8

Principles of Travel and Tourism 1.1 INTRODUCTION

Operations and Aviation Safety
One of the largest industries in India is the travel and tourism industry. It provides
cultural, medical, heritage, business and sports tourism. The most important goal of
this sector is to increase and promote tourism, to give other tourist countries a tough
competition, improve and expand present tourism products to make sure that there is a
wide scope of the employment for the local people and to grow the economy of India.
In this lesson, we give valuable information about a variety of tourist spots in India,
modes of transportation, accommodation and approved travel agents.

1.2 PRINCIPLES OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM

The Basic principles of the tourism are as follows:
z Collaborate: We can achieve more by working in a group than working alone.
Working in a group is very important as it not only helps to develop local support,
but also tourism requires resources that one organisation cannot provide. The
success of the industry depends on the contribution of the government business
class people tour operator craftsmen artists and many people in order to enhance
the tourism in the country.
Regional groups are also helps to enhance tourism. Cooperating in a local
arrangement help us to increase pool resources, regional themes, save money and
expand our marketing potential. These resources incorporate not only money for
advertising campaigns, but also facilities or expertise in tourism, maintenance, the
arts or another area.
z Find the Fit: To take care of the needs of the local people and the tourist is
significant to make sure that tourism provides benefits to everybody. It is
necessary to realize the kind and amount of tourism that your society can handle.
It is very true that the local priorities fluctuate. So do local capabilities. In simple
words we can say that, local circumstances decide that what is the need of the area
and the tourism. Programs that succeed have wide confined recognition and meet
local needs. They are practical, depends on the talents of particular people in
addition to particular attractions, accommodations, and sources of support and
interest.
One of the reasons that why tourism is growing in India is that travellers are
looking for experiences that are distinct and not homogenized. They want to
experience the beauty of the particular place. You can form your tourism program
on the basis of what is suitable and good for area.
™ Are there certain times of year or certain places they do not want to share?
™ Can you accommodate group tours? Do sites accommodate at least forty
people at once with amenities such as restrooms, snacks, and a seating area?
™ Can you accommodate visitors with disabilities or special needs?
™ Do the residents of your area want tourism?
™ How will tourism revenues improve life in your area and affect services such
as fire and police protection?
™ What is the maximum number of cars or buses your area can handle? On
roads? In parking lots?
™ Why do they want it?
z Make Sites and Programs Come Alive: Interpreting sites is very significant, and
so as to make the meaning innovative and exciting. Find methods to take the
attention of the visitor’s five senses as you can, because the more they are
involved, the more they will hold.
 On average, visitors will remember: 9
Travel and Tourism
™ 10% of that tourist HEAR
™ 30% of that tourist READ
™ 50% of that they SEE
™ 90% of that tourist DO
z Focus on Quality and Authenticity: Quality is an important element for all
tourism, and authenticity is important whenever we talk about the heritage or
history.
The true and the exciting stories place is the worth telling. The story of the prior
generation’s authentic contribution to the history and culture of the place is the
one that will interest tourist, as it distinguishes the place from other places on
earth. Its authenticity adds real value and appeal. By doing the job right and by
focusing on the quality and the authenticity you can give your area the
competitive edge.
z Preserve and Protect: A community’s historic, cultural, and natural resources are
important and often unique.

1.3 INDIA A TOURIST DESTINATION

Development in the Tourism industry in India has seen many phases. At the level of
the Government the development of tourist services was taken up in a designed
manner in 1956 coinciding with the Second Five Year Plan. The Sixth Plan has started
a new era for tourism that has started to be taken as a main instrument for the
integration of the social and economic development.
But the tourist activities have gained momentum in 80’s. The Government takes
numerous important steps. A National Policy on travel and tourism was announced in
1982. Afterwards in 1988, the National Committee on Tourism form a plan to achieve
a sustainable growth in tourism. In 1992, a National Action Plan was made and in
1996 the National Strategy for Promotion of Tourism was formulated. In 1997, a draft
new tourism policy along with the economic policies of the Government and the
trends in tourism development was published for public discussion. But now it is
under the process of revision. The projected policy recognizes the roles of public
sector undertaking, Central and State governments and the private sector in the
development of tourism. The involvement of Local youth, local bodies, Panchayati
Raj institutions, non-governmental organisations in the formation of tourism services
has also been recognised.
The most important development occurred were the formation of the India Tourism
Development Corporation in 1966 for the promotion of India as a tourist destination
and the Tourism Finance Corporation in 1989 to finance tourism projects.
1.3.1 Tourist Attractions
India is a country which is famous for its generous management to all tourists that
does not matter from where they are coming. Its tourist-friendly traditions, diverse life
styles and cultural heritage and colourful festivals and fairs attracts for the tourists.
Many other tourist attractions consist of forest, beautiful beaches, wild life and
landscapes for eco-tourism, mountains, snow and river for adventure tourism, heritage
trains and hotels for heritage tourism, science museums and technological parks for
science tourism; centres of pilgrimage for spiritual tourism. Health resorts, Ayurveda,
and Indian yoga are the main attractions for the tourists.
The Indian handicrafts mainly ivory, jewellery, brass work, carpets, leather goods, are
the main shopping stuff of foreigners. The surveys indicate that nearly 40% of the
tourist expenses on shopping is spent on these stuff.
10 Growth
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety Domestic tourism is the oldest tourism in India. According to surveys, domestic
tourism has grown mainly during the previous one decade. It raised from 64 million in
1990 to 167 million in 1998, thus registering an annual growth of 12.8%.
The tourism growth since independence is very remarkable. It was just 17000 in 1951.
From this level it went to 2.36 million in 1998. Tourism receipts on the other hand
have grown at a phenomenal rate of 17 per cent to ` 11,540 crore in 1998 from
` 7.7 crore in 1951.

Economic Impact
Tourism has generated a lot of employment, poverty alleviation and sustainable
human development. During 1998-99, employment generation through tourism was
estimated at 14.79 million.
Foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector during 1998-99 were estimated at
` 12,011 crore. Tourism has thus become the second largest net foreign exchange
earner for the country.
Tourism also contributed ` 24,241 crore during 1998-99 towards the country’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).

Thrust Areas
In order to increase the expansion of tourism in the country numerous important areas
have been recognized for accomplishment during the Ninth Five Year Plan
(1997-2002). The most important is the beach resort, trekking, development of
infrastructure, products, trekking, winter sports and wildlife streamlining of
facilitation methods at airports, human resource development and facilitating private
sector contribution in the infrastructural growth.

Organisation
In India the organisations that are participating in the development of tourism are
Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, the Ministry of Tourism with its
21 field offices within the country and 18 abroad, India Tourism Development
Corporation, National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology,
National Institute of Water Sports and Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering.

Boosting Tourism
Some of the current steps taken by the Government to enhance tourism incorporate
grant of export house status to the tourism industry and incentives for enhancing
private investment in the form of exemption of the Income Tax, interest subsidy and
less import duty. The hotel and tourism industry has been announced a high priority
sector for foreign investment which entails routine approval of direct investment up to
51% of foreign equity and allowing 100% per cent non-resident Indian investment and
simplifying set of laws concerning the sanction of support to tour operators, travel
agents, and tourist transport operators.

Celebrations
At the time of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of India as a Republic, the Tourism
Ministry has made extraordinary efforts to publicize the tourism potential of India.
The Tourism Day was celebrated on January 25, 1998 for the first time. Buddha
Mahotsav was organised from 24th October to 8th November 1998. The Wong La
Millennium was held from April 1999 to January 2001. A special calendar of events
has been formed for highlighting contributions to Millennium events by various places
in all the States. An official website of the Tourism Ministry has also been formed for 11
facilitating propagation of information on tourism. Travel and Tourism

Constraints
The main constraint in the growth of international tourisms in India is poor
infrastructure that includes accessibility to tourist destinations, inadequate air seat
capacity, accommodation and skilled manpower in plenty number.
Poor experience of the visitor mainly due to poor hygienic conditions, inadequate
infrastructural amenities, and incidents of touting and annoyance of tourists in few
places are prime reasons that add to poor visitor experience.
Indian tourism has huge potential for employment generation and earning a good
amount of the foreign exchange further giving a boost to the country’s overall social
and economic development. Much has been accomplished by way of increasing trains
and railway connectivity to important tourist destinations, growing air seat capacity,
widening of roads that connect important tourist centres and growing accessibility of
somewhere to live by adding up legacy hotels to the hotel sector and cheering paying
guest somewhere to stay. But much more has to be done. As tourism is a multi-
dimensional commotion, and essentially a service sector, it would be necessary that all
parts of the Central and State governments, private sector and charitable organisations
develop into lively associates in the endeavour to accomplish sustainable development
in tourism if India is to turn into a world player in the tourist sector.

1.4 INDIAN STATES, CAPITALS, PUBLIC HOLIDAYS,

BANKS THAT ATTRACT TOURIST
1.4.1 Top States
Rajasthan: Rajasthan is one of the most famous and most visited states in India.
Rajasthan is the residence of the previous royal Indian Maharajas (kings) and
Maharanis (queens). A large number of glorious palaces, havelis, forts, monuments,
museums, and other legacies of royalty are present here. The most attractive place of
the Rajasthan is the Thar Desert. Travelling through the sandy desert on the camel’s
back or on aboard a jeep is an exclusive experience. Camping on the sand under the
moonlit twinkling night is a huge attraction for the visitors.
Kerala: Rajasthan is famous for its royal heritage. On the other hand, Kerala is more
of nature lover's enjoyment. The state is also known as the 'God's own country’.
The natural attractiveness of Kerala is revitalizing, be it the tea gardens of Munnar or
the backwaters of Allepey and Kumarakom. The wildlife sanctuaries – Kumarakom,
Periyar, and Wayanad – are abode to both ferocious and beautiful plants and animals.
Also, festivals, people of Kerala and their way of life, cuisine, are very diverse from
what you will come crossways in Rajasthan.
Goa: Goa is the place that has fun loving spirit. The churches because of their
architectural style attract the tourist. Because they stand reminder to the centuries of
Portuguese rule that Goa has seen in the past most of the tourist came just to
acknowledge its beauty. The beaches are the main attraction here where one can get
pleasure from both leisurely walks and adventurous water sports. The New Year
celebration and the Goa Carnival in February is the time when most of the tourists
visit this state.
Uttaranchal: Uttaranchal is a tourist spot picked up by those who wants adventurous
and religious holiday. The snowy peaks, mighty hills and rushing rivers, are very good
for an adventure activity like rafting, trekking, and skiing. Chardham, a pilgrimage
spot offer one’s soul a peace that one has been wanting for a long time. Its wildlife
sanctuaries and ayurvedic therapies gives Uttaranchal a competitive edge.
12 Himachal Pradesh: Nestling in the arms of the strong Himalayas, the state has a lot
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety of valleys and has a charming beauty. An option of adventure in Himachal is as vivid
as it is in Uttaranchal. You can opt for rafting, trekking, skating, skiing, gliding, or
any other form of adventure activities. Himachal is famous pilgrimage destination for
Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs.

1.4.2 Top Cities

Jaipur: The pink city of India and the capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur was founded by
Maharaja Jai Singh. The main attractions of the tourist are the Jantar Mantar, City
Palace, Hawa Mahal, and Amber Fort. The city is also a spot in the royal voyage of
the comfort train and Palace on Wheels.
Agra: One of the wonders of the world is in India i.e. in Agra named Taj Mahal which
is the main point of attraction for tourist towards Agra. Although, this city is in Uttar
Pradesh has many other attraction also to charm visitors after they have visited Taj.
The most prominent amongst them is the Agra Red Fort and Itmad-Ud-Daulah's
Tomb. The remains of Fatehpur Sikri are definitely the point of attraction for the
tourist. Shopping is also high on the list of visitors here.
Khajuraho: Khajuraho is a small place that is situated in Madhya Pradesh and is
known all over the for its cave temples. There were firstly 85 temples, yet, today you
can see the remains of only 20 temples. Those of you concerned in exploring the
educational heritage of India must visit the Khajuraho.
Varanasi: The holiest destinations for the Hindus is Varanasi which is situated in
Uttar Pradesh. A number of tourists are coming to Varanasi to worship river Ganges
and famous Hindu deities at the ghats and at the temples of Varanasi. A trip to
Varanasi is significant for those eager of knowing more about Hindu religion.

1.4.3 Top Monuments

Taj Mahal: Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan's utmost contribution to the world – a
magnificent mausoleum built in the remembrance of his dearly loved wife Mumtaaz
Mahal. A symbol of eternal love in white marble, the Taj, appears among the seven
architectural Wonders of the World and accounts for over 3 million tourists every
year.
Red Fort: This red-sandstone building was on one time is the fort of the Mughal
Kings who ruled India for a long time. A surplus of other palaces in its site and the
traditional Meena Bazaar wherever the royalty once purchased make it a day-long
tourist trip. Indian Prime Ministers till date gives speech for the nation from the Red
Fort on Independence Day.
Jaisalmer Fort: It is the oldest fort since 10th century that witness various generations
of Rajas, Traders, Merchants etc. The temples, intricately imprinted havelis and a
sense of the existence in the dry arid region make Jaisalmer a must-visit for visitors.
Camel and jeep safaris add to the enthusiasm all the more.
Hawa Mahal: Jaipur's Hawa Mahal is an architectural wonder, be applicable the
appellation well with its great amount of windows that flow tranquil gentle wind and
its seem, that resembles more a cascading screen than a building.

1.4.4 Top Religious Attractions

The Golden Temple: Sikh religion does not need any introduction to their holy
pilgrimage seat. Sri Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple, named so because of the
typical golden hue that the tombstone is bathed in, is laced by the equally sacred
waters of the Amrit Sarovar or the Pond of Nectar.
Meenakshi Temple: Lord Shiva and his wife Meenakshi are the reigning deities here 13
in this classic, yet traditional representative of Dravidian place of worship structural Travel and Tourism

design with its gopurams (large sculpted gateways) and mandapams (multi-pillared
halls).
Akshardham Temple: Along with the banks of the Yamuna river banks is this 2
billion architectural grandeur – an initiative of the Bochasanvasi Aksharpurushottam
Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). It is a fine blend of technology and faith.
Akshardham Temple complex is complete with a majestic 11 ft. statue of Lord
Swaminarayan, 20,000 other statues, an IMAX theatre, artificial lakes and a complex
musical fountain.
Lotus Temple: The Lotus Temple is the meditative safe haven that draws tourist from
across the world irrespective of caste and community.

1.4.5 Top Wild Attractions

Ranthambore National Park: One of Rajasthan's leading wildlife sanctuary,
Ranthambore National Park is famous Tigers and also for a wide range of the floral
variety. The Ranthambore Fort is present in this park.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary: The well-known sanctuary of Kerala, Periyar is which
has a large herd of elephants and more than 300 species of birds and more than 120
species of butterflies greet visitors. The park also has tigers which you can be seen
during your trip.
Jim Corbett National Park: It is the first National Park and Tiger Reserve of India,
Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal provides visitors many chances to spot wild
animals and birds. Spotting tigers, yet, needs patience as the king of the forest doesn't
gives regular look.
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary: Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat is the last natural habitat of
Lions of Asia that attracts tourist. Other than Lions, the park is also a home to three
hundred species of birds.
Kaziranga National Park: The Kaziranga National Park in the Jorhat district of
Assam is the only place if you want to see the one horned rhino. The park also has a
vigorous population of wild buffaloes, tiger, and elephants. Rare class of birds for
example hornbill is also a main drawer of tourists.
Top Luxury Trains Palace on Wheels: This is possibly the most comfortable and
famous of all the lavishing trains in India. The Palace on Wheels starts its royal trip
from the capital of India, Delhi and takes its travellers on an unforgettable trip to
Jaipur, Ranthambore, Jaisalmer, Udaipur and Agra, Jodhpur, before returning to
Delhi. On the train, for 8 following days, it is the royalty of the previous Rajasthani
rulers that replaces the tedious lifestyle of the passengers.
Deccan Odyssey: The Deccan Odyssey is no way at the back in unfurling before you
the magnificent history of Maharashtra. For 7 days, the Deccan Odyssey takes its
tourist on a tour to the inheritance spots of Maharashtra. Starting from Mumbai, the
train proceeds to Ratnagiri, Pune, Sindhudurg, Goa, Aurangabad (Ellora), Kolhapur,
Nasik (Ajanta) and Mumbai. At the end of the trip, the experience is incredible.

1.4.6 Top Hill Stations

Munnar: This is the attractive and peaceful hill station and is situated in the south
Indian state of Kerala. Main attractions here are the Ervikulam National Park, the
green tea gardens and wonderful waterfalls. Shopping is Munnar includes picking up
items like strawberries, tea and spices.
Shimla: The most well-known hill stations in India that attract tourists is Shimla
which is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. The hill station has been generously set
14 apart by nature and gives its tourist a visual pleasure in form of beautiful valleys, pine
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety clad hills and waterfalls. The Mall is the main attraction of Shimla.

1.4.7 Natural Attractions

Dal Lake, Kashmir: A perfect lake nestled in the charming Kashmir Valley amidst
the green Mughal gardens having antique monuments, multi-coloured flowers and
avian metropolis, and plummetted orchards. The best tourist attraction is the quiet
boat travel in one of the thousand odd extended and stylish shikaras or houseboats that
hover on the Dal.
Kerala Backwaters: The Backwaters of Kerala are the region destined for those who
want calm moments among normal beauty. The most important backwater spot in
Kerala are Cochin, Kumarakom, Trivandrum and Allepey, Kollam. Cruising all along
these backwaters on the ship or the houseboats or Kettuvallom is one experience that
is eternally appreciated by tourist to the state.
Check Your Progress 1
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. The Backwaters of Kerala are the place meant for those who want calm
moments amidst natural beauty.
2. A perfect lake nestled in the charming Kashmir Valley amidst the green
Mughal gardens having multi-coloured flowers and avian metropolis,
antique monuments and plummetted orchards.
3. The Deccan Odyssey is no way at the back in unfurling before you the
magnificent history of Maharashtra.
4. It is the oldest fort since 10th century that witness various generations of
Rajas, Traders, Merchants, etc.
5. A number of tourists coming to in Varanasi do not to worship river Ganges
and prominent Hindu deities at the ghats and at the temples of Varanasi.

1.5 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND BANKS IN INDIA

India is a traditionally diverse and enthusiastic society, make merry numerous
holidays and festivals. The annual holidays are widely observed by state and local
governments; however, they may alter the dates of observance or add or subtract
holidays according to local custom.

1.5.1 Public Holidays

National holidays

z Soldiers of the Madras Regiment during the annual Republic Day Parade in 2004.
z National holidays are observed in all states and union territories.
z India has three national days. They are:
 15
Date English name
Travel and Tourism
26-January Republic Day

15-August Independence Day

2-October Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.

Hindu Holidays

Hindus celebrate a lot of festivals all over the year. Hindu festivals has many
religious, mythological and seasonal significance. The observation of the festival, the
representations used and attached, and the grace and strength of festivity varies from
region to region in the country. A list of the more popular festivals is given below:

Holiday Observed in

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra (as Bhogi), Punjab (as

Bhogi/Lohri
Lohri)

Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam (as Magh Bihu),

Makar Gujarat (as Uttarayan), Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh,
Sankranti/Pongal/Maghi/Magh Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal (as Makar
Bihu Sankranti), Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu (as Pongal), Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh (as Maghi)

Thiruvalluvar Day Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu

Uzhavar Thirunal
Tamil Nadu
(Farmers' Day)

Vasant Panchami (Aka,

Orissa, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra
Saraswati Puja)

Ratha Saptami Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,

Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,
Maha Shivaratri
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Rajasthan,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

All states and territories except Kerala, Nagaland, Mizoram, Goa,

Holi (Aka, Dol)
Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Tamil

Gudi Padwa/Ugadi/Puthandu
Nadu

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,

Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Ram Navami
Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

Contd…
16
Principles of Travel and Tourism Hanuman Jayanti Maharashtra, Orissa, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh (as Bada Mangal)
Operations and Aviation Safety
Akshaya Tritiya/Maharishi Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Parashurama Jayanti Uttar Pradesh

Rath Jatra Orissa

Nag Panchami or Guga-Navami All states and territories except Goa

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan,

Raksha Bandhan (Aka, Rákhi
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana, Orissa,
Púrńimá)
Punjab, Maharashtra

Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat,

Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,
Krishna Janmashtami
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal

Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,

Ganesh Chaturthi
Orissa, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka

Onam Kerala, Pondicherry

Raja Parba Orissa

Mahalaya Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa

all states
holiday for 2 days in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Nagaland,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and
Dussehra (Aka, Durgá Pujá) Uttar Pradesh
holiday for 3 days in Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Tamil Nadu, and Tripura
holiday for 6 days in West Bengal
11th day Bhashani Utchhav in Orissa

Kumara Purnima (aka Kojaagari Maharashtra (as Kojaagari Pornima), Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Pornima) Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, West Bengal.

all states and territories observed for 2 days in Assam, West Bengal,
Karnataka, Orissa, observed for 5 days in Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh observed for 6 days in
Maharashtra
Vasu Baras (aka Govatsa
Maharashtra
Dwadashi)

Dhan Teras (aka Dhan

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
Trayodashi)
Diwali (Aka, Káli Puja and
Diipávali) Naraka Chaturdashi all states

Maharashtra, Orissa, Assam,

Lakshmi Puja Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, West
Bengal and Tripura

Goverdhan Pooja all states

Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka,

Bhai Duj (Aka, Bhau-beej,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West
Yama Dwitiya, Bhai Phota)
Bengal, Madhya Pradesh

Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,and some parts of Rajasthan and

Devotthan Ekadashi
Madhya Pradesh

Contd…
Hartalika Teej Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh 17
Travel and Tourism
Jagaddhatri Puja West Bengal

Visvakarma Puja Orissa, West Bengal

Nuakhai Orissa

Chhath Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh

Bathukamma Andhra Pradesh

Bonalu Andhra Pradesh

Islamic Holidays

Mawlid or Eid-e-Milād-un-Nabī being celebrated in a town in Uttar Pradesh.

Holiday Observed in
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid/Ramazan Id all states and territories
End of Ramazan
Eid al-Adha
Bakr-Id all states and territories
Feast of the Sacrifice

1.5.2 Banks in India

This is a partial list of corporations engaged in banking business within the territory
of India. There are currently nationalised banks in India.

Nationalised Banks/Public-sector Banks

z Vijaya Bank
z United Bank of India
z Union Bank of India
z UCO Bank
z Syndicate Bank
z Punjab & Sind Bank
z Punjab National Bank
z Oriental Bank of Commerce
z Indian Overseas Bank
z Indian Bank
z IDBI Bank
18 z Dena Bank
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z Corporation bank
z Central Bank of India
z Canara Bank
z Bhartiya Mahila Bank
z Bank of Maharashtra
z Bank of India
z Bank of Baroda
z Andhra Bank
z Allahabad Bank

SBI and Associate Banks

z State Bank of India
z State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
z State Bank of Hyderabad
z State Bank of Mysore
z State Bank of Patiala
z State Bank of Travancore
z State Bank of Saurashtra (merged into SBI in 2008)
z State bank of Indore (merged into SBI in 2010)
z Regional Rural Banks ( Third Level Heading)
z Allahabad UP Gramin Bank
z Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank
z Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank
z Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank
z Aryavart Gramin Bank
z Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
z Baitarani Gramya Bank
z Balageria Central Co-operative Bank
z Ballia –Etawah Gramin Bank
z Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank

Private-sector Banks
z Axis Bank
z Catholic Syrian Bank
z City Union Bank
z Development Credit Bank
z Dhanlaxmi Bank
z Federal Bank
z HDFC Bank 19
Travel and Tourism
z ICICI Bank
z IndusInd Bank
z ING Vysya Ban

1.6 TOP FESTIVALS AND TOURIST ATTRACTION

1. Diwali

Source: http://0.tqn.com/d/goindia/1/0/m/0/-/-/diwali.jpg

The very famous festival of India is Diwali which is a 5 day celebration that marks the
beginning of the Hindu New Year. It's famous as the "Festival of Lights" for all the
small clay lamps, fireworks, and candles that are lit throughout the celebrations. These
lights are said to symbolize the success of brightness over darkness and good over
evil. The candlelight makes Diwali a festival of joy and happiness.
2. Ganesh Chaturthi

Source:http://0.tqn.com/d/goindia/1/0/w/0/-/-/ganeshfestival.jpg

The magnificent eleven day Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated as the birthday of
beloved Hindu elephant-headed god, Lord Ganesha. The beginning of the festival
witnesses vast, highly crafted statutes of Ganesha brought at homes and podiums,
which have been particularly prepared and marvellously bejewelled.
3. Holi

Source: http://0.tqn.com/d/goindia/1/0/l/0/-/-/holi.jpg
20 Holi is a festival of colours that also symbolizes the victory of good over evil, in
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety addition to the profusion of the spring crop season. It's commonly referred to as the
"Festival of Colours".
4. Navaratri, Dussehra, and Durga Puja

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It is the festival of nine days known as Navaratri. The tenth day, called Dussehra, is
dedicated to celebrating the conquer of the devil king Ravana by Lord Rama. It also
signifies with the success of the honoured warrior Goddess Durga over the sin buffalo
mischievous Mahishasura.
5. Krishna Janmashtami/Govinda

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Krishna Janmashtami, also known as Govinda, signifies the birthday of Lord

Krishna. This festival include people climbing on one another and making a human
pyramid to attempt and arrive at and smash open earth pots that has curd, which have
been hanged up high from buildings.
6. Kerala Temple Festivals

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Kerala the South Indian State has temples that are famous for their interesting temple 21
festivals. The huge processions of elephants, splendid in colourful ornaments, are the Travel and Tourism

foremost attractions of these festivals. The processions are made by bright drummers,
floats, and other musicians.
7. Onam

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Onam is a traditionally 10-day festival that signifies the return of the legendary King
Mahabali. It’s a festival rich in customs and custom. People noticeably beautify the
ground in front of their houses with flowers set in good-looking patterns to greet the
King.
8. Pushkar Camel Fair

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An amazing 50,000 camels congregate on the little desert city of Pushkar, in India's
state of Rajasthan for the Pushkar Camel Fair. For five days, the camels are clothed
entered into beauty contests, paraded, shaved, raced, and of course traded. It's a big
occasion to witness a conventional style Indian gala.

