“Role of Hospitality Services in Gujarat Tourism”
Mr. Chanduji Thakor
Mr. Mitul M. Deliya
Assistant Professor
VJKM Institute of Management
Computer Studies, Vadu(N.G)
E-mail ID - [email protected]
Assistant Professor
S. K. College of Business and
Management, Hem. North Gujarat
University, Patan – 384 265
E-mail – [email protected],
[email protected]
Abstract
“Aavo Padharo”, words of welcome in the language of Gujarat because it is here that
these words ring truly and the guest is 'God' and the people of Gujarat are gregariously
friendly, inviting and will entice you to come again and again. The term “hospitality”
meaning friendliness. Travel and tourism, hotels and restaurants constitute a major
portion of the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry is fairly well developed in
India. Hospitality services are playing an important role in the Indian Economy. This
Industry is also facing many problems which must be considered very seriously. The
present study covers the role of hotel services in Gujarat and the impact of tourism in
India’s economic development. The present condition of this industry shows that India
has got bright future, because of the tremendous developments taking place in this service
industry. The guests invited for tours be treated in a real deluxe style as Indian tradition
says “Guests God”. We should use the best hotel and the best transport available in the
country.
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Keywords :- Hospitality, Tourism, Employment Opportunity
Introduction
Sky is the limit for marketing services. During the past decade, services have increasingly
assumed an important role in the Indian economy. Hotels are a major service industry in
India. Their significance is undoubted. A number of international hotel chains have come
to India, either independently or with a tie-up with an Indian partner. The Government of
India’s tourism department has also realized their importance and started classifying them
on the basis of the standard of their facilities. An effort is also being made to promote
India through its tourist offices all over the world.
A man who leaves home to mend him and others is a philosopher; but he who goes from
country to country, guided by the blind impulse of curiosity, is a vagabond.
-
Oliver Goldsmith
Tourism has also become an instrument for sustainable human development including:
• Poverty elimination.
• Environmental regeneration.
• Job creation.
In the Indian perspective, we find seventh five year plan as watershed in the development
of tourism Industry. For the first time, the vast potential of tourism as a foreign exchange
earner and generator of employment opportunities was recognized. Several policy
initiatives were taken to develop the tourism sector. In the development of tourism, the
public sector has made a significant contribution. Of late, the industry is equipped with a
reasonable infrastructural base and is poised for a self sustained growth. The future
growth of tourism is required to be designed on the basis of low-cost economy, higher
level of productivity, efficiency in the use of infrastructure and sophisticated tourist
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facilities. In the Eighth Five Year plan (1992-97), the special tourism areas had been
selected, and during the Ninth Five year Plan (1997-2002), we looked forward to
energizing the process of development, but the image problem was found to be
complicating the task of professionals.
GLOBAL TOURISM STATUS
According to WTO, in the year 2006 saw 842 million International tourist arrivals and
tourism receipts were of the order of US $ 682 billion. The World Travel & Tourism
Council (WTTC) for 2006 forecasts that Travel and Tourism will generate 234 million
direct and indirect jobs worldwide, accounting for 8.7% of the global economy and
contributing 10.3% of the global GDP. According to the same estimate, the global travel
and tourism activity is expected to increase by 4.7% between 2007 and 2016. The World
Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates a 4.5 per cent per annum increase in the
total amount of travel and tourism economic activity between 2002 and 2012. This is
largely attributed to a rise in overall global wealth and use of the Internet as a travel tool.
Secondly luxury travel will increase drastically this year.
The WTTC report projects that by 2016 the total travel & tourism activity is expected to
post a total demand of economic activity of US $ 12,118 billion. The world’s travel &
tourism is expected to contribute US $ 2,969.4 billion in nominal terms (3.6% of total) by
2016. The travel & tourism economy contribution is expected to reach US $ 8.971.6
billion (10.9%) in the year 2016. By 2016, travel & tourism is expected to create 9% of
total employment or one in every 11.1 jobs and is expected to get capital investment in
both public & private sector by US $ 2,059.8 billion or 9.6% of the total global
investment. The Government is expected to spend on travel & tourism US $ 480.9 billion
or 4% of total government expenditure by 2016.
INDIA TOURISM
The year 2006 has been a highly successful year for India. For the fourth successive year,
India witnessed a positive growth in foreign tourist arrivals, reaching a level of 4.43
million against 2.38 million during 2002. The growth rate of 13.04 % during 2006 was
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achieved over 52005 and the share of India in world tourism is expected to be around
0.52%. Foreign exchange earnings has reached US$ 6569.34 in 2006 and marked an
increase of 14.63 % over 2005 (US $ 5730.86). In absolute rupee terms, the increase in
foreign exchange earnings during the year 2006 was Rs 4431.31 crores over 2005.
Tourism is the third largest net earner of foreign exchange next to garments, gem and
jewellery industry, recording earnings of US $6569.34million in 2006 (Rs 29603.56
crores). India’s share in the total global tourist arrivals and earnings remained quite
