New 1.docx

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the traveller's country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Today, tourism is a major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases being of vital importance. Tourism suffered as a result of a strong economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus. but slowly recovered. International tourism receipts (the travel item in the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010. International tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone of 1 billion

tourists

globally

for

the

first

time

in

2012, emerging

markets such

as China, Russia and Brazilhad significantly increased their spending over the previous decade. The ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism trade fair.

Etymology The word tourist was used in 1772 and tourism in 1811. It is formed from the word tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare; 'to turn on a lathe,' which is itself from Ancient Greek tornos 'lathe'.

Significance of tourism Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many regions and countries. Its importance was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations. Tourism brings in large amounts of income into a local economy in the form of payment for goods and services needed by tourists, accounting for 30% of the world's trade of services, 1

and

6%

of

overall exports of

goods

and

services. It

also

creates

opportunities

for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism. The service industries which benefit from tourism include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise

ships,

and taxicabs; hospitality

including hotels and resorts;

and

services,

entertainment

such

venues,

as accommodations,

such

as amusement

parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theaters. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs.

In 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months. In 1941, Hunziker and Kraft defined tourism as "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity. In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home. In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics: 

Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given country traveling only within this country



Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling in the given country



Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country

The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar

definition

to

tourism,

but

implies

a

more

purposeful

journey.

The

terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited. By contrast, traveler is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the cultural values underpinning these distinctions and their implications for class relations.

2

Tourism Industry: Online Market Tourism is the world's largest service industry and accounts about 14% of the world's GDP. In spite of great potential and significance of tourism industry, it is having untapped market yet. The wide usage of internet has increased its reach around the globe. Electronic medium is being used in tourism industry in many countries in several ways. Itinerary planning, costing, tickets, accommodation etc. are now available online. People all over the world are experiencing online medium as helpful for availing tourism products and services. Both tourism suppliers and tourism agencies have started to offer their products and services directly online to consumers (Standing & Vasudavan, 2004). Usage of web-based approaches help to reduce the service costs of the tourism service providers. On the contrary, the prospective consumers benefit from the online mechanism in the form of easy accessibility, getting up-to-date information, have detailed view of the tourist product catalogues, compare tourism packages and destinations, make bookings and online money transfers. Many studies have been conducted on tourism e-commerce in developed countries and their impact on customer satisfaction. The paper aims to unveil the various priority factors affecting the customer satisfaction with reference to online purchasing of tourism products.

Total volume of cross-border tourist travel International tourist arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012, up from over 996 million in 2011, and 952 million in 2010. In 2011 and 2012, international travel demand continued to recover from the losses resulting from the late-2000s recession, where tourism suffered a strong slowdown from the second half of 2008 through the end of 2009. After a 5% increase in the first half of 2008, growth in international tourist arrivals moved into negative territory in the second half of 2008, and ended up only 2% for the year, compared to a 7% increase in 2007.The negative trend intensified during 2009, exacerbated in some countries due to the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4.2% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and a 5.7% decline in international tourism receipts.

3

World’s top tourism destinations The World Tourism Organization reports the following ten destinations as the most visited in terms of the number of international travelers in 2016.

International Rank

Country

UNWTO

tourist

Region

arrivals (2016)

1

France

Europe

86.2 million

2

United States

North America 80.3 million

3

Spain

Europe

75.6 million

4

China

Asia

59.3 million

5

Italy

Europe

52.5 million

6

United Kingdom Europe

35.8 million

7

Germany

Europe

35.6 million

8

Mexico

North America 35.0 million

9

Thailand

Asia

10

Turkey

Europe

32.6 million

32.0

4

million

World Travel & Tourism Council - Countries that performed best in fastest growing tourism and travel industry in 2016

Countries Performed Best In 2016

Rank

Country

Percentage

1

Azerbaijan

46.1%

2

Mongolia

24.4%

3

Iceland

20.1%

4

Cyprus

15.4%

5

Kazakhstan 15.2%

6

Moldova

14.2%

7

Costa Rica

12.1%

8

Georgia

11.2%

9

Sri Lanka

10.7%

10

Thailand

10.7%

5

History Travel outside a person's local area for leisure was largely confined to wealthy classes, who at times travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings and works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines. As early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building waystations for travelers. During the Roman Republic, spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae were popular among the rich. Pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the 2nd century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, all five Sacred Mountains.

Middle Ages By the Middle Ages, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam all had traditions of pilgrimage that motivated even the lower classes to undertake distant journeys for health or spiritual improvement, seeing the sights along the way. The Islamic hajj is still central to its faith and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West remain classics of English and Chinese literature. The 10th- to 13th-century Song dynasty also saw secular travel writers such as Su Shi (11th century) and Fan Chengda (12th century) become popular in China. Under the Ming, Xu Xiake continued the practice. In medieval Italy, Francesco Petrarch also wrote an allegorical account of his 1336 ascent of Mount Ventoux that praised the act of traveling and criticized frigida incuriositas ("cold lack of curiosity"). The Burgundian poet Michault Taillevent (fr) later composed his own horrified recollections of a 1430 trip through the Jura Mountains.

Grand Tour Modern tourism can be traced to what was known as the Grand Tour, which was a traditional trip

around Europe (especially Germany and Italy),

undertaken

by

mainly upper-

class European young men of means, mainly from Western and Northern European countries. In 1624, young Prince of Poland, Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa, the eldest son and heir of Sigismund III, embarked for a journey across Europe, as was in custom among Polish nobility.He travelled through territories of today's Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, where he admired the Siege of Breda by Spanish forces, France, Switzerland to Italy, Austria and Czechia. It was an educational journey and one of the outcomes was introduction of Italian opera in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

6

The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and generally followed a standard itinerary. It was an educational opportunity and rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18th century some South American, US, and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition was extended to include more of the middle class after rail and steamship travel made the journey easier, and Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" a byword. The Grand Tour became a real status symbol for upper class students in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, Johann Joachim Winckelmann's theories about the supremacy of classic culture became very popular and appreciated in the European academic world. Artists, writers and travellers (such as Goethe) affirmed the supremacy of classic art of which Italy, France and Greece provide excellent examples. For these reasons, the Grand Tour's main destinations were to those centres, where upper-class students could find rare examples of classic art and history.

Innovation in tourism Innovation in the tourism industry has been defined as "a process of implementing positive and new ideas into business practice . More generally innovation in tourism "refers to the process of bringing any new, problem solving idea into use. Ideas for reorganizing, cutting cost, putting in new budgetary systems, improving communication or assembling products in teams are also innovations. Innovation is the generation, acceptance and implementation of new ideas, processes, products or services. Acceptance and implementation is central to this definition; it involves the capacity to change and adapt" There has been an up-trend in tourism over the last few decades, especially in Europe, where international travel for short breaks is common. Tourists have a wide range of budgets and tastes, and a wide variety of resorts and hotels have developed to cater for them. For example, some people prefer simple beach vacations, while others want more specialised holidays, quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays, or niche market-targeted destination hotels. The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such as jumbo jets, low-cost airlines, and more accessible airports have made many types of tourism more affordable. The WHO estimated in 2009 that there are around half a million people on board aircraft at any given time. There have also been changes in lifestyle, for example some retirement-age people sustain year round tourism. This is facilitated by internet sales of tourist services. 7

Some sites have now started to offer dynamic packaging, in which an inclusive price is quoted for a tailor-made package requested by the customer upon impulse. There have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as the September 11 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations, such as in Bali and several European cities. Also, on 26 December 2004, a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, hit the Asian countries on the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives. Thousands of lives were lost including many tourists. This, together with the vast clean-up operations, stopped or severely hampered tourism in the area for a time. Individual low-price or even zero-price overnight stays have become more popular in the 2000s, especially with a strong growth in the hostel market and services like Surfing and airbnb being established. There has also been examples of jurisdictions wherein a significant portion of GDP is being spent on altering the primary sources of revenue towards tourism, as has occurred for instance in Dubai.