1.7 IMPORTANT TRAVEL AGENTS AND TOUR

OPERATOR
The Ministry of Tourism has announced a scheme for giving way sanction to hotel
projects from the viewpoint of this aptness for worldwide tourists. A categorization
committee formed by the Ministry categories the performance of hotels in the star
organization into 6 categories from star one to five star deluxe. Likewise, the Ministry
has a system to approve Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Adventure Tour Operators
and Tourist Transport Operators, the thought being to support quality, standard and
service in these categories in order to encourage Tourism in India. This is an intended
scheme open to all bona fide agencies.
22 1.7.1 Travel Agents
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety A Travel Agent is defined as the one who arranges the tour and makes preparations of
tickets for journey by ship, rail, or air, passport, visa, etc. He may also organize
lodging, tours, entertainment and other services related to tourism. It can be classified
as under:
z Inbound Tour Operators: An Inbound tour operator is defined as the one who
arranges accommodation, transport, sight-seeing, entertainment and other services
related to tourism for foreigners.
z Tourist Transport Operators: A Tourist Transport Operator Organization can be
defined as the one, who give tourist transport like coaches, boats, cars, etc. to
visitors for sightseeing, travelling, and journeys to visitor places etc.
z Adventure Tour Operators: An Adventure Tour Operator can be defined as the
one who is occupied in actions associated to Adventure Tourism in India i.e.,
mountaineering, water sports, aero sports trekking and safaris of a variety of
kinds, etc. Other than that he might also arranges for transportation, housing, etc.
z Domestic Tour Operators: A domestic tour operator is can be defined as the one
who arranges transportation, sight-seeing, entertainment accommodation, and
other tourism related facilities for domestic tourists.
Check Your Progress 2
Fill in the blanks:
1. A ……………………. is can be defined as the one who arranges
transportation, sight-seeing, entertainment accommodation, and other
tourism related facilities for domestic tourists.
2. An ……………………. can be defined as the one who is occupied in
actions associated to Adventure Tourism in India.
3. A ……………………. can be defined as the one, who give tourist transport
like coaches, boats, cars, etc. to visitors for sightseeing, travelling, and
journeys to visitor places. etc.
4. The ……………………. has announced a scheme for giving way sanction
to hotel projects from the viewpoint of this aptness for worldwide tourists.
5. Onam is a traditionally ……………………. festival that signifies the
return of the legendary King Mahabali.

1.8 LET US SUM UP

In this lesson we have learned how travel and tourism industry has developed over
time and achieved new scope with the growth of a variety of facilities and
infrastructure. From this we appreciate that in the current situation tourism is taken as
a service industry, and this industry is the leading foreign exchange earner and
employment generator. It is hence very essential to have good preparation and
organization of this business and thus increases the need and the significance of
tourism statistics. We know the difference between travel and tourism; tourist and an
excursionist; domestic and international tourist.
As tourism is taken as an industry, it also has a product, the product that comes out of
it is known as Tourism Product. In the next lesson we would learn the definition and
the characteristics of this product and the various forms of a tourism product.

1.9 LESSON END ACTIVITY

Make list of places that attract the tourist in Delhi.
26
Principles of Travel and Tourism 2.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Operations and Aviation Safety
After studying this lesson, you should be able to:
z Discuss the scope of the tourism
z Describe the travel agent and tour operator
z Understand the perception of tourism worldwide

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the world’s largest industry that generates employment and provides a
source of foreign exchange to the country. This lesson deals with the approaches to
define tourism as an industry and the problems faced by this industry. The scope of
the tourism is very important to understand. This provides a great understanding of the
duties and responsibilities of the travel agent. How they carry out their work and their
function as per the need and the demand of the client. The tour operator and the travel
agents play an important role in making the trip of the tourist a good experience. In
this lesson we will study all the aspects and the requirements of the tourist in order to
make the tour of the client a remarkable and memorable and how the tour operator
work and give a good impression on the customer to increase their business.

2.2 THE SCOPE AND OPERATION OF THE TOURISM

INDUSTRY
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is an industrial group that
undertakes the main tourism services in the world. As part of their work they have
expected the size and scope of the tourism industry by means of sophisticated
profitable techniques. They state that travel and tourism is:
‘One of the largest and most dynamic industries of today’s global economy, travel and
tourism …it accounts for US£6 trillion, or 9%,’of global gross domestic product
(GDP) and it supports 260 million jobs worldwide, either directly or indirectly. That’s
almost 1 in 12 of all jobs on the planet’ (WTTC 2012: 3).
The Scope and Operation of the Travel and Tourism are as follow:
z The tourism industry is extremely diverse – from the size of organization;
business type; sector; organization; and process. It can be taken as the collection
of various industries.
z Tourism is a diverse range of products than a single product.
z It comprises tangible and non-tangible elements.
z It is produced where it is consumed.
To exacerbate this, the tourism industry is both misunderstood and underexplored
(Debbage & Daniels 1998). This is because it is amorphous and complex, shrouded in
conceptual fuzziness and imprecise terminology (is it tourism or travel?). This lesson
aims to dispel some of this mystique and provide a clear description of how to
approach examining the scope and scale of the contemporary tourism industry.

2.3 IMPORTANT TRAVEL AGENT AND TOUR

OPERATOR
Travel Agent: A travel agent provides information to the people on various travel
destinations advises them of available holiday packages to suit their tastes and budget
and chart their travel plan. He would generally sell the travel associated products like
currency exchange, car rentals, insurance etc.
Tour Operators: Tour operators offer holiday packages which comprise: 27
Scope of the Travel and Tourism
1. Travel like by rail, road or air.
2. Accommodation like hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses.
3. Travel services like airport pick and drop, sightseeing, excursions etc.
These tour operators may be the wholesale operators who operate tours only through
retail travel agencies or they may be direct sell operators who market their product
directly to the public.

2.3.1 Benefits of Booking Tours

The association among tour companies and the travel agents is constantly developing.
Earlier, tour operators relied approximately solely on travel agents for their business.
But now, with developing technology and growing business strategies, tour operators
are now diversifying how to carry out their business. Travel agents use internet
websites to attract their clients worldwide. Many tourists are now looking for an
exclusive and unique tour to have a memorable experience. Tour operators are
enhancing their strategies to have a good number of clients. Agents are taking a good
education and are of well aware of the places and technology so that they can achieve
their targets.
However, the advantages of booking a tour are extremely high. Group travelling is a
very profitable constituent of the business of the travel agent, and tours are the simple
and clear to accommodate these groups. The rate of commission is higher for group
travel, and the returns are also very high.
By having a good focus on your area one can have a specialization in one area. One
can have focus on particular places, like Italy, Brazil, or China. Moreover special trips
like African Safaris or Scuba Diving vacations can be organized. By the help of tour
operators you without any problems set up yourself as a specialist on one area of
travel.
Tour operators have a unique association prospect for travel agents. If you have a
good personal rapport with numerous companies, you can start to make to order trips
for your customers. These customers will be happy with the service you provide them
during their tour.

2.3.2 Types of Tours

Many tourists like to go to independent travel, mainly when going on a worldwide trip
where the currency, language, and transportation systems are difficult. Tourists
booking a tour often pass on to travel agents for assistance. If you are a good travel
agent you must be able to answer all the queries of the tourist about the tour, tour
types, group sizes, and travel styles. All tour companies are dissimilar each company
caters to its own market. It is the duty of the travel agent to ensure your clients is on
the trip that he wanted or that fits his needs.
You should ask your client what they want to get out of the experience. Some tourist
wants more freedom and flexibility during their trip, while some tourists want the trip
to be pre-planned and without any hassles. A travel agent must know about the niche
tours, like those that focus on history, food, or music. These tours grow in fame and
will give the clients a more comprehensive knowledge at a particular part of a culture.
These tours are more special and more personalized that your customer will greatly
value.
Another important factor is group size, when selecting a particular tour. Small trips
are more personalized, but many times are more costly. Considering age groups when
selecting a tour is also very important. Some companies, like Contiki, focus on a
younger people. These tours focus on partying and socializing.
28 Trips that do not involve heavy walking are being preferred by the old people.
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety
2.3.3 Choosing an Expertise
You bill yourself as an expert, if you are a travel agent. As we know that the world is
a big place so if you want to give your customer a good tour you should have an
expertise in a particular area. Many travel agents take a particular place as their
expertise. When choosing a place, you should consider the place where you actually
locally live. You should have knowledge of what you opponent is offering. For
example if there are many companies that focus on Dubai than you should not focus
on that.
Those travel agencies could have a sound established name and customers that you
might face problem in competing with. You should always consider the area in which
you have a good interest. If you have spent a major amount of time in one place then
you should be OK with that. Travel demand is also significant so look at travel trends
in current time. If there is a place in which is popular, then will help you and you
should have expertise in that region. You should also give importance to the political
stability in that region, as this can have a remarkable impact of upcoming travel and
your business.

2.3.4 Marketing Yourself

Once you have developed a particular specialisation, you can start selling your
services. Schools, churches and businesses are popular sources of group travel. By
actively becoming a part of church activities you can become a recognisable face that
people feel they can trust. Also think giving referral incentives.

2.4 PERCEPTION OF THE TOURISM WORLDWIDE

2.4.1 Tourism Perspective
The term tourist is believed to have been derived from the Latin word ‘TORNUS’
which means a tool, a circle or a turner’s wheel. In the sense of the word of the origin,
tourist is a person who undertakes a circular trip, i.e., ultimately comes back to the
place from where he sets about his journey.
The simple word travel, defined as "the act of moving" by most dictionaries, has a
different definition within the context of tourism industry. For the purpose of this
book, travel is defined as "the act of moving outside one's community for business or
pleasure but not for commuting or traveling to or from work or school" (Gee, Makens,
& Choy, 1989, p. 12). With respect to travel as an industry, there must also be the
creation of economic value resulting from the travel activity.
Understanding fundamental definitions and concepts used within the context of the
travel and tourism industry provides an essential framework from which most
discussions on the industry are based. Because of tourism's intangible nature, common
definitions of terminology benefit the industry in a number of ways.
Standardised definitions help insure that all parties are speaking about the same term
or concept with little or no room for variables. This essential for tourism developers
and executives from different regions or countries when they discuss travel and
tourism matters.
In addition, having standardised definitions enables planners to use comparable data
in which to make more informed business decisions. Exact definitions, however,
cannot be taken for granted. For the first half of the 20th century, tourism visitor
arrivals were barely recorded by many countries and, when they were recorded,
methods varied by countries. It was not possible to effectively compare the total
number of visitors from one country to another which defined visitors differently, 29
usually counting arriving foreign passport-holding individuals. Scope of the Travel and Tourism

Finally, having standardized definitions enables tourism researchers to make

scientifically valid assumptions about the tourism industry. This becomes increasingly
important as travel and tourism researchers continue to enlighten public policy makers
and private industry executives about the extraordinary role tourism plays-in the
worlds overall economy. As a relatively new academic discipline, the tourism field
lacks the depth of research found in other forms of commerce. As standardized
definitions become more accepted, researchers will have an easier time collecting
comparable data and performing meaningful tourism studies.
Based on the various definitions of a Tourist here are some of the characteristics of a
Tourist:
z He takes up his journey of his own free will.
z He takes up the journey primarily in search of enjoyment.
z The money spent on the visit is the money derived from home, not
z Money earned in the places of visit.
z He finally returns to his original starting point.

2.4.2 Global Perspective

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the major inter-governmental body
concerned with tourism, has led the way in establishing a set of definitions for general
use. In 1991, the WTO and the Government of Canada organized an International
Conference on Travel and Tourism Statistics in Ottawa, Canada which adopted a set
of resolutions and recommendations relating to tourism concepts, definitions, and
classifications. The following definitions are based on the WTO definitions and
classifications and explain the various types of visitors:
z Tourism: The activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business,
and other purposes.
z Tourist: (Overnight visitor) Visitor staying at least one night in a collective or
private accommodation in the place visited.
z Same Day Visitor (Excursionists): Visitor who does not spend the night in a
collective or private accommodation in the place visited.
z Visitor: Any person travelling to a place other than that of his/her usual
environment for less than 12 consecutive months and whose main purpose of
travel is not to work for pay in the place visited.
z Traveller: Any person on a trip between two or more locations (WTO, 1995b,
p. 16).
Unfortunately, there is still confusion over these very basic definitions. Even within
the same country such as the United States, for example, different states may use
different definitions for data gathering and statistical purposes.

2.5 PERCEPTION OF TRAVEL WORLDWIDE

Just as there are different types of visitors, there are different forms and categories of
travel which take place, varying by traveller, destination, and motive for travel, such
as international vs. domestic travel, intra-regional vs. interregional travel, as well as
inbound vs. outbound travel.
30 2.5.1 International and Domestic Tourism
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety According to the WTO, international tourism differs from domestic tourism and
occurs when the traveller crosses a country's border. Not every international traveller
is a visitor, however. The traveller is a visitor only if the trip takes him or her outside
the usual environment, e.g., workers who cross borders for employment are not
considered visitors. The interest in international tourism has always been strong,
primarily for economic reasons, as this form of tourism plays an important role in
trade and monetary flows among nations.
Domestic tourism has been overshadowed by the interest in international tourism, for
it was thought initially to have little or no international impact, and statistics on the
subject were felt to be a country's own business. It has become clear, however, that
international and domestic tourism do relate to each other. Travellers’ choices change
depending on circumstances, and domestic tourism can be substituted for International
tourism and vice versa under the influence of external factors, such as relative growth
in real incomes, price differences between countries, and international political
conditions. Over the past few decades, in many Western countries domestic holidays
were largely replaced by outbound holidays, influenced by the rise in living standards
and discretionary incomes, while developing countries have seen sharp increases in
domestic tourism.

Regional Travel
Regions are geographically united subdivisions of a larger area characterized by
definitive criteria or frames of reference. Three types of regions are used in tourism
research. The first one refers to geographical location. Regions such as "the north" or
"the west," are examples of this type. The second type refers to administrative areas,
such as "Province X." The third combines criteria referring to location with criteria of
a more physical nature. Examples of this type of regions are "the lake district" or "the
Pacific Basin." Regions of functional type can also be constructed, such as "urban
areas" or "coastal areas” The term interregional travel refers to travel among various
regions, whether in regions found within the same province or state, a country, or
various regions throughout the world. Intra-regional, on the other hand, refers directly
to travel contained within the same defined region, whether domestic or international
such as travel between countries of East Asia.

Inbound and Outbound Tourism

There are three forms of tourism at any level, in relation to a given area, e.g., domestic
region, country, or group of countries:
Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given area travelling (as visitors) only
within that area.
Inbound tourism, involving non-residents travelling as visitors in the given area.
Outbound tourism, involving residents travelling as visitors in an area other than the
given area.
If a country is the area of reference, the terms "domestic," "inbound" and "outbound"
tourism can be combined in various ways to derive the following categories of
tourism:
Internal tourism, which comprises domestic and inbound tourism;
National tourism, which comprises domestic tourism and outbound tourism;
International tourism, which consists of inbound tourism and outbound tourism.
To avoid misunderstanding the terms "inbound," "outbound," "domestic," "internal,"
"national “and” international tourism" are generally used with a country as the unit of
reference. However, it should be recognized that there are political subdivisions which 31
are less than countries and differ from states such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Scope of the Travel and Tourism

Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, both part of the United
States (WTO, 1995b, p. 27).

2.6 INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

In India we see the origin of the concept of Tourism in Sanskrit Literature. It has
given us three terms derived from the root word “Atana” which means going out and
accordingly we have the terms:
z Tirthatana: It means going out and visiting places of religious merit.
z Paryatana: It means going out for pleasure and knowledge.
z Deshatana: It means going out of the country primarily for economic gains.
In simple terms Tourism is the act of travel for the purposes of leisure, pleasure or
business, and the provision of services for this act.
There are two important components that make up tourism:
1. The practice of travelling for pleasure.
2. The business of providing tours and services for persons travelling.

Difference between Travel and Tourism

Though the words Travel and Tourism are synonymies and used interchangeably but
Tourism is a wider concept and encompasses a lot more than travel alone. Travel
implies journeys undertaken from one place to another for any purpose including
journeys to work and as a part of employment, as a part of leisure and to take up
residence; whereas Tourism includes the journey to a destination and also the stay at a
destination outside one’s usual place of residence and the activities undertaken for
leisure and recreation.
All tourism includes some travel, but not all travel is tourism. A person may often
travel for a wide variety of purposes of which tourism is only one. However if
properly handled, a part of the travel for non-tourism purposes can be motivated into
travel for tourism as an additional purpose. For example a person on a journey as a
part of employment to a place with one or more tourist attractions – like a spot of
scenic beauty or historical significance, a pilgrimage, a lake, etc. can be induced to
spare some time and money for a short visit and or stay for tourism purposes alone .In
this sense every traveller is a ‘potential’ tourist and is up to the managers of the
industry to tap this ‘potential’ and convert the traveller into an ‘actual’ tourist.

2.6.1 Nature/Characteristics of Tourism

The following are the some of the characteristics of the tourism. They are:
z Absence of ownership: When you buy a car, the ownership of the car is
transferred to you, but when you hire a taxi you buy the right to be transported to
a predetermined destination at a predetermined price (fare). You neither own the
automobile nor the driver of the vehicle. Similarly, hotel rooms, airline tickets,
etc. can be used but not owned. These services can be bought for consumption but
ownership remains with the provider of the service. So, a dance can be enjoyed by
viewing it, but the dancer cannot be owned.
z Unstable Demand: Tourism demand is influenced by seasonal, economic political
and others such factors. There are certain times of the year which see a greater
demand than others. At these times there is a greater strain on services like hotel
bookings, employment, the transport system, etc.
32 z Intangible: Unlike a tangible product, say, a motor car or refrigerator, no transfer
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety of ownership of goods is involved in tourism. The product here cannot be seen or
inspected before its purchase. Instead, certain facilities, installations, items of
equipment are made available for a specified time and for a specified use. For
example, a seat in an aero plane is provided only for a specified time.
z Psychological: A large component of tourism product is the satisfaction the
consumer derives from its use. A tourist acquires experiences while interacting
with the new environment and his experiences help to attract and motivate
potential customers.
z Highly Perishable: A travel agent or tour operator who sells a tourism product
cannot store it. Production can only take place if the customer is actually present.
And once consumption begins, it cannot be stopped, interrupted or modified. If
the product remains unused, the chances are lost i.e. if tourists do not visit a
particular place, the opportunity at that time is lost. It is due to this reason that
heavy discount is offered by hotels and transport generating organisations during
off season.
z Composite Product: The tourist product cannot be provided by a single enterprise
unlike a manufactured product. The tourist product covers the complete
experience of a visit to a particular place. And many providers contribute to this
experience. For instance, airline supplies seats, a hotel provides rooms and
restaurants, travel agents make bookings for stay and sightseeing, etc.
z Fixed supply in the short run: The tourism product unlike a manufactured
product cannot be brought to the consumer; the consumer must go to the product.
This requires an in-depth study of users’ behaviour, taste preferences, likes and
dislikes so that expectations and realities coincide for the maximum satisfaction of
the consumer. The supply of a tourism product is fixed in the short run and can
only be increased in the long run following increased demand patterns.
z Heterogeneous: Tourism is not a homogeneous product since it tends to vary in
standard and quality over time, unlike a T.V. set or any other manufactured
product. A package tour or even a flight on an aircraft can’t be consistent at all
times. The reason is that this product is a service and services are people based.
Due to this, there is variability in this product. All individuals vary and even the
same individual may not perform the same every time. For instance, all air
hostesses cannot provide the same quality of service and even the same air hostess
may not perform uniformly in the morning and evening. Thus, services cannot be
standardized.
z Marketable: Tourism product is marketed at two levels. At the first level, national
and regional organisations engage in persuading potential tourists to visit the
country or a certain region. These official tourist organizations first create
knowledge of its country in tourist –generating markets and persuade visitors in
these markets to visit the country. At the second level, the various individual firms
providing tourist services, market their own components of the total tourist
product to persuade potential tourists to visit that region for which they are
responsible.
z Risk: The risk involved in the use of a tourism product is heightened since it has
to be purchased before its consumption. An element of chance is always present in
its consumption. Like, a show might not be as entertaining as it promises to be or
a beach holiday might be disappointing due to heavy rain.

2.7 IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM

Tourism sector holds immense potential for Indian economy. It can provide impetus to
other industries through backward and forward linkages and can generate huge
revenue earnings for the country. In the recent 2007-08 budget, the provision for 33
building tourist infrastructure has been increased from US$ 95.6 million in 2006-07 to Scope of the Travel and Tourism

US$ 116.5 million in 2007-08 (Min. of Tourism, GOI).

Tourism is no longer looking at it as a leisure activity, but as a major source of
employment. The labour capital ratio per million rupee of investment at 1985-86
prices in the tourism sector is 47.5 jobs as against 44.7 jobs in agriculture and 12.6
jobs in case of manufacturing industries (Market plus Report, Min. of Tourism).
Tourism is one of the third largest net earners of foreign exchange for the country and
also one of the sectors, which employs the largest number of manpower.
In order to develop tourism in India in a systematic manner, position it as a major
engine of economic growth and to harness it’s direct and multiplier effects for
employment and poverty eradication in an environmentally sustainable manner the
state and central governments formulated several policies. But it continues to suffer
from lack of consistent and comprehensive policy. While little effort has been made to
tap the potential of the tourism sector over the last few decades, the central tourism
ministry is formulating policies to facilitate private investments through public private
partnership and focus on development of this sector.
India is rated among the top five travel destinations in the world according to Lonely
Planet. ABTA magazine rates India as the most preferred destination on earth. Indian
tourism is one of the most diverse products on the global scene. India has 26 world
heritage sites. It is divided into 25 bio-geographic zones and has wide ranging eco-
tourism products. Apart from this it has a 6,000 km coastline and dozens of beaches
(WTO 1997). India's great ethnic diversity translates into a wide variety of cuisine and
culture. It also has a large number of villages, plantations and adventure locations.
The potential of tourism to contribute to development is widely recognized in the
industrialized countries, with tourism playing an increasingly important role and
receiving government support. Tourism along with some other activities like financial
services and telecommunications is a major component of economic strategies.
Tourism has become a favoured means of addressing the socio-economic problems
facing rural areas on one end, while enhancing development of urban areas on the
other.
Check Your Progress 1
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Tourism along with some other activities like financial services and
telecommunications is a major component of economic strategies.
2. India is rated among the top five travel destinations in the world according
to Lonely Planet.
3. Tourism is no longer looking at it as a leisure activity, but as a major
source of employment.
4. Tourism sector holds immense potential for Indian economy.
5. An element of chance is always present in its consumption.