insignificant at 0.52 % of the world arrivals and the percentage of share of tourism
receipts for 2006 was 0.90 %.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals to India (In million).
Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
Arrivals
2.38
2.73
3.46
3.92
4.43
% Change
(-) 6.0
(+) 14.3
(+) 26.8
(+) 13.2
(+) 13.0
Growth in 5 years i.e., 2006 over 2001: 86%
Source: Ministry of Tourism.
The Tourism product consists of accommodation, recreation, restaurant, attraction, and
Transportation. Accommodation is the prime factor for tourism product. In this
accommodation, hotel captures the major place. For managing the hotel services, it is
essential that we are also careful about the hotel accommodation facilities.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India also decided to bring the industry under
one platform by spearheading the idea to form the Confederation of Indian Travel &
Tourism Industry (CITTI). 2010 also was the year of major consolidation like Travel
Services International being acquired by Yatra.com.
The scope of travel and tourism is truly immense: in the last six years, it has created 11
million jobs and has the potential to create another 37 million jobs (estimated by the
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NSSO, Ministry of Tourism) of the 120 million projected requirement by 2020. India's
full growth potential is yet to be realized, when we compare it with other major tourist
destinations. For example, the hotel capacity in India is 95,000 rooms against 4.8 million
in the US and 1.2 million in China.
Spiritual Tourism in India and Gujarat
Gujarat accounts for 6% of India’s GDP and the State Domestic Production (SDP) stands
at around US $12 bn. “Aavo Padharo”, words of welcome in the language of Gujarat
because it is here that these words ring truely and the guest is 'God' and the people of
Gujarat are gregariously friendly, inviting and will entice you to come again and again.
On behalf of everyone in Gujarat we extend towards you our very warm welcome. The
main intention behind creating this website is to share the colors, the romance, the
heritage, the insights as well as the mystique that entwines this Gujarati legend. It is an
attempt to equip you with all the relevant information, tools and resources needed to
make your journey enriching, uncomplicated and enjoyable. The Gujarati soul is
embodied by its regular everyday people. We hope that to some extent, this website will
also connect you with the warmth and celebratory spirit of its people.
Gujarat sends largest number of travelers to almost every corner of the world. But its
strength to be host has not been fully utilized due to the lack of information highway.
Gujarat Tourism offers colorful experience to its travelers packed with pleasant surprises
- endowed with forests and deserts, hills and plains, sea and lakes, tribal hinterlands and
special interest destinations with a strong rail, road and air network. Eight tourism hubs
have been created, which are Ahmedabad Metro, Ahmedabad Rural (North Gujarat),
Surat (South Gujarat), Vadodara (Central Gujarat), Rajkot, Junagadh & Jamnagar
(Saurashtra) and Bhuj (Kutch), for convenience of tourists visiting Gujarat.
These hubs are well equipped with the modern infrastructure, facilities and services in the
areas of commerce, communication, connectivity, hospitality, transportation, medical
facilities etc
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Spiritual Tourism is the largest tourist sector in India: more than 70% of the domestic
tourist movement is for the religious purposes and 20% of the revenue in tourism industry
is generated by religious tourism (Cox and Kings 2008-09). A study by the Delhi based
National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) shows that the largest
proportion of trips are religious, accounting for 50 percent, whereas leisure tour packages
account for 28 per cent. In Gujarat Ahmadabad, Ambaji, Dwarka and Somnath are the
major tourist destinations accounting for over 33% (47.41 lakhs) of the total tourist flow
in the state. (TCGL 2006-07)
Tourist Flow at Major Religious Destination in Gujarat
Source: GITCO
Bollywood icon and Gujarat brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, who has promoted
areas like Kutch and Dwarka, will lend his rich baritone and charismatic presence to
attract tourists to some more picturesque spots in the state, including this pretty hill
station.
Bachchan has so far promoted the Kutch region, Dwarka, Somnath and Gir National
Park. These places have seen an increase in tourist arrivals, including a 30 percent rise in
foreign travellers, "Gujarat's tourism has grown and now we stand on fifth spot among
states in India, after Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa. Tourist arrivals have
increased over the years. In 2006-07, the figure stood at 1.27 lakh, which increased to
1.70
lakh
in
2009-10.
In
2010-11,
nearly
two
lakh
tourists
arrived.
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"Over the next two years, the Gujarat government will pump in Rs.650 crore towards
developing tourism activities and promoting tourism infrastructure.
Increase approved quality accommodation units from the current level of about 100,000
rooms to at least 200,000 rooms by 2011, to meet the increasing demand. Set up hotels on
the surplus land with Airport Authority of India near International Airports as per the
international practices. TOURIST ARRIVAL PROJECTION FOR GUJARAT
DOMESTIC
INTERNATIONAL
2007-2008
350000
20000
2008-2009
400000
23000
2009-2010
500000
26000
Source: Press Information Bureau
TOURIST ARRIVAL PROJECTION FOR GUJARAT
DOMESTIC
INTERNATIONAL
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
350000
20000
400000
23000
500000
26000
20102011
600000
30000
20112012
700000
40000
Source: Press Information Bureau, Friday, April 11
Significance of the Study
Hotel services play a vital role in Tourism. They are:

Multi-faceted developments in the business environment.

Migration of rural population to the big towns and metropolitan regions.

Pilgrims are found visiting the scared places.

A reservoir for the foreign exchange flows.

Enrich peripheral service.

A strong advocacy in favor of employment orientation.
Statement of the Problem
Tourism plays a vital role in the development of our economy. It is the best possible
solution to India’s economic development. It provides employment opportunity to the
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society. The objectives of tourism also coincide with the national objectives. Tourism has
served the society for the past five decades and achieved its objectives in many ways.
Tourism is widely scattered, manned by people with poor managerial competence,
working with limited resources. Further it suffers due to the poor services to the society
and lack of promotional methods and absence of quality control. Keeping this fact in
mind, an attempt is made to study the service of tourism in Gujarat.
Objectives of the Study
The study has been made with the following set of objectives:

To know the significant role of Tourism in India’s GDP

To know the role played by the Hospitality services in Tourism.

To know the market segments and the financial performance of Hospitality.

To know the level of employment opportunities provided through Tourism.

Identify and develop tourist destinations and related activities.

Diversifications of tourism products in order to attract more tourists through a
varied consumer choice.

Comprehensive development of pilgrimage centres as tourist destinations.

Create adequate facilities for budget tourists.

Creation of tourism infrastructure so as to preserve handicrafts, folk arts and
culture of the state and thereby attract more tourists.
Research Design
The study covers the role of hotel services in Gujarat and the impact of tourism in India’s
economic development. It also covers the contribution made by the tourism sector in
foreign exchange earnings. To elaborate this study secondary data has been collected and
analyzed.
The secondary information was collected from the report of Tourism and Culture
Department of Gujarat. Standard books, Journals, articles and websites were also referred
to.
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Analysis and Discussion
The Share of Tourism in India’s GDP

In India, contrary to popular belief, it creates more jobs than the traditional
industries of agriculture and automobiles and accounts for 5.9 per cent of GDP,
making it the largest contributor after the oil and gas industry. And yet, the Indian
travel and tourism industry is not a mainstream industry; its full potential is yet to
be recognised by the government.

The service sector’s share has grown from 43.69% in 1990-91 to 51.16% in 199899.

Within the service sector, the share of trade, hotels and restaurants increased from
12.52% in 1990-91 to 15.68% in 1998-99.

The Union financial Budget 2006-07 had allocated Rs.8.5 billion for Indian
tourism sector in the tenth five year Plan. Having increased the service tax to 12%
there is more expected revenue for the government.

Tourism yields substantial foreign exchange in India. It is turning into a volume
game where a large number of participants are contributing to the revenue of the
Industry. Segments such as hotels, tour operators, airlines, shipping, etc., are
significant contributors to this revenue.

