ISSN (Print): 2279-0020 International Association of Scientific Innovation and Research (IASIR) (An Association Unifying the Sciences, Engineering, and Applied Research) ISSN (Online): 2279-0039 International Journal of Engineering, Business and Enterprise Applications (IJEBEA) (Open Access, Double Blind Peer-reviewed, Refereed and Indexed Journal) www.iasir.net SWOT Analysis of Mathura Tourism: A Brief Study of Domestic V/s Peregrine Tourist visits in Braj Region Rashmi Agrawal, Tulika Goyal, Shweta Singh 1,2,3Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, BSA Degree College, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA 1Research Scholar, Singhania University, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan 333515, INDIA 2Research Scholar, GLA University, Mathura, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh 281406, INDIA __________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: Tourism today is a leisure activity of the masses. People today peregrinate to international destinations to break the conventional monotony of life. An Uttar Pradesh, a northern state in India, where a minute town infused with such level of divinity and piety does subsist in authenticity–Mathura! A mythic town of the olden days, Mathura is the birthplace of the most lovable, the darling of all Gods, the blue hued God of the Hindu Pantheon - Lord Krishna and aptly forms the heart of BrajBhoomi (Brajbhoomi can be divided into two distinct units - the eastern part in the trans-Yamuna tract with places like Gokul, Mahavan, Baldeo, Mat and Bajna and the western side of the Yamuna covering the Mathura region that encompasses Vrindavan, Govardhan, KusumSarovar, Barsana and Nandgaon). Brajbhoomi is kenned for its affluent culture and allures thousands of pilgrims every year during the illimitable festivities in the region. Every destination has some internal strengths and weaknesses that either enhance its capacity to magnetize peregrine visitors or diminish it. Similarly the external environment can originate various opportunities or threats as well. Consequently an endeavour is made in this research paper to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Mathura tourism so that the same can be utilized to increment its popularity among peregrine and domestic visitors. The main focus of this paper is to ascertain the popularity of Mathura region among Peregrine and Domestic Tourists. It is desideratum of the time that regime should identify the potential of Mathura as tourism destination and apperceives the weakness to overcome. To make it leak proof it is very paramount first to identify where the loopholes are. If the threats are not judged now, Mathura would be nowhere on the list of tourists. The paper additionally fixates on the SWOT analysis of Mathura Tourism. Keywords: Tourism, SWOT Analysis, Foreign Tourists, Domestic Tourists, Mathura tourism __________________________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction Tourism: The organisation of holidays and services for tourists.’ – Oxford Dictionary. Tourism revolves around novelty-seeking, and modern technology has made it talismanic for the tourist to seek out white virginity of the Polar Regions, to fly into space, and to discover the exoticism of the ‘other’. Tourism results in expansion of the mind and adventure of the soul; it promotes peace and amity in this strife torn world; it is an exercise in deontology to conserve the resources; an environmental pilgrimage; and can also work for the benefit of the poor and the destitute. Tourism today offers a strange world of experiences that needs to be studied thoroughly. “Tourism is a basic and most desirable human activity deserving the praise and encouragement of all people and all Government.” This statement made at the XXI United Nations General Assembly in 1967, acknowledges the importance of the tourism industry. Tourism's contribution to the world economy is second only to that of oil and is set to better it in another few years. It is therefore a small wonder that many countries in the world are concentrating on the tourism sector to boost up their economies. It was after the Second World War that tourism emerged as an industry pushed along by rapid advancements made in the field of communications and transport. This makes tourism the fastest growing industry worldwide. This "smoke-less" industry acts as a catalyst for socio-economic development and also encourages mutual understanding by bringing into its fold a large variety of activities and individuals which include trades businesses, shopping, lodging, catering, transport arts and crafts, religion etc. The tremendous positive impact created by this widely accepted and flourishing