2.8 TRAVEL SERVICES

Conventionally, it was believed that a travel agent (TA) does not create a need but
only fulfils an existing need. But it is now a reality that a number of TAs not only
creates the need to travel to destinations but give business to hotels, carriers and many
others. A TA is an important link between the traveller and the rest. How some travel
agencies have grown and benefited from the marketing approach, is being discussed in
this lesson.
34 The purpose of marketing is to create a customer, to persuade him to purchase your
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety product, in spite of the options open to him to either buy from someone else or not to
buy at all. It is a well-recognised axiom that the customer pays not for the product, but
for the satisfaction he desires. To begin with, only the customer knows what would
satisfy him. Or does he, really? It is, therefore, important to know who the customer
is, or can be; to determine what satisfies him or does not; or, even to change his
perspectives and bring around to recognise the possibilities inherent in the offer you
are making.
Obviously the operative word here is value. To qualify, it is the value that the
customer receives or perceives he is getting, in exchange for a segment of money or
time or choice surrendered by him, which determines the 'decision variable'. As a
consequence, value for money has become a consumer buzzword as powerful and
pervasive as 'brand loyalty' and 'quality'-the latter, no doubt, being an integral part of
the value concept.
It is axiomatic that the 'decision variable' itself is not a constant. To explain, given the
same product backed with consistent value, the customer may decide not to buy it, or
defer his purchase decision, depending on various factors external to the product—
economy, attitudinal, and societal. The marketer, in such situations, has to reach out
beyond the confidence circle of his own product into larger concentric circles which
he can only hope to control most of the time. It is, perhaps, this perception of outer
circles and the compulsion to reach out for them which adds true value to his product,
particularly in fiercely competitive situations.
Fortunately, not only travel agents, but everyone else knows by now of the dramatic
attitudinal and societal changes which have come about in India over the last twenty
years in matters of business and leisure travel. It is no longer considered a luxury, and
certainly not a psychological block, to want to get from 'Point A' to 'Point B' in the
least possible time and in a most pleasurable manner The 'decision variable' has, in the
main, become more need driven as the external factors influencing such decisions
have weakened and lost their bite.
Since most things in life have a price attached to them, the advantages of a potentially
large travel market, close at hand, must be placed in the context of constricted
marketing opportunities. This is neither a paradox nor a contradiction in terms. What
really has emerged for the trade is a scenario in which the players have to operate with
not much to fall back on, in terms of Unique Selling Propositions (UPSs). The seller
of a travel service is not about 'to change the world'—the world has changed! What he
is attempting, really, is to add value to an existing product for influencing the buying
decision in his favour.
He is conscious all the time that the competitor is selling intrinsically the same
product—a flight coupon, a car rental, a passport or visa service, a tour, and so forth.
What could or does make a difference for him are the peripherals he can add on or, as
is increasingly obvious worldwide, what reductions he can offer to his client from the
cost of the service provided, by working as closely as possible.
This is not to imply that the travel business is a non-professionalised hit-or-miss
operation, working without sophistication and driven by cut-rate deals, made in little
offices. As a matter of fact, travel is the largest and fastest growing commercial
enterprise in the world. In India too, the growth patterns are exciting, but more of that
later. Moreover, technology has given the business a number of powerful operational
tools. Internally, large scale computerisation of travel agencies has brought about a
sense of productivity and efficiency norms – concepts which, in the 'people business',
are difficult to formulate and monitor. Externally, access to international reservation
mega-systems have changed the rules of the travel marketing game by offering
remarkable instant options to the airline travellers and hotel guests, and travel agents
are no longer unfamiliar with the distinct advantages of satellite data links and 35
electronic mail. Scope of the Travel and Tourism

The most important point, however, is that are we, in the travel business, marketing or
selling? Are we creating a need or merely fulfilling an existing need? Driven as we are
by the more amorphous elements of personal choice, how do we lend the product a
marketable dimension and how different are we allowed to be from the travel agent
next door? These are aspects which must be viewed in the current and short-future
Indian context.

2.8.1 The Indian Scenario

The travel trade in India is about sixty years old, and has received its impetus from the
growth of civil aviation in the country. From small beginnings with a few firms like
Thomas Cook, Vensimals, Mercury of the Oberoi's followed a few years later by TCI
and Sita, today it encompasses about 750 travel agencies spread all over the country.
Yet, this growth has been random and uncontrolled, manifest by today's trade
syndromes, a serious lack of professionalism, particularly in areas of marketing and
finance, the absence of clear-cut institutional and product definition, competition of
the most pernicious kind, and an inadequate code of ethics.
Also, apart from the odd ones out, travel agencies in India have grown around the
expertise, experience and enterprise of single individuals and, so, tend to be highly
personalised. These are superior technocrats who have plunged in, armed with
assurances from a small but dedicated clientele, mostly with poor funding and weakly
held beliefs on the workability of modern methods in a market-place, where contacts,
word of mouth publicity and perpetual deal making predominate. For instance, how
can one explain the fact that computerisation has been adopted just about a decade
ago, and even then, in the most rudimentary manner? Or that, finance still remains
primarily, a bookkeeping and debt-collection function? Or that the marketing function
is seen as an exercise in trade espionage, sweet-dealing the clients, wheeling-dealing
and pumping in sales volumes at any cost or consequence?
The biggest problem a travel service marketer faces is determining what to sell and to
whom. As an agent there is not much he can do about the activities of his principals,
or those on whom he must depend: be they airlines or shipping companies,
government or foreign embassies, local transport operators or their agents abroad.
Thus, the need is to be both circumspect and selective. Overpromising and
under-delivering a service can lead to loss of money and loss of a client; and, in a
trade which is as insular as the travel trade, the ripple effect is disastrous. Ironically,
the Indian travel agent constantly gambles on these imponderables because he
believes he is safer off in familiar territory, as opposed to offering products he is not
comfortable with.

2.8.2 Players: Competition

Situational, the Indian travel agent finds himself caught in the cause and effect fallout
of unplanned and non-regulated growth. He is forced to compete not only with fellow
agents, but with other players in the Held like general sales agents and passenger sales
agents. Initially, these firms were appointed by certain airlines to sell their capacities
in areas where no IATA approved travel agent existed, at commission percentages
higher than what the travel agent earned. First at a slow pace, but later with gathering
momentum, GSAs and PSAs have 'crossed the borders' and it is not unusual to find,
particularly in our metro cities, the airline, its GSA or PSA and IATA approved
travel agents operating next door to each other, and often running after the same
client! Furthermore, cases of airlines competing against their own agents for a plum
account are not difficult to find.
36 In the highly price sensitive travel trade, the IATA approved travel agent is at a
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety serious disadvantage; because every other client is primarily concerned with
neutralising the effects of steeply increasing air fares on his travel budget and he is
forced to offer discounts from his earnings just to stay in the game.
Within the travel fraternity itself, at least five classifications have emerged; the IATA
agent offering a wide clutch of services on a multi-locational basis; the single location
agent; the corporation promoted 'in-house' agency; the 'consolidator' who buys
business for cash on a heavily discounted basis; the non-IATA 'Mom and Pop Shop'
who have no airline ticket stocks or service back-ups and exist by pulling in clients
literally from the pavements for IATA agents in exchange for a small sub-agency
commission. Add to these the firms which specialise only in visa or passport work on
the side, and the usual assortment of free lancers and touts. The IATA approved travel
agent must find his way through this maze of options and enticements to reach his
prospective client.

2.8.3 Travel Services Marketing

The quality, reach, and ultimate success of the marketing activity in a travel agency
depends on how clearly the marketer has understood the service levels his firm can
deliver, and how accurately he assesses the factors which make his firm stand out
from competition. To arrive at such level of clarity and accuracy, he will have to
measure his firm's potential and performance against the generic and specific factors
which contribute to the success of a travel services operation.
Whilst a distinction has been made between the generic and the specific, it must be
understood that the factors are not insular; there is both an overlapping and an
interlocking into one another. Moreover, there are some functional relationships
between them, particularly in terms of cause and effect.
This is not a priority listing and each factor assumes importance at a particular point in
time or amidst a specific scenario. However, everything should finally progress into
credibility and confidence.

Seven Cs of Travel Services Marketing

z Competence
z Credibility
z Confidence
z Consistency
z Customisation
z Care
z Clout
Credibility and Confidence: These are the strongest allies a travel agent can have in
the market-place. Qualitatively, selling travel services is a complex business, not only
due to convoluted fare structures, a lot of regulations to be complied with, involved
itinerary planning and so forth, but to a great extent due to the fact that the agent has
little control over the end product he offers. An aircraft may get delayed, or not take
off at all, leading to a missed connection; a visa or passport may be refused and there
is almost nothing you can do about it in a hurry; a hired car may fail to turn up, or a
hired coach may break down miles from anywhere; a hotel may not have a pre-booked
room ready for your client; your client's air cargo may be shut out at the last moment;
a tour can start with delay and misunderstandings and even end in a fiasco. Each of
these primary services are organised by you from principals; no principal is
answerable to you and only a few choose to commiserate with you. On the other hand,
since the client rarely interacts with the principals, you are inevitably answerable to 37
him. Scope of the Travel and Tourism

These traumas are what a travel agent has to frequently live through and a good agent
develops techniques and plans to safeguard his client and himself. How well he does
reflect the credibility and the confidence level he is able to generate and sustain in the
market. Word does tend to get around and if the marketer, in pitching for new
business, can demonstrate these qualities backed with data and facts, he can
manoeuvre his agency into a position of strength. Even so, we, in the Indian
market-place, are lucky because loyalties die hard here, unlike in the West where
credibility is subjected to constant testing and analysis. But with business perspectives
becoming increasingly bottom-line and pressure oriented, things are changing. The
marketing professional must realise this and search for credibility and confidence
advantages for his agency.
Competence and Clout: Listing competence as a marketing advantage may be
resorting to a tautology. Nevertheless, the qualities a travel agent possesses in terms of
high job specific skills and professional staff strength set him apart from the
run-of-the-mill agent and help in promoting client confidence. Here, competence is
related to technical excellence more than to street smart 'mister fix it' labels. There
will be enough opportunity to demonstrate the latter when things need to get done out
of turn by bending rules, but to begin with, an agency's prime strength lies in how well
the technicalities of the trade are handled by its staff and managers. Competence,
therefore, is a function of superior staff, strong supervision, effective systems and
controls and diverse experience culled from the trade. The marketer who can assert,
based on a proven track record, that his firm knows all the options and can deliver the
best one to the client, or has the talent to anticipate problems before they arise, is
bargaining from a position of strength.
Clout, of course, can be applied when, in spite of having pressed all the buttons, the
machinery remains immobile. Given the multiplicity of operational systems laid out
by a number of principals, anything could go wrong—cancellations, delays, tariff
revisions. If the marketer perceives the efficacy of his agency's contacts within the
confines of offices that matter, he must project this strongly to his prospective client.
He should, however, avoid overkill; contacts remain productive only if they are
handled judiciously.
Consistency: This is another important factor which the marketer must exploit to the
firm's advantage. It is far easier to maintain consistency of quality while selling goods
which can be produced to DIN or BS or ISI specifications than when you are selling
services which do not conform to tangible parameters and have a perceptual bias.
As a matter of fact, it is this bias which determines the vital 'decision variable' which
was discussed earlier. Consistency, however, is easy to comprehend, but not as easy to
sustain particularly, "when you are marching in someone else's parade." The travel
service marketer, in view of competitive pressures, tends to pitch at the highest
promise levels every time to the client. This practice is undesirable and one should see
very objectively on what the agency can do, time after time. The service performance
must not read like the ECG of someone with a systolic problem, nor should it be a
flat-liner. It is important to learn how to say 'no' at times and play safe. It pays in the
long run to consistently deliver good levels of service than be a 'one shot wonder'.
Customisation and Care: If an agency is still arguing about what has been discussed,
remember that the negative fallout of saying 'no' to a client can be neutralised if, as the
marketer, one is prepared to approach each client as someone who has special needs,
even if they are not obvious.
The travel service marketer is rarely selling a branded product. There is no airline that
everyone always likes or dislikes; there is no best airport in the world where your
38 client wants to get stuck in for hours; there is no ideal stopover or routing. Each client
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety has a special perspective and he wants a travel agency which can assure him that it
understands this well.
Small and medium sized agencies have gainfully employed this factor in their selling
and servicing, perhaps due to low volumes that they handle which help a one-to-one
relationship with their clients. It is the larger travel agencies which suffer in
comparison.
For example, Mercury Travels, which is one of the top three in the country, has a
client base of over 500 companies. The problem of providing each passenger, which
could be say 1000 travellers a month on international flights alone, with highly
customised treatment, is acute. Just to keep track of their travel related data is no small
task. Until a satisfactory answer to this can be found, high volume agencies will have
to create a special sales and servicing cell, and then allocate perhaps 5 to 10 clients per
staff on a dedicated basis. But, as is obvious, this adds not only to staff costs, but also
to pernicious in-house squabbling, when each group member pushes for emergency
attention from the ticketing counter staff. Ideally, large agencies should find the
resources to create dedicated cells comprising one staff each drawn from domestic
ticketing, international ticketing, sales and servicing and documentation departments,
who deal with just their 'own' clients. But such a nuclear configuration may not
always be possible.
Large agents in America and Europe are highly computerised, both in-house as well
as being subscribers to mega-computerised reservation systems like Sabre, Galileo,
Amadeus and so forth. We, in India, are far behind till now. Indian travel agencies are
far behind. At Mercury Travel the focus, therefore, has been to bring about quantum
changes in in-house computerisation to go completely online. This will also help in
building up a comprehensive travel profile of each of the customers of Mercury
Travels. Whilst waiting for this upgradation to come about, marketers must sell
services on the premise that every passenger will receive personalised treatment, and
ensure that his or her commitment to the client is backed up by strong operational
support. The silver lining in this situation for a large agency is that, with years of
handling a wide span of customer needs, agency staff is conditioned to expect
complications and provide quick, effective, cost-saving solutions which are really
what the client is looking for, to begin with.
Customisation is pointless without care. First, the marketer must assert that his agency
cares about your particular needs and is prepared to put his money where his mouth is.
Secondly, that his agency takes more than adequate care in planning your travel
details and follows through till departure. It is generally believed that if a client is
convinced that adequate care has been taken at the planning stage and all that needs to
be done has been done, he tends not to hold the agency responsible for the problems
and frustrations which may befall him later. A client can be a business person, a
corporate manager, a government official, a self-employed professional, with whom
the travel service marketer can strike the empathy chord.

2.8.4 Other Marketing Challenges

There are a number of specific factors which can be used to great advantage in
marketing a travel service within the distinctive scenario that exists in India. These
factors are:
z Low general awareness
z Intense competition
z Poor infrastructure
z Lack of control.
The Indian traveller, having truly come of age in the last decade or so, is ironically, by 39
and large, still ignorant of all that a travel agency can do for him in terms of servicing, Scope of the Travel and Tourism

obtaining the best deals for him from the airlines and hotels, the various meet and
assist services which are available at airports in India and abroad, the most
inexpensive methods of transportation, time saving and so on.
On the other hand, the market is intensively competitive, with an increasing number of
players running after the same client groups. Even if .01% of our 880 million travel
(at 8,00,000 travellers), our country has immense potential. It is reasonable to estimate
that just about 10% of this potential is tapped. On the other hand, the number of travel
agents have increased fifty-fold in the last two or three decades. To paraphrase
Winston Churchill, never have so few expected so much of so many! Travel services
are overwhelmingly concentrated in the metros and their environs—few travel agents
have been intrepid enough to invest time and effort in opening up the vast and affluent
hinterland. This manifests itself in growing and intensive competition.
The tools that the travel agent has to work with are at best, primitive, and at worst,
non-existent. In-house computerisation levels in the trade are very low because given
the abysmal margins available to the agent, he fights shy of all investment that cannot
guarantee instant returns. Additionally, the agent is familiar with mega-reservation
systems only through the pages of foreign trade journals. On the other hand, the
available domestic service infrastructure from our telephone systems to airplanes can
keep anyone guessing and missing.
Finally, as explained earlier, the travel trade in India is not regulated by a charter or by
a strict ethical code. IATA norms, save for financial guarantees, are loosely operated
both in terms of licensing and monitoring. The premier travel trade body, the Travel
Agents Association of India is constituted by preference and has no statutory control
over its members which constitute about half of all IATA recognised agents in the
country. Thus grab-as-grab-can is the name of the game. The operational ethics of
many travel agents border on malpractice. Price, and not service, has become the
prime mover in the market.

Value Add-ons in a Travel Agency

z A tie-up with a credit card company for rupee payment in India, and a hotel
reservation system.
z A tie-up with authorised dealer in foreign exchange to secure the benefits of quick
processing at minimum cost.
z To possess a full-fledged money changers licence and work as a one-stop shop.
z To introduce a Privilege Travellers Club which can give the frequent traveller
benefits? This could take the form of complimentary meet and assist services of
free tickets, or even an all-expense paid holiday.
z Computerised reminder service on visas and passports and e', en on the highlights
of previous journeys.
The art of service recovery is also a very powerful tool in the hands of the travel
marketer. As we have seen, a travel agent is horribly prone to the more deadlier
aspects of Murphy's law, being subject to the fallout from its own and others’ errors of
omission and commission. It capitalises on and gets mileage from adversity.
Instances of a group being bumped off a flight and taken straight by a travel agent to a
restaurant for a five-star dinner or his picking up the tab for an aborted flight
connection or offering a complimentary trip to Agra when the usual transport fails to
report, are not uncommon. A leading hotel chain in America asserts that if 'Room
Service' takes more than 10 minutes the service is complimentary. If the marketer is in
a position to commit such quid pro quos, he should use it to his advantage.
40 As far as discounts, credit and complimentary service in general are concerned, the
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety agency policies must be clearly defined. The marketer must make the initial pitch by
forcefully highlighting such benefits, keeping in mind what the competition has to
offer. He must be prepared for counter demands from the prospective client and be
flexible enough, as dictated by circumstance. Compulsions of high volumes and
prestige play an important role here. In securing a large bank's travel business, higher
discounts and longer credits than are usually offered by his agency may be justified if
there is a strong chance of the goodwill rubbing off on to the Bank's commercial
clientele, who may then swing their travel business towards that agency. Offering
special terms to powerful trade bodies and associations may also pay off in a similar
manner.
It is considered both ethical as well sound business policy to check out the prospective
client's record with the earlier agency – why is he leaving them? An independent
financial review and rating helps.
On the other hand, the marketer, reviewing a client's past performance, must take into
account sales volumes and payment record. In re-negotiating contracts, one of the
prime considerations is whether it has been a profitable relationship for both the
parties.
Look through any newspaper or magazine and you will observe that the advertising of
services in this country constitutes an infinitesimal segment of the total amount spent
on product advertising. This is a ridiculous situation because, obviously, it is the
former which is more nebulous in its perceived benefits and therefore needs to be
more positively projected at the potential market. Travel agents stop at the occasional
cocktail party or PR base—with the guest list being generally restricted to existing or
past clients. There is an agent who has an annual party for over a thousand people at a
football stadium, comprising past and present travellers with them! What little
advertising there is limited to specific launches — an outbound tour programme, or
the opening of a new location.
The concept of producing an effective corporate brochure, or a sales kit, is important;
it can form the basis of the marketer’s initial sales pitch. Similarly, in going for a very
large account, it may be worthwhile to invest in an audio-visual presentation. For
instance, once a very prestigious Bangalore based client called for an AV presentation
and Mercury Travels won the account on the strength of its AV presentation.
Newspaper and magazine advertising, leave alone TV, is very expensive and must be
judiciously used.
In the main, the successful travel service marketer must be convinced that effective
institutional advertising which forcefully imprints the agency's product in the public
mind, is essential. There are hundreds of potential clients out there who must be told
what you can offer them.

2.9 STATE TOURIST ORGANISATION

The STO is the body accountable for the formation and execution of national tourist
policy. It is the appropriate agency and instrument for the implementation of the
responsibilities for the direction, control, and endorsement of tourism. All countries
which are dealing in tourism formulated a state tourist organisation which plays a
most important role in both the formulation as well as the accomplishment of the
Government’s tourism programme. These organizations are also accountable for
coordinating the special actions of all the bodies involved in the development of the
tourism. There is on the other hand no fix method as to what make the most
acceptable constitutional deals for the state tourism. In some countries, tourism ranks
as a full ministry and the Minister enjoys a cabinet rank. An additional arrangement in
a lot of countries for tourism is to share a Minister with other departments like
information or with arts, sports and culture. However other possibilities comprise 41
attaching the tourism office to the government of the council, putting it in the charge Scope of the Travel and Tourism

of an official of the rank of a Deputy Secretary with an occasional voice in the council
of Ministers.

Functions of State Tourism Organisation

z STO normally undertake the following functions:
z Control of activities of private travel agencies
z Development of selected areas and
z Information and promotion within the country
z International relations
z Overall tourism policy and promotion.
z Publicity overseas
z Regularization of standards of lodging and restaurants
z Research
z Technical and judicial problems
Research is a necessary role of a State tourist organisation. A related institutional
support is research into the tourism prospective of the principal markets and analysis
into the marketability of the country’s tourist product. This is a significant straight
accountability of STO. Another important supervisory role of the STO is the Control
of the activities of private travel agencies. A lot of tourists are using the services
offered by the private travel agencies. It is necessary that the tourists must get efficient
and good service and protection.
The problems which are related with the administration of law are the technical and
the judicial problems. This is very important as variety of services depend on these
sectors. STO must be very careful while administering law. On the other hand
technical problems are concerned with the growth and maintenance of a variety of
services. Constant thorough consideration is made to the level to which the
superstructure and organisation planned and infrastructure, are likely to meet
upcoming tourism demand.
International relation is extremely essential part of tourism. International associates
that results from tourism have been constantly among the major important ways of
spreading ideas regarding other cultures. Tourism can be a medium for international
perceptive by way of bringing various people face to face. It has been cited as a major
supplier to international friendliness and as a prime means of increasing social and
cultural perceptive among all people of the world.
Improvement of preferred areas to draw tourists is compulsory. In each nation state
there are many areas of tourist potential. On the other hand due to a variety of
limitations, it is not feasible to increase all these areas. It is essential to recognize and
choose particular areas which have the utmost potential for the development of the
tourism.
Overall promotion of tourism and it is very important as it helps in the optimal use of
resources. In calculating income generating from investments in tourism, national
tourist policy cannot confine itself to restricted considerations of instantaneous
financial and economic prosperity. It has to cater for the beneficial effects of tourism
of common national improvement where considerations of non-economic nature may
be evenly or even more significantly, than merely economic returns viz. cultural
considerations, social considerations, political considerations, etc.
48 have conferred the industry status, extended related incentives to tourism and have
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety embarked on developing the sector to the maximum possible level of operations.
An important element of human life is planning. Without planning the day-to-day
activities do not start. Planning is a pervasive activity, in the sense it is present in all
activities and all phases of life. Planning is looking ahead and deciding the future
course of action at present. Even a kindergarten child has to plan the school bag and
kit before going to school. A housewife, a farmer, an employee, and managing
director of multi-national company, need planning before an activity is started,
whether of short-term or long-term duration. 'If you are failing to plan, you plan to
fail' – goes an old saying. This adage is true in the case of both individuals and
institutions alike. Tourism sector is no exception to this planning process.
The onset of mass tourism, in the nineteen 80s especially, and the institutions it has
given rise to, are producing more deterministic forms of culture. In general cases there
come into being new forms which are different from the earlier phase of tourism
activities. The focus today is on the exotic cultures which figure as key attractions.
Here the approach too differs methodologically. He effort is to satisfy the touristic
demand and in the process even contrive a cultural identity. This is continually
proving to be quite troublesome for the relationship between 'tourism' and 'culture'. Of
late this relationship has been subjected to some important anthropological scrutiny
both at the international and the national levels.

3.2 IMPORTANT COUNTRIES/CAPITALS/CURRENCIES/

EXCHANGE
This brief considers the choice of an appropriate exchange rate regime—floating,
managed or fixed arrangements—for individual countries in light of important
changes that have taken place in the world economy in recent years. These changes
include the general increase in capital mobility and the abrupt reversals of capital
flows to developing and transition economies. It is based on a recent IMF study,
prepared by Michael Mussa, Paul Masson, Alexander Swoboda, Esteban Jadresic,
Paolo Mauro, and Andrew Berg, which is now available in the IMF Occasional Paper
series. The main conclusion is that it remains true that there is no single exchange rate
regime that is best for all countries in all circumstances. Member countries continue to
have scope to choose the type of exchange rate regime that best suits their needs,
always with the proviso that the chosen regime must be credibly supported by policies
consistent with the choice. Which exchange rate regime and associated policies are
appropriate for a country depend on its particular circumstances. While increased
capital mobility has been leading an increasing number of countries to either end of
the spectrum between firmly fixed rates (or monetary unification) and free floating,
intermediate regimes are likely to remain viable and appropriate in many cases.

