Chapter Three Destination Marketing In 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. , another multifaceted city, educational and cultural capital, is situated 180 Km. Southeast of .

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 •

> 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. > 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 main reason for considering popularity as a base for categorisation is that the destination, in spite of the geographical size or level of development, faces the challenges related to the number of tourists visiting the place. The tourists visit the place on the basis of the popularity of the place.

76 Higher the popularity of the place more people tend to visit. Most of the problems are related to people visiting or not visiting the place. Therefore the categorisation is based on the popularity. The categorisation is as follows: a) Highly Popular b) Modestly Popular c) Upcoming 5.1 Challenges Before Highly Popular Destinations: - > Maintaining quality and standards to keep the satisfaction level very high. > Perpetual efforts to offer something new to attract repeat visitors. > Expansion and development to attract more visitors. > Taking precautions about any kind of adverse publicity. 5.2 Challenges Before Modestly Popular Destinations: > How to maintain balance between self-identity and imitation. > Image building and positioning. > Development and expansion to attract more visitors. > To keep the price level under control. > Improve standards and quality and offer more options to the visitors regarding stay, food, transport, attractions etc. > More focused marketing efforts to encourage the tourists to spend more money and days at the destination. > Keeping a close watch on the purpose of visit of the tourists 5.3 Challenges Before Upcoming Destination: > To create one's own niche market and loyal tourists. > Attracting tourists from other destinations. Offering formidable options.

77 > Creating an infrastructure to offer and assure minimum comforts to the tourists. > Generating funds and other resources to develop the place. > Close watch on the purpose of visit. > Close watch on types of tourists getting attracted towards the destination. > Political and social stability. In addition to these challenges, there are few ones, which are common to every tourist destination irrespective of the category or popularity of the same. These challenges are v£did for practically every place and they are more of a general nature. 5.4 Common challenges: > Identifying and measuring the tourism potential. > Understanding the physical limitations of the place - location, geographical conditions etc. > Generating the required resources - manpower, money, etc. > Support from local community. > Tourism laws. All these above mentioned challenges are not mutually exclusive i.e. all these categories of destination can have similar challenges £is well. The bifurcation made above is primarily to identify the peculiar challenges faced by the destination at various stages of popularity.

Philip Kotler in his book 'Marketing Places' discusses the challenges from more generalized angle. The challenges discussed in the book are primarily related to the economic problems faced by the place, survival of the place, etc. and they are not very tourism specific. However, since

78 tourism is also a major economic activity and as it also helps to attract investments towards the place, the researcher thought it suitable to discuss even those challenges mentioned by Philip Kotler. The challenges identified by Philip Kotler in the book "Marketing Places' are: 1. Places are increasingly at risk as a result of the accelerating pace of change in the global economic, political and technical environment. (Image/character changes or fate or fortune of a place is at a stake.) 2. Places are increasingly at a risk as a result of normal processes or urban evolution and decay. 3. Places are facing a growing number of competitions in their efforts to attract scares resources. 4. Places have to rely increasingly on their own local resources to face the growing competition. The abovementioned challenges are quite general and are applicable to any place. They are not necessarily from tourism perspective, however they still are aptly relevant from a point of view of any tourist place.

Even in case of a tourist place one observes these kinds of variations and the changes in the popularity of the place. In fact one of the main reasons to have new and fresh tourist destinations on a regular basis, is the change and the process of decay as mentioned above as one of the challenges.

The suggestions made by Philip Kotler against the challenges mentioned in the book are also not quite tourism specific. The responses to the challenges according to Philip Kotler are as follows:

79 1) Places need to establish a strategic vision to face these challenges. 2) Places need to establish a market oriented strategic planning process to face these challenges. 3) Must adopt a genuine market perspective toward their products and customers. 4) Places have to build quality into their programmes and services to compete with other places. 5) Places need skill to effectively communicate and promote their competitive advantages. 6) Places need to diversify their economic base and develop mechanisms for flexibly adopting to changing conditions. 7) Places must develop and nurture entrepreneurial characteristics 8) Places must rely more on private sector to accomplish their tasks. 9) Each place needs to develop its own unique change process as a result of differences in the place's culture, politics and leadership processes. 10) Places must develop organisational and procedural mechanisms to sustain place development and maintain momentum once it has begun. These suggestions are quite useful but the present study focuses on more specific situations hence the suggestions also need to be more specific and relevant. In case of Maharashtra and tourism development in the state, the responses to the challenges are discussed not as remedies but as prerequisites. If the prerequisites are fulfilled then the whole process of tourism promotion in Maharashtra would be quite an easy task. Mainly

80 the Government - Local or State or Central as the case may be, is expected to fulfill most of the requirements mentioned below.

6. Prerequisites 6.1.Physical Factors And Amenities: a Communication network • Electricity • Law and order situation a Other infrastructural factors 6.2.Policy, Procedure And Implementation • Identifying present and prospective Tourist Destinations a Establishing Local Tourism Authority (Discussed adequately in chapter 6, Recommendations and Suggestions). a Travel Laws (Discussed adequately in chapter 6) a Long term Tourism Policy, • Short Term and Long Term Action Plan to implement the policy. a Marketing Plan and Budgeting. a Understanding, recognising and incorporating private sector help • Identifying specific needs of an individual destination. • Identifying Short term and Long term financial needs. a Revenue Projections. a Allocating seed capital to start the development work. • Establishing proper network of Local Tourism Authorities, Department of Tourism and International Representatives. • Tourism Ministry should get high priority in the Government Machinery. With such support system any tourist destination can handle the challenges more confidently.

These are the few basic prerequisites, which the government has to comply but the list does not end here, the private sector also has to comply with certain quality norms. Last but not the least, the positive emotional and social framework and mindset of the local residents towards the whole exercise is the most essential prerequisite.

7. How to promote Maharashtra? Tourism is such a unique activity where return on investment is earned not only in monetary terms but also in the form of social and cultural development. At times tourism marketing in India in general and in Mah£irashtra in particular looks like a ^garage sale'. Like old, used, unkempt, unwanted articles are sold through such sale, tourism authorities are doing precisely the same. If the tourists are expected to pay a good price then the destination must be presented in much better manner, may be some value addition is required to attract more tourists. Such value addition is called as destination development.

It is difficult to cover in detail all the steps and measures to be taken to market the whole state. This marketing process aims at bottom to top approach, i.e. marketing of an individual tourist destination to combined efforts of all such destinations to make it a state level marketing activity to project the whole state as a cohesive tourist destination. The marketing

82 attempt must begin at an individual destination level and through a proper network and coordinated activities it should reach at state, national and international level.

Every destination would be having a peculicir USP, it would be at a different level of development and popularity, therefore, it would need different marketing strategies and plans. However some common and uniform activities would be discussed in the present chapter. 1) Participation in various travel trade fairs 2) Establishing offices at various main cities in the country and having a due representation at international level. 3) Financial and tax benefits to encourage investments in new hotels recreation centres and similar projects. 4) Efficient and effective information booths at all airports, railway stations, bus stations and central commercial area. 5) Sponsoring various events, competitions at tourist destinations like dance and music festival or sports events etc. 6) Designing 'Suggested Itineraries'. 7) Palace on Wheels (proposed and is in pipeline.) 8) Transport passes for the state by rail, S.T. and air services. 9) Flexi Hotel Passes. (Open dated hotel vouchers) 10) Coordination with the tourist authorities of other states. 11) Organising Conferences and trade fairs in the state. 12) Highlighting satisfactory level of Law and Order situation 13) Facilities available or introduced, especially during festive season at various religious places and at other destinations should be highlighted. 14) Encouraging tour operators from other states and countries to conduct tours of the state. The focus of these common efforts should be on attracting the tourists towards a particular destination or towards the state as a whole, whereas the marketing efforts at individual destination level go one step beyond and also focus on satisfaction of the tourists and thus assuring a repeat visit to the same destination of such tourists.

Four main objectives of the marketing efforts at the destination level are as follows. • Creating curiosity • Awareness • Action • Satisfaction Though Curiosity and awareness are the factors primarily looked after by the Tourism Authority of the state, the private sector also has a major role to play. TARIIF (i.e. Transport, Accommodation, Recreation, Infrastructure, Intermediaries and Food,) influences the visit decision (Action). People decide to visit any place on the basis of the quality of the TARIIF. The last component of the marketing efforts, i.e. "satisfaction', is mostly the responsibility of TARIIF, but without the support of other factors they can't achieve the required level.

To have a successful marketing activity, in this case, existence of sound tourism policy and planning with mission statement is utmost necessary. A comprehensive and long-term developmental plan not only takes care

84 of the tourist attraction but also looks after the other needs of the society, as a whole.

Accountability, Punctuality, money back guarantee etc. are few aspects of good work culture which would also help promoting tourism. The tourism development should aim at sustainable tourism. Balance between environment and development should be well maintained.

S.RoleOfMTDC As stated earlier, the present study focuses on positive aspects i.e. 'what can be done' part of the situation rather than discussing 'what went wrong' and 'who is responsible'. Therefore the role of MTDC is studied here as the only government agency and its contributions and achievements.

The following observations are objective and there is no intention of making any value judgment on the performance of the organisation. However the suggestions made in the later part of the chapter or thesis do consider the lacunas and underachievement of the organisation. Instead of criticizing it for any failure, the researcher is interested in understanding its limitations and make positive suggestions to improve the image of MTDC and simultaneously help it to market the state. This is based on the information provided by the sr. manager of MTDC, Pune region and the Internet sites of MTDC and Maharashtra State Government.

85 The recent information available from the Internet site of Government of Maharashtra (GOM) regarding thrust areas for investment revels that all types of industries are listed but there is no mention of any thing directly or indirectly related to tourism industry. The exact contents of that section are reproduced below for the ready reference.

2 • investing m thru$t sectorSM^harashtra has firmly established itself as India's most pro-business state and the country's industrial powerhouse. Maharashtra continues to attract large amounts of new investments and remains at the forefront of India's liberalisation process. The following activities have been identified as thrust areas based on the potential. Investors are advised to make an in-depth study before venturing into the project.

Processed Food Industry Leather Industries Software Electronics Textiles and Readvmade Garments Gems and Jewellery Chemical Industry Automobiles and Auto Ancillaries Basic Metals Drugs Phannaceuticals

Tourism appears nowhere in this list neither it appears in any other document. This negligence is not purposeful but it is sheer out of ignorance. Sooner they realise at the government level better it is for the prospects of the whole industry.

Maharashtra is one of the last states to recognise tourism as an industry. MTDC conducts the surveys, undertakes various other activities to promote tourism and runs hotels at various destinations in Maharashtra. Overall it looks like a case of gross confusion at government level on the role of MTDC and its relation with government, its accountability and

86 various related issues. It is also true that nobody in the government would accept this very easily.

When one says that the GOM has not taken the tourism sector seriously, MTDC and its conceptualisation, promotion and other related factors just support the feeling expressed. It seems that, since other states started their ^State Tourism Development Corporations', Maharashtra could not afford to be left behind, hence GOM also started MTDC. It never looked like the GOM had any serious intentions of doing anything meaningful in the field of Tourism. Just have a look at the way it was started.

The Department of Tourism of the state was converted into MTDC as a limited company fully owned by the Government Of Maharashtra. The old rest houses. Dak bungalows of various government departments and ministries were handed over to MTDC as seed capital, to run them as hotels. Most of these properties were not in good conditions, the layouts and architecture and ambience; nothing was suitable to use them as a hotel. In addition to this the locations of such properties were not the prime ones from the tourism point of view. Therefore MTDC had to put lot of efforts and spend money to renovate the properties.

The way properties were given; the staff was also transferred from various departments. Tourism is a specialized job; it requires special skills and knowledge. It is a job of a professional; but for GOM it was just another department to adjust the staff.

87 Being the only government body in the field of tourism in Maharashtra, huge responsibility lies on MTDC. Though it is understood that tourism promotion is a primary responsibility of the government, MTDC cannot be totally held responsible for the miserable status of tourism in Maharashtra.

MTDC is facing some kind of identity crisis. Tourism promotion was understood by MTDC as identifying various places as tourist destinations and building and running of hotels at all such places. Besides the hotel business MTDC also gets involved in other activities such as conducted tours, city sightseeing, water parks etc. However if any other organisation, especially the local body, shows interest in these allied activities then at the first instance MTDC prefers to withdraw from that activity to allow such organisation to takeover. This is another peculiarity of the activities of MTDC. This policy is totally in accordance with the philosophy MTDC believes; and that is, tourism development is a primary responsibility of the local government.

GOM had announced two tourism policies recently, viz. 1993 and 2000 During this research, both these documents were studied. Such documents indicate that government is doing something for tourism development. Most of the plans mentioned in 1993 policy have not been executed as per the schedule. The biggest example is of Sindhudurga project. As per the policy was announced as an international tourist destination. Unfortunately till date no results have been achieved. The concept behind identifying this district was to take advantage of the spillover traffic from the neighboring state of Goa.

88 However the concept and its implementation are nowhere near to the required standards. Places like Karwar, Gokama, Devbag beach and Murudeshwar from Kamataka are in better position and getting their own traffic as well as the spillover business from Goa^

To be called as an international destination the place needs to undergo lot of changes, physical as well as attitude wise. There have been no, smallest, indications of such changes in that district. Even the MTDC admits that the work is not getting completed as per the schedule.

In 1993 policy at least there was some attempt to take a review of the position of the state in the world tourism scenario and project some development plans of more comprehensive nature like the Sindhudurg Project. There have been some inputs of vision in that policy as compared with the latest policy.

In the latest policy various schemes are being offered for construction of hotels and similar components of superstructure. These schemes are in the form of • Invitation to the private sector enterprises to build the superstructure, • List of minimum expectations, • Concessions available, • Zone wise places where such projects are welcome. There is no comprehensive thought behind it. Though GOM claiming it as a pohcy it doesn't talk about the aims and objectives and the stance of the government. It looks like a simple proposal for the private sector.

89 MTDC is supposed to execute these policies. Truly speaking MTDC doesn't look competent enough to handle all aspects of such deals. MTDC is expected to do everything and to be responsible for everything that goes wrong. However, on professional level the things do not tcike place in this fashion.

Another hindrance in the functioning of MTDC is the absence of appropriate boss, as there is no separate department of tourism. In the recent reshuffle in the ministry, an exclusive minister for Tourism is being appointed but this arrangement does not look like an outcome of any long-term policy matter but may be out of political compulsions. Such examples are evident enough to prove that GOM is not really interested in doing something for tourism. In such circumstances it is not justified to blame only MTDC for underdevelopment of tourism in Maharashtra. The most amazing part is that the GOM doesn't realise that there is something seriously wrong in the whole process.

Whatever efforts are being taken to promote tourism in Maharashtra are considered as sufficient; and also considered that may be, nothing more is needed and /or nothing more can be done in this respect. When it comes to tourism, the GOM thinks in a very rigid manner; again, not purposefully but because of ignorance. GOM thinks that promotion can be done in the same way as it has be conducted for years and it is to be done up to a moderate level.

The whole attitude has to be changed. First the government has to understand, the income and prosperity potential of tourism then it will

90 have to understand its responsibility towards tourism and then it will have work in that direction.

9. Conclusion But who is going to bell the cat? The researcher hopes that the Government of Maharashtra would soon realise the facts and would support wholeheartedly the most promising industry of the world, 'TOURISM'.

With this the study goes further to analyse the ways and means of marketing Maharashtra as a tourist destination with the help of case studies of three categories of the tourist attractions viz. Beaches, Hill Stations, and Caves. However, before the actual case studies are discussed, the next chapter tries to analyse the basic process of development that should be adopted to market any destination.

' No specific statistics available. This is the observation of the researcher himself during his recent visit to Kokan, Goa and coastal Kamataka.