The share of travel and Tourism industry to the global GDP was 6.48% in the year
2007 with the value of $ 3,493.19 billion and industry demand contributed to
13.21% of global GDP in 2007.

According to the report by World Travel and Tourism council, India Currently
ranks 18th in Business travel and will be among the top five nations by the end of
2010.
Market Segmentations of Hotels
The marketing segments of hotel service s are classified into three groups (figure 1)
They are as follows:
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1. A common classification of hotel market segment is according to the purpose of
visit by guests, i.e., Holiday-tourism oriented, business-traveller oriented, and
conference oriented, or foreign versus domestic traffic oriented. These terms tend
to be equivocal as they relate to a particular type of traveller or customer
irrespective of the market segment to which he belongs. For instance, a foreign
tourist staying at luxury hotel may be on business on his company’s expense
account. Similarly, a guest staying at a luxury hotel may be a businessman for
whom the address and image of the hotel are important enough to justify the
tariff. On the other, when he travels for pleasure or for social purpose, he may
stay in the same luxury hotel or one with the lower tariff, depending on the
purpose of the visit.
2. Customer traveling in groups comprises another segment, so do meeting and
conference groups. Therefore, the hotel market segments correspond to the basic
market packages in terms of spending power as also social classificationsupper/upper-middle/lower.
3. Special groups are important segment in India, namely, non-vegetarian or
vegetarian. Vegetarian hotels may attract the same category of customers as for
the non-vegetarian group, who would naturally evaluate and choose hotels
according to the purpose of their visit and stay, consequently, the tariff are
prepared to accept.
Figure 1: Classification of Hotel Market Segments
Marketing
Segments
Independent
Guests
Groups
Special
Groups
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Financial Position of Hospitality Services
Table 1 reveals that the financial outlay was increased year after year, and at the same
time the actual exceed the budget estimate.
Table 2 reveals that the turnover increased from 2006-07 to 2007-08 to 13% and also
gross profit increased to 21%. The turnover of Hotel Division for 2007-08 is Rs. 41.43
crore compared to the turnover of Rs. 36.44 crore achieved during the year 2006-07
recording a growth during the 14%. The lodging, catering and bar sectors recorded
significant growth during the 2007-08. The average occupancy level increased by 4%
during the year.
Table1: Financial outlay
Year
Budget Estimate (Rs. in cr.)
Actual (Rs. in cr.)
2004-2005
30.35
31.29
2005-2006
32.42
37.04
2006-2007
46.04
63.57
2007-2008
45.25
51.53
Source: Tourism and Culture Department, Tourism Policy Note2008-2009
Table 2: Financial Performance
Details
2006-07
2007-08
% Grwoth
Turnover
51.70
58.40
13
Gross profit
7.84
9.20
21
Source: Tourism and Culture Department, Tourism Policy Note2008-2009
2007-2008 due to up gradation of major hotels. The occupancy levels of Gujarat Tourism
Development Corporation hotels increased to 59% in 2007-08 from 50% in 2005-06 and
55% in 2006-07. The turnover of Boat houses also recorded significant growth at25 %
due to introduction new modern boats at various Boat Houses.
Employment Opportunities
The tourism industry offers the following career and employment opportunities:
1. Air Transportation: Flight operations, ground operations, in/flight catering, office
and sales
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2. Ground Transportation: Bus, car rentals and railways
3. Water Transportation: Ship and Cruise liners
4. Tour Operations
5. Travel Agency
6. Food and Beverages
7. Hotels and Motels
8. Theme parks, clubs, journalism and recreation
9. Government Agencies: Tourist offices, tourism corporations, etc
The annual requirement of qualified personnel in the organized hotels sector is estimated
at 29,000 in 2010, and this is expected to increase to 39,000 by the year 2020.
Gujarat Tourism will take steps and systematic attempts to tap the huge employment
generation potential available in the Tourism sector. The Ministry of Tourism,
government of India, has estimated that for every Rs. 10 lakh invested in Tourism, 47.5
jobs are created. The same amount, if invested in the manufacturing sector, can create
only 12.6 called jobs. A sample survey by the world Tourism Council using methodology
“Tourism satellite Account” concludes that jobs generated by Tourism could be rise from
today’s 2.4% to 6.8% in ten years which means 80 lakh new jobs. Similarly, in respect of
hotel industry, it is estimated that an investment of Rs. 10 lakh will give direct
employment to 12 persons while five rooms in a five star hotel or an average give direct
employment only to eight persons.
Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) has estimated the following
investment potential for some of the key religious destination development projects in the
states.
Religious Tourism Project Investment Potential