Overview
The exchange rate regimes adopted by countries in today's international monetary and
financial system, and the system itself, are profoundly different from those envisaged
at the 1944 meeting at Bretton Woods establishing the IMF and the World Bank. In
the Bretton Woods system:
z exchange rates were fixed but adjustable. This system aimed both to avoid the
undue volatility thought to characterise floating exchange rates and to prevent
competitive depreciations, while permitting enough flexibility to adjust to
fundamental disequilibrium under international supervision;
z private capital flows were expected to play only a limited role in financing
payments imbalances, and widespread use of controls would prevent instability in
such flows;
z temporary official financing of payments imbalances, mainly through the IMF, 49
would smooth the adjustment process and avoid unduly sharp correction of World Tourism

current account imbalances, with their repercussions on trade flows, output, and
employment.
In the current system, exchange rates among the major currencies (principally the
U.S. dollar, the euro, and Japanese yen) fluctuate in response to market forces, with
short-run volatility and occasional large medium-run swings . Some medium-sized
industrial countries also have market-determined floating rate regimes, while others
have adopted harder pegs, including some European countries outside the euro area.
Developing and transition economies have a wide variety of exchange rate
arrangements, with a tendency for many but by no means all countries to move toward
increased exchange rate flexibility.
This variety of exchange rate regimes exists in an environment with the following
characteristics:
z partly for efficiency reasons, and also because of the limited effectiveness of
capital controls, industrial countries have generally abandoned such controls and
emerging market economies have gradually moved away from them. The growth
of international capital flows and globalisation of financial markets has also been
spurred by the revolution in telecommunications and information technology,
which has dramatically lowered transaction costs in financial markets and further
promoted the liberalisation and deregulation of international financial
transactions;
z international private capital flows finance substantial current account imbalances,
but the changes in these flows appear also sometimes to be a cause of
macroeconomic disturbances or an important channel through which they are
transmitted to the international system;
z developing and transition countries have been increasingly drawn into the
integrating world economy, in terms of both their trade in goods and services and
of financial transactions.
Lessons from the recent crises in emerging markets are that for such countries with
important linkages to global capital markets, the requirements for sustaining pegged
exchange rate regimes have become more demanding as a result of the increased
mobility of capital. Therefore, regimes that allow substantial exchange rate flexibility
are probably desirable unless the exchange rate is firmly fixed through a currency
board, unification with another currency, or the adoption of another currency as the
domestic currency (dollarization).
Flexible exchange rates among the major industrial country currencies seem likely to
remain a key feature of the system. The launch of the euro in January 1999 marked a
new phase in the evolution of the system, but the European Central Bank has a clear
mandate to focus monetary policy on the domestic objective of price stability rather
than on the exchange rate. Many medium-sized industrial countries, and developing
and transition economies, in an environment of increasing capital market integration,
may also continue to maintain market-determined floating rates, although more
countries could may adopt harder pegs over the longer term. Thus, prospects are that:
z exchange rates among the euro, the yen, and the dollar are likely to continue to
exhibit volatility, and schemes to reduce volatility are neither likely to be adopted,
nor to be desirable as they prevent monetary policy from being devoted
consistently to domestic stabilisation objectives;
z several of the transition countries of central and eastern Europe, especially those
preparing for membership in the European Union, are likely to seek to establish
50 over time the policy disciplines and institutional structures required to make
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety possible the eventual adoption of the euro.
The approach taken by the IMF continues to be to advise member countries on the
implications of adopting different exchange rate regimes, to consider the choice of
regime to be a matter for each country to decide and to provide policy advice that is
consistent with the maintenance of the chosen regime.

Exchange Rate Regimes for Major Currencies

Over the past two decades, exchange rates among the major currencies—the
U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, and the deutsche mark with its partner currencies in the
exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System, before the introduction
of the euro in January 1999—and the currencies of other large industrial countries
currencies have exhibited substantial short-term volatility, in nominal as well as real
terms and also significant medium-term misalignments:
z volatility has been considerably higher than it was under the Bretton Woods
system prevailing from 1945 to 1971;
z medium-term swings have been quite large, including the 1980–85 appreciation of
the dollar and the 1990–95 appreciation of the yen, and their subsequent
depreciations;
z these wide swings in exchange rates have entailed misalignments relative to
economic fundamentals, giving rise to questions of whether and how they can be
avoided, or at least moderated.
Views on whether, how, and to what extent it might be desirable to attempt to stabilize
the exchange rates of major industrial countries differ widely. They range from
advocacy of pure floating, a view espoused especially by those who believe that
exchange rates always reflect fundamentals and that governments and central banks
do not possess knowledge superior to that of the market in such matters, to proposals
for the introduction of a single world currency. Intermediate proposals include target
zones, a quasi-fixed exchange rate regime among the major currencies to be achieved
by monetary policy rules aimed at the exchange rate, and various schemes for policy
coordination that would take the exchange rate into account.
There are two basic objections under current circumstances to any scheme that would
attempt to achieve substantial fixity of exchange rates among the euro, yen, and
dollar:
z the first is that it would require largely devoting monetary policy to the
requirements of exchange rate stability, which is likely to conflict with domestic
objectives, including the objective of reasonable price stability. Indeed, the fact
that movements of exchange rates among the major currencies have, on many
occasions, reflected divergences in cyclical positions among the countries
concerned and in the stances of monetary policy needed to achieve price stability
and to support growth indicates that this concern is warranted;
z second, the three major-currency areas do not conform to the usual criteria for an
optimum currency area. The past decade has highlighted their lack of
synchronization in economic activity and there is no reason to believe that
differences across them would not continue to prevail in the future. In the absence
of the type of political commitment that accompanied the euro's introduction, any
attempt at fixing the exchange rates of the triplet could lack credibility and be
rapidly undone by the market.
Nevertheless, a case can be made for monitoring potential major misalignments within
the IMF's surveillance process and for occasional corrective measures.
Exchange Rate Regimes of Medium-Sized Industrial Countries 51
World Tourism
Pegged exchange rate regimes have been extensively used over the past quarter
century by medium-sized industrial countries, most notably in the exchange rate
mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System. The presence of some residual
restrictions on international capital movements, as well as the willingness to make
parity adjustments before disequilibria became too large, contributed to the relatively
smooth functioning of the ERM system in the 1980s. Subsequently, however, the
system became subject to the major "asymmetric shocks" associated with German
unification, and became more vulnerable owing to increasing capital mobility and the
hardening of exchange rate parities following the negotiation of the 1991 Maastricht
Treaty on political and monetary union. The system came under severe strain
during 1992–93, when speculative pressures led to the withdrawal of Italy and the
United Kingdom. The ERM then operated relatively smoothly during the years
leading to the advent of the euro and the formation of European Monetary Union
in 1999, which removed the risk of exchange rate crises within Europe and vindicated
efforts to achieve convergence.
A number of other medium-sized industrial countries have successfully maintained
floating exchange rate regimes over long periods, accepting that rates will move
regularly and sometimes quite substantially in response to market forces. These
countries include Canada which initially adopted a floating regime during 1952–60,
and returned to floating in 1970, before the general collapse of the Bretton Woods
system; Switzerland; and Australia and New Zealand, which have diversified trade
partners as well as dependence on commodity exports. In the absence of an exchange
rate peg, these countries have needed to establish an alternative nominal anchor for
their monetary policies through a credible commitment to low inflation, which has in
some cases been facilitated by an inflation target and operational independence for the
central bank.

Important Countries and Capitals in World Tourism

Destination International Famous Tourist Location Currencies

Country Visitors 2012 Spots
(in Million)
France 83 Eiffel Tower Paris Euro, CFP
St. Tropez French Riviera franc

Palace of Versailles
Versailles
Mont Saint- Normandy
Michel
Palais des Papes Avignon
Dune of Pyla La Teste-de-Buc
Chartres Chartres
Cathedral
USA 67 Grand Canyon Northern Dollar
Arizona
Manhattan New York
Yellowstone Wyoming
Golden Gate Between San
Bridge Francisco and
Marin
Contd…
52
Principles of Travel and Tourism Niagara Falls Between
Operations and Aviation Safety New York and
Ontario
White House Washington DC
China 57.7 The Great Wall Across North Renminbi
of China China
Terracotta Army Xi'an
The Bund Shanghai
Victoria Harbor Hong Kong
The Yellow Huangshan
Mountains
Spain 57.7 Real Palacio Madrid Euro
La Concha San Sebastian
Aqueduct of Segovia/Iberian
Segovia Peninsula
Sagrada Familia Barcelona
Alhambra Palace Granada
Italy 46.4 Roman Rome Euro
Colosseum
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Pisa
St. Peter's Basilica Vatican City
Grand Venice Venice
Canals
Capri Island Italy
Turkey 35.7 Cappadocia Central Anatolia Turkish lira
Hierapolis Southwest
(Sacred City) Anatolia
Istanbul Turkey
Ephesus Selcuk, Izmir
Sumela Monastery Macka, Trabzon
Germany 30.4 The Berlin Wall Berlin Euro
Hamburg City Hamburg
Hall
Giant Old Church Cologne
Check Point Berlin
Charlie
Dresden Germany
Munchen/Munich Germany
Neuschwanstein Fussen
Palace
UK 30.4 The Eden Project Cornwall UK £
The Isle of Skye Scotland
Contd…
 Shakespeare's London 53
World Tourism
Globe
Holkham Bay Norfolk
The Backs Cambridge
Edinburgh UK
Torquay UK
Russia 25.7 Mother Kiev Russian
Motherland ruble
Saint Basil's Moscow
Cathedral
Hermitage St Petersburg
Museum
Moscow Kremlin Moscow
Lake Baikal Siberia
Kizhi Island Karelia
Malaysia 25 Petronas Twin Kuala Lumpur Malaysian
Towers ringgit
Eye on Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia/Ferris
wheel
Kota Kinabalu Sabah
Melaka Malacca
Langkawi Kedah
Sunway Lagoon Petaling Jaya
Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur

3.3 WORLD TOURISM ATTRACTION

With an approximately infinite number of reasons to go for a vast holiday
destinations, tourist boards have constantly looked to discover if not generate, new
and exclusive reasons to attract rich prospect tourists to their location. Some have
established to be victorious in their activities, making attentiveness of attractions in
their jurisdictions that are now taken as must-see attractions by visitors all across the
world. From the Great Barrier Reef to the man-made attractions of Disney World or
the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, these tourist attractions have had an unquestionable
character with tourists for a lot of years and will keep on to do so. Why? For the
reason that these attractions strike into and complete a basic human wish. That is, the
wish to run away from dull reality into a dream, a diverse world completely.
However one of the key constituent that adds to the timelessness of the aforesaid
spaces is how spectacularly classic they are. In spite of their differences, these
attractions are just so inspiring that they give even magnificence tourists with a
forceful cause to take a trip to the place they occupy, and more often than not
exclusively for that reason.
Let’s think two more appropriate ways in which unbelievable, astounding and, in
some cases, improbable holiday destinations will draw the wealthy visitor of
tomorrow:
54 Extravagantly themed destinations and resorts – the revival of the niche.
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety Today’s magnificence travellers have turned out to be gradually more uneven in their
feast preferences. High-end developers have given a constant extra exclusive and
much-needed channel of get away for travellers looking to sincerely treat in their
particular fancy while away. Consider these examples:
Water Discus Underwater Hotel, Dubai

Source: http://hypebeast.com/2012/5/dubai-water-discus-underwater-hotel

Located on a tropical coral reef off the coast of Dubai, the Water Discus Underwater
Hotel is located in the tropical coral reef of the coast of the Dubai which is a luxury
resort complex made by Polish firm Deep Ocean Technology. With both above-water
compartments and underwater compartments, the 21-room hotel give underwater
views of marine life, rooftop gardens an underwater dive centre and diving lessons, as
well as water sports facilities, and swimming pools, and a helipad. Construction of the
resort commenced in late 2012.
Kung Fu Kingdom, China

Source: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Shaolin-Monastery-Shaolin-Birthplace-of-Kung-Fu-Martial-Art-
Henan-Province-China-Posters_i6060979_.htm

The Chinese city of Wudang in recent times announced campaigns to construct the
world’s first tai chi and Kung Fu-themed amusement park. Set to open in 2015,
Wudang Kung Fu City will be built at the bottom of the Wudang Mountains, the 55
origin of Kung Fu, and house to some of China’s main Taoist shrines. The theme park World Tourism

will comprise stroke rides that are based on traditional icons like the Monkey King,
and mark procedures like daily specialist performances of tai chi and services such as
traditional teahouses.
Real Madrid Resort Island, United Arab Emirates

Source: http://inhabitat.com/soccer-team-real-madrid-to-build-1-billion-artificial-island-resort-in-uae/

In 2012, Spanish soccer club Real Madrid announced that it had commenced
construction of the Real Madrid Resort Island in the northern Emirate of Ras al-
Khaimah. Located on a mock land mass, the $1bn resort is programmed for
completion in January 2015, providing 4.6 million square feet of leisure facilities that
include hotels, soccer-themed club museum a soccer stadium and training college, and
a marina. The island will be made in the shape of the soccer club’s logo.
Flamboyantly ‘faketastic’ attractions – the ultimate antidote to authenticity
We heard a lot about the travellers seeking out genuine educational experiences
and entirely natural environment, but don’t ignore the unavoidable counter-trend. A
lot may be content with, holiday experiences that are brashly not natural, and yet go
far away from the normal in their implementation.
Hallstatt Alpine Village, China

Source: http://www.thehelper.net/threads/china%E2%80%99s-pirated-austrian-village-opens.155742/
56 A replica of an Austrian village near Huizhou has been built by the Chinese metal and
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety mining company China Minmetals Corporation. The original Hallstatt is a UNESCO
World Heritage-listed site and the Chinese replica facial appearance copies of the
churches, houses, and buildings that can be established in the Alpine village, along
with road signs and signposts in Chinese.
Sustainable ‘Superpark’, Singapore

Source: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/greenfutures/articles/singapores-new-superpark-takes-
inspiration-eden
In 2012, 250-acre eco-park Gardens by the Bay opened in Singapore. Singapore’s
National Parks Board spent $1bn on the development. In addition to several
conservatories containing exotic plants, it features a canopy of 18 artificial
‘supertrees’. The 50-metre-tall manmade structures are vertical gardens that are linked
by elevated walkways, providing ventilation, harnessing solar energy, and collecting
rainwater for the park.
Check Your Progress 1
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. A replica of an Austrian village near Huizhou has been built by the Chinese
metal and mining company China Minmetals Corporation.
2. We heard a lot about the travellers seeking out genuine educational
experiences and entirely natural environment, but don’t ignore the
unavoidable counter-trend.
3. A lot may be content with, holiday experiences that are brashly not natural,
and yet go far away from the normal in their implementation.
4. Today’s magnificence travellers have turned out to be gradually more
uneven in their feast preferences.
5. With an approximately infinite number of reasons to go for a vast holiday
destinations, tourist boards have constantly looked to discover if not
generate, new and exclusive reasons to attract rich prospect tourists to their
location.

3.4 TOURISM IN INDIA

Tourism to and within India has undergone some important changes in recent years
seen by the rising numbers of international tourists and increase in domestic tourism.
This has led to the redevelopment and rebranding of many of its destinations as the 57
Indian government has begun to recognise the potential importance of tourism to the World Tourism

Indian economy and has begun to invest in tourism infrastructure. It is also recognised
that as its economy continues to grow at a rapid rate, India will also become one of the
most important countries in terms of future outbound tourism.
India is a great country with a haven of tourism delights like wealth of sights, cultural
exuberance, and diversity of terrain.
It is no doubt a place of wonder, with creative burst of cultures, races, and religions,
over a billion people, 15 official languages, and gifted nature's beauty. Its diversity is
out of all bounds. Indians live with variety and thrive on diversity. From mud hut to
mansion, there is variety. In every aspect, India is on massive exaggerated scale which
can be compared to the superlative Himalayan Mountains. It is set apart from the rest
of Asia by the supreme continental wall of the Himalayas. It touches the three large
water bodies. This triangular peninsula defined by the Bay of Bengal to the east, the
Arabian sea to the west, and the India Ocean to the south has in its store the wealth of
natural resources.
The abundance of vast mountain ranges, exciting national parks, enchanting rivers,
roaring seas, silent valleys, thrilling waterfalls, historical monuments, holy temples,
and diverse tribal culture added with the hospitality of its people, India offers
innumerable opportunities for tourism.
z Present Situation and Features of Tourism in India
Today tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to
the national GDP and providing 8.78% of the total employment. India witnesses more
than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits.
The tourism industry in India generated about US$ 100 billion in 2008 and that is
expected to increase to US$ 275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. The
Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the development and promotion of
tourism in India and maintains the "Incredible India" campaign.
According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from
2009-2018, having the highest 10-year growth potential. As per the Travel and
Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is
ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the
list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination
for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage
Sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the
country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and
tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be
the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The 2010 Commonwealth Games
in Delhi are expected to significantly boost tourism in India further.
z Tourist Attractions in India
India is a country known for its lavish treatment to all visitors, no matter where they
come from. Its visitor-friendly traditions, varied life styles and cultural heritage and
colourful fairs and festivals held abiding attractions for the tourists. The other
attractions include beautiful beaches, forests and wild life and landscapes for eco-
tourism; snow, river and mountain peaks for adventure tourism; technological parks
and science museums for science tourism; centre of pilgrimage for spiritual tourism;
heritage, trains and hotels for heritage tourism. Yoga, Ayurveda and natural health
resorts and hill stations also attract tourists.
The Indian handicrafts particularly, jewellery, carpets, leather goods, ivory and brass
work are the main shopping items of foreign tourists. It is estimated through survey
that nearly forty per cent of the tourist expenditure on shopping is spent on such items.
58 z Future Prospects of Tourism in India
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) the future prospects of tourism are as
follows:
The demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 per cent
between 2010 and 2019 and will place India at the third position in the world.
India's travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the
world, employing 40,037,000 by 2019.
Capital investment in India's travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 per
cent between 2010 and 2019.
The report forecasts India to get capital investment worth US$ 94.5 billion in the
travel and tourism sector in 2019.
India is projected to become the fifth fastest growing business travel destination from
2010-2019 with an estimated real growth rate of 7.6 per cent.

3.5 TOURISM TYPES

Today people are feverishly participating in tourism. This may include short trips
during the, weekend breaks or longer journeys during holidays. Old age pensioners
have a dream of retiring to a place where the weather is good and the prices low.
Without any outside pressure, millions of people flock to destinations of their own
free will. Long lines of care, crowded buses and trains and jumbo jet go all over the
world. As a result the beaches become too small, shops and restaurants too crowded,
porting facilities and the environment degraded and worn down with years of being
admired and used, and the world shrinks. For an increasing number of people work is
no longer the main purpose of life and this encourages tourism. Modern tourism is one
of the most striking phenomena of our times. Tourism offers us an opportunity to
learn, to enrich humanity and to identify what may be termed as goals for a better life
and a better society. But conservationists want to change things. They want to arrest
the spread of the "landscape caters" who have transformed the countryside with their
mass migration.
Forms and types of tourism emerge within the context of changing social values. For
example, in modern society, the value of being has been superseded by the value of
having possession, property, wealth, egoism and consumption have become more
important than community, tolerance, moderation, sensibility and modesty. As a result
in all parts of the world:
z Economy is characterized by increasing concentration of earth, division of labour
and specialization.
z Environment is being treated as if resources are renewable.
z The limits of eco-system are stretched without considering the negative aspects,
and
z Peoples' rights are constantly corded to meet the needs of the power system, etc.
Forms of tourism emerge from different fields of tension such as work/rest, awake/
asleep, exertion/relaxation, income/expenditure, job/family, freedom/necessity, risk/
security, similarly, dirt, noise, rush, pollution and trouble etc., are all key expression
of such tension. The possibility of going away is very important is such a context.
The desire for tourism is therefore determined socially. Government promote tourism,
people talk about their holidays, unions sponsor holidays, health insurance covers
visits to spas, tax rebates are given for holiday homes and corporations reward
employees with travel instead of bonus money. Seasonal pressure strengthen the urge
to get away from home, Annual vacations, the Media, literature and fashion all 59
strengthen the holiday mania. The tourism industry whets the appetite with tantalizing World Tourism

offers of entertainment and pleasure. The commercialization of recreation functions

within the well-established principles of a free market economy. In the past, in the
erstwhile socialist countries have a transport subsidy called the leave Travel
Concession and most companies provide holiday homes for their workers, but tourism
is primarily a private enterprise. A study of tourist brochures indicates the successful
design of a tourist visit:
1. Create a holiday mood by emphasizing informality, abandonment, scenery,
freedom, pleasure.
2. Show time, standing still, romanticism and relaxation, peace and space.
3. Show something beautiful that is not available at home. And typical holiday
symbols like the sun, a beach umbrella, a palm fringed coastline, etc.
4. Show people from other cultures, always beaming, happy, friendly and idle.
All four ingredients form the tourism mix. However, in today's context the different
types of tourism are as follow:
Rest and Recuperation: Taking a rest from everyday life; relieve the stress of
societies that have shifted from manual to sedentary work. Tourism as diversion or
compensation to holiday destination is what may be called holiday or vacation travel
which is focused on resorts and beach holiday's both domestic and international.
Escape: Tourism as a mass flight from everyday reality to an imaginary world of
freedom. This flight take place within the movements from centres to peripheries or in
other words a North-South migrating.
Communication: Spending quality time with family and friends, make new friends
and acquaintances. This is mass tourism, in herds, enjoying the facilities of tourism
enclave.
Culture and Education: Such Tourism is based on sightseeing tours to experience
and see other countries of the world though not necessarily in depth.
Freedom: Tourism frees you from home and work and is directed towards facilities
and comfort rather than experience.
Health: Visit spas, go to saunas, undergo cures for chronic ailment, visit health club
for workouts or do yoga i.e. travel for health.
Special Interest Tours: Is organized as per the special interests of the tourist ranging
from medical, historical, archaeological and other interests to golf or fishing.
Adventure and Wild Life: Far away from modern civilization, with bears and porters
and mules, camels, elephants or jeeps mixing trekking and hiking and camp life with
the luxury of a first class hotel.
Convention Tourism: To mix leisure with work, holding convention or meetings at
tourist destinations.
Different forms of tourism also give rise to different types of tourist.
z The ridiculous tourist who is dressed in funny clothes and views everything
through the lens of a camera
z The naive tourist who is inexperienced in travel always asks unnecessary
questions and has no language skills
z The organized tourist who feels at home with a guide and a group of follow tourist
z The ugly tourist who behaves as if he owns the world
60 z The uncultured tourist who is an each bum and spends his time taking and eating
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z The exploiting tourist who spends a holidays at the cost of people and takes
advantage of their culture hospitality and poverty
z The polluting tourist who demands that for his comfort everything can be
flattened or destroyed
z The alternative tourist who explores the few untouched corners of the world thus
opening the way to mass tourism

3.6 TRANSPORTATION COMMERCIAL AVIATION

Transportation Commercial aeronautics is the part of civil aviation (both general

aviation and scheduled airline service) that includes working aircraft for hire to
transportation commuters or cargo.

3.6.1 General Aspects

In almost countries, a flight may be worked for money only if it meets three criteria:
z the operator must hold a certificate or some other authorization for commercial
operations
z the aircraft must hold a valid commercial registration
z the pilot must hold a valid commercial pilot's certificate
There are some exemptions — for instance, a flight teacher is normally allowed to fly
for money in a private aircraft owned by the student — but the above requests hold for
maximum flights where money variations hands.
Classically, a commercial record or process needs higher values than a private one.
For example, a profitable pilot may have to establish more manoeuvres to a higher
standard, and may essential to pass more recurrent medical examinations. A
commercially recorded aeroplane may need more frequent or more wider
maintenance.
It is the goal of the flight, not the type of aircraft or pilot that controls whether the
flight is profitable. For example, a two-seat Cessna 150 towing a banner for money
would be a profitable flight, while a large jet flown by its holders for a private holiday
could not be, even if the pilots were commercially certificated and the jet were
commercially registered.
3.6.2 Emergency Oxygen Systems 61
World Tourism

Emergency Oxygen Masks Deployed

Most commercial airplane is tailored with oxygen masks for usage when cabin
pressurisation becomes unsuccessful. Generally, marketable aircraft are pressurized so
that the cabin air is at a pressure equal to no additional 8,000 feet, where one can
respire generally with no oxygen mask. If the oxygen pressure in the cabin falls below
a safe level, risking hypoxia, sections comprising the oxygen masks will open
spontaneously, either above or in front of the passenger and crew seats, and in the
lavatories.

