Chapter Three Destination Marketing In Maharashtra Part One Tourism In Maharashtra - An Overview Chapter Three Destination Marketing In Maharashtra - Part One Tourism In Maharashtra - An Overview Layout 1. Introduction 2. What does Maharashtra have? 3. Primary Observations On Maharashtra 4. SWOT Analysis Of Maharashtra 5. Challenges before Maharashtra 5.1 Challenges before Highly Popular Destinations 5.2 Challenges before Modestly Popular Destinations 5.3 Challenges before Upcoming Destinations 5.4 Conmion Challenges 6. Prerequisites 6.1 Physical Factors And Amenities 6.2 Policy, Procedure And Implementations 7. How to promote Maharashtra 8. RoleofMTDC 9. Conclusion 69 1. Introduction: Maharashtra- Maha Rashtra means great nation in Marathi, the official language of the state. The name itself is a very realistic adjective. A versatile and vibrant piece of land has so much to offer to the country and to the world, which can rarely be matched. Mumbzii, formerly known as Bombay, is the state capital. It also happens to be the financial capital of the country and a major International Airport and Seaport. Pune, another multifaceted city, educational and cultural capital, is situated 180 Km. Southeast of Mumbai. Promoting tourism in Maharashtra means encouraging people from other states and other nations to visit Maharashtra to experience the heritage, culture, natural beauty etc. and also encouraging them to spend time and money. It also includes encouraging Maharashtrians to travel within the state and get more acquainted with culture and other aspects of the state. Creating a positive environment and offering a well-designed attractive package of benefits to induce people to visit Maharashtra is what the Destination Marketing from Maharashtra point of view, all about. Tourism promotion, primarily, is a job of a government. Without Govemment support tourism would not prosper. Somehow the state government has not taken Tourism activifies very seriously. It has simply not understood the potential of this industry in the right perspective. Several reasons can be idenfified for such a poor performance, such as 70 a) Lack of vision, b) Lack of political will, c) Appointments made at the top level are basically political. However, the researcher is of the opinion that instead of discussing the past, thinking of tomorrow is more important. 2. What does Maharashtra have? To begin with, the categories of tourist destinations offered by Maharashtra are listed down to get a fair idea of the variety it possesses. > Nature - • Hill Stations • Beaches • Wildlife • Lakes and Water Falls > Wonders • Hot Springs • Lonar Lake > Manmade - • History and Heritage • Caves • Forts • Monuments • Museums • Social Institutions • Anadvan and similar • Arts and Culture • Music • Dance • Folk Arts • Paintings • Religion <• Medical • Education 71 • Entertainment and Recreation • Amusement Parks • Picnic Spots • Zoos • Theatre Such a varied choice is rarely available in any other state. This is the treasure, Maharashtra is proud of. With tourist attractions of such variety and magnitude, any state would have been in an enviable position in the tourism market. Unfortunately Maharashtra could not capitalise on this treasure in the past. Following are the few observations about the present facilities and status of tourism in Maharashtra. These observations are factual and objective. 3.Primary Observations On Maharashtra > It is a rare example of underutilisation of potential > List of tourist destinations in Maharashtra encompasses almost all probable categories of tourist attractions > M.T.D.C. is the only government body for tourism in the state. > No active Department of Tourism. > Infrastructure sector is not yet improved. > Existence of State owned road transport service as well as private operators. > Road conditions are not impressive. > Satisfactory railway network; however the network needs to be expanded to accommodate various upcoming tourists places. > Railway service is not really geared up for tourism. > 1 International Airport and 4 domestic airports in operation. > Airline network is insufficient. 72 > Mumbai is mainly used as a transit point > Seaports are mainly used for cargo. > Only one palace hotel. > Except big cities hotels and restaurants are not up to the mark. > Aurangabad and to some extent Gharapuri are the only destinations at present those are attracting foreign leisure tourists prominently. > Lack of coordination among various government agencies such as Airline, Railway, S.T. M.T.D.C. etc. > Literature on various destinations, authentic maps etc. not available on large scale. > Banking and other support systems are not flexible enough. > Overall hygiene level is poor. These are just few observations. The list is not exhaustive; still it gives a fair idea of the status of various tourism related factors in Maharashtra. 