Cruising shiping Cruising is a popular form of water tourism. Leisure cruise ships were introduced by the Peninsular

&

Oriental

Steam

Navigation

Company(P&O)

in

1844, sailing

from Southampton to destinations such as Gibraltar, Malta and Athens. In 1891, German businessman Albert

Ballin sailed

the

ship Augusta

Victoria from Hamburg into

the

Mediterranean Sea. In 1900, one of the first purpose-built cruise ships was Prinzessin Victoria Luise, built in Hamburg.

8

Niche tourism For a more comprehensive list, see List of adjectival tourisms Niche tourism refers to the numerous specialty forms of tourism that have emerged over the years, each with its own adjective. Many of these terms have come into common use by the tourism industry and academics. Others are emerging concepts that may or may not gain popular usage. Examples of the more common niche tourism markets are: 

Agritourism



Astronomy tourism



Birth tourism



Dark tourism



Culinary tourism



Cultural tourism



Extreme tourism



Ecotourism



Heritage tourism



LGBT tourism



Medical tourism



Nautical tourism



Pop-culture tourism



Religious tourism



Sex tourism



Slum tourism



Sports tourism



Virtual tourism



War tourism



Wellness tourism



Wildlife tourism

Other terms used for niche or specialty travel forms include the term "destination" in the descriptions, such as destination weddings, and terms such as location vacation.

9

Innovation in tourism Innovation in the tourism industry has been defined as "a process of implementing positive and new ideas into business practice”. More generally innovation in tourism "refers to the process of bringing any new, problem solving idea into use. Ideas for reorganizing, cutting cost, putting in new budgetary systems, improving communication or assembling products in teams are also innovations. Innovation is the generation, acceptance and implementation of new ideas, processes, products or services. Acceptance and implementation is central to this definition; it involves the capacity to change and adapt.

Recent development There has been an up-trend in tourism over the last few decades especially in Europe, where international travel for short breaks is common. Tourists have a wide range of budgets and tastes, and a wide variety of resorts and hotels have developed to cater for them. For example, some people prefer simple beach vacations, while others want more specialised holidays, quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays, or niche market-targeted destination hotels. The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such as jumbo jets, low-cost airlines, and more accessible airports have made many types of tourism more affordable. The WHO estimated in 2009 that there are around half a million people on board aircraft at any given time.There have also been changes in lifestyle, for example some retirement-age people sustain year round tourism. This is facilitated by internet sales of tourist services. Some sites have now started to offer dynamic packaging, in which an inclusive price is quoted for a tailor-made package requested by the customer upon impulse. There have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as the September 11 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations, such as in Bali and several European cities. Also, on 26 December 2004, a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, hit the Asian countries on the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives. Thousands of lives were lost including many tourists. This, together with the vast clean-up operations, stopped or severely hampered tourism in the area for a time. Individual low-price or even zero-price overnight stays have become more popular in the 2000s, especially with a strong growth in the hostel market and services like Couch Surfing and airing being established. There has also been examples of jurisdictions wherein a significant portion of GDP is being spent on altering the primary sources of revenue towards tourism, as has occurred for instance in Dubai.

10

Sustainable tourism "Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems." (World Tourism Organization) Sustainable development implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) Sustainable tourism can be seen as having regard to ecological and social-cultural carrying capacities and includes involving the community of the destination in tourism development planning. It also involves integrating tourism to match current economic and growth policies so as to mitigate some of the negative economic and social impacts of 'mass tourism'. Murphy (1985) advocates the use of an 'ecological approach', to consider both 'plants' and 'people' when implementing the sustainable tourism development process. This is in contrast to the 'boosterism' and 'economic' approaches to tourism planning, neither of which consider the detrimental ecological or sociological impacts of tourism development to a destination. However, Butler questions the exposition of the term 'sustainable' in the context of tourism, citing its ambiguity and stating that "the emerging sustainable development philosophy of the 1990s can be viewed as an extension of the broader realization that a preoccupation with economic growth without regard to its social and environmental consequences is selfdefeating in the long term." Thus 'sustainable tourism development' is seldom considered as an autonomous function of economic regeneration as separate from general economic growth.

Ecotourism Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low-impact and (often) small-scale. It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights. Take only memories and leave only footprints is a very common slogan in protected areas. Tourist destinations are shifting to low carbon emissions following the trend of visitors more focused in being environmentally responsible adopting a sustainable behavior.

11

Volunteer Tourism Volunteer tourism is growing as a largely Western phenomenon, with volunteers travelling to aid those less fortunate than themselves in order to counter global inequalities. Wearing (2001) defines volunteer tourism as applying “to those tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society. VSO was founded in the UK in 1958 and the US Peace Corps was subsequently founded in 1960. These were the first large scale voluntary sending organizations, initially arising to modernize less economically developed countries, which it was hoped would curb the influence of communism This form of tourism is largely praised for its more sustainable approach to travel, with tourists attempting to assimilate into local cultures, and avoiding the criticisms of consumptive and exploitative mass tourism. However, increasingly volunteerism is being criticized by scholars who suggest it may have negative effects as it begins to undermine local labor, and force unwilling host communities to adopt Western initiatives, while host communities without a strong heritage fail to retain volunteers who become dissatisfied with experiences and volunteer shortages persist. Increasingly organizations such as VSO have been concerned with community-centric volunteer programmers where power to control the future of the community is in the hands of local people.

Pro-poor tourism Pro-poor tourism, which seeks to help the poorest people in developing countries, has been receiving increasing attention by those involved in development; the issue has been addressed through small-scale projects in local communities and through attempts by Ministries of Tourism to attract large numbers of tourists. Research by the Overseas Development Institute suggests that neither is the best way to encourage tourists' money to reach the poorest as only 25% or less (far less in some cases) ever reaches the poor; successful examples of money reaching the poor include mountain-climbing in Tanzania and cultural tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos. There is also the possibility of pro-poor tourism principles being adopted in centre sites of regeneration in the developed world.

12

Recession tourism Recession tourism is a travel trend which evolved by way of the world economic crisis. Recession tourism is defined by low-cost and high-value experiences taking place of oncepopular generic retreats. Various recession tourism hotspots have seen business boom during the recession thanks to comparatively low costs of living and a slow world job market suggesting travelers are elongating trips where their money travels further. This concept is not widely used in tourism research. It is related to the short-lived phenomenon that is more widely known as staycation.

Medical tourism When there is a significant price difference between countries for a given medical procedure, particularly in Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe, Cuba and Canada where there are different regulatory regimes, in relation to particular medical procedures (e.g. dentistry), traveling to take advantage of the price or regulatory differences is often referred to as "medical tourism".

Educational tourism Educational tourism is developed because of the growing popularity of teaching and learning of knowledge and the enhancing of technical competency outside of classroom environment. In educational tourism, the main focus of the tour or leisure activity includes visiting another country to learn about the culture, study tours, or to work and apply skills learned inside the classroom in a different environment, such as in the International Practicum Training Program.