3.7 AIR TAXI OPERATION

An air taxi is an air charter commuter or goods aircraft which works on an on-
demand basis.
In 2001, Air taxi operations were commercialized in the United States by a NASA and
aerospace business study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System
(SATS) and the growth of light-jet aircraft manufacturing.
Air taxi operator means an aircraft operator who brings the processes in an aircraft
with 30 or less passenger seats and a cargo capacity of 7,500# or less, for hire or
advantage. An air taxi operator works on-demand base and does not have the flying
scheduled experiences of a traveller. Pursuant to 14 CFR 298.21, an air taxi operator
is essential to record with the Civil Aeronautics Board and to reintroduce the
registering semi-annually. An air taxi operation must not use big aircraft and must
preserve liability assurance. A commuter air carrier is chosen as any air taxi operator
which makes at least five round trips per week between two or more points and issues
flight plans which identify the times, days of the week and places among which such
flights are performed.
In Forum Ins. Co. v. Seitz Aviation, Inc., 241 Kan. 334 (Kan. 1987), the court
observed that “Air taxi operator means an air carrier coming within the classification
of air taxi operators established by 14 C.F.R. § 298.3 (1986). 14 C.F.R. § 298.2(b)
(1986). 14 C.F.R. § 298.3 set forth the classification:
z There is hereby established a classification of air carriers, designated as "air taxi
operators," which directly engage in the air transportation of persons or property
or mail or in any combination of such transportation and which:
™ Except as provided in 14 C.F.R. § 298.5, do not directly or indirectly utilize
large aircraft in air transportation;
62 ™ Except as provided in 14 C.F.R. § 298.5, do not hold a certificate of public
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety convenience and necessity or economic authority issued by the Board other
than that provided by this part;
™ Have registered with the Board in accordance with Subpart C of this part;
™ Have and maintain in effect liability insurance coverage in compliance with
the requirements set forth in Subpart E of this part and have and maintain a
current certificate of insurance evidencing such coverage on file with the
Board.”

3.8 PRIVATE AVIATION

Private aviation process is the part of civil aviation that does not comprise flying for
hire.
In most countries, private flights are always general aviation flights, but the reverse is
not true: many overall aviation flights (such as banner towing, charter, crop dusting,
and others) are commercial in that the pilot are employed and paid. Numerous private
pilots fly for their own pleasure, or to share the joys and suitability of general flying
with friends and family.
In private flight the pilot is not salaried, and all aircraft working expenditures are
usually paid by the pilot. In some countries like the United States, aircraft working
expenditures for a flight may optionally be divided with any travellers up to a pro
rata amount. For example, if aircraft working expenditures total $120 for a flight with
pilot and three travellers, each of the three passengers could pay not more than $30
(one fourth) of the expenses with the remainder paid by the pilot.
It is the purpose of the flight, not the aircraft or pilot that determines whether the flight
is private. For example, if a commercially licensed pilot flies a registered plane to visit
a friend or attend a business meeting, most countries would consider this to be a
private flight. Conversely, a private pilot could legally fly a multi-engine complex
aircraft carrying numerous passengers for non-commercial purposes (no compensation
paid to the pilot, and a pro rata or larger portion of the aircraft operating expenses paid
by the pilot).
Check Your Progress 2
Fill in the blanks:
1. It is the purpose of the flight, not the aircraft or pilot that determines
whether the flight is ……………………..
2. Numerous private pilots fly for their own …………………….., or to share
the joys and suitability of general flying with friends and family.
3. An …………………….. is an air charter commuter or goods aircraft which
works on an on-demand basis.
4. …………………….. is the part of civil aviation (both general aviation and
scheduled airline service) that includes working aircraft for hire to
transportation commuters or cargo.

3.9 LET US SUM UP

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes. The World Tourism
Organization defines tourists as people "travelling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business
and other purposes".
66 z Identify the development of IATA
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z Explain the competency requirements for supply chain managers

4.1 INTRODUCTION
IATA - The International Air Transport Association - was founded in Havana, Cuba,
in April 1945. It is the prime vehicle for inter-airline cooperation in promoting safe,
reliable, secure and economical air services – for the benefit of the world's consumers.
The international scheduled air transport industry is now more than 100 times larger
than it was in 1945. Few industries can match the dynamism of that growth, which
would have been much less spectacular without the standards, practices and
procedures developed within IATA.
At its founding, IATA had 57 members from 31 nations, mostly in Europe and North
America. Today it has some 230 members from 126 nations in every part of the globe.
The modern IATA is the successor to the International Air Traffic Association
founded in The Hague in 1919 – the year of the world's first international scheduled
services.

Source: http://www.iata.org/hc/Documents/WelcometoIATA.pdf
Figure 4.1: IATA Office Locations
IATA has had six Director Generals since 1945. Tony Tyler, their current Director
General and Chief Executive Officer, took the helm in 2011.
Governance: IATA is a not-for-profit, business-driven trade association with a
balance of commercial and non-commercial activities.
Annual General Meeting (AGM): The top governance body of IATA meets once a
year. It approves the dues assessment to member airlines and elects the Board of
Governors as part of its agenda.
IATA Board of Governors: Composed of 31 CEO’s from Member airlines, this group
meets twice a year. Its main function is to exercise an oversight and executive role on
behalf of the membership. The Board of Governors also elects and supervises the
Director General and Chief Executive Officer of IATA and approves the annual
operating budget.
Executive Management Group (EMG): The top management body of IATA includes
the DG, the Senior Vice Presidents and the Vice President, Human Capital.

4.2 EARLY DAYS OF IATA

The old IATA was able to start small and grow gradually. It was also limited to a
European dimension until 1939 when Pan American joined. The post-1945 IATA
immediately had to handle worldwide responsibilities with a more systematic
organisation and a larger infrastructure.
This was reflected in the 1945 Articles of Association and a much more precise
definition of IATA's aims than had existed before 1939.
To promote safe, regular and economical air transport for the benefit of the peoples of
the world, to foster air commerce, and to study the problems connected therewith;
To provide means for collaboration among the air transport enterprises engaged 67
directly or indirectly in international air transport service; IATA

To cooperate with the newly created International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO
– the specialised United Nations agency for civil aviation) and other international
organisations.
The most important tasks of IATA during its earliest days were technical, because
safety and reliability are fundamental to airline operations. These require the highest
standards in air navigation, airport infrastructure and flight operations. The IATA
airlines provided vital input to the work of ICAO, as that organisation drafted its
Standards and commended Practices. By 1949, the drafting process was largely
complete and reflected in "Annexes" to the Chicago convention, the treaty which still
governs the conduct of international civil aviation.
In those early days, ICAO coordinated regional air navigation and support for airports
and operational aids in countries which could not themselves afford such services.
IATA provided airline input to ICAO and to sessions of the International
Telecommunications Union on wavelength allocation.
The standardisation of documentation and procedures for the smooth functioning of
the world air transport network also required a sound legal basis. IATA helped to
mesh international conventions, developed through ICAO, with US air transport law
which had developed in isolation prior to World War Two. The Association made a
vital input to the development of Conditions of Carriage the contract between the
customer and the transporting airline. One early item on the legal agenda was revision
and modernisation of the Warsaw Convention – originally signed in 1929 – on airline
liability for passenger injury or death and cargo damage or loss. This work continues.
Once they were operating within a sound technical and legal framework, airlines' next
requirements were for answers to questions such as: who can fly where? What prices
are to be charged? How is the money from multi-airline journeys – that is, interlining
– to be divided up, and how do airlines settle their accounts?
The Chicago Conference of 1944 which gave birth to the Chicago Convention tried to
achieve a multilateral answer to the first two questions, but failed to do so. The
questions of who flies, and where, were resolved on a bilateral basis. The benchmark
Bermuda Agreement of 1946 between the US and the UK was the first of almost
4,000 bilateral air transport agreements so far signed and registered with ICAO.
In the early days, governments insisted on the right to oversee the prices charged by
international airlines but could not, in practical terms, develop those prices for
themselves. IATA was delegated to hold Traffic Conferences for this purpose, with all
fares and rates subject to final government approval. The aim was twofold: ensuring
that fares and rates would not involve cut-throat competition, while ensuring that they
could be set as low as possible, in the interests of consumers.
A coherent pattern of fares and rates pattern was established, avoiding inconsistencies
between tariffs affecting neighbouring countries – and thereby avoiding traffic
diversion. The predictability of fares and rates in this pattern also enabled airlines to
accept each other’s tickets on multi-sector journeys and thus gave birth to interlining.
Today, 50 million international air passengers a year pay for their ticket in one place,
in one currency, but complete their journey using at least two, and sometimes five or
more, airlines from different countries using different currencies.
The first worldwide Traffic Conference was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1947. It reached
unanimous agreement on nearly 400 resolutions covering all aspects of air travel. Fare
construction rules for multi-sector trips, revenue allocation – pro-rating – rules,
baggage allowances, ticket and air waybill design and agency appointment procedures
were typical details agreed at this pioneering meeting.
68 Today, that pioneering work is reflected in the currently applicable IATA Resolutions
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety dealing with these and many other subjects. Notable examples are:
Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreements: These are the basis for the airlines'
interline network. Close to 300 airlines have signed them, accepting each other’s
tickets and air waybills – and thus their passenger and cargo traffic – on a reciprocal
basis.
Passenger and Cargo Services Conference Resolutions: These prescribe a variety of
standard formats and technical specifications for tickets and air waybills.
Passenger and Cargo Agency Agreements & Sales Agency Rules: These govern the
relationships between IATA Member airlines and their accredited agents with regard
to passenger and cargo.
Debt Settlement between airlines, largely arising from interlining, takes place through
the Clearing House, which began operations in January 1947. During its first year, 17
airlines cleared (US) $26 million. The IATA Clearing House today.

4.3 IATA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

In many ways, those tasks remained the same as in 1945, or even in 1919. But IATA
gave them new relevance and focus by redefining its mission and goals in 1994:
z Safety and Security: To promote safe, reliable and secure air services.
z Industry Recognition: To achieve recognition of the importance of air transport
worldwide social and economic development.
z Financial Viability: To assist the industry to achieve adequate levels of
profitability, by optimising revenues (yield management) while minimising costs
(fuel, charges and taxation).
z Products and Services: Provide high-quality, value for money, industry required
products and services that assist the airlines in meeting the needs of the consumer.
z Standards and Procedures: To develop cost-effective, environmentally-friendly,
standards to facilitate the operations of international air transport.
z Industry Support: To identify and articulate common industry positions and
support the resolutions of key industry issues (congestion, infrastructure).
These objectives proved to be relevant and most were carried over to the new
millennium, where they still form most of IATA’s current mission.
At IATA their values include:
z Place their people first
z Achieve results with speed
z Embrace innovation and change
z Work as a unified team with cultural intelligence
z Act with integrity
z Demonstrate leadership

4.4 FUNCTIONS OF IATA

The functions of IATA are centred on the achievement of its objectives, which benefit
the airlines across the globe: (i) Challenging unreasonable rules and charges;
(ii) Holding regulators and governments to account; and (iii) Striving for sensible
regulations.
The organization performs several functions like: 69
IATA
z Preparation of International Time Tables for air travel
z Establishing networks through effective use of telecommunications and
computerization
z To train travel and flight agents
z Improving security standards in air travel
z To control and monitor all legal issues
z To streamline rules and regulations for passenger and cargo traffic at airports
z Solving all issues pertaining to international air travel, and
z To standardize the ticketing and reservation systems and procedures.
It is mandatory for an airline to get certified from the respective governments as a
scheduled airliner of the country. While the international operators are regarded as full
time members of IATA, the domestic airlines are considered as associates in the
organization. It has a staff of around 500 employees and organizes international
seminars on a regular basis on matters related to issues covering all aspects of aviation
industry. The issues may be ticketing, baggage checks, preparation of bills, etc.
For fare calculations, IATA has divided the world into three regions:
z South, Central and North America.
z Europe, Middle East and Africa.
z Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
IATA provides valuable support to the members in many functions covering areas of
finance, security, operations, strategic management, safety and training.
The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme is an internationally
recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational
management and control systems of an airline. The IOSA certification has now
become a mandatory requisite for all IATA member airlines.
IATA is pivotal in the worldwide accreditation of travel agents with exception of the
US where this is done by the Airlines Reporting Corporation. Permission to sell
airline tickets from the participating carriers is achieved through national member
organizations. Over 80 per cent of airlines' sales come from IATA accredited agents.
The IATA/IATAN ID Card is the only globally recognized industry credential for the
travel professional. Industry Suppliers worldwide rely on the IATA/IATAN ID Card
to reach out to individual travel professionals offering exclusive incentives and
educational programs.
The implementation of the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) aims
to improve safety and cut airline costs by drastically reducing ground accidents and
injuries.
Any person involved in international airfreight and complying with appropriate
license and legal requirements may apply for registration as an IATA Cargo Agent.
Affording benefits to airlines and agents, IATA accreditation provides agents with
industry recognition of their financial and professional competence and airlines with a
worldwide distribution network of approved agents to sell their product.
In the airline business, the safety of passengers and crew is an absolute must. That
applies to every aspect of airline travel; including food. IATA's Catering Quality
Assurance programme (ICQA) takes a fresh approach to food safety and quality. It
70 was designed to regularly assess and encourage caterers' compliance with food
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety processing safety and quality standards set by airlines.
IATA publishes standards for use in the airline industry. The Bar Coded Boarding
Pass (BCBP) standard defines the 2-Dimensional (2D) bar code printed on paper.
IATA provides for simple quality measurement system for ground handling services.
The system ensures feedback by the service provider to the customer on regular basis
to match standards as fixed by the customer.
The purpose of IATA is to achieve a coordinated and sustained effort among various
airlines for standardizing the air travel rules and regulations regarding passenger and
cargo movements, including safety and security at airports. IATA controls and decides
the international ticketing procedures and decides the fares among various sectors that
are to be followed by all member airlines. It shall honour the bilateral agreements
between two countries in implementing agreed fares. However, IATA shall have no
jurisdiction on the fares in respective domestic sectors.
IATA Clearing House: IATA revenue sharing procedure is applicable to international
tickets and cargo fares. This is referred to as "Clearing House". It is part of the system
of International Air Transport Industry to enter into various Agreements, covering the
transfer of passengers, freight and mail from one company to another. These
agreements make it possible for passengers and cargo service providers to purchase
multi-sector journeys involving transportation on any number of different airlines.
The effective and efficient settlement of these intra and inter transactions shall have
bearing on the functioning of various organizations to ease the working capital
pressure. Each partner or service provider must be able to promptly collect the dues
from the ticketing airlines and travel partners on time. The IATA Clearing House
settles around US Dollars 50 billion in interline and service transactions each year.
Some 75 per cent of these are settled through the netting process, requiring balancing
of amounts and no movement of funds, assuring high credit and currency protection to
its users. This operates similar to a bank's clearing house.
IATA Membership: The airlines willing to be a member of IATA should submit the
following details along with the application and a prescribed fee of US $ 15,000:
z Certificate of Registration with appropriate authority e.g., Chamber of Commerce
or equivalent.
z Audited Financial Statements for the applicant airline, and if majority owned by
another company (including state ownership), the financial statements of the
owner company should also be furnished. A chartered or public accountant must
certify these statements. For new airlines, a business plan prepared by a chartered
or public account is acceptable.
z The Annual Report of the applicant airline, or company by-laws showing how it is
constituted, or airline profile.
z Valid insurance certificates with aircraft type, registration number for each
aircraft and respective details of registering authority, valid for a minimum of six
months.
z Traffic statistics for the preceding two years. This requirement does not apply to
new airline.
z Published timetable/schedule, if the airline has scheduled operations.
IATA recommended charges are mandatory for all members and should be adopted.
The pricing depends on the profitability and the traffic demand. For example, the
charges on Europe-US may be less than the charges on Europe-India sector because of
the high traffic on the former sector. Other criterion is the competition and costs
involved shall also have a bearing on fixing the tariffs. IATA also regulates any
unethical practices by air lines and agents, which may print a higher tariff on the ticket 71
but subsequently may offer discounts to take undue advantage of competition; in such IATA

cases IATA shall levy penalties to erring airline/agent.

4.5 INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANISATION

(ICAO)
Operation of an air plane requires precise and meticulous procedures and systems,
which is made possible by the existence of universally accepted standards known as
Standards and Recommended Practices, or SARPs. This cover all technical and
operational aspects of international civil aviation, such as safety, personnel licensing,
operation of aircraft, airports, air traffic services, accident investigation and the impact
on environment. ICAO, which is established in the year 1944 with headquarters in
Montreal, Canada, is promoted exactly with the same mission of ensuring air safety
and establishing standardised practices that should be universally followed. Since
1947, ICAO functions as an organ of UNO. ICAO defines the protocols for air
accident investigation followed by various transport safety authorities in countries
signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, known as the "Chicago
Convention".

4.5.1 Aims and Objectives

Objectives of ICAO: ICAO works to achieve its vision of safe, secure and sustainable
development of civil aviation through cooperation amongst its member States. To
implement this vision, the Organisation has established the following Strategic
Objectives for the period 2005-2010.
Safety: Enhance global civil aviation safety.
Security: Enhance global civil aviation security.
Environmental Protection: Minimize the adverse effect of global civil aviation on the
environment.
Efficiency: Enhance the efficiency of aviation operations.
Continuity: Maintain the continuity of aviation operations.
Rule of Law: Strengthen laws governing international civil aviation.

4.5.2 Role of ICAO

The role of ICAO in air travel and management is commendable. It sets standards for
safe and secure passenger and cargo transport with continuous technical and strategic
support to member countries and the service providers in aviation industry.
The organisation's concentrated efforts are aimed at passenger safety and security,
training and development of human resource of travel partners.
It strives hard for elimination of indiscriminate competition among various parties and
tries uniformity in operations. Further helps sort out the immigration related issues
and tries to simplify the customs and duties of various member countries. There are at
present 130 member countries in ICAO.
It helps in coordinated efforts among different countries and development of standards
for airports and maintenance of aircraft.
As part of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), it resorts to improve
and provide the technology for ground control systems, and in-flight services.
Assembly is an important part of ICAO. All members of ICAO are members to its
general assembly. As on 2008, there are 190 member countries. The assembly
operates independently and meets once in three years to discuss in detail the activities
72 of the organisation. It also develops action plan for the ensuing period of three years
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety till it meets. The Assembly constitutes a Council with 36 member countries. Assembly
shall elect these members once in three years. Further, the council is constituted with:
Those countries having significance in the aviation industry;
Countries, which render services for the growth and development of international civil
aviation; and
Countries, which possess geographical location advantage.
The Council shall work as governing body and supervise the organisation’s overall
functions. There are three more divisions: (i) Air Navigation Committee; (ii) Air
Transport Committee; and (iii) Legal Committee.
ICAO shall oversee the bilateral agreements among different member countries. For
example, to run 10 services from India to UK, Government of UK may also demand
similar number of services to India. In case India wishes to operate flight to New York
US via London in UK, it has to agree for UK flights to operate via Indian destinations,
like Mumbai or Delhi to Hong Kong and Singapore. Hence all this type of agreements
of varied nature is executed under the provisions and supervision of ICAO. There are
millions of people who work day and night for the safe passage of thousands of air
planes flying the skies- 24 hours, 365 days a year. This round the clock operation
demands meticulous support from man and machines. Coordination is vital among
Pilots, Air Controllers, and Weather Scientists. Standardisation of procedures and
establishing advanced technical equipment should be common to all airplanes and
airports; this is ensured by ICAO standards. The ICAO also standardises certain
functions for use in the airline industry, such as the Aeronautical Message Handling
System AMHS; this probably makes it a standard organisation.
ICAO has also brought an enactment to trail and punish the crimes on air travel, like
hijacking and drug traffic. The Security and Facilitation Policy Section is responsible
for the management of the ICAO Aviation Security Programme.
While IATA resolves issues and challenges among various partners to air travel,
ICAO helps the member countries to establish and improve safety and security aspects
of air travel. Even though there may not be direct link with tourism, these
organizations by helping the promotion and growth of air travel shall indirectly
support the sector. India is a member to the Council right from the inception. It is to
be noted that Dr S. S. Siddhu, an Indian was Secretary General to ICAO during 1991.
In the ICAO General Assembly held in Montreal from 18th to 28th September 2007,
India has been re-elected to the Council of ICAO for a period of 3 years. India has
consistently been elected to the Council since 1944.
Civil aviation is a powerful force for progress in modern global society. It creates
millions of jobs directly and indirectly, ranging from more technical and highly skilled
jobs to manage the aircrafts to semi-skilled ground duty and unskilled cleaning staff
employed in the air ports. It forms part of the economic lifeline of many countries. It
is a catalyst for travel and tourism, the world's largest industry. Beyond economics, air
transport enriches the social and cultural interactions of society and contributes to the
attainment of peace and prosperity throughout the world.

Check Your Progress 1

State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. While IATA resolves issues and challenges among various partners to air
travel, ICAO helps the member countries to establish and improve safety
and security aspects of air travel.
2. Civil aviation is a powerful force for progress in modern global society.
Contd…
 3. ICAO shall oversee the bilateral agreements among different member 73
countries. IATA

4. The role of ICAO in air travel and management is commendable. It sets

standards for safe and secure passenger and cargo transport with
continuous technical and strategic support to member countries and the
service providers in aviation industry.

4.6 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AT IATA

There are the five divisions within IATA that report directly to the DG/CEO along
with six departments.

Source: http://www.iata.org/hc/Documents/WelcometoIATA.pdf

Figure 4.2: IATA’s Organisational Structure

4.6.1 IDFS – Industry Distribution and Financial Services

IATA’s financial business unit, IDFS processes over 300 billion US dollars annually.
This division develops the industry standards, infrastructure, products and programs
that enable airlines and agents to provide high-quality services worldwide.

Key activities are:

z Operating a worldwide distribution, billing and settlement system. The IATA
Billing and Settlement Plan, BSP, performs this function for the passenger side of
the business while the Cargo Agency Settlement System, CASS applies to cargo.
A truly worldwide system facilitating the settlement operations for airlines and
travel agents, BSP operates in 170 countries. CASS operations are deployed in
over 60 IATA offices, covering nearly 100 countries, servicing over 500 airlines,
sales agents and ground handling companies around the globe settling 29 billion
US dollars.
z Managing agency programs that ensure a financially sound and reliable
distribution network of travel and cargo agents.
z Providing a full range of cost-effective financial services for the air transport
industry.
z Developing of common international standards and procedures for commercial air
transport. Such standards serve the purpose of, first, underpinning these vital
activities and, second, simplifying the business of transporting passengers and
cargo through the air transport value chain.
74 4.6.2 MGR – Member and Government Relations
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety This team identifies, assesses and responds to the needs of Members and other
customers. The Division is comprised of the following departments:
z Corporate Secretary
z Member and Regional Relations
z Government and Industry Affairs
z Industry charges, Fuel, and Taxation,
z Risk Management and Insurance
Its responsibilities cover:
z Responding to member needs by monitoring regulatory issues, developing and
implementing industry positions on aero political matters, lobbying and consumer
affairs.
z Representing and promoting the interest of IATA and its Members with the
International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO.
z Developing industry programs to minimize the cost of insurance, taxation, user
charges, and fuel.
z Managing IATA airline membership issues.
z Supporting the fulfilment of IATA’s corporate objectives within the governance
structure and the organization.

4.6.3 SO&I – Safety Operations and Infrastructure

The Safety, Operations and Infrastructure division promotes safe, secure efficient and
economical air transport. While air transport is the safest way to travel, IATA and its
members are committed to making a safe industry even safer with its Six-point Safety
program.
Key activities include:
z Auditing: The IATA Operational Safety Audit, IOSA, and IATA’s Safety and
Ground Operations Audit, ISAGO, are the global standards for safety auditing.
IOSA registration is also a condition for IATA Membership.
z Flight Operations: IATA develops and promotes policies and practices regarding
the safe and effective operation of aircraft. Their IATA Flight Operations team
participates in a number of ICAO technical panels and manages a series of
workgroups.
z Infrastructure Safety Data: IATA manages important data by sharing safety
information. This enables member airlines and other stakeholders to identify
potential for accidents and serious incidents.
z Integrated Airline Management System: IATA has developed an integrated
management system toolkit which provides airlines with the fundamental
guidelines to implement management systems for each operational function.
z Safety Data Management and Analysis: IATA’s wealth of safety data helps the
industry continuously identify hazard and properly manage risks through
mitigation strategies aimed at improving in operational safety.
z Security: On behalf of the industry, IATA works to ensure that security measures
are effective; internationally harmonized and minimize disruption to the
passengers and shippers.
4.6.4 MACS – Marketing and Commercial Services 75
IATA
This division helps IATA provide a wide array of products and commercial services to
airlines, airports, civil aviation authorities and other organizations. Their commercial
vision is to provide relevant, valued solutions to ensure the aviation industry achieves
superior results. MACS provide the self-funding mechanism to enable IATA to
deliver results against industry priorities and to fund industry initiatives.
Areas of activity include:
z Air Transport Consultancy Services: IATA draws on its extensive in-house
expertise and unique access to a vast network of specialists in all areas of civil
aviation. Their tailor made solutions provide users with vital, unbiased analysis
and recommendations for their strategic and commercial decision.
z Market Research: IATA brings expertise in market research in areas such as
customer satisfaction, product/service benchmarking and brand perception
research.
z Market Data and Statistics: IATA is a focal point for airline industry data, studies
and statistics.
z Global Events: IATA organises numerous global events to promote and drive
IATA’s industry-wide agenda.
z Strategic Partnerships: IATA provides a platform for major aviation suppliers
and service providers to contribute to solutions to industry challenges and
priorities.
z Publications: IATA produces a wide variety of publications based on best
practices in commercial aviation as well as IATA standards.