Ambaji Area Development
Rs. 400 Crore
Dwaraka Area Development
Rs. 500 Crore
Koteshwar-Narayan Sarovar Area Development
Rs. 500 Crore
Champaner/Pavagadh Development
Rs. 100 Crore
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Gujarat Government should celebrate “Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Mahotsav” at very
large scale to promote religious destinations. Government should bring motivating
speakers and preachers of spirituality and wellness like Swami Ramdev, Shiv Khera,
Deepak Chopra etc. to help in building a brand image of Gujarat as a delight for spiritual
tourism seekers. They can accomplish this with their inspirational discourses, seminars,
public appearances and other related efforts.
S W O T Analysis for Gujarat Tourism
STRENGTH
Wide range of Sea Coast of 1, 96,026 sq.km.
Government support (in term of grants): both government
of Gujarat as well as government of India sets aside annual
grants for the development of tourism in the state.
Wide network of Services under its fold – includes hotels,
Tourist Information Bureaus, etc
WEAKNESS
Low morale
Lack of professionalism in the organization
In-effective Promotions
Low Awareness regarding its products, services
as well as its investment opportunities
in this sector has not been highlighted
OPPORTUNITIES
Scope for investment in new ventures
Joint ventures with private parties
cashing in on excellent infrastructure facilities
THREATS
Competition from other state tourism corporations
Private parties assuming the role played by TCGL at this
juncture
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Conclusion
Well-trained and experienced personnel are extremely important for ensuring delivery of
high quality professional services to the guests, which is a major perquisite for success of
the hospitality industry. Hospitality services are playing important role in Indian
economy. During 2007-2008, the foreign exchange earnings and GDP of India have
increased. For this increasing trend in GDP and foreign exchange Earnings in India, the
tourism also plays a vital role. Even then this service industry which is facing many
problems must be considered very seriously to overcome it. The present condition of this
industry shows that India has got bright future, because of the tremendous developments
taking place in this service industry.
Suggestion:
The following suggestions can be taken to improve the hospitality service in Gujarat.
1. Steps must be taken to improve the quality of workforce and the retention of the skilled
employees.
2. Proper attention should be paid to increase the number of rooms and the steps must be
taken to increase the image of India in the minds of foreigners.
3. While making location decisions, we need to take all precautions for the developments
of an environmentally friendly location.
4. While designing the hotel buildings, a number of factors are taken into consideration.
Since it is a permanent investment in which we find least scope for alteration, it is
essential that the hotel designers keeps in the mind cost effectiveness and good
returns for the investments in building a hotel.
5. The benefits of electronic revolution should be made available to the function rooms so
that effective business conventions would benefit corporate houses. The development
process should also take into account the safety measures so that in case of any
mishap, the protective measures are taken immediately.
6. While managing restaurants and bars, it is significant that the cases of menu fatigue
and the provision of good and safe are ensured to avoid cases of food poisoning. To
be more specific, for restaurants it is found impact generating as this would affect the
image of the hotel and its peripherals.
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7. That hotel companies have to assign an overriding priority to innovate the peripheral
services.
8. The more volatile a market is in terms of fluctuations in demand; the more important it
is to work within a framework of agreed objectives. In order to provide an orderly and
agreed basis on which to conduct its business in an ever changing market
environment, any business has to plan its activities.
9. Some exciting new trends that will have a positive impact in the development of India
tourism, over the next two years, are those of adventure and responsible tourism.
India's pledge to sustainable tourism development has led to the industry waking up
to the need for doing its bit of giving back to society through CSR and environment
protection.
10. The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition which is working under the
administrative control of the Central Government will be utilized to start new training
courses so that the residents of Gujarat can get admission and manpower requirement
of this sector is met
11. The Internet has also added a new dimension to the business of travel with websites
being used as a primary source of information and booking. The way forward for
India tourism would be to have a streamlined approach so that we can widen the
scope of the industry.
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