4. SWOT Analysis For Maharashtra In the modem business study process analysing the phenomenon with the help of SWOT analysis is well-accepted and standard practice. It is the best way to analyse the phenomenon objectively. Therefore the researcher has used this technique to analyse the prospects of the state. This method gives a fair view of the total situation and it becomes easier to draw inferences on the basis of such analysis. Since SWOT analysis of the state from tourism angle was not done earlier and hence was not available for reference, the researcher has taken special efforts to devise such analysis. He has done the SWOT analysis 73 totally independently and it is based on his observations as well as tourism pamphlets and other related literature published by the MTDC and others. The Internet sites of MTDC and Government of Maharashtra have also been referred for some relevant information. This analysis is aiming at understanding the whole situation more objectively. As you know SWOT analysis is used to understand the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, Maharashtra may possess. This technique can be used to analysis any concept, Institution or even a Personality. SWOT ANALYSIS FOR MAHARASHTRA STRENGTHS WEAKNESS • Natural factors • No serious attempts • History • Poor infrastructure • Culture • Poor maintenance • Industry • Poor projection of image • Education • Mindset of the society • Religion • Lack of formal education at • Food higher level for tourism and • Increasing conununication related subjects network • Mumbai - major international airport, seaport OPPORTUNITY THREATS • Utilisation of natural factors • More pressure on civic • Organising festivals amenities • Industrial exhibitions and trade • Environment damages fairs • Cultural pollution • Seminars and conferences • Competition from other states • Sports & education • Any related/unrelated factor Table No. 3.1 This table is designed by the researcher himself and can be considered as his contribution. 74 As everyone knows, in such analysis all aspects of the phenomena are studied. Along with what do we have and what can be done, probable difficulties, shortcomings and limitations are also discussed in such exercises. Weakness is the area, which needs to be understood with rational and open mind. These weaknesses would not go immediately but action to overcome them must be implemented at the earliest. Tourism promotion and development by no means is a short-term activity giving quick results. It is a gradual process euid success would depend on how fast one overcomes the weaknesses. It is believed that the opportunities are always around you, what you require is proper vision, wisdom and strength to recognise and grab such opportunities. The strengths, Maharashtra is having, such as physical resources, natural resources, the open mindedness it has exhibited in the past, the courage and adventure it has shown from time to time in various fields, convince that it is capable to grab and make maximum use of the available opportunity. Maharashtra faces threats at two levels, i.e. internally and externally. The extemal threats are from other states like Goa, Kamataka and many more. Internal threat is related to people of the state, their mindset, lifestyle etc. What looks like a weakness, may turn into an internal threat if not handled carefully. 75 Threats and weaknesses discussed here are rather general but the combined form of these two can be described as challenges, which are more defined and specific. They can be identified rather easily and solutions can be sorted out without much confusion. Therefore the weaknesses and threats, the state may face are presented here in the form of challenges to facilitate more detailed discussion. 5. Challenges Before Maharashtra The basic challenge to be handled with the help of SWOT analysis is that of how to convert the weaknesses into strengths and the threats into the opportunities. For this particular study purposes the challenges can be broadly grouped on the basis of the popularity level of the destinations. It is presumed that the destinations having similar level of popularity may face almost the similar challenges. As said earlier, apart from such commonly faced challenges, the individual place may further have its peculiar challenges. Such individual and peculiar challenges are kept out of the scope of the present study. Such categorisation would make it easy to understand the concept of challenges and the strategies to overcome them. To rationalise these chdlenges the destinations in Maharashtra have been broadly categorised into 3 sections on the basis of their popularity. The