4.6.5 CS – Corporate Services

The Corporate Services division provides critical internal support for all areas of
IATA. The CS strategic drive is to build speed and quality into all its activities. A
major effort is underway across the division to fully implement an enterprise resource
management system from SAP – INSIGHT. CS includes the following functional
areas:
z Corporate planning and control – providing performance reporting and efficient
and timely information – both financial and non-financial.
z Corporate Tax – maintaining IATA’s favourable tax position while ensuring
compliance with applicable regulations.
z Corporate Finance – conducting accounting processes that are efficient and
effective to ensure accuracy.
z Corporate Treasury and Banking – managing cash, foreign exchange and banking
relationships for a global enterprise.
z Corporate Administration and Procurement – ensuring that global offices are fit
for purpose and procurement is performed in the most efficient manner with a
strategic outlook.
z Information Technology Services – supporting business flexibility through
appropriate IT systems and equipment, delivered in a secure and reliable manner.

4.6.6 HC – Human Capital

At IATA, their people are at the centre of their agenda to drive positive industry
change. We are working hard to provide their employees with a great working and
learning environment by:
76 z Adapting their organizational structure to the current environment
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z Attracting, selecting and retaining the best talent
z Assessing and rewarding employees based on their contribution to their business
z Developing leadership skills, cultural intelligence and overall job competency of
their employees
The Human Capital department also leads the development of human capital for
tomorrow’s air transport industry through the IATA Training and Development
Institute, ITDI. Their professional and vocational programs transfer knowledge and
expertise to promote leadership, commercial success and industry standards on a
global scale. We work closely with academic and industry partners to ensure the value
and relevance of their training on a global scale. We work closely with academic and
industry partners to ensure the value and relevance of their training.

4.7 IATA GEOGRAPHY AND GLOBAL INDICATOR

The fares depends not only on the fare type or the class of service but also by routing
type as said by the by global indicators (G.I). For example, an economy or Y fare
from Seattle (SEA) U.S.A. to Fukuoka (FUK) Japan by the Atlantic would be more
than the price paid by the traveller if he travelled by the Pacific. So to estimate the
right fare, one has to distinguish the form of routing the passenger requires. There are
11 global indicators that airline tickets can be issued on.
1. WH or TC1,
2. EH or TC2,
3. EH or TC3,
4. AT or TC12,
5. PA or TC31,
6. PN or TC31,
7. SA or TC123,
8. AP or TC23,
9. RU or TC23,
10. TS or TC23,
11. FE or TC23.
Passengers should try to meet or try to obtain their airline ticket from their travel
agents so that they can have cheaper fare quote, and also to know flight notices and
condition of carriage from the carrier as well as the terms and conditions of the
tickets.
z EH = EASTERN HEMISHERE
z WH = WESTERN HEMISHERE
z AT = ATLANTIC TRAVEL
z PA = PACIFIC ATLANTIC
z PN = PACIFIC NORTH
z SA = SOUTH ATLANTIC
z AP = ATLANTIC PACIFIC
z RU = RUSSIA IN EUROPE
z TS = TRANS- SIBERIA 77
IATA
z FE = FAR EAST

4.8 TRAVEL AGENT MANAGEMENT

Travel management or corporate travel management (CTM) is the means of taking
care of the strategies of the company’s travel policy, day-to-day operation of the
corporate travel program, the negotiations with all vendors, traveller safety & security,
T&E data management and credit-card management. CTM must not be mixed with
the services offered by the traditional Travel Agency, whereas agencies give everyday
travel services to help customers. Or we can say that CTM take decision on the
category of the people who are allowed to fly and negotiate corporate fares/rates with
airlines and hotels as well as set forth the use of the corporate credit card. For many
companies “travel and expenses” (T&E) costs means the second biggest yearly
expense, more than the salary and benefits, and is usually more than IT or real estate
costs. T&E costs are not only confined to travel (airline, rail, hotel, car rental,
ferry/boat, etc.) but also involve all costs incurred at the time of travel such as
gratuities, staff and client meals, client gifts, taxi fares supplies (office supplies and/or
services), etc. The management of these costs is normally done by the Corporate
Travel Manager which is a function that can be a part of the HR,
Finance, Procurement or Administrative Services Department. As this include all
these areas in some form and represents such a major corporate expense, it become a
reason that this function must have an equal ranking within a corporation as any other
major division and not be seen as a sub-set of existing departments.

4.9 TRAVEL PARTNER

There is a confirmed substitute to work as a travel agent or your own organization
with an additional lucrative and less hectic future. Whether you are a presently a
Travel Agency owner or a person employed as travel agent you will recognize that we
all work in a highly demanding, dynamic and competitive environment.
It’s the innovative and exciting approach to the fastest rising section of the travel
industry. The Travel Partners Way is depends on the business form that give a highly
trained, travel professionals who are looking for maintaining their own travel
consultancy or ascertaining their own individuality, with a stage from which to
function competitively and more by yourself.
All Travel Partners, and their customers, are completely supported with sound priced
products, the basic information technology systems and to offer a safe and a proficient
atmosphere in which to do business. To become a Travel Partner, you will need to
have a proven record of client contentment together with travel industry proficiency
and knowledge.
The profile of a typical Travel Partner consultant will include the following:
z Each Travel Partner should have a minimum 5 years of experience of travel
industry, and in every time, a Travel Partner will boast at least 2 or 3 times that
experience.
z You will be well travelled both domestically and globally and must have a wide
variety of travel experiences.
z Preferably you will grasp suitable qualifications together with expertise in related
travel software, fare computation and ticketing skills as well as comprehension of
consular and health necessities internationally.
z Travel Partners are often skilled and trained and regularly updated on new travel
procedures, products, and other aspects of the industry.
78 z Most Travel Partners have taken to become a Travel Partner so that they can focus
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety on what they can do best, and i.e. servicing their client’s travel needs and using
their links and understanding to pleasure the consumer and to make an on-going
‘travel partnership’ with them.

4.10 AIRCRAFT HANDLING

In aviation, aircraft handling is defined as the servicing of an aircraft when it is on
the ground and is parked at a gate of the terminal in an airport.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), conservative
estimates depicts that the airlines outsources around 50% or more of the ground
handling that occur at the airport of the world. Airport handling addresses
requirements of the many services of an airliner between the time it reaches at a gate
of the terminal and the time it leaves on its subsequent flight. Efficiency, speed and
accuracy are very significant in airport handling services in order to reduce the
turnaround time.

Figure 4.3: A Ground-handling Tug Pulls a British Airways

Boeing 747-400 at London Heathrow Airport, England
Airlines may participate in an industry-standard Mutual Assistance Ground Service
Agreement (MAGSA). The MAGSA is published by the Air Transport
Association (the current version is from 1981) and is used by airlines to assess prices
for maintenance and support to aircraft at so-called MAGSA Rates, which are updated
annually based on changes in the U.S. Producer Price Index. Airlines may choose to
contract for ground handling services under the terms of a Standard Ground Handling
Agreement (SGHA) published in the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) Airport Handling Manual. Airlines may also contract for ground handling
services under non-standard terms.

Cabin service
These facilities make sure commuter comfort. The cabin washing is the highest job in
the cabin service. They comprise such tasks as cleaning the commuter cabin and
replacement of on-board consumables or washable substances such as soap, pillows,
tissues and blankets.

Catering
Catering comprises the unloading of new food and drinks from the aero plane, and
the loading of fresh stuff to eat and beverage for travellers and crew. Airline
mealtimes are characteristically carried in trolleys. Empty or trash-filled trolleys from
the prior flight are exchanged with fresh ones. Meals are ready typically on the ground
in order to diminish the amount of planning (apart from chilling or reheating) required 79
in the air. IATA

Airline catering sources include the following companies:

z Airline Services and Logistics PLC (EPZE)
z American Airlines
z Atlas Catering (Royal Air Maroc's catering service)
z Cara Operations
z Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services
z Chelsea Food Services
z Gate Gourmet
z KLM's KLM Catering in Stages
z LSG Sky Chefs
z Q Catering
z Servair
z Thai Airways's Thai Catering Services
z United Airlines

Figure 4.4: Ramp Service

Figure 4.5: Lavatory Drainage

80 This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders
z Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft)
z Airstart units (for starting engines)
z Catering trucks
z Deicing
z Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
z Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on
the ground)
z Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft
marshalling)
z Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
z Lavatory drainage
z Luggage handling, usually by means of belt loaders and baggage carts
z Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or air stairs, some budget airlines
use both to improve turnaround speed)
z Refuelling, which may be done with a refuelling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
z Towing with pushback tractors
z Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
z Wheelchair lifts, if required
Field operation service
This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the
airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
List of handling agents
z ACR Cargo Express
z Aerohandling
z Aeromexico Servicios
z Aircraft Service International Group
z American Eagle Airlines
z Aviance UK
z Aviapartner
z Aviator Airport Alliance
z African Open Sky
z Baltic Ground Services
z BAS-Bahrain Airport Services
z Caribbean Aircraft Handling Co. Ltd, Barbados
z DAL Global Services
z Dnata
z Executive Airlines
z GAT Airline Ground Support Inc. 81
IATA
z GDN Airport Services
z Global Handling Services
z Goldair Handling
z Ground Handling Inc.
z HAT Enterprises, S.A.
z Jardine Aviation Services
z JetCity Pty Ltd
z Jetex Flight Support
z JetFlight Aviation Services
z JetWash Aviation Services
z Kion de Mexico
z Latin American Aeronautical Technical Support (GUA)
z Menzies Aviation
z Myanma Airways
z NAS-National Aviation Services
z NavStar Aviation Inc.
z Neha Aviation Management Private Limited, India
z Nordic Aero
z Olympic Handling
z PlaneBiz Limited New Zealand
z Portway Handling de Portugal, SA
z Regional Elite Airline Services
z Royal Airport Services Pakistan
z Royal FBO Airport Services Paraguay (AGT, ASU, SGAS, SGES)
z SAS Ground Handling
z Servisair
z SkyStar Airport Services
z SRC Aviation, Pvt. Ltd
z Swissport
z Talaria, SA Aeroport Handling, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
z Tradewinds Aviation Services Ltd, Kenya
z Winner Aviation
z Universal Aviation
z UTG Aviation Services
z EASUD Aviation SupportCo. Ltd.
z Capavia/Aviation Services/Turkey
88 z Identify the resorts
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety z Explain the boarding and lodging

5.1 INTRODUCTION
Conservatively, it was supposed that a travel agent (TA) does not make a need but
only accomplishes a present need. But it is now an authenticity that a number of TAs
not only generates the need to travel to endpoints but give corporate to hotels,
transporters and many others. A TA is a significant link between the traveller and the
rest. How some travel agencies have developed and helped from the marketing
approach, is being discussed in this lesson.

5.2 HOTEL AND STAR RATING

Figure 5.1: Five-star Superior Rating at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski,

Munich, Germany
z Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. The
development of the perception of hotel rating and its related definitions display
strong equivalents. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on elementary
facilities that can be estimated, the objectives of hotel rating has extended into an
emphasis on the hotel understanding as a whole. Today the terms 'rating',
'grading', and 'classification' are used to normally refer to the same idea, that is to
classify hotels, mostly using stars as a symbol.
z There are a wide variability of rating patterns used by diverse organizations
everywhere the world. Many have a system including stars, with a greater number
of stars representing superior luxury. Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel
Guide, launched its star rating system in 1958. The AAA and their affiliated
bodies use diamonds instead of stars to express hotel and restaurant ratings levels.
z Entertainment, view, Food services, room variations such as size and additional
amenities, spas and fitness centres, ease of access and location may be considered
in forming a standard. Hotels are individualistically assessed in outdated systems
and rest seriously on the services provided. Some study this injurious to smaller
hotels whose worth of accommodation could fall into one class but the lack of an
item for example an elevator would avoid it from realization a higher
categorisation.
z In recent years hotel rating systems have also been criticised by some who claim 89
that the ranking criteria for such schemes are excessively complex and Hotel and their Rating

challenging for laypersons to recognize. It has been recommended that the lack of
a joined global system for rating hotels may also challenge the usability of such
schemes.

5.2.1 Standards of Hotel Classification

The more common arrangement systems comprise "star" rating, letter categorising,
from "A" to "F", equilateral or simply a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" footnote to
room such as hostels and motels. Systems using terms such as First Class/Superior
Deluxe/Luxury, Tourist Class/Standard, and Budget Class/Economy are more broadly
accepted as hotel kinds, rather than hotel standards.
Some countries have mark by a single public customary — Malta, Netherlands,
Portugal Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain and Hungary have laws defining the
hotel rating. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the ranking is defined by the
separate hotel industry relationship using a five-star system — the German
organizations are Tourist (*), Standard (**), Comfort (***), First Class (****) and
Luxury (*****), with the mark "Superior" to flag accessories beyond the least defined
in the standard, but not sufficient to move the hotel up to the next tier position. The
Swiss hotel rating was the first non-government formal hotel classification
commencement in 1979 It did impact the hotel organisation in Austria and
Germany. The formal hotel organisation of the DEHOGA (German Hotel and
Restaurant Association) started on August 1, 1996 and showed very effective with
80% of guests citing the hotel stars as the chief criteria in hotel selection. This
application inclined the formation of a common European Hotel stars rating system
that started in 2010. In France, the rating is well-defined by the public tourist boarding
of the sector using a four-star system (plus "L" for Luxus) which has different to a
five-star system from 2009 on. In South Africa and Namibia, the Tourist Grading
Council of South Africa has strict rules for a hotel types granting up to 5 stars.

5.2.2 Hotel Classifications in Britain

In Great Britain, hotels are rated from one-star to five stars, as in many other
countries. The RAC pulled out of housing ranking in 2008 so the only grouping
schemes in process are those functioned by the AA (Automobile Association) and the
national tourist boards; Visit England, Visit Wales, the Scottish Tourist Board and the
Northern Ireland Tourist Board. The schemes were all 'harmonized' to make sure
reliability between the patterns. This applies to all housing types apart from Self
Catering that the AA have recently (2009) started offering. The AA criterion is
accessible on its website. Along with the usual black stars (ranging from one (the
lowest) to five (the highest), the AA awards red stars to the highest-rated, which are
believed 'Inspectors' Choice'. Each of the nationwide tourist boards has grading
explanations on their web sites.

5.2.3 European Hotelstars Union

The HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe) is an umbrella organisation
for 39 connotations from 24 European nations. At a meeting in Bergen in 2004, the
partners drafted a hotel classification system in order to match their national
standards. In 2007 HOTREC launched the European Hospitality Quality scheme
(EHQ) which has since credited the existing national examination bodies for hotel
rating.
Under the patronage of HOTREC, the hotel links of Netherlands, Sweden Austria,
Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland created the Hotelstars
Union. On 14 September 2009, the Hotelstars Union arrangement system was
recognised at a session in Prague. This system became operative in these countries in
90 January 2010, with the exemption of Hungary, Switzerland and the Netherlands, who
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety have chosen future dates for the change. Well along more countries have linked the
HOTREC hotelstars system: Estonia (2011), Latvia (2011), Lithuania (2011),
Luxembourg (2011), Malta (2012), Belgium (2013), Denmark (2013) and Greece
(2013).
The European Hotelstars Union system is constructed on the earlier German hotelstars
system that had generally inclined the hotel classifications in central Europe, with five
stars and a Superior mark to flag extras. In its place of a strict least in room size and
essential shower facilities (e.g. a bath tub in a four-star hotel) there is a list of criteria
with 21 qualifications surrounding 270 elements, where some are obligatory for a star
and others optional. The leading criteria are in quality management, wellness and
sleeping housing. In the record of measures each entry is related with a number of
opinions – each Hotelstars level needs a minimal sum of points further some standards
being compulsory for the level. The minimum necessity for the Superior flag needs
the similar sum of points as for the next Hotelstars level which conversely was not
given due to at least one mandatory requirement being left out.

5.3 RATING SYSTEM AND CLASSIFICATION

Hotelstar Excerpt of the catalogue of criteria
Tourist z 100% of the rooms with
shower/WC or bath tub/WC
z Daily room cleaning
z 100% of the rooms with colour-TV
together with remote control
z Table and chair
z Soap or body wash
z Reception service
z Facsimile at the reception
z Publicly available telephone for
guests
z Extended breakfast
z Beverage offer in the hotel
z Deposit possibility
Superior Tourist The Superior flag is provided when the
additional service and accommodation
provisions are not sufficient for the
next Hotelstar. The bathroom facilities
are usually at the same level as for two
stars hotels but built from cheaper
materials. The cost for regular
inspection by independent associations
is waived as well.
Standard In addition to the single star (*) hotels:
z Breakfast buffet
z Reading light next to the bed
z Bath essence or shower gel
z Bath towels
Contd…
 z Linen shelves 91
Hotel and their Rating
z Offer of sanitary products (e.g.
toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit)
z Credit Cards
Superior Standard The Superior flag is provided when the
additional service and accommodation
provisions are not sufficient for the
next Hotelstar. The Standard-Superior
does usually offer the same service
level as three-star hotels but the
interiors of the hotel are smaller and
cheaper so that the three stars were not
to be awarded by the inspection body.
A two-star superior does not require
mystery guesting.
Comfort In addition to the standard star (**)
hotels:
z Reception opened 14 hours,
accessible by phone 24 hours from
inside and outside, bilingual staff
(e.g. German/English)
z Three piece suite at the reception,
luggage service
z Beverage offer in the room
z Telephone in the room
z Internet access in the room or in the
public area
z Heating facility in the bathroom,
hair-dryer, cleansing tissue
z Dressing mirror, place to put the
luggage/suitcase
z Sewing kit, shoe polish utensils,
laundry and ironing service
z Additional pillow and additional
blanket on demand
z Systematic complaint management
system
Superior Comfort The Superior flag is provided when the
additional service and accommodation
provisions are not sufficient for the
next Hotelstar. The accommodation
facilities for a superior hotel need to be
on a modern level and fully renovated
which is checked regularly.
First Class In addition to the comfort star (***)
hotels:
z Reception opened 18 hours,
accessible by phone 24 hours from
inside and outside
Contd…
92
Principles of Travel and Tourism z Lobby with seats and beverage
Operations and Aviation Safety service
z Breakfast buffet or breakfast menu
card via room service
z Minibar or 24 hours beverages via
room service
z Upholstered chair/couch with side
table
z Bath robe and slippers on demand
z Cosmetic products (e.g. shower
cap, nail file, cotton swabs), vanity
mirror, tray of a large scale in the
bathroom
z Internet access and internet
terminal
z "À la carte"-restaurant
First Class Superior The Superior flag is provided when the
first class hotel has a proven high
quality not only in the rooms. The
superior hotels provide for additional
facilities in the hotel like a sauna or a
workout room. The quality is checked
regularly by mystery guesting of an
external inspection service.
Luxury In addition to the first class (****)
hotels:
z Reception opened 24 hours,
multilingual staff
z Doorman-service or valet parking
z Concierge, page boy
z Spacious reception hall with
several seats and beverage service
z Personalised greeting for each
guest with fresh flowers or a
present in the room
z Minibar and food and beverage
offer via room service during 24
hours
z Personal care products in flacons
z Internet-PC in the room
z Safe in the room
z Ironing service (return within
1 hour), shoe polish service
z Turndown service in the evening
z Mystery guesting
Superior Luxury The Luxury star hotels need to attain
high expectations of an international
Contd…
 guest service. The Superior Luxury star 93
Hotel and their Rating
is only awarded with a system of
intensive guest care.

5.3.1 World Hotel Rating

There is so far no worldwide grouping which has been accepted. There have been tries
at joining the organisation system so that it becomes a globally renowned and
dependable standard, but they have all failed.
It has been measured that, as it has been the instance in other expanses (e.g.
international accounting standards), hotel classification standards should effect from a
private and independent creativity. This may be the case of the World Hotel Rating
(WHR) project, which particularly set worldwide grouping values and rating criteria
along the lines of a world star-rating system. It will also found an info platform on the
hotel sector which will be bilingual and multicultural. WHR intends to play a key role
in the development of quality hotel services, as well as equitable and sustainable
tourism, and the security of the world's cultural and usual heritage. In addition, WHR
will grow labels to encourage hotels famous by specific structures, such as a family
and child-friendly character. A test period was scheduled for 2010.

5.3.2 Seven Stars

z Some hotels have been promoted as seven star hotels. The Burj Al Arab hotel
in Dubai has opened in 1998 with a domestic help for every room – this has been
the first hotel being broadly defined as a "seven-star" property, but the hotel says
the label creates from an unidentified British reporter on a press trip and that they
neither encourage its use nor do they use it in their publicising. Similarly
the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi (open since 2005) is occasionally termed
as seven star as well, but the hotel uses only a five star rating.
z The Town House Galleria in Milan, Italy has opened in 2007 and it entitlements
to have a seven star documentation from SGS Italy in 2008.
z Historically, extravagance hotels have used the relationship in the Leading Hotels
of the World to document systematic examination on an additional level. This
group had been formed in 1928 and it rationalised in 1971 introducing a world-
wide inspection service.
Check Your Progress 1
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. The Town House Galleria in Milan, Italy has opened in 2007 and it
entitlements to have a seven star documentation from SGS Italy in 2008.
2. WHR intends to play a key role in the development of quality hotel
services, as well as equitable and sustainable tourism, and the security of
the world's cultural and usual heritage.
3. A resort is a habitation utilised for relaxation or recreation, appealing
companies for vacations and/or tourism. Resorts are places, towns or
occasionally commercial formation operated by a single company.

5.4 RESORT
A resort is a habitation utilised for relaxation or recreation, appealing companies
for vacations and/or tourism. Resorts are places, towns or occasionally commercial
formation operated by a single company.
94 5.4.1 Island Resorts
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety An island resort is a landmass or an archipelago that comprises hotels, restaurants,
resorts, tourist attractions and its amenities.

5.4.2 Seaside Resorts

Figure 5.2: Miami Beach in Florida

z Seaside resorts are situated on a coast. In the United Kingdom, numerous
coastline towns have turned to other entertainment industries, and some of them
have a good deal of social life.

5.4.3 Ski Resorts

z In Europe and North America, ski resorts are towns and villages in ski areas, with
provision facilities for skiing such as hotels and chalets, equipment rental, ski
schools and ski lifts to access the slopes.

Self-contained resorts

Figure 5.3: Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Alberta, Canada

Destination resort
z A destination resort is a resort that has, in and of itself, the essential guest
attraction capabilities—that is to say that a destination resort does not want to be
near an endpoint (town, historic site, theme park, or other) to draw its public. A
profitable institution at a resort terminus such as a fun area, a scenic or historic
site, a theme park, a gaming facility or other tourist attraction may participate with
other industries at a destination. Therefore, another quality of an endpoint resort is
that it offers drink, lodging, sports, food, and entertainment, and shopping within
the competence so that guests have no need to leave the capability throughout
their stay. Commonly these amenities are of developed quality than would be
probable if one were to stay at a hotel or eat in a town's eateries. Some examples
 are Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, 95
USA, Costa do Sauípe in North-eastern Brazil, Laguna Phuket in Thailand and Hotel and their Rating

Sun City near Johannesburg in South Africa.

All-inclusive resort

Figure 5.4: The Paradise Resort in the Catskills

z An all-inclusive resort controls a fixed price that comprises most or all items. At a
least, most comprehensive resorts comprise lodging, limitless sports activities,
food, drink, and entertainment for the fixed price. In recent years, the amount of
resorts in the United States offering "all-inclusive" facilities has reduced
intensely; in 1961, over half accessible such plans and in 2007, less than 10% do
so.
z All-inclusive resorts are started in the Caribbean, mainly in Dominican Republic,
and somewhere else. Notable examples are Club Med and Sandals Resorts.
z An all-inclusive resort comprises a minimum of three meals daily, soft drinks,
most alcoholic drinks, gratuities and probably other services in the price. Many
also compromise sports and other events comprised in the price as well. They are
often situated in warmer regions. The all-inclusive model invented in the Club
Med resorts which were started by the Belgian Gérard Blitz.
z Some all-inclusive resorts are intended for specific holiday interests.

Figure 5.5: A Resort Swimming Pool, Marawila, Sri Lanka

z Golf resorts are resorts that provide specially to the sport of golf, and comprise
access to one or more golf progress and or clubhouse. Golf resorts usually afford
golf packages that offer visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls,
accommodations and meals.
96
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety

Figure 5.6: A View of a Typical Ski Resort and Ski Lifts

z In North America a ski resort is generally a destination resort in a ski area, and is
less likely to refer to a town or village.
z A resort can be an expensive vacation and often boasts many visitor activities and
attractions such as golf, water sports, spa and beauty amenities, skiing, natural
ecology and tranquillity. Because of the extent of facilities presented, it may be
considered destination resort.

