.5 and 4.3 respectively 4. The sample survey of hospitality units reveals a number of valuable information. The survey results as per table 5.14 shows that UK is the most potential market for Kerala Tourism followed by France and Germany. Department of Tourism is regularly conducting promotional activities like road shows, fairs and exhibitions in some of the countries mentioned above. It hints that in order to generate more tourists inflow to the state from other countries, Dept. of Tourism and facilitators must extend their promotional activities in the untapped markets also. Table 5.15 emphasises the importance of various media in tourism product promotion. It is evident that participation in fairs is the most used marketing medium by the units in Kerala followed by brochures and advertisements. It is a fact that through tourism fairs, hotels get a chance to showcase their products and services to the buyers from the various parts of the country and abroad. It may be the impact of the recently popularized and effective travel fair, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). Now it has become one of the countries largest brands, which is a fine example of public-private participation and it has already created a positive wave in the tourism industry. In the study, it is seen that only 33 percent of the units used website as their medium of publicity which is quite surprising considering its possibilities in the present technological age. Website is considered as the cheapest and most effective communication medium, which provides innovative options in marketing. Researcher feels that Kerala based accommodation providers are yet to exploit fully the tremendous potentials of this

39 207 medium. The result of table 5.16 is quite interesting that most of the properties in Kerala are getting direct booking from travellers. It is also clear that online booking is becoming a prominent media for advance booking in hotels. However, it is true that there is an increasing trend in the hospitality sector to use internet as an effective medium which is supported by the report that with increased internet security, usage and increased penetration of computers in urban India the percentage of hotels using websites for reservations and promotions has gone up. Majority of the hotels and resorts have attached taglines with their names and have emphasized its significance in tourism marketing. Like tour operators, majority of the properties are also providing package tours and tailor made tours in order to attract varied segment of travellers. Table 5.17 reports the opinion of hotels with regard to the most potential tourism product. It is seen that majority of the tour operators give due weightage to backwater and ayurveda. Table 5.18 reveals that majority of the properties are arranging facilities like transportation, backwater cruise, art forms and ayurvedic treatments. This helps in the joint promotion of the destination and sprucing up of the facilities & infrastructure at the destination. This promises the tourists a hassle-free holiday in Kerala. Only 24 percent of the properties have bar facility. Many of them believe that bar facility is necessary for customer satisfaction and revenue generation. Majority of these properties offer onetwo weeks packages which will helps them to sell more rooms and generate more revenues too. Ayurveda also helped to create more employment opportunities. Table 5.19 reports that majority of hotels have their own fleet of vehicles whereas others enter into casual or long term arrangement with other fleet owners.

40 208 Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) is comparatively a recent tourism product development which has a major impact on the revenue stream for hotels. Majority of the hospitality units studied provide MICE facilities. But it is evident from table 5.20 that only a few hotels have conference hall that can accommodate more than 200 people. The above results provide an understanding of the role of tour operators and accommodation providers in bringing together the tourists and the destination.

41 209 REFERENCES 1. Palmer, Adrian; Destination Branding and the Web, Destination Branding, Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd, Connolly, D.J; Olsen, M.D. and Moore, R.G,. The internet as a distribution channel. Cornell Hotel and restaurant administration quarterly, 1998, p Venu.V, House boats classification on cards, Travel Trends Today,Vol.24, Issue No 6, 2008, p Indian Hotel Industry Survey , FHRAI Magazine, Vol.6, Issue 4, 2006, p.50.