industry has stimulated various nations to channelize their efforts in developing their tourism industry and gear up to meet the ever escalating demand. Uttar Pradesh, the heartland of India, dominates the nation in culture, religion, language and politics. Situated in the vast steamy plain of the Ganges, it boasts of a history that’s very much the history of India, and its temples and monuments – Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim – are among the most impressive in the country. The state, adjoining Delhi has always been close to India’s power centre. Agra, once the Mughal capital is still the biggest IJEBEA 17-108; © 2017, IJEBEA All Rights Reserved Page 28 Rashmi Agrawal et al., International Journal of Engineering, Business and Enterprise Applications, 19(1), December 2016-February 2017, pp. 28-33 draw among the visitors, both foreign and domestic. Lucknow once a part of the Kingdom of Awadh is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Mathura-‘The holy city of UP .Mathura in western UP is frequented by pilgrims from various parts of the world .Mathura has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of Mathura- vrindavan tourism and its increasing popularity among the foreign and domestic tourists in India and also various problems or challenges faced by national and international tourist while visiting Mathura-Vrindavan. II. Objectives of the study: 1. The increasing trend of Mathura tourism in past years across the world. 2. An internal and external factor (swot analysis) that affects the satisfaction level of visitors. III. Research methodology: Research methodology is partly descriptive, partly exploratory and partly casual. The aim of the paper is to identify the role of SWOT analysis in the formulation of tourism development strategies for destinations. The research material is composed of secondary data amassed from the literature, bibliographic studies and documents. Secondary data is accumulated from the official website of Ministry of tourism, Regime of India, Peregrinate and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) issued by World Economic Forum and different journals and books. And the major source of secondary data were various websites through which we came to know about sundry experience faced by tourists during their journey (trip advisor, mouth shut etc.) IV. Limitations of the Research Study: This research study is basically based on secondary data which may not be reliable The proportion of foreign tourists in the analysis was very less. V. Growth of Mathura –Vrindavan Tourism: Tourism industry is changing rapidly worldwide and its impact also affects India and also some of the most important destinations or states of our country. Matura - vrindavan is one of them. It is now one of the most important tourist destinations of the up state as explained below: ARRIVAL OF FOREIGN TOURIST IN MATHURA- VRINDAVAN REGION FROM THE YEAR 2011 TO 2015 60000 50000 40000 2011 30000 20000 2012 10000 2013 0 2014 2015 The above study reveals that Vrindavan has become most popular place in Braj Region among foreigners in 2015. But the no of foreigner’s visitor’s visiting Mathura remains consistent throughout the years. ARRIVAL OF DOMESTIC TOURIST IN MATHURA- VRINDAVAN REGION FROM THE YEAR 2011 TO 2015 15000000 10000000 2011 5000000 2012 0 2013 2014 2015 IJEBEA 17-108; © 2017, IJEBEA All Rights Reserved Page 29 Rashmi Agrawal et al., International Journal of Engineering, Business and Enterprise Applications, 19(1), December 2016-February 2017, pp. 28-33 There is a great hike in the no of visitors visiting vrindavan and goverdhan in 2015 .though the position of Mathura is consistent throughout the years. ARRIVAL OF TOURIST IN MATHURA-VRINDAVAN REGION ACROSS THE WORLD 15000000 10000000 2011 5000000 2012 2013 0 2014 2015 With our study we found that in the past years the trend of visiting the braj region was consistent but in 2015 there is a vast change in the number of tourists .hence the trend of visiting Braj Region is increasing yearly across the world. TOP 15 PLACES IN U.P ACCORDING TO DOMESTIC TOURIST VISITS IN YEAR 2015 ALLAHABAD AYODHA VRINDAVAN TOP 15 PLACES IN U.P ACCORDING TO FOREIGN TOURIST VISITS IN YEAR 2015 ALLAHABAD VRINDAVAN AGRA MATHURA If we compare Braj Region with other top 15 tourist places in U.P the results shows that Mathura is somewhere lacking in attracting tourist. Although Vrindavan has became a major Tourist destination across the world. VI. SWOT Analysis of Mathura- Vrindavan Region STRENGTH Mathura city is The Most Auspicious Holy Place, the Birth place of lord Krishna and situated near the bank of Yamuna River. Brijwasi Group (a specialist of sweets) has the distinction of making Mathura Pedas, a