Figure 5.7: The Las Vegas strip in 2009

z A mega resort is a kind of destination resort which is of a remarkably large size,
for example those along the Las Vegas Strip. In Singapore an integrated resort is
an understatement for a casino-based destination resort.

5.5 BOARDING AND LODGING HOUSES

The term Boarding and Lodging House shall mean an institution which comprises
boarding and lodging for five (5) or more consistent boarders but no more than ten
(10) regular boarders for times of one week or more.
Though few people today distinguish among the two, boarding and lodging houses
were initially different accommodation types intended to separate markets. In the 19th
and early 20th centuries, boarding houses provided to a range of classes and
accessible food and shelter on a weekly basis, particularly to single people. Lodging
houses, instead, inclined to draw the poor and the more transitory who rented beds for 97
one night at a time. Lodging houses were generally larger and more unidentified than Hotel and their Rating

boarding houses and their residents were not delivered with meals. Women, who
delivered this type of facility either within their own homes or in previous large
houses altered for the drive, controlled all sectors of the market. The boarding market
was mainly based in the inner southern and eastern environs, particularly St Kilda,
Prahran, South Melbourne and East Melbourne. Lodging, on the other hand, was
centred north of the Yarra River in the more working-class areas of Carlton, Fitzroy,
North Melbourne and West Melbourne.

5.6 HOTEL PRODUCTS, FACILITIES, SERVICE

To set achievable marketing goals and realistic objectives, four aspects of the hotel’s
offerings to its chosen guests are involved. These are: the products, the price or tariffs,
distribution and marketing communication. Just as a chef prepares varied and tasty
dishes with the same basic ingredients, the marketer can also vary the quantum and
proportion of the four elements of the marketing mix to achieve appropriate marketing
goals and sales targets.
At the very outset some basic assumptions regarding hotel marketing are necessary.
These are:
z Hotel customers are referred to as ‘guests’ as they receive hospitality by way of
accommodation, food and drink or all for which they pay. If satisfied, they return
to the hotel for receiving further paying hospitality.
z A hotel is “immovable” in contrast to a manufactured product or service which is
mobile and can be taken from the venue of production to the site of consumption.
z The capital investment in a hotel industry is generally high and the gestation
period for adequate returns on the investment is normally long.
z The demand for hotel facilities has a variety which a few manufactured products
have.
z Some hotel facilities like rooms, and ‘covers’ in restaurants are quickly perishable
just as empty airline seats are.
z Hotels are not only in competition with others hotels, but also with the products
and services of other industries catering to discretionary expenditure.
These assumptions postulate that the economic viability of a hotel depends largely on
three factors. First, the speed with which demand for hotel facilities can be generated;
second, the capacity to ensure and retain customer satisfaction which will result in
repetitive business and expansion of business; and third, the package, tenor of
atmosphere, service and quality which together constitute the hotel’s standing and
image. The hotel product comprises the basic service that is offered, which consists of
accommodation and food and beverage.

5.6.1 Hotel Market Segment

The total hotel market, which consists of the total demand for hotel facilities, may be
divided into various segments. These segments are determined as per the needs of the
people and the means they possess to pay for their satisfaction. The fulfilment of these
means relates to the market package. The market for the hotel will be served
according to what is provided, how it is provided, and for how much.

Independent Guests
A common classification of hotel market segment is according to the purpose of visit
by guests, i.e., holiday-tourism oriented, business-traveller oriented, conference
98 oriented, or foreign versus domestic traffic oriented. These terms tend to be equivocal
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety 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 a luxury hotel
may be on business on his company’s expense account whereas if he comes as a
normal pleasure or leisure tourist, he may well stay at a lower-tariff hotel suiting his
budget. 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 hand, when he travels for pleasure or for social purposes, he may stay in the
same luxury hotel or one with a lower tariff, depending on the purpose of the visit.

Groups
Customers travelling in groups comprise 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 classifications –
upper/upper-middle/lower.

Special Groups
For us, in India, there is yet another important segment, namely, non-vegetarian or
vegetarian. Vegetarian hotels (with comparatively lower tariffs than non-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 they are prepared to accept.
Hence, it is apparent that interchange between segments does take place, whether as a
temporary or permanent phenomenon, according to the duration of the changing
circumstances of the guest-segments. These segments of the total market for a
particular hotel may be further divided into primary and secondary levels of demand;
each of which, in turn, contains two further levels of demand, as shown in Table
below.
Table 5.1: Primary and Secondary Levels of Demand

Primary level z Basic demand which exists for hotel facilities but
not being served at present.
z Displacement demand rising from the clientele of
other hotels where the customers’ needs are not
fully met by the market package offered.
Secondary level z Created demand which does not exist so far, and
arising from people who do not normally use hotel
facilities, or from people who do not use the hotel
facilities in a particular area.
z Futuristic demand which may occur at sometimes in
the future, due to certain socio-economic or socio-
psychological factors or both, e.g., rise in the
standard of living and per capita income (‘green
revolution’ areas, new industrial complexes),
increase in population, changing social systems and
habits, etc.
A new hotel introduced in a particular segment of the hotel market may eventually be
able to exploit all these levels of demand. It is essential that there should be
substantial basic demand which can be tapped by a new hotel. Displacement and
created levels of demand require a period of time and a sustained sales effort to realise
their potential, whereas, the assessment of future demand relates to the continuing
long-term prosperity of the hotel. If the basic demand is absent but if the displacement
created and future levels of demand promise well for an investment appraised on a ‘10 99
to 15 year basis’, the decision to start a new hotel under such circumstances has Hotel and their Rating

perforce to be a long-gestation decision.

For accommodation, each segment of the market, together with its primary and
secondary divisions, contains some or all of the potential buyers of hotel
accommodation, as shown in Table 5.2, which may sometimes overlap.
There may well be more types according to the geographical, economic, industrial,
and social characteristics of the location of each hotel.
Similarly, for food and beverages, each segment of the hotel market contains varied
categories of potential buyers of catering services which may also sometimes overlap.
Table 5.2: Potential Buyers for Accommodation and Catering Services

Accommodation z Transit tourists, passing through the particular location.

z Terminal tourists, for whom the location represents end of a
journey.
z Travelling businessmen.
z Visiting personnel, i.e., business or industrial employees for
whom travel is an occasional part of their job.
z Organised tours.
z Conventions, conferences, workshops, meetings, where the
location is pre-fixed by the organisers.
z Social visitors, i.e., guests to weddings or other social
functions.
Catering z Occupant customers staying in the hotel.
z Transit or change customers – people other than local
residents of the areas patronising the hotel either by impulse
or intentionally planned for meals, refreshments, etc.
z Organisations and societies consisting of members acting in
unison.
z Local business customers who patronise the hotel due to
local industrial or commercial activity.
z Meetings and conferences organised by agencies from
outside areas.
z People on tour who step into the hotel for meals,
refreshments, etc.

The Hotel Product

The hotel product has a number of components like accommodation, food and
beverage, recreation and health, shops, car rental service, apart from others. But of all
these, the accommodation and food and beverage components are the primary ones.
The accommodation component of the hotel product requires a clear identification of
the type of clientele the hotel wishes to attract and serve. Regardless of ‘star’
categorisation, as customers tend to graduate from one ‘star’ category to another,
accommodation can be either of the luxury type almost regardless of the price, or the
economy type providing the essentials of shelter frugally. Between these two there are
a variety of accommodation facilities—catering to customers whose accommodation
is paid for; leisure customers who pay for their accommodation; customers who are
100 part of groups either on business or on pleasure. However, once the hotel property has
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety been constructed to serve identified and specific customer segments, the possibility of
variation is severely restricted. Admittedly, the economy type property cannot be
moved up into a luxury one without considerable expense and time although a reversal
from the luxury to the economy class is more feasible and less problematic.
To tide over the above difficulties, hotel architects, the world over, are now designing
properties with as much flexibility as possible to make multipurpose adjustable public
rooms feasible. In the case of a hotel where such a flexibility does not exist, the hotel
product decision for accommodation will depend entirely on the accuracy of selling
rooms to the right type of customers.
On the other hand, the food and beverage component of the basic hotel product offers
greater scope for flexibility. Qualitative differentials can be very wide and would
range from high class a la carte high-price menu restaurants with complete table
service to the utilisation table of medium or low-priced menu dining rooms. Capital
expenditure is relatively lower – décor, furnishings and fittings can be changed more
easily to transform the image of a restaurant or dining room in either way. Availability
of room service from either the hotel’s own kitchens or from outside is another area of
flexibility.
It is obvious, however, that resident guests in a hotel know what exactly they are
buying in room occupancy and in food and beverage sales. Hence their experience of
the hotel product will condition their future relationship with the hotel and the
patronage afforded.

5.6.2 Pricing
It is difficult for a hotel to exercise differential pricing except for certain specific
purposes. These may typically be differentials in tariffs and prices during the peak and
lean seasons; group rates; contact rates for airline crew; special conference rates or
special concessions to attract customers; tourism year syndrome, etc. However, by and
large, hotel pricing tends to follow or conform to pricing standards applicable to.

5.6.3 Distribution
As has been said earlier, the hotel does not journey to its customers to consummate a
sale. It is the reverse that takes place—customers come to the hotel. Hotel distribution
relies on interdependence with other industries serving travellers and tourists such as
the transportation industry (airlines, railways, roadways, shipping lines), travel agents
and tour operators, national and state tourism organisations, shopping and
entertainment providers. In sum, those services which provide certain other facilities
to the traveller or the tourist which are bought when accommodation and food are
assured.
Some interesting features of hotel distribution need critical examination. The first is
cooperative distribution which operates in passing on traffic overflow from one hotel
to its neighbour, on a reciprocal basis, without affecting regular business with the
main intermediaries in the distribution system such as travel agents; tour operators;
airlines and special business clientele. The second is the increasing development of
franchising. Franchising may take various forms but it basically involves making
available to the franchisee (the beneficiary) of a service system that is designed and
controlled for quality standards by the franchiser. The franchisee gets the advantage of
being part of a reservation and sales system which ensures a certain level of business
which may not be available otherwise. The franchisee also benefits from the image of
the franchiser, professional advice and training provided by the franchiser. In the
process, he improves his own operational image and efficiency. The franchiser also
benefits as his investment is not required in the franchisee’s properties. At the same
time, the franchiser’s distribution system is expanded and the franchisee is well
motivated to succeed in his own business. Hotel distribution is, thus, an important 101
element of the marketing mix. Hotel and their Rating

5.6.4 Communications
Perhaps this element of the hotel marketing mix is most important as it is directly
responsible for bringing customers to the hotel. Hotel marketing communications are
either direct or indirect. The direct communications are through personal selling,
advertising, sales promotion and direct mail. Appropriate messages are conveyed to
those who are potential buyers of the hotel product and those who directly influence
decisions to buy the hotel product. Personal selling of the hotel product is effective
when long-term relationship between the hotel and the customer is sought. It is also
required where the level of business per customer is likely to be significant. Indirect
marketing communications for hotels include public relations and publicity, both of
which may or may not form a part of the hotel’s marketing communication
programme but may function independently. The major elements of the hotel
communication mix are – mass media advertising, direct mail, sales promotion, public
relations, and publicity.

5.6.5 Advertising
Hotel advertising is an effective and, generally, a long-term effort to inform the
customer about the existence of the property, giving details about the location and
types of facilities offered. Advertising is also aimed at influencing the attitude of the
customer to bring about his acceptance of the particular service offered. Informative
advertising is necessary for a new hotel or a hotel offering new facilities or services
which are different from the past. Persuasive advertising is aimed at a more
competitive situation where desired business from all departments of the hotel is not
achieved.
In advertising, a hotelier is dealing with a non-personal contact with the target
audience, unlike sales promotion where the hotelier is aware of the identity of the
target. The purpose of advertising is indeed the same as the purpose of communication
– it aims to inform and persuade the consumer or the travel trade to change, to
influence their attitude towards the advertiser’s product or organisation.

5.6.6 Sales Promotion

Sales promotion is aimed at generating immediate response in terms of a buying
decision. For a hotel which wishes to cash in on sales promotion, the specific part of
the business which stands to benefit, i.e., room sales or food and beverage sales, has to
be clearly identified and a promotion drive which will bring about the desired increase
of sales must be launched. For instance, a hill station hotel which normally has almost
empty rooms during winter or off-season may promote its accommodation and other
facilities when a famous winter sports festival is to be held in that area or a national or
international conference is to take place or any other special convention or workshop
where participating delegates also need relaxation. People who would normally not
visit the hill station in winter will do so when presented with such an opportunity.
There are two ways in which one can examine sales promotion. First, schemes which
can be defined in terms of time; and second, as an ongoing permanent
activity/function. Irrespective of these distinctions one can clearly identify three
groups of activities under sales promotion: trade promotions; consumer promotions;
and display.
Trade promotions are schemes which are generally intended to induce or persuade the
travel trade or the distribution channel to generate more demand. The term “travel
trade” has been used in its generic form—to refer to all the available distribution
channels or outlets to the hotel industry. Trade promotions are, therefore, schemes
102 which are intended to induce or persuade the travel trade to sell more of the hotel
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety product or hotel service and for this purpose a variety of incentives are given.
Consumer promotions are schemes to persuade the consumer, i.e., the potential hotel
guest or the user of hotel services, to buy a particular hotel product or service, at a
particular point of time. Consumer promotions should be understood as the first
definition of sales promotion schemes which are defined in terms of time and are
finite.
The third group of activities which include product display and related point-of-sale
material, i.e., posters, show cards, display units, etc., help keep in perspective the view
that one can’t obviously display the actual hotel product or service at the point of sale
and so one has to depend on the descriptions and representations of the actual product.
Check Your Progress 2
Fill in the blanks:
1. ………………….. is aimed at generating immediate response in terms of a
buying decision.
2. The term “…………………..” has been used in its generic form—to refer
to all the available distribution channels or outlets to the hotel industry.
3. ………………….. is an effective and, generally, a long-term effort to
inform the customer about the existence of the property, giving details
about the location and types of facilities offered.
4. The ………………….. are through personal selling, advertising, sales
promotion and direct mail.

5.7 LET US SUM UP

Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host, and it also
refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the reception and entertainment
of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill.
The term Tourist is believed to have been derived from the Latin word ‘TORNUS’
which means a tool, a circle or a turner’s wheel. The World Tourism Organisation
(WTO), the major intergovernmental body concerned with tourism, has led the way in
establishing a set of definitions for general use. According to the WTO, international
tourism differs from domestic tourism and occurs when the traveller crosses a
country's border.
Tourism sector holds immense potential for Indian economy. It can provide impetus to
other industries through backward and forward linkages and can generate huge
revenue earnings for the country.
Hotels are a major service industry in India. A number of international hotel chains
have come to India, either independently or with a tie-up with an Indian partner.
The travel trade in India is about sixty years old, and has received its impetus from the
growth of civil aviation in the country. The quality, reach, and ultimate success of the
marketing activity in a travel agency depends on how clearly the marketer has
understood the service levels his firm can deliver, and how accurately he assesses the
factors which make his firm stand out from competition.
Growing global competition in the air travel market meant that the 1990s were the
decade of the air traveller as a consumer seeking enhanced service quality. The role of
airline marketing is to bring together the supply of air services, which each airline can
largely control, with the demand, which it can influence but not control, and to do this
in a way which is both profitable and meets the airline's corporate objectives'.
 105
6.1 INTRODUCTION Types of Rooms and Bedding

We can define guest house as a type of lodging. In several parts of the world a guest
house is related to a hostel, bed and breakfast, or hotel as in other parts of the world
guest houses are the inexpensive hotel-like accommodation. It is a confidential home
which has been transformed for the restricted use of visitor lodging. The proprietor
typically lives in a totally divide area within the belongings and the guest house might
work as a shape of housing industry.
A bed is a type of furniture generally used for undeveloped reason. Most current beds
are equipped by a mattress on a bed framework, with the mattress kept either on a
solid base, often wooden boards, or a sprung base. In North America many beds
surround a box spring inner-sprung base a large mattress-sized box property wood and
springs that offer additional sustain and deferral for the mattress.
Most beds have a bedhead for hidden next to, with others also having side rails and
footers. "Bedhead only" beds often include a "dust ruffle", "bed border", or "drapery
sheet" to hide the bed frame.
For greater head maintenance, most people like to use a pillow, retained on the top of
a mattress. Some form of wrapper blanket to defend the sleeper are also worn,
often bed sheets, a quilt, together referred to as bedding. Bedding is the variable non-
furniture portion of sleeping surroundings. For example a bed can be thought of as a
body and the bedding its clothing.

6.2 TYPES OF GUEST ROOMS AND ACCOMMODATION

A room that is utilized by the guest as a bedroom in a home not regularly occupied by
a member of the family and kept predominantly for guests as a spare room or a room
in a hotel or lodging house for occupation by guests.
The guest room is the central product of a hotel as it adds to more than 50% of the
total sales making the profit percentage from the room sales very high. Guestrooms in
a hotel have a role in the image building of the hotel. Guests may stay in a hotel for
pleasure, convenience or from necessity. Whatever the reason for the stay, they will
always expect a certain standard of service and comfort.
It used to be customary to have rooms of more or less than the same standard
throughout the property, but the trend is changing now. Guests are now being offered
a choice of more expensive rooms with upgraded facilities. Hotels now offer a wide
variety of rooms catering to the needs of different types of travellers.
Types of Guest Rooms
z Single Room: A room with a normal solo bed to accommodate single person.
z Double Room: A room which has double bed and arrange for sleeping comforts
for two persons. A double bed is a large bed usually for two persons.
z Twin Room: A room having two single beds separated out by a small bedside
table. The room delivers sleeping room for two people.
z Double-double Room: A room has two double beds and provides sleeping
comfort for 4 people or for the family.
z Studio Room: A room having utility furniture such as sofa-cum-bed. A bed is
used as a sofa in the day time and converts into bed at night, meant for business
people.
z Suite: A suite refers to a set of two rooms interconnected to each other out of
which one is a bed room and other is a sitting room. Suite is a costly room of the
hotel.
106 z Hospitality Suite: A parlour with a connecting bedroom, to be used by guest to
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety entertain his own guest or for companies offering cocktails during conventions,
entertaining and trade shows. This room usually contains a bar and occasional
tables as well. It is charged on hourly bases.
z Junior Suite: A large room with a partition separating the bedroom furnished
from the sitting area.
z Efficiency: A room having small kitchen facilities.
z Cabana: A room situated near the swimming pool of the hotel and normally used
by the people who love water games or swimming. These rooms are mainly used
for changing.
z Duplex: Two rooms on two successive floors and is connected to each other with
a common staircase. Generally the sitting room is on the lower floor and the
bedroom is on the upper floor.
z Pent House: Room situated on the terrace of the building with one of the door
opening towards the terrace. Other facilities and amenities may also be added to
it.
z Lanai: A room overlooking a landscaped area, a scenic view, a water body or a
garden. These rooms are found in resort hotels.
z Hollywood twin room: A room with two twin beds but a common headboard
meant for two people. If so desired the beds can be joined together to make it
appear like a single bed.
Single room A room assigned to one person, having one bed.
Twin room A room with two twin beds meant for one person each.
Hollywood twin room A room with two twin beds but a common headboard,
meant for two people.
Double room A room with a double bed for two persons.
Triple room A room assigned to three people, which may have two or
more beds.
Quad room A room assigned to four people, which may have two or
more beds.
Queen room A room with a queen-size bed.
King room A room with a king size bed.
Double room A room with two double beds, meant for four people.
Studio room A room with studio bed.
Sico room A room with a Murphy bed.
Mini-suite room A single large room with a bed and a sitting area.
Suite room A combination of one or more bedrooms and a parlour, it
may also contain a bar and a kitchenette.
Connecting room A room with individual entrance doors from the outside
and a connecting door between, so that guest can move
between rooms without going through the hallway.
Adjoining rooms A room with a common wall but no connecting door.
Adjacent room Rooms close to each other but not necessarily adjoining-
perhaps across the hall or corridor from each other.
Cabana A room adjacent to the pool area, with or without
Contd…
 sleeping facilities, but with provision for relaxing in a 107
Types of Rooms and Bedding
sofa.
Duplex Two storey suite, with parlour and bedroom connected
by a stairway.
Efficiency room A room containing some kitchen facilities.
Hospitality suite A parlour with a connecting bedroom to be used by guest
to entertain his own guests or for companies offering
cocktail during conventions, entertaining and trade
shows.
Lanai A room overlooking landscaped area, a scenic view, a
water body or a garden. It may have a balcony, a patio or
both.
Parlour A living or sitting room, A room not used as bedroom.
Family room A room with two double beds, meant for two, three or
four persons.
Pent house A room that opens onto the roof and may be
accompanied by a swimming pool, patio, a tennis court
and other facilities and amenities.
Executive rooms A room that has a large bedroom with a sitting area,
provided with chairs and usually a sofa and coffee table.
Guest Room Status
OCC: A guest has currently registered to the room and so the room is occupied.
Stay over Room S/O
The guest is not checking out today and will occupy the room for at least one more
night.
Do Not Disturb/DND
The guest has requested not to be disturbed. DND card is on the door.
Scanty Baggage/SB
The guest has very light luggage and he may leave the hotel without settling his room
account.
Vacant/V
The room has been cleaned, inspected and is ready for the arrival of the guest.
Out of Order/OOO
The room cannot be assigned to the guest. It may require major maintenance work to
be done.
Check Out/C/O
The guest has settled his account returned the room keys and left the hotel.
Did not Check Out/DNCO
The guest made arrangement to settle his account but has left without informing the
Front Office.
Double Locked/DL
The room which has been double locked by the guest from inside. No other key can
open this room door except the grand master key.
108 No Baggage/NB
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety The guest is staying in the room but without baggage.
Not Packed/N/P
The guest has settled his account with Front Office but has not packed his baggage in
his room.
Packed Luggage/P/L
The guest has packed his baggage and left it in the room but has not settled his room
account.

6.3 TYPES OF BEDDING

There are various dissimilar types of conditions used to recognize definite pieces of
bedding. Meaningful the correct conditions will assist you supermarket and find the
right item for your bed. Whether its linens, bed coverings, pillows, or the filling you
use for a duvet cover, this list will assist you find the ideal fit, along with several tips
you may not have recognized in regards to bedding.
Top Sheet
A top sheet, also recognized as a flat sheet, is the sheet you put over the top of your
bed to divide you from your quilt or duvet. Some duvet or quilt sets do not consist of a
top sheet as they’ll have a flat, crisp cotton side in its place, which replaces it.
Bottom Sheet
A bottom sheet is the sheet with the elastic-edge that is utilised to fit over your
mattress hence the given name bottom or fitted sheet.
Coverlet
A coverlet is an ornamental fabric cover that does not handle the floor and usually
does not cover the pillows. Woven coverlets and quilts fall into this group.
Bedspread
A bedspread is alike to a coverlet a thin, pleasing to the eye covering--but it usually
covers the whole bed and touches the floor.
Blanket or Throw
A blanket or throw is a small casing usually establish at the foot of a bed utilised for
additional warmness or attractive accents.
Comforter
A comforter is a bed cover swollen with fibers or down then sewed jointly at all four
sides. This wadding is further to generate extra heat and soothe on cold nights. A
comforter can be attractive and come in many dissimilar colours, patterns, and
designs. It’s usually used as a main attractive element in bedrooms.
Duvet
A duvet is comparable to a comforter apart from it needs the use of a duvet cover,
where a quilt does not.
Duvet Cover
A duvet cover that has an opening where the quilt or duvet is inserted, once located in,
its opening is closed with buttons. The duvet cover is usually an ornamental covering,
which essential purpose is to put in interior decoration to your bedroom.
Euro or Continental Pillow 109
Types of Rooms and Bedding
A euro or continental pillow is a large four-sided figure pillow, i.e. an attractive pillow
that sits back next to the headboard.
Decorative Pillow
A decorative pillow, also consider as an accent or throw pillow, is a small pillow that
comes in many shapes, sizes and colours to add decoration to a bed.
Bolster Pillow
A Bolster pillow is a tubular pillow utilised to bend back next to for lumbar hold, but
classically it’s used as an ornamental pillow or accent pillow bed.
Pillow Sham
A pillow sham is alike to a pillowcase but it does not unwrap on one side, as an
alternative it has an extension, which is an extra piece of cloth that extends from
where the pillow deception is sewn on each border. Pillow shams make a more refined
look, so they are used over pillowcases. Pillow shams are often more decorative than
pillowcases and more likely to have elaborate embellishes on them.

