Chapter I INTRODUCTION Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23 per cent to the national GDP and 8.78 per cent of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourist visits.1 The tourism industry in India generates about $ 100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to $ 275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4 per cent annual growth rate.2 In the year 2009, 5.11 million foreign tourists visited India. Majority of the foreign tourists come from USA and UK. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were the top four States to receive inbound tourists. Domestic tourism in the same year was massive at 650 million. Andhra Pradesh (24.2%), Uttar Pradesh (20.7%) and Tamil Nadu (17.8%) received the big share of these visitors.3 Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the development and promotion of tourism in India and maintains the “Incredible India” campaign. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/Agencies, the State Governments/ Union Territories and the representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, 1 Tourism Statistics at a Glance, 2009. Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. 2 “Tourism Statistics ENGLISH” (PDF). http://incredibleindia.org/ Tourism_Statistic2008.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-19. 3 “Tourism and Hospitality.” IBEF.http://www.ibef.org/industry/ tourism- hospitality.aspx. 2 cruise, medical and eco-tourism.4 With 34,000 temples of centuries old, Tamil Nadu holds the credit of being the Top State in attracting the maximum number of foreign tourists in India.5 The history of architecture and sculpture in Tamil Nadu begins with the Pallava Temple of the Dravidian Style. UNESCO has declared monuments like living Chola temples at Thanjavur, Darasuram and Gangaikondacholapuram, monuments at Mahabalipuram and Nilgiris Heritage Train, as World Heritage sites. A recent study made by Anu Chandran assumes importance in the context of tourism promotional activities concerned world heritage sites in Tamil Nadu.6 The temples of Tamil Nadu reverberate with spirituality and music. Madurai, Rameswaram, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli have innumerable temples with different deities. Tourism in today’s world is no longer a luxury or mere sightseeing. Even the most common man can attain the status of a tourist. Tourism today has become more of a knowledge based industry. Many people are involved in tourism directly or indirectly. The commercial operations in travel and tourism influence a wide spectrum of areas of development. Now-a-days a lot of factors draw people towards tourism. The important motivations for travel and tourism may be cultural, social, interpersonal, 4 Annual Report 2009-2010, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. New Delhi. 5 Times of India. “Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh build temple ties to boost tourism.” Dt:10.08.2010. 6 Anu Chandran, 2011. “The dynamics of Tourism management in world heritage sites of Tamil Nadu.” South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage. 4(1): 122-133. 3 physical, and religious or what ensues from considerations of status or prestige. Tourism has much scope for development and the development of tourism can develop certain localities, states and even countries. Tourism is one of the major industries in the world and as a result there is a growing awareness of the need to manage it effectively. The largest industry in Thanjavur is tourism which makes it all the more surprising that only a handful of research has been carried out into the operation and management of that industry. Therefore, the aim of the research is to develop a framework to understand and evaluate the implications of stakeholder relationships within a tourism destination in achieving effective power. Tourism means the business of providing information, transportation, accommodation and other services to travellers. The travel and tourism industry is made up of companies that provide services to all types of travellers whether traveling for business or pleasure. Tourism moves people from one region of the world to another. It may be said to be a ‘dream machine’, it helps to realise a dream or fantasy in the tourists for the otherwise toilsome life. The origin of the word “Tourist” can be traced from the Latin word “Tornus” meaning a tool for describing a cycle. This word dates back to the year A.D. 1292 which speaks of the fascination of man and his urge to discover the unknown, to explore new and strange places and to seek the 4 changes of environment and a strong will to undergo new experiences. The Seventeenth century concept of the term ‘Tourism’ was concerned about traveling from one place to another, which would involve a journey touching the principal parts of the country or a region. These principal parts could be the places connected with socio-religious life for the sake of curiosity or to see the new places. Travel in ancient India was a simple affair. The cumbersome procedures involved in travel today were not to be found in the olden days. No travel formalities existed, for example, in the reign of Chandragupta II, and the famous Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien travelled between A.D. 401 and 410 without a passport. However, as early as the third century B.C. a passport or mudra was essential, according to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, for all travellers, and those not possessing the same were fined 12 panas. Each passport had the stamp of a high government official or Mudradhaksha and mudras were checked at various points on the way by local officers. The ‘guide’, as we know today, also existed during the reign of Chandragupta II. During those days one great threat to tourists came from bandits who used to waylay caravans and loot the travellers. In order to avoid such mishaps, caravans usually hired the services of a brave and experienced guide who was thoroughly familiar with dangerous tracts and the ways to avoid them. Senior officials known as antapala were duty bound to protect travellers from bandits and other undesirable elements. The expenditure thus 5 incurred by the state on the safety of travellers was realized by way of toll tax to ward off dangers lurking en route.7 In the words of M.P. Bezbaruah, tourism has emerged as a major phenomenon of the 90s and is projected to be the biggest industry of the future, in many countries like India the significance of tourism’s contributions to socio-economic development are not yet fully realized. The Ministry of Tourism, therefore, has in recent times given attention to create an awareness about the importance of tourism so that the people could participate in this activity and also benefit from the growth of tourism. Tourism being a multi dimensional activity, the impact of tourism development percolates down to many layers and activities which are not always clearly visible. Recently, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has, for this specific reason, focused on the Tourism Satellite system which make it possible to document and account for impact of tourism in all its aspects.8 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Tourism is a highly developed economic activity. It is very useful for all countries particularly the under developed ones. It is also for this reason that the central and the state governments in India are taking keen interest in promotion of tourism. Development of tourism in a country helps to increase the national income, generate employment opportunities 7 M.A. Khan, Introduction to Tourism, p.317. 8 M.P. Bezbaruah, ed. 2000. Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi: Message to Gulab Nabi. Socio-Economic Impact of Tourism, Jaipur, India: Pointer Publishers, p.vii. 6 both directly and indirectly and increase the social and cultural values. Tourism is India has the second largest foreign exchange earner, but its potential has not been exploited to the full. An integrated package of infrastructural facilities like water, power, road, rail and air transportation accommodation and other conveniences will promote tourism to a considerable extent. Tourist traffic in India and especially in Tamil Nadu largely depends on the extent to which these minimum facilities are made available to the tourists. In a developing country like India, general national planning and coherent national programme of tourism industry are especially needed. Tourism is not a single business but it involves many industries and a whole range of complex activities. In order to have a comprehensive practical programme and to derive the desired fruits of its implementation evaluation of various factors and elements in the tourism industry in India has to be made. Now-a-days tourism industry faces several problems like lack of transport facilities, poor accommodation facilities, lack of safety and security, cultural, environmental issues, poor quality food, lack of shopping facilities, lack of communication network etc. Among the several constraints and limitation to the growth of tourism, lack of transport and accommodation facilities hold a lot of importance. Barring a few exceptions, all the tourist resorts are not properly connected with these facilities as a result the various nice tourist spots are not visited by the tourists. 7 In this context, the present study focuses its attention on the development of tourism in Tamil Nadu with a special reference to Thanjavur district. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The faster growth rate of expansion of international tourism is a result of increasing leisure, higher standard of living, technological advance in transport and communication and emergence of the new pattern in the country.