Creative tourism Creative tourism has existed as a form of cultural tourism, since the early beginnings of tourism itself. Its European roots date back to the time of the Grand Tour, which saw the sons of aristocratic families traveling for the purpose of mostly interactive, educational experiences. More recently, creative tourism has been given its own name by Crispin Raymond and Greg Richards, who as members of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS), have directed a number of projects for the European Commission, including cultural and crafts tourism, known as sustainable tourism. They have defined "creative tourism" as tourism related to the active participation of travellers in the culture of the host community, through interactive workshops and informal learning experiences. Meanwhile, the concept of creative tourism has been picked up by high-profile organizations such as UNESCO, who through the Creative Cities Network, have endorsed creative tourism 13

as an engaged, authentic experience that promotes an active understanding of the specific cultural features of a place. More recently, creative tourism has gained popularity as a form of cultural tourism, drawing on active participation by travelers in the culture of the host communities they visit. Several countries offer examples of this type of tourism development, including the United Kingdom, Austria, France, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. The growing interest of tourists in this new way to discover a culture regards particularly the operators and branding managers, attentive to the possibility of attracting a quality tourism, highlighting the intangible heritage (craft workshops, cooking classes, etc.) and optimizing the use of existing infrastructure (for example, through the rent of halls and auditorium).

Experiential tourism Experiential travel (or "immersion travel") is one of the major market trends in the modern tourism industry. It is an approach to travelling which focuses on experiencing a country, city or particular place by connecting to its history, people, food and culture. The term “Experiential travel” is already mentioned in publications from 1985 – however it was discovered as a meaningful market trend much later.

Dark tourism One emerging area of special interest has been identified by Lennon and Foley (2000)as "dark" tourism. This type of tourism involves visits to "dark" sites, such as battlegrounds, scenes of horrific crimes or acts of genocide, for example concentration camps. Dark tourism remains a small niche market, driven by varied motivations, such as mourning, remembrance, education, macabre curiosity or even entertainment. Its origins are rooted in fairgrounds and medieval fairs. Philip Stone argues that dark tourism is a way of imagining one's own death through the real death of others. Erik H Cohen introduces the term "populo sites" to evidence the educational character of dark tourism. Populo sites transmit the story of victimized people to visitors. Based on a study at Yad Vashem, the Shoah (Holocaust) memorial museum in Jerusalem, a new term—in populo—is proposed to describe dark tourism sites at a spiritual and population center of the people to whom a tragedy befell. Learning about the Shoah in Jerusalem offers an encounter with the subject which is different from visits to sites in Europe, but equally authentic. It is argued that a dichotomy between "authentic" sites at the location of a tragedy and "created" sites elsewhere is insufficient. Participants' evaluations of seminars for European teachers at Yad Vashem indicate that the location is an important aspect of a 14

meaningful encounter with the subject. Implications for other cases of dark tourism at in populo locations are discussed. In this vein, Peter Tarlow defines dark tourism as the tendency to visit the scenes of tragedies or historically noteworthy deaths, which continue to impact our lives. This issue cannot be understood without the figure of trauma.Following this, Maximiliano Korstanje explains that tourism serves as an scapegoat mechanism used in order for society does not collapse. This is the reason why tourists look for something special, something new beyond their nearest residential home. The quest for "Otherness" leads not only to maximize pleasure but also provides a pedagogical message to the us In the context of disasters and tragedies, dark tourism may revitalize the lost trust giving a positive value that helps community in the process of recovery. Tourism is in fact an instrument of resiliency that paves the ways for the society to be united

Social tourism Social tourism is making tourism available to poor people who otherwise could not afford to travel for their education or recreation. It includes youth hostels and low-priced holiday accommodation run by church and voluntary organizations, trade unions, or in Communist times publicly owned enterprises. In May 1959, at the second Congress of Social Tourism in Austria, Walter Henniker proposed the following definition: "Social tourism is a type of tourism practiced by low income groups, and which is rendered possible and facilitated by entirely separate and therefore easily recognizable services

Doom tourism Also known as "Tourism of Doom," or "Last Chance Tourism" this emerging trend involves traveling to places that are environmentally or otherwise threatened (such as the ice caps of Mount Kilimanjaro, the melting glaciers of Patagonia, or the coral of the Great Barrier Reef) before it is too late. Identified by travel trade magazine Travel Age West editor-in-chief Kenneth Shapiro in 2007 and later explored in The New York Times, this type of tourism is believed

to

be

on

the

rise.

Some

see

the

trend

as

related

to sustainable

tourism or ecotourism due to the fact that a number of these tourist destinations are considered threatened by environmental factors such as global warming, overpopulation or climate change. Others worry that travel to many of these threatened locations increases an individual’s footprint and only hastens problems threatened locations are already facing.

15

Religious tourism Religious tourism, in particular religious travel, is used to strengthen faith and show devotion both of which are central tenets of many major religions. Religious tourists seek destinations whose image encourages them to believe that they can strengthen the religious elements of their self-identity in a positive manner. Given this, the perceived image of a destination may be positively influenced by whether it conforms to the requirements of their religious selfidentity or not.

Space tourism There has been a limited amount of orbital space tourism, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport to date. A 2010 report into space tourism anticipated that it could become a billion dollar market by 2030.

Sports tourism Since the late 1980s, sports tourism has become increasingly popular. Events such as rugby, Olympics, Commonwealth games, Asian Games and football World Cups have enabled specialist travel companies to gain official ticket allocation and then sell them in packages that include flights, hotels and excursions. The focus on sport and spreading knowledge on the subject, especially more so recently, led to the increase in the sport tourism. Most notably, the international event such as the Olympics caused a shift in focus in the audience who now realize the variety of sports that exist in the world. In the United States, one of the most popular sports that usually are focused on was Football. This popularity was increased through major events like the World Cups. In Asian countries, the numerous football events also increased the popularity of football. But, it was the Olympics that brought together the different sports that led to the increase in sport tourism. The drastic interest increase in sports in general and not just one sport caught the attention of travel companies, who then began to sell flights in packages. Due to the low number of people who actually purchase these packages than predicted, the cost of these packages plummeted initially. As the number start to rise slightly the packages increased to regain the lost profits. With the certain economic state, the number of purchases decreased once again. The fluctuation in the number of packages sold was solely dependent on the economic situation, therefore, most travel companies were forced to set aside the plan to execute the marketing of any new package features.

16

Growth The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4%.With the advent of e-commerce, tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the internet. Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries, although tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.), including small-scale operators, can sell their services directly. This has put pressure on intermediaries from both on-line and traditional shops. It has been suggested there is a strong correlation between tourism expenditure per capita and the degree to which countries play in the global context. Not only as a result of the important economic contribution of the tourism industry, but also as an indicator of the degree of confidence with which global citizens leverage the resources of the globe for the benefit of their local economies. This is why any projections of growth in tourism may serve as an indication of the relative influence that each country will exercise in the future.

Latest trend As a result of the late-2000s recession, international arrivals suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7% during the first eight months of 2008. This slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel industry also reported a slowdown, with room occupancy declining. In 2009 worldwide tourism arrivals decreased by 3.8%.By the first quarter of 2009, real travel demand in the United States had fallen 6% over six quarters. While this is considerably milder than what occurred after the 9/11 attacks, the decline was at twice the rate as real GDP has fallen. However, evidence suggests that tourism as a global phenomenon shows no signs of substantially abating in the long term. It has been suggested that travel is necessary in order to maintain relationships, as social life is increasingly networked and conducted at a distance. For many people vacations and travel are increasingly being viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury, and this is reflected in tourist numbers recovering some 6.6% globally over 2009, with growth up to 8% in emerging economies. Tourism in India is economically important and is growing rapidly. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated ₹14.02 lakh crore (US$220 billion) or 9.6% of the nation's GDP in 2016 and supported 40.343 million jobs, 9.3% of its total 17

employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 6.8% to ₹28.49 lakh crore (US$440 billion) by 2027 (10% of GDP). In October 2015, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$3 billion. It is projected to grow to $7–8 billion by 2020. In 2014, 184,298 foreign patients traveled to India to seek medical treatment. About 88.90 lakh (8.89 million) foreign tourists arrived in India in 2016 compared to 80.27 lakh (8.027 million) in 2015, recording a growth of 10.7%. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011. In 2014, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most popular states for tourists. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Agra and Jaipur have been the five most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2015. Worldwide, Delhi is ranked at 28 by the number of foreign tourist arrivals, while Mumbai is ranked at 30, Chennai at 43, Agra at 45, Jaipur at 52 and Kolkata at 90. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks India 40th out of 136 countries overall. The report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 10th out of 136 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 32nd), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 29th). The country also scores high on natural and cultural resources (ranked 9th). Some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped however. The nation has

very

few

hotel

rooms

per

capita

by

international

comparison

and

low ATM penetration. The World Tourism Organization reported that India's receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th among Asian and Pacific countries. The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, 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, cruise, medical and eco-tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India campaign focused on promoting tourism.

18

VISA POLICY OF INDIA

India Visa not required e-Tourist Visa Visa required India requires citizens of most countries to have a valid passport and apply for a visa at their local Indian embassy or consulate, before they travel. They can apply directly by mail or in person, or through their local travel services company. India has recently implemented an online method for citizens of 40 countries to apply and receive an e-Tourist Visa. Nationals of Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal do not require a visa. Citizens of Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, DPR Korea, Jamaica, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal, South Africa and Uruguay are not required to pay a fee when obtaining Indian visa. A Protected Area Permit (PAP) is required to enter the states of Nagaland and Sikkim and some

parts

of

the

states

of Arunachal

Pradesh, Himachal

Pradesh, Jammu

and

Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal. A Restricted Area Permit (RAP) is required to enter the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Special permits are needed to enter Lakshadweep Islands.

e-Tourist Visa In order to boost tourism, the Indian Government implemented a new visa policy in November 2014 that allows visitors to obtain a visa on arrival at 16 designated international airports by acquiring an Electronic Travel Authorization online before arrival without having to visit an Indian consulate or visa centre. As a result, 56,477 tourists arrived on an e-Tourist Visa during the October 2015 compared to 2,705 during October 2014, an increase of 19

1987.9%. During January–October 2015 a total of 2,58,182 tourists arrived on an e-Tourist Visa as compared with 21,995 during January–October 2014, an increase of 1073.8%. On 27 November 2014, India introduced its visa on arrival enabled by ETA facility for tourists and business visitors, to citizens of following countries – Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, La os, Luxembourg, Marshall

Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New

Zealand, Niue, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon

New Islands, South

Korea, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu and Vietnam. The facility was extended to China, Macau and Hong Kong on 30 July 2015. The facility was further extended to citizens of Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Belgium, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, East Timor, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, Malaysia, Mongolia, Monaco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, Turks and Caicos Islands, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Venezuela on 15 August 2015. The visa on arrival requires a tourist to apply online on a secure Government of India website, at least 4 to 30 days before the date of travel. If approved, the passenger must print and carry the approved visa with the travel documents. The visa allows holders of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to enter and stay anywhere in India for 30 days. The ETA can be obtained twice in a single calendar year. The visa on arrival facility is expected to be expanded to about 180 countries over time. In April 2015 the scheme was renamed to eTourist Visa in order to avoid confusion.

20

Foreign and domestic tourist visits by State Share of top 10 states of India in number of foreign tourist visits in 2015

Rank

State/Union Territory

Number

Share in %

1

Tamil Nadu

4,684,707

20.1

2

Maharashtra

4,408,916

18.9

3

Uttar Pradesh

3,104,062

13.3

4

Delhi

2,379,169

10.2

5

Rajasthan

1,489,500

6.4

6

West Bengal

1,475,311

6.3

7

Kerala

977,479

4.2

8

Bihar

923,737

4.0

9

Karnataka

636,502

2.7

10

Goa

541,480

2.3

Total of top 10 states

20,620,863

88.4

Others

2,705,300

11.6

Total

23,326,163

100

21

Share of top 10 states of India in number of domestic tourist visits in 2015

Rank

State/Union Territory

Number

Share in %

1

Tamil Nadu

333,459,047

23.3

2

Uttar Pradesh

204,888,457

14.3

3

Andhra Pradesh

121,591,054

8.5

4

Karnataka

119,863,942

8.4

5

Maharashtra

103,403,934

7.2

6

Telangana

94,516,316

6.6

7

Madhya Pradesh

77,975,738

5.4

8

West Bengal

70,193,450

4.9

9

Gujarat

36,288,463

2.5

10

Rajasthan

35,187,573

2.5

Total of top 10 states

1,197,367,974

83.6

Others

234,605,820

16.4

Total

1,431,973,794

100

22

INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY With the motto of ‗Be a Traveller High Mountains, is one of the leading travel organizations that offers an array of services to its travellers, our wide range of memorable holiday options ensures that you truly get the holiday you deserve. High Mountains is the leading provider of travel services including cheap flight + hotel vacation deals around the world, which is suitable for travel reservations for business, holiday vacations, backpacking and other discount trips. We Love Travelling! And because we understand the needs of a Traveller, we at High Mountains make sure our Travellers do not hustle about anything so, we take care of your travel + accommodation + food + sightseeing and everything else you can think of with the sole objective of making your trip a beautiful memory. High Mountains understand their traveller‘s need that‘s why High Mountains offer deals for travellers to earn money through their mobile app and explore the world for free. With a large number of features like being a guide, write blogs, become an Entrepreneur and etc. Their Travellers get an opportunity to make some money by using High Mountains app. So, if you are planning for vacations with your family or friends, don‘t forget to explore High Mountains. They offer the tour in various Categories suitable with all kind of their customers, these categories are listed as following: HM Social (Himachal Pradesh)

Summer Vacations

International Tour Packages

Off Beat Tours

23

High Mountains also provide a feature to their customer to plan their tour according to their requirement and Comfort. They provide 24/7 customer support services to make their customer tours problem free.

With the large base of happy customers, High Mountains is a leading tour and travel service provider in India. Following is the list of services offer by the High Mountains: Customized Tour Packages

Easy Booking

24/7 Support

+120 Premium City Tours

Delightful Customer Experience

PROCESS It is a standard Business Development process followed by the company and ask me to follow, it is basic process followed by every startup company in order to approach a clients initially. Sometimes they may send teaser E-mailer of a similar domain to the clients before approaching them. 1. Market Analysis and Market Research 2. Database Creation of clients 3. Cold Calling 4. Fixing meeting 5. Proposal Making for Clients 6. Project Closure

24

PROCESS 1 – MARKET ANALYSIS AND MARKET RESEARCH Market research is any organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy. The first step of business development process is to know your target audience well before approaching them. The main objective behind the market analysis and research of target audience is to know their online presence and how active they are on web. Market research also helps to estimate the online marketing opportunities of different sectors over the periods. The intense research is required while studying the online habits of different sectors keeping competitors in mind. The proper market research make your task easier while talking to clients as you know about them well in advance, which help you to answer their question. And can better explain the clients how they can use web as a medium of approaching the customers in a short span of time. Market Research includes research about the different sectors. Currently we are targeting on Travel, Real Estate Sector, Education sectors, Fitness, jeweler in Pune. It includes study of digital habits of the target sector, their online presence, their online need, etc. After market research comes the database creation.

PROCESS 2 – DATABASE CREATION OF CLIENTS The second step is database creation; once the market is analyzed the database of sector is created for a company treasure for future. Database creation includes recording the details of the clients like company details, their online presence, concerned person from marketing department and their contact details. During my internship I have created almost six different sectors database as company wants to target different sectors for exploring themselves

PROCESS 3 – COLD CALLING Cold calling is the sales process of approaching prospective customers or clients—typically via telephone, by email or through making a connection on a social network—who were not expecting such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by a sales person. A cold 25

call is usually the start of a sales process generally known as telemarketing. The next step is cold calling. It includes contacting the concerned person, explaining him/her in brief about the organization, conveying that person how digital marketing is helpful for their organization to achieve online presence, traffic, leads and branding. My company guide shared a call script with me and also explained me how to talk, what to talk, the way we should talk to concern person. He also explains how to get a concern person number (director or marketing person) from the office people. The main objective of cold calling is to fix the maximum meetings with a concern person so that further points can be discussed in detail with them. Cold calling is a first interaction with a concern person and everyone knows first impression is a last impression. He taught me the way how first impression is made. During my internship total numbers of calls made by me was 82, calls to real estate sector and fitness sector.

PROCESS 4 – FIXING MEETINGS The next step is fixing meeting, it stage little critical for a startup, convincing the clients and ask them to meet you is biggest challenge, But that‘s a feel of work. Talking to different people of different traits was a good experience and successfully fixes the 8 meetings out of which 3 was attended by me and 1 was converted. Actual meeting gave you the reality check where you are when your clients know everything, shoots the too many questions and ask you how you are better than other. At that time you understand the difference between the dorm rooms to the boardroom.

PROCESS 5 – PROPOSAL MAKING The fifth step is proposal making once meeting is done with a concern person where the various aspects has been discussed already, and the client requirement can known accordingly the proposal is made for them enlisting all his requirement related to digital marketing. Proposal includes following details: a) Services needed by the client. These services include SEO, SEM, SMM, ODA, ORM, etc b) Proper segmentation and targeting according to sector. Eg. If an MBA Education Institute wants digital marketing services for branding, promotion and lead generation, then our target market would be, students who have completed their graduation and professionals with 2-3 years of experience who can opt for Executive MBA.

26

c) Detailed explanation of how we will be providing them each service. d)

It

also

includes

the

pricing

27

details

of

the

service

PROCESS 6 – PROJECT CLOSURE The final stage is project closure; if all the stage works that means you are close to crack the deal. Once the deal is cracked the further decision are taken like, preparing the strategies for the same as per the clients requirement or the digital marketing channels choose by him/her. Company make an roadmap or a weekly /monthly plans of the each channel separately and get the approval from the client to execute the plan and once it approved the plan actually come into an action.

OTHER TASK - CONTENT WRITING Content writing like any other form of writing requires in depth knowledge and great skill. The success of any write-ups depends on the quality and authenticity of the content of the website. Content writing though does not follow a specific format, yet is certainly guided by some fundamental principles. How to write an effective content? Focus on your customers: remember, your website will gain acceptance among your viewers only if it has something to offer them. Choose a simple, impersonal style: your readers are not interested in judging your scholarship. You have maximum of 15 seconds to grab your visitor‘s attention. I have been told the way I need to frame a content of a different target sectors. The company actually wanted to have a research about how online marketing helped such sectors in their success.

Performance standards (a) Quality

(b) Cost(investments, expenses, costs)

(c) Schedule

(d) Team

(e) Improvement Initiatives

(f) Client‘s Responsibilities

28

INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC “Consumer satisfaction is the concept that measures the degree to which the products or services of a business meet consumer’s expectations.” “Online tours and travels bookings” is a web enabled interface between the company and its target customer for selling the services of holidays and travelling through online bookings. It has become very efficient way to offer valuable information to the customers like holiday packages, various discounts. Thus, here the topic is to study the satisfaction level of customer with respect to the digital marketing. It was mentioned that E-tourism firms use internet to better serve their customers. Customer relationship management is a crucial subject which firms take special attention to, which directly or indirectly results in Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty and finally Customer retention. Among these concepts customer satisfaction can relatively influence customer loyalty and retention which in turns increases firms profit and efficiency. The group believed that the mentioned items can cause the convenience in E-tourism comparing with the time that customers are purchasing from traditional travel agencies. This study is going to fill this gap by finding the important factors which can lead to Esatisfaction in the tourism industry. E-commerce provides new channels for the global marketing of products and services, and presents opportunities to create new businesses providing information and other knowledge-based intangible products First, E-commerce improves the promotion of products and services through direct, interactive and rich information contact with customers, Second, E-commerce establishes a direct online distribution channel, Third, E-commerce causes savings in administrative and communication costs, Fourth, E-commerce enhances customer service by enabling customers to find detailed information online, and by answering standard E-mail questions with intelligent agents and human expert systems. Finally, customers need less time to find more information upon tourism products and make comparisons.

29

Customer satisfaction in online marketing has been an eminent research topic due to absence of face to face interface between the customer and service provider. The literature review has been done to uncover the varied factors affecting the mindset of the customers while shopping online. Survey has been conducted by distributing questionnaires selected cities of India to gather data for this research. An attempt has been made to study customer satisfaction after purchasing any tourism product or services online. The result of the study established that even though online purchasing is easier but there are factors which inhibit customers at times to make online purchase. Bivariate Correlation has been applied between customer satisfaction and key factors resisting online marketing. The study offers managerial implications to make the marketing of online tourism products more effective.

Customer satisfaction is eminent topic in several fields like marketing, consumer research and psychology. Numerous authors have analyzed satisfaction is a feeling which is a consequence of the assessing process which notifies what has been received against what was expected, including the purchase decision and needs associated with the purchase. However, satisfaction is the evaluation made by customers about a product or service, whether it has met with needs or expectations (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2003). Thus the customer satisfaction has always been important field for academicians and practitioners from past 3 decades as customers are the primary source of firms’ revenues. Online shopping is buying through electronic medium where one can make purchases over the internet at any point of time. An online shop where buying of products and services takes place directly with consumers is known as Business to Consumer (B2C) online shopping. On the contrary where business buys from another business is called business to business (B2B) online shopping. There are many online portals like Amazon.com, e-bay, Jabong.com, flipkart, Myntra, snapdeal etc. which offers a wide range of products for the consumers. The rapid growth of online marketing has changed the customer shopping experience. Nowadays everybody wants to shop online due to its benefits, such as convenience, usefulness, ease-of-use, quick services, 24/7 availability and so on. People are keen to stay at home or office and prefer ordering the required products online may be to save time and to avoid standing in long queues. 30

Purpose

A business ideally is continually seeking feedback to improve customer satisfaction. "Customer

satisfaction

provides

a

leading

indicator

of

consumer purchase

intentions and loyalty." "Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold:" 1. "Within organizations, the collection, analysis and dissemination of these data send a message about the importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a positive experience with the company's goods and services."[1] 2. "Although sales or market share can indicate how well a firm is performing currently, satisfaction is perhaps the best indicator of how likely it is that the firm’s customers will make further purchases in the future. Much research has focused on the relationship between customer satisfaction and retention. Studies indicate that the ramifications of satisfaction are most strongly realized at the extremes." On a five-point scale, "individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '5' are likely to become return customers and might even evangelize for the firm. (A second important metric related to satisfaction is willingness to recommend. This metric is defined as "The percentage of surveyed customers who indicate that they would recommend a brand to friends." When a customer is satisfied with a product, he or she might recommend it to friends, relatives and colleagues. This can be a powerful marketing advantage.) "Individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '1,' by 31

contrast, are unlikely to return. Further, they can hurt the firm by making negative comments about it to prospective customers. Willingness to recommend is a key metric relating to customer satisfaction."

Theoretical ground "In literature antecedents of satisfaction are studied from different aspects. The considerations extend from psychological to physical and from normative to positive aspects. However, in most of the cases the consideration is focused on two basic constructs as customers expectations prior to purchase or use of a product and his relative perception of the performance of that product after using it. Expectations of a customer on a product tell us his anticipated performance for that product. As it is suggested in the literature, consumers may have various "types" of expectations when forming opinions about a product's anticipated performance. For example, four types of expectations are identified by Miller (1977): ideal, expected, minimum tolerable, and desirable. While, Day (1977) indicated among expectations, the ones that are about the costs, the product nature, the efforts in obtaining benefits and lastly expectations of social values. Perceived product performance is considered as an important construct due to its ability to allow making comparisons with the expectations. It is considered that customers judge products on a limited set of norms and attributes. Olshavsky and Miller (1972) and Olson and Dover (1976) designed their researches as to manipulate actual product performance, and their aim was to find out how perceived performance ratings were influenced by expectations. These studies took out the discussions about explaining the differences between expectations and perceived performance." In some research studies, scholars have been able to establish that customer satisfaction has a strong emotional (i.e., affective component). Still others show that the cognitive and affective components of customer satisfaction reciprocally influence each other over time to determine overall satisfaction. Especially for durable goods that are consumed over time, there is value to taking a dynamic perspective on customer satisfaction. Within a dynamic perspective, customer satisfaction can evolve over time as customers repeatedly use a product or interact with a service. The satisfaction experienced with each interaction (transactional satisfaction) can influence the 32

overall, cumulative satisfaction. Scholars showed that it is not just overall customer satisfaction, but also customer loyalty that evolves over time.

The Disconfirmation Model "The Disconfirmation Model is based on the comparison of customers’ [expectations] and their [perceived performance] ratings. Specifically, an individual’s expectations are confirmed when a product performs as expected. It is negatively confirmed when a product performs more poorly than expected. The disconfirmation is positive when a product performs over the expectations (Churchill & Suprenant 1982). There are four constructs to describe the traditional disconfirmation paradigm mentioned as expectations, performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction." "Satisfaction is considered as an outcome of purchase and use, resulting from the buyers’ comparison of expected rewards and incurred costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. In operation, satisfaction is somehow similar to attitude as it can be evaluated as the sum of satisfactions with some features of product." "In the literature, cognitive and affective models of satisfaction are also developed and considered as alternatives(Pfaff, 1977). Churchill and Suprenant in 1982, evaluated various studies in the literature and formed an overview of Disconfirmation process in the following figure:"

Construction Organizations need to retain existing customers while targeting non-customers. Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. "Customer satisfaction is measured at the individual level, but it is almost always reported at an aggregate level. It can be, and often is, measured along various dimensions. A hotel, for example, might ask customers to rate their experience with its front desk and check-in service, with the room, with the amenities in the room, with the restaurants, and so on. Additionally, in a holistic sense, the hotel might ask about overall satisfaction 'with your stay.'" As research on consumption experiences grows, evidence suggests that consumers purchase goods and services for a combination of two types of benefits: hedonic and utilitarian. Hedonic benefits are associated with the sensory and experiential attributes of the product. Utilitarian benefits of a product are associated with the more instrumental and functional attributes of the product (Batra and Athola 1990). 33

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to expectation. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey using a Likert scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement in terms of their perceptions and expectations of performance of the organization being measured. Good quality measures need to have high satisfaction loadings, good reliability, and low error variances. In an empirical study comparing commonly used satisfaction measures it was found

that

two

multi-item semantic

differential scales

performed

best

across

both hedonic and utilitarian service consumption contexts. A study by Wirtz & Lee (2003), found that a six-item 7-point semantic differential scale (for example, Oliver and Swan 1983), which is a six-item 7-point bipolar scale, consistently performed best across both hedonic and utilitarian services. It loaded most highly on satisfaction, had the highest item reliability, and had by far the lowest error variance across both studies. In the study, the six items asked respondents’ evaluation of their most recent experience with ATM services and ice cream restaurant, along seven points within these six items: “pleased me to displeased me”, “contented with to disgusted with”, “very satisfied with to very dissatisfied with”, “did a good job for me to did a poor job for me”, “wise choice to poor choice” and “happy with to unhappy with”. A semantic differential (4 items) scale (e.g., Eroglu and Machleit 1990),which is a four-item 7point bipolar scale, was the second best performing measure, which was again consistent across 34

both contexts. In the study, respondents were asked to evaluate their experience with both products,

along

seven

points

within

these

four

items:

“satisfied to dissatisfied”,

“favorable to unfavorable”, “pleasant to unpleasant” and “I like it very much to I didn’t like it at all”. The third best scale was single-item percentage measure, a one-item 7-point bipolar scale (e.g., Westbrook 1980). Again, the respondents were asked to evaluate their experience on both ATM services and ice cream restaurants, along seven points within “delighted to terrible”. Finally, all measures captured both affective and cognitive aspects of satisfaction, independent of their scale anchors. Affective measures capture a consumer’s attitude (liking/disliking) towards a product, which can result from any product information or experience. On the other hand, cognitive element is defined as an appraisal or conclusion on how the product’s performance compared against expectations (or exceeded or fell short of expectations), was useful (or not useful), fit the situation (or did not fit), exceeded the requirements of the situation (or did not exceed). Recent research shows that in most commercial applications, such as firms conducting customer surveys, a single-item overall satisfaction scale performs just as well as a multi-item scale. Especially in larger scale studies where a researcher needs to gather data from a large number of customers, a single-item scale may be preferred because it can reduce total survey error.

Methodology American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a scientific standard of customer satisfaction. Academic research has shown that the national ACSI score is a strong predictor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and an even stronger predictor of Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) growth. On the microeconomic level, academic studies have shown that ACSI data is related to a firm's financial performance in terms of return on investment (ROI), sales,

long-term

firm

value

(Tobin's q), cash

flow,

cash

flow

volatility, human

capital performance, portfolio returns, debt financing, risk, and consumer spending. Increasing ACSI scores has been shown to predict loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendations, and purchase behavior. The ACSI measures customer satisfaction annually for more than 200 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors. In addition to quarterly reports, the ACSI methodology can be applied to private sector companies and government agencies in order to improve loyalty and 35

purchase intent. ASCI scores have also been calculated by independent researchers, for example, for the mobile phones sector, higher education, and electronic mail. The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences into five categories: Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano model offers some insight into the product attributes which are perceived to be important to customers. SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer) to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience. J.D. Power and Associates provides another measure of customer satisfaction, known for its topbox approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates' marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the value of its product awards. Other research and consulting firms have customer satisfaction solutions as well. These include A.T. Kearney's Customer Satisfaction Audit process, which incorporates the Stages of Excellence framework and which helps define a company’s status against eight critically identified dimensions. For B2B customer satisfaction surveys, where there is a small customer base, a high response rate to the survey is desirable. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (2012) found that response rates for paper-based surveys were around 10% and the response rates for e-surveys (web, wap and e-mail) were averaging between 5% and 15% - which can only provide a straw poll of the customers' opinions. In the European Union member states, many methods for measuring impact and satisfaction of egovernment services are in use, which the eGovMoNet project sought to compare and harmonize. These customer satisfaction methodologies have not been independently audited by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) according to MMAP (Marketing Metric Audit Protocol).

36

LITERATURE REVIEW Hooley, T., Neary, S., Morris, M. and Mackay, S. (2015) Customer satisfaction with career guidance: A review of the literature. London and Derby: SQW and International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. Mackay, S., Morris, M., Hooley, T. and Neary, S. (2015) Maximizing the Impact of Careers Services on Career Management Skills: A review of the literature. London and Derby: SQW and International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. Neary , S., Hooley, T., Morris, M. and Mackay, S. (2015) The Impact of Career Guidance on Progression in Learning and Work: A review of the literature. London and Derby: SQW and International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. Hallam, R., Morris, M., Hooley, T., Neary, S. and Mackay, S. (2015) The role of brokerage within career guidance: A review of the literature. London and Derby: SQW and International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. Customer satisfaction has been a popular topic in marketing practice and academic research since Cardozo's (1965) initial study of customer effort, expectations and satisfaction. Despite many attempts to measure and explain customer satisfaction, there still does not appear to be a consensus regarding its definition (Giese and Cote, 2000). Customer satisfaction is typically defined as a post consumption evaluative judgment concerning a specific product or service (Gundersen, Heide and Olsson, 1996). It is the result of an evaluative process that contrasts pre purchase expectations with perceptions of performance during and after the consumption experience (Oliver, 1980). The most widely accepted conceptualization of the customer satisfaction concept is the expectancy disconfirmation theory (McQuitty, Finn and Wiley, 2000). The theory was developed by Oliver, who proposed that satisfaction level is a result of the difference between expected and perceived performance. Satisfaction (positive disconfirmation) occurs when product or service is better than expected. On the other hand, a performance worse than expected results is dissatisfaction (negative disconfirmation). Studies show that customer satisfaction may have direct and indirect impact on business results. 37

Luo and Homburg (2007) concluded that customer satisfaction positively affects business profitability. The majority of studies have investigated the relationship with customer behavior patterns (Dimitriades, 2006; Olorunniwo et al., 2006; Chi and Qu, 2008; Faullant et al., 2008). According to these findings, customer satisfaction increases customer loyalty, influences repurchase intentions and leads to positive word-of-mouth. Given the vital role of customer satisfaction, it is not surprising that a variety of research has been devoted to investigating the determinants of satisfaction. Satisfaction can be determined by subjective (e. g. customer needs, emotions) and objective factors (e. g. product and service features). Applying to the hospitality industry, the important regarding customer satisfaction. Atkinson (1988) found out that cleanliness, security, value for money and courtesy of staff determine customer satisfaction. Knutson (1988) revealed that room cleanliness and comfort, convenience of location, prompt service, safety and security, and friendliness of employees are important. Barsky and Labagh (1992) stated that employee attitude, location and rooms are likely to influence travellers' satisfaction. A study conducted by Akan (1995) showed that the main determinants of hotel guest satisfaction are the behavior of employees, cleanliness and timeliness. Choi and Chu (2001) concluded that staff quality, room qualities and value are the top three hotel factors that determine travelers’ satisfaction.

.

38

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The first step is to formulate a research design. This means planning a strategy of conducting research. It is a detailed plan of how the goals of research will be achieved. Research design is exploratory, descriptive and/or experimental in nature. It is helping the investigator in providing answers to various kinds of social/economic questions. After collecting and analysis of the data, the researcher has to accomplish the task of drawing inferences. Only through interpretation researcher can expose relations and processes that underlie his findings and ultimately conclusions. Interpretation refers to the task of drawing inferences from the collected facts after an analytical study. It is a search for broader meaning and research findings. It is a device through which factors that seem to explain what has been observed by researcher in the course can be better understood and provides theoretical conception which serve as a guide for further researches. It is essential because it will lead towards findings of the study and proper effective conclusions of the study. In the present study, Descriptive research has been followed. Descriptive research is usually a fact finding approach generalizing a cross sectional study of present situation. The major goal of descriptive events, phenomenon and situations on the basis of observation and other sources.

Survey Method: The survey method is the technique of gathering data by asking questions from people who are thought to have the desired information. Every effort should be made to state the objectives in specific terms. The survey design can be defined as: “gathering information about a large number of people by interviewing a few of them.” Surveys are conducted in case of descriptive research studies with the help of questionnaire technique in most appropriate manner. Survey type of research studies usually have larger sample. It is concerned with conditions or relationships that exists, opinion that are held, processes that are going on effects that are evident or trends that are developing. Thus in surveys variables that exist or have already occurred are selected and observed. It is the example of field research. 39

Sample size: Samples are devices for learning about large masses by observing a few individuals. The selected sample is 50.

Data Collection: Data collection means to a purposive gathering of information relevant to the subject matter of the study from the units under research. Primary data are empirical observations gathered by the researcher or his associates for the first time for any research and used by them in statistical analysis. There are several methods of collecting primary data particularly in descriptive research. 

Telephone enquiries



Mail Questionnaire



Personal interviewing



Panel research



Special survey techniques.

Telephonic enquiries and mailing questionnaires are the best’s method for gathering quickly needed information at the cheapest way.

Questionnaire: The questionnaire has a list of questions to be asked and spaces in which the respondents record the answer. It is either printed or typed in definite order on a form or set of forms. Each question is worded exactly as it is to be asked; also the questions are listed in an established sequence. Generally it is mailed to respondents who are excepted to reply in the space provided in itself or may be approached personally to explained the purpose and meaning of questions in the questionnaire, they are conducted by enumerators. Often questionnaire is considered as heart of a survey operations hence should be drafted carefully. Hence structured questionnaire ensures easy quantifications. In the present study, the required data was collected through Sample survey using structured questionnaire. 40

The questionnaire incorporated Question’s related to companies preference for content marketing and other traditional mediums for creating awareness on various products. Though questionnaire is an economic tool for data collection non-response or incomplete response is high in this case. However, proper follow up was taken to overcome this barrier by making sure that each questionnaire is completely filled. Secondary data is the data collected by others in the past and used by others. It may be either being published or unpublished data. It includes the following: 1. Various publications of central, state and local governments. 2. Various publications of foreign governments or international bodies. 3. Technical and trade journals 4. Books, magazines, and new paper 5. Reports prepared by research scholars, university economists Sources of unpublished data are mainly diaries, letters, unpublished biographies etc. before using secondary sources the researcher must ensure reliability sustainability and adequacy of data. In present study, secondary data was provided the dissertation with necessary theoretical back up. Information related to content marketing, and online marketing was collected through various secondary sources such as research journals, reference books, business magazines and content sharing websites.

41

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To study the satisfaction level of the consumers regarding Indian online tourism websites.  To understand the customer base of High Mountains.  To understand the attitude and satisfaction level of customers towards High Mountains.  To study the scope of the growth of High Mountains.

42

DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

Q1 Have you ever booked online tour from any website. o YES o NO Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

40

80

No

10

20

20 yes no 80

Thus, 80% of the respondents says that they have booked online tour from any of the websites. And 20% respondents are book tour offline because they are not aware very much about online or they are not trust online booking.

43

Q2 How was your experience with online tour & travel booking. o Satisfied o Neutral o Unsatisfied Options

No of respondent

%age

Satisfied

33

65

Neutral

12

25

Unsatisfied

5

10

10 satisfied

25

neutral 65

unsatisfied

Thus 65% respondent are satisfied with the experience of online tour and travel booking and 25% respondent are neutral they are not satisfied nor unsatisfied and 10% of respondent are unsatisfied with the experience of online tour and travel booking

44

Q3 Did you get some discount coupon. o Yes o No

Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

40

80

No

10

20

20 yes no 80

Thus 80% of respondent say they have get the discount coupons. And 20% of respondent say that they have not get any discount coupon

45

Q4 Have you ever book online tour or travel from High Mountains. o Yes o No Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

34

68

No

16

32

32

yes

no

68

Thus 68% of respondent say that they have book online tour or travel from High Mountains. And 32% of the respondent are not booking there tour from High mountains because of their unawareness about High mountains.

46

Q5 Are you satisfies with the commitment done by High Mountain. o

Satisfied

o

Neutral

o

Unsatisfied

Options

No of respondent

%age

Satisfied

33

66

Neutral

10

20

Unsatisfied

7

14

14 satisfied

neutral

20

66

66% of the respondents are satisfied with the commitment done by High mountains and 20% of respondents are neutral in their opinion while 14% are unsatisfied.

47

Q6 Do you think High Mountain is investing into various promotional activity. o More o Less Options

No of respondent

%age

More

18

36

Less

32

64

36 more 64 less

Thus, 64% of respondents saying that High mountains are investing less in their promotional activities while 36% of them are of the opinion that they are investing more.

48

Q7 Do you things High Mountain provide frequently discount coupon. o frequently o Rare Options

No of respondent

%age

Frequently

20

40

Rare

30

60

40% frequently 60%

rare

Thus 40% of the respondents says that High mountains is giving discount coupons frequently while 60% says that no company is not providing any coupon.

49

Q8 Will you like to book again through High Mountains. o Yes o No Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

33

65

No

17

35

35 yes 65

no

Thus, 65% of the respondents says that they will book again from High mountains since they are satisfied from high mountains and 35% would not like to book again.

50

Q9 High Mountain is updated regularly. o Yes o No Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

38

76

No

12

24

24

yes no

76

Thus 76% of the respondents says that High mountains is updated regularly and 24% says it is not updated regularly.

51

Q10 What kind of promotional activity High Mountain deal? o Roadside banners o Social ads o Radio ads o Print media o Options

No of respondent

%age

Road side banner

15

30

Social ads

10

20

Radio ads

5

10

Print media

20

40

30 40

ROADSIDE BANNERS SOCIAL ADS RADIO ADS PRINT MEDIA

20 10

Thus 30% of respondent says that they are investing into the roadside banners activity and 20% of respondent says they are into the social ads and 10% of respondent are say they are focus on the radio ads and 40% of respondent says they are use print media in the promotion of high mountains. 52

Q11 Did online ads of High mountains provided you misleading information? o YES o NO Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

5

10

No

45

90

10%

YES NO

90%

Thus 90% of respondent says that they are not providing the misleading information and 10% of respondent says they are providing the misleading information

53

Q12 Does the blogs of High mountains provide useful information to you? o YES o NO

Options

No of respondent

%age

Yes

43

85

No

7

15

15%

YES NO

85%

Thus 85% of the respondent are says that blogs of high mountain is provide the useful information and 15% respondent are says they are not provide the useful information.

54

FINDINGS

1. Maximum of person book tour through online tourism sites. 2. Majority of the people are satisfied with online tour booking 3. People often get discount through online booking 4. The online site high mountain is used widely by its customers. 5. High Mountains is fulfilling their commitment satisfactorily. 6. The company is neglecting its investment for promotional activity. 7. High Mountains is not giving any value addition or discounts to its customers. 8. High mountain is investing less in promotional activity 9. The customers are interested in using High mountain again. 10. Even though, the spending in promotional activity is less but they are regularly updated.

55

SUGGESTIONS 

Firstly, High Mountain should improve its services to improve the customer renewal rate. It is essential only then it would be able to flourish in its business.

The number of tourist

places especially pilgrim sites offered by them should be increased to bring more clients or give accomodation services to their customers. 

Discount coupons should be made available for the customers. Certain schemes or offers should be given to their regular customers



Promotional activities should be increased to improve its awareness among the targeted customers.



Remainders ads should be more frequently introduced and the social. The investment on the SEO of the site should also be increased.



The social media marketing specialists should be contacted or hired by the company.



The company must hire local guides to improvise and customize their services.



The company should employ some policies to build stronger relationships with its customers like sending greetings for their customer’s birthdays and other festive days etc.

56

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

o Time was a constraint. o Customers were not ready to fill the questionnaire. o The limitations regard the fact that the empirical analysis was carried out just in a specific area and should be extended to other destinations for further comparisons. o Since the sampling is random so there are chances of biasness in the report. o Data don’t represent entire population behavior.

57

CONCLUSION

Tourist satisfaction can influence some behaviour such as customer retention as well as word-ofmouth or word-of-mouse processes. From this study, it comes out that tourist satisfaction depends on a complex process where the role of each actor is fundamental and it must be in tune with all the other ones. According to these results, it is clear that the main factors that can generate customer satisfaction is fundamental to orient future strategic actions. Furthermore, the longitudinal analysis showed that it is more than ever necessary the realization of orchestration strategies, enacted by both local public and private actors to remove negative factors (or to reduce their impact) and to amplify the effects of positive factors influencing tourist satisfaction. Thus, from a theoretical point of view, the paper presents a focus on customer satisfaction with specific reference to service industries. These are peculiar since the service is evaluated in the same time of its provision, thus making it very difficult and challenging for firms to propose adequate offers to an increasingly needful demand. Besides, these results are very useful for decision makers since they drive the process of managing tourism offer connected with tourist image, in an experience-based view.

58

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS 

Gitomer Jeffrey, Customer satisfaction is worthless, Customer loyalty is priceless (originally published in 1998)



Hill Nigel, How to measure customer satisfaction (originally published in 1999)



Griffin Jill, Customer Loyalty: How to earn it , how to keep it (originally published in 9 october 2002)



Gerson Richard Measuring customer satisfaction (published in 1999)

Websites 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_satisfaction



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_India



https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/role-of-tourism-industry-in-indiasdevelopment-2167-0269.1000126.php?aid=28312



http://managementstudyguide.com/customer-satisfaction.htm

59

QUESTIONNAIRE 

Have you ever booked online tour from any website? o YES o NO



How was your experience with online tour & travel booking? o Satisfied o Neutral o Unsatisfied



Did you get some discount coupon? o Yes o No



Have you ever book online tour or travel from High Mountains? o Yes o No



Are you satisfies with the commitment done by High Mountains? o Satisfied o Neutral o Unsatisfied



Do you think High Mountain is investing into various promotional activity? o More o Less



Do you things High Mountain provide frequently discount coupons? o frequently o Rare



Will you like to book again through High Mountains? o Yes o No



High Mountain is updated regularly? o Yes o No 60



What kind of promotional activity High Mountains deal? o Roadside banners o Social ads o Radio ads o Print media



Did online ads of High Mountains provided you misleading information? o YES o NO



Does the blogs of High Mountains provide useful information to you? o YES o NO

61