6.4 MEAL PLAN

Hotels present numerous unusual “Meal Plans” that depend on the hotel or resort.
Having some meals incorporated can make a big variation taken as a whole vacation
everyday expenditure. Make sure to observe what time of the day the meals are
presented. There is no logic paying for something you won’t be here to eat. Find out
how several people staying in the area the “Meal Plan” will comprise. Several times
the room will grasp extra people than the “Meal Plan” will give for so you may be
necessary to pay for additional guests.
(AP) American Plan – Includes three meals daily.
(MAP) Modified American Plan (sometimes called demi-pensions, half pension or
half board depending where you are in the world) – Includes some meals.
(AL) All inclusive Plan (also called Full Pension, or Full American Plan) Check what
they mean by all complete it could be just 3 meals a day with drinks, dessert, food and
drink etc. or it may comprise some meals but not drinks.
(EP) European Plan – No meals included.
(CP) Continental Plan – Continental Breakfast: This varies from hotel to hotel.
Generally, it is pastries and coffee.
(B&B) Bed and Breakfast – Some sort of breakfast is included with your hotel night
stay. The breakfast can range from a drink or coffee with a roll to a full breakfast
buffet.
Each hotel, resort or accommodation may understand the sense of these terms in a
different way so this is an additional cause to check precisely what is incorporated
before you book your hotel. We for all time try to have meals incorporated as it
generally costs more to buy meals separately than to have them incorporated in the
room rate.

6.5 CANCELLATION
z Waiving tour fees (e.g. deposit-payment) from customers in unusual
circumstances (e.g. sudden withdrawal of booking by customers).
z Favoring particular customers by cancelling others’ bookings.
110 Recommended Measures
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety Require authorization for waiving of charges or cancelling of bookings by staff. A
waiver of fees on each occasion should be justified and recorded for audit review.
Check Your Progress 1
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. European Plan – No meals included.
2. A pillow sham is alike to a pillowcase but it does not unwrap on one side,
as an alternative it has an extension, which is an extra piece of cloth that
extends from where the pillow deception is sewn on each border.
3. A decorative pillow, also consider as an accent or throw pillow, is a small
pillow that comes in many shapes, sizes and colours to add decoration to a
bed.
4. A top sheet, also recognized as a flat sheet, is the sheet you put over the top
of your bed to divide you from your quilt or duvet.

6.6 CURRENCY FLUCTUATION AND COMMISSION

POLICIES
The hospitality and tourism sector is facing many challenges as a consequence of the
global financial crisis. After an important reduction in 2009, tourism rebounded
muscularly in 2010 and in 2011 the international tourist arrivals and proceeds are
expected to rise significantly. The hospitality industry is projected to show a
continuous improvement in 2012. The crisis has mainly strong collision and harmful
penalty in Greece. The country is undergoing a severe political disaster as well, and it
seems that the approaching elections are the only solution for the restitution of
strength and social peace. Additionally, tourism can be the powerful force following
Greece’s economic recovery. Conversely, for its attainment the country’s strategy
makers should take numerous measures towards reorganization and civilizing the
sector. These actions include: improvement of substitute forms of tourism;
environmental protection; creation of quality infrastructure; and boost of competitive
ess through a tourism product that offers value for money.
There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a crisis and different
writers present their own interpretations. However, it appears that three elements must
be present: a triggering event causing significant change or having the potential to
cause significant change; the perceived inability to cope with this change; and a
thereto the existence of organisations (Keown-McMullan, 1997), as well as of tourists
and members of the tourism industry (Henderson, 2006). Every crisis is unique
displaying a remarkable range and variety (Henderson, 2006), yet characteristics
generally cited include unexpectedness, urgency and danger (Hermann, 1972).
Tourism crises usually share these attributes although certain crisis situations can be
predicted and lack immediacy. Causes of many tourism crises can be traced to
developments in the economic, political, sociocultural and environmental domains
which affect demand and supply in generating and destination countries. Economic
downturn and recession, fluctuating exchange rates, loss of market confidence and
withdrawal of investment funds can all create a tourism crisis. Crises generated within
the industry can also be analysed under the headings of economic, sociocultural and
environmental when tourism has negative impacts in these fields (Henderson,
2006).The external and internal threats of the economic crisis to the tourism industry
are:
z External threats: recession; currency fluctuations; and taxation.
z Internal threats: rising costs; falling revenues; unprofitability (Sian et al., 2009). 111
Crises occur at all levels of tourism operations with varying degrees of severity, Types of Rooms and Bedding

from much publicized environmental, economic and political disasters through to

internally generated crisis such as accidents and sudden illness (Beeton, 2001).
The travel and tourism industry is susceptible to a wide range of internal and external
forces and is impacted heavily by crisis events resulting in negative tourist perceptions
(Pforr & Hosie, 2009). Economic downturn can undermine demand and possibly
result in crisis for industries in origin and destination countries if the slump is
sufficiently intense or prolonged. The depression of the 1990s on the U.S. mainland
contributed to decline.
Hawaii’s tourism from 1990 to 1993 and Japan’s economic difficulties had adverse
consequences for its outbound tourism in the same decade, including travel to
Hawaii(Sian et al., 2009). In 1997 the world financial crisis that began in Asia and
spread to Russia and Brazil in 1998 (Schifferes, 2007), as well as the falling currency
values depressed demand for travel and investment in tourism (Henderson, 2006). The
U.S. hotel industry experienced an intense and immediate negative impact on
occupancy, rate, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) in real dollars after the
fall of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 and the financial crisis that followed.
Although the direct effects of the economic crisis decreased in about four months,
occupancy rates continued to fall and remained low throughout 2009 and early 2010
(Enz et al., 2011).

6.6.1 The Impact of Economic Crisis on Tourism and Hospitality

Worldwide
The current financial crisis that began in 2007 has created the greatest financial
disorders since the Great Depression of the 1930s (Melvin & Taylor, 2009).
As with most industries, the welcome and tourism area is experiencing many
challenges as a consequence of the global financial crisis. The industry is sense the
impact of a reduction capital marketplace and decreased expenditure by both
corporate and person consumers. Businesses have reported a recession in sales of
accommodation, food service, events and other hospitality crop and some have
stopped up their doors evermore. The decline resulted not only from fewer clientele in
hotels, restaurants, discussion and meeting centres, etc., but also from a significant
decline in the average expenditure per guest (Pizam, 2009).The recession caused
serious problems for luxury hotels in particular. However, many hotels in certain
global markets, especially those catering to leisure travellers, were less affected. And
the popularity and growth of the luxury hotel segment in recent years suggests that a
strong rebound may not be unrealistic (Barsky, 2009). There were sharp differences in
the performance of the various global regions in2009. More specifically:
z Europe ended 2009 down 6%. Destinations in Central, Eastern and Northern
Europe were particularly badly hit, while results in Western, Southern and
Mediterranean Europe were relatively better.
z Asia and the Pacific (−2%) showed an extraordinary rebound. The second half of
2009 saw a 3% growth, reflecting improved regional economic results
and prospects.
z In the Americas (−5%), the Caribbean returned to growth in the last four months
of 2009.
z The Middle East (−6%), though still far from the growth levels of previous years,
had a positive second half in 2009.
z Africa (+5%) was a strong performer, with sub-Saharan destinations
doing particularly well. The average price of a hotel room around the world was
112 14% cheaper in 2009 than in 2008, according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety In fact, a hotel room was cheaper in 2009 than it was in 2004. Rooms cost 13%
less in Europe during 2009 than in 2008, 14% less in the United States, 16% less
in Asia and 21% less in Latin America. However, towards the end of 2009, the
price falls started to stabilize.
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the key trends in
international tourism during 2010 were the following:
z Worldwide, international tourism rebounded strongly, with international tourist
arrivals up 6.6% over 2009, to 940 million.
z The increase balanced the decline caused by the economic downturn, with an
additional 23 million arrivals over the former peak year of 2008.
z In 2010, international tourism receipts are estimated to have reached US$
919 billion worldwide (693 billion euros), up from US$ 851 billion (610 billion
euros) in 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7%.
z As a reflection of the economic conditions, recovery was particularly strong in
emerging economies, where arrivals grew faster (+8%) than in advanced ones
(+5%).
z The international tourist arrivals are projected to increase in 2011 by 4% to 5%.In
the DLA PIPER EU hospitality outlook survey (March 2011) the majority
of respondents expect the hospitality industry to show a sustained recovery in
2012 and are turn to pre-financial crisis levels in terms of room rates, largely due
to a predicted growth in business travel. “Being Green” and having green
accreditation is seen as important for increasing brand value by 57% of
respondents and the use of energy-efficient materials is widely adopted and driven
by individual green policies and rising energy costs.
The EU hospitality and leisure sector is increasingly using social media as a
promotional tool to enhance sales, marketing and public relations, although it is still
behind the U.S. The World Economic Forum published its Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2011 under the theme “Beyond the Downturn,” including the
following findings: the Travel and Tourism (T&T) industry is slowly recovering from
the Economic downturn, with the strong recovery being in emerging economies. The
industry is looking for ways to develop new market segments and attract new
customers. Indeed, T&T remains a critical economic sector worldwide, with
the potential to provide economic growth and development internationally.

6.7 APPOINTMENT AND CONTROL

Common Malpractice
z Colluding with land operators to inflate the price of services.
z Showing favour in appointing particular land operators, tolerating overcharging
and accepting substandard services.
z Leaking commercial information e.g. quotation prices to competing land
operators.

Recommended Practice
Attainment of services as well as goods is an area that has a lot of misuse. The travel
agents staff are energetically involved in procurement activities (e.g. procurement of
pre-trip souvenirs as gifts to travellers and office stationery, engagement of overseas’
land operators to receive outbound travellers, and local service providers for inbound
visitors such as hotels, transport companies, restaurants, attractions operators, etc.).
Besides ensuring that procurements are value for money, it is significant for the
transportable agent operators to start a competitive procurement system with adequate 113
safeguards to avoid misuse by deceitful staff. Types of Rooms and Bedding

6.8 LIST OF IATA APPROVED TRAVEL AGENCIES

Travel Agency Name Address
Advaita Holiday Pvt 11/231, Vasundhara Sector-11, Ghaziabad – 201012
Ltd
Alpcord Network 614, 6th Flr, New Delhi House, New Delhi House, 27,
Travel Barakhamba Road, Delhi – 110001
Apollo Holidays Office No 4, SCF 71, Basement, Sector 15 Market, Near
OBC Bank, Faridabad Sector-15, Faridabad – 121007
Archi Travels A -181 Chander Vihar I.P. Ext., Opp. Rama Krishna
App, Patparganj, Delhi – 110092
Arush Forex Pvt Ltd N-12, Chamber No-14 & 15, Munshi Lal Building, Nr
Tata Indicom Showroom, Connaught Place, Delhi –
110001
Belair Travel & Cargo 10-B, Sindhia House, Connaught Place, Delhi – 110001
Pvt Ltd
Bhraman Tours & M-14a, Nr. Ambey Inn Hotel, Lajpat Nagar II-Lajpat
Travels Nagar, Delhi – 110024
Blue Moon Travels D-40, Next to Noida Authority, Noida Sector-6, Noida –
201301
Bluebell Tours & LGF-70, Near Ansal Fortune Arcade, Noida Sector-18,
Travels Pvt Ltd Noida – 201301
Colombus Travels B6, Near Police Station, Sec 8, Noida Sector-8, Noida –
201301
Cox & Kings A 90, 1st Floor, Roxy Chowk, Lajpat Nagar 2, Delhi –
110024
Cox & Kings India Ltd UG-6 Western Mall, Near Janak Puri East Metro Station,
Janakpuri, Delhi – 110058
Cox & Kings India Ltd G 54 – 1st Floor, Near Walia Nursing Home, Vikas
Marg, Lakshmi Nagar, Delhi – 110092
Creative Travel Creative Plaza, Nanakpura, Moti Bagh, Delhi – 110021
D Pauls Tours & B-50 & B-36, Shivalik, Malviya Nagar, Delhi – 110017
Travels Ltd
D S Tourist Services A-180, Chander Vihar, Opp Rama Krishna Apprtment,
Patparganj, Delhi – 110092
Decent Travels Shop No. 1, Janpath Lane, Connaught Place, Delhi –
110001
Dekhoduniya.Com 204 & 262, Agarwal Shopping Plaza, Plot No-1,
Pitampura, Delhi – 110034
Deneb & Pollux Tours 106, South City Arcade, South City PH-I, Nr Unitech
& Travels House, Gurgaon, Gurgaon – 122001
Dimple Travels Old No A-26, New No B-239, 1st Flr, Opp Saraswati
Kunj Apt, I P Extn, Vinod Nagar West, Delhi – 110092
Contd…
114
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Dnata Travels Gf-33, Barakhamba Rd, Connaught Place, Delhi –
Operations and Aviation Safety 110001
Dolphin Travels B-6,3rd Floor, Above -Axis Bank, Lajpat Nagar II-Lajpat
Nagar, Delhi – 110024
Equator Tours & 5-B, Vandana Bldg, 11,Tolstoy Marg, Nr Janpat Mac
Travels Donalds, Tolstoy Marg, Delhi – 110001
Eternity Travels & Tour 116, Hans Bhawan, Bahadurshah Zafar Mg, ITO, Delhi –
110002
Expertise Hotel Noida, Sector-6, Rohini Sector-3, Delhi – 110085
Services
Fantasy Travels & 208-209, Madhuban Bldg,55, Nehru Place, Delhi –
Tours 110019
Flexi Tours I-84, Taneja House, 1st Flr, Lajpat Nagar II-Lajpat
Nagar, Delhi – 110024
Friends Travels & 15a/55, W E A Karol Bagh, Saraswati Marg, Karol Bagh,
Consultants Delhi – 110005
Globe Trotters Pvt Ltd Gf-12, Prakash Deep Bldg, 7 Tolstoy Mg, Connaught
Place, Delhi – 110001
Go India Journeys C7, 3rd Floor, Sector 3, Noida – 201301
Hopp Worldwide F-44, Bhagat Singh Mkt, Connaught Place, Delhi –
110001
Hrg Sita India F-12, 1st Flr, Connaught Place, Delhi – 110001
Jeevan Travels Community Centre-1,Office No-103, PVR Naraina &
Opp Fire Station, Naraina Industrial Phase – I, Delhi –
110028
Journey Needs Dot National College Campus, L G 6, Somdut Chambers 1,
Com Beside August Kranti Bhawan, Adjacent To Skoda Show
Room, Bhikaji Cama Place, Delhi – 110066
JRK Holidays 516, Naurang House, 21 K.G. Marg, Connaught Place,
New Delhi-110001
Knap Sackers Travels 202, Krishna Plaza-2, Sector-12, Dwarka, Delhi –
110075
Kumar Tourist Agency J-3/5 Top Floor, DDA Flats Alaknanda, Kalkaji, Delhi –
110019
LE Travel World 2, Danbro House, F-22,Sec-18, Nr McDonald's, Noida,
Noida – 201301
Lords Travel 74, Nr Canara Bank, Tolstoy Janpath Lane, Connaught
Place, Delhi – 110001
MarvelTrip.com 8 – 9 Ground Floor, Centrum Plaza, Gurgaon Sector-53,
Gurgaon – 122003
New Kansal Travels 161-D,Ground Floor, Near Bitto Tikki Wala, Post Office,
Kamla Nagar, Delhi – 110007
Pacific Travels 206 Prakash Deep Bldg 7, Tolstoy Mg, Connaught Place,
Delhi – 110001
Paradise Tour Co India 211/Bg8, DDA Commercial Complex, Paschim Vihar,
New Delhi – 110063, Paschim Vihar, Delhi – 110063
Contd…
 Paul Merchant F 46,1st Floor, Malhotra Building, Nr Rajeev Chowk 115
Types of Rooms and Bedding
Metro Station, Connaught Place, Delhi – 110001
Premium Tours Pvt Ltd 507 5th Flr Laxmi Deep Building, District Centre,
Behind V3S Mall, Lakshmi Nagar, Delhi – 110092
Prime Travels L-8, Green Park Extn, Green Park, Delhi – 110016
SkyLink Travel Pvt Ltd G-17,Marina Arcade, Opposite Shivaji Stadium & Below
Radisson Blue Marina Hotel, Connaught Place, Delhi –
110001
Skylord Travels 203-205 Avg Bhawan, M-3, M-Block, Middle Circle,
Connaught Place, Delhi – 110001
Smile Tours and Shop No 12, Vasant Enclave, DDA Market, Vasant
Travels Enclave-Vasant Vihar, Delhi – 110057
Sonata Travels India S-8, Cu Block, Kohli Plaza, Pitampura, Delhi – 110034
Pvt Ltd
Spring Travels Pvt Ltd Head Off-310, Ambika Vihar, Paschim Vihar, Delhi –
110063
Spring Travels Pvt Ltd Gf-22,Tdi Poragon Mall, Rajouri Garden, Delhi –
110027
Sterling Intl Tours & G-39, Pawan House, 4th Flr, Middle Circle, Connaught
Travels Place, Delhi – 110001
The Great India Tour B-34 A, Ground Floor., 1st Gole Chakker., Kalkaji,
Company Delhi – 110019
Travel 360-visa 1304,Hemkunt Towers, Rajendra Place Metro Station, 6,
Management Rajendra Place, Delhi – 110008
Travel Baazar 1611, Near Nulife Hospital, Outram Lines, GTB Nagar,
Delhi – 110009
Travel With Us D-8/8127, Nr Masoodpur Flyover, Vasant Kunj, Delhi –
110070
Trip & Events P-61,Old Double Story, Lajpat Nagar IV-Lajpat Nagar,
Delhi – 110024
UAE Exchange & Shop No-123, Nr SBI ATM, Bhagatsingh Mkt,
Financial Services Golemarket, Connaught Place, Delhi – 110001
www.makemytrip.com Shoppers Stop, TDI Mall, 11 Shivaji Place Complex,
Rajouri Garden, Delhi – 110027
Yokoso India Tour & Shop No-1, Flat No-77, Rps Flats, Near E Block, DDA
Travels Market, Vikaspuri, Delhi – 110018
Zap Booking Pvt Ltd 552, Metro Heights, Netaji Subhash Place, Pitampura,
Delhi – 110088
Zenith Leisure Holidays 401/5,Distt Centre,4th Flr, Janakpuri, Delhi – 110058

6.9 BANK GUARANTEE SCHEME

The Bank Guarantee Scheme is formed by the Government of India for the issue of
bank guarantees in favour of Central Government Departments, in lieu of safety
deposits, etc. by contractors, has been customized from time to time. Beneath the
system, it is open to Government Departments to believe generously guarantees, etc.
from all planned commercial banks.
116 The Government of India have advised all the Government departments/Public Sector
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety Undertakings, etc. to believe bank guarantees in the Model Bond and to make sure
that alterations additions to the clauses every time measured essential are not one-
sided and are made in agreement with the guaranteeing bank. Banks should declare in
the promise bonds and their communication with the various State Governments, the
names of the recipient departments and the purposes for which the guarantees are
executed. In respect of guarantees issued in favour of Directorate General of Supplies
and Disposal, the following aspects should be kept in view:
z So as to speed up the procedure of confirmation of the authenticity of the bank
assurance, the name, description and code information of the officer/officers
signing the guarantees should be included under the signature(s) of officials
signing the bank guarantee.
z The recipient of the bank guarantee should also be advised to consistently obtain
the authentication of the worried banks about the authenticity of the guarantee
issued by them as a determine of safety.
z The initial period of the bank security issued by banks as a means of safety in
Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal contract administration would be for
a period of six months beyond the original delivery period. Banks may include an
appropriate section in their bank guarantee, provided that automatic addition of
the strength period of the guarantee by 6 months, and also get appropriate
responsibility from the client at the time of establishing the guarantee to keep
away from any probable difficulty later.
z The bank guarantee, as a means of safety in the Directorate General of Supplies
and Disposal contract administration and expansion letters thereof, would be on
non-judicial stamp paper.

6.10 IATA BILLING AND SETTLEMENT PLAN

z IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) is a scheme planned to make possible
and make simpler the selling, treatment and remitting events of IATA Accredited
Passenger Sales Agents, as well as get better financial power and cash flow of
participating airlines.
z A worldwide system that operates in some 177 countries and territories.
z In 2012 IATA’s BSP processed $251.8 billion.
Year Agents Sales $ bn Bad debt $ m Bad debt % sales
2003 58,900 132 43 0.032
2004 59,500 158 55 0.035
2005 60,400 171 62 0.036
2006 60,557 187 31 0.017
2007 53,894 220 53 0.024
2008 54,566 240 85 0.035
2009 54,848 191 128 0.067
2010 55,036 221 54 0.029
2011 53,914 249 68 0.027
2012 60,471 252 64 .02
6.10.1 BSP Participating Airlines Benefits 117
Types of Rooms and Bedding
z Access to a global allocation system of IATA credited travel agents who have
signed a single standard Passenger Sales Agency Agreement with IATA.
z Impartial agent confirmation services by IATA together with financial estimate
and status monitoring.
z Reliable credit organisation with a gathering rate of 99.976%.
z Access to IATA’s BSP and BSP link that jointly give a single standard border for
invoicing and expense among agents and airlines.
z Security in case of destruction of the Passenger Sales Agency Agreement or
fraudulent practices.

6.10.2 IATA Accredited Travel Agent Benefits

z Capability to sell global and/or local tickets on behalf of the airlines.
z Access to IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), and BSP link that jointly
give a single standard border for invoicing and expense between the agent and
multiple airlines and transport providers.
z Entrance to more than 240 IATA airline members by means of a solitary standard
Passenger Sales Agency Agreement.
z Global customer self-assurance due to credit of IATA-accredited travel agents
gathering industry standards identifiable by the IATA logo and branding
displayed on travel agents’ premises and websites.
z Global travel industry recognition through an IATA Numeric Code that provides a
unique agent identifier.
z Provides standard events which make sure fair and consistent standards in all
transactions with airlines.

6.10.3 Consumer Benefits

z Confidence that IATA credited travel agents meet trade principles and financial
criteria.
z Impartial advice and the selection to acquire tickets on a wide range of airlines
from side to side IATA-accredited travel agents.
“Most agents give credits to corporate clients and have large receivables. The seven-
day payment cycle will impact agents,” said Pradip Lulla, general secretary of Travel
Agents Federation of India.
“We are discussing the issue with airlines and hope it is postponed. We are against the
move. The airlines are cutting their marketing arms. The seven-day cycle will lead to
a consolidation amongst travel agents and will increase the risk for airlines,” said
Iqbal Mulla, president of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
"Moving to weekly settlement plan will benefit both airlines and agents. Airlines will
receive payments in time, while agents will have a reduced financial burden as a result
of a lower financial guarantee requirement due to more frequent remittances. With the
change in the credit period, travel agents should also review their business processes
so as to ensure that their cash flow is sufficient to cover the payments,” said IATA
spokesperson Albert Tjoeng.
“The default insurance coverage is a commercial matter between travel agents and
insurance providers. We understand that a vast majority of the accredited travel agents
in India were able to obtain default insurance coverage during a recent renewal
118 exercise. Nonetheless, even if an agent is unable to obtain default insurance coverage,
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety they still have the alternative option of providing a bank guarantee,” he added.

6.11 CREDIT PERIOD

Airlines and travel agents are on a collision course. Yesterday, the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) informed travel agents that they would have to dispatch
the ticket sale proceed to airlines every 7 days, in place of the current fortnightly span.
IATA has slated the alteration to arrive into effect from June 1, even as agents are
challenging an adjournment in its completion.
Jet Airways, Air India, and Kingfisher, all of which are stressed with rising sufferers
and ruling it tricky to pay their vendors in time, took the show the way to protect an
approval from IATA to change the billing cycle to a week from fifteen. A decree to
alter the billing cycle in India was accepted way back in October last year at an IATA
discussion attended by all member airlines, though it was only the recent past that the
new allowance plan was introduced.
BILLING SETTLEMENT PLAN: HIGHLIGHTS
* A resolution to change the billing cycle in India was approved in October last
year by all member airlines, though it was introduced only yesterday. It will be
effective from June 1.
* For all sales between 1st and the 7th of a month, an agent will have to make
payment to the airline on 15th and so on.
* Low-cost airlines such as IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet are not members of the
billing settlement plan (BSP).
* Agents are required to submit bank guarantees to IATA’s BSP, which would be
revoked in case an agent defaults.
* With the reduced billing cycle, airlines will be able to ascertain defaults and stop
transactions with such agents much earlier.
“This will improve the cash flow of airlines,” the executive said. “We sell the ticket,
but do not realise the amount for over 15 days.” The agents, he added, would have to
reduce the credit period given to corporate clients so as to adjust to the new system.
Certain travel agents give large corporates as much as three months’ credit for the
business. “Other countries have adopted a seven-day billing cycle. Why can’t it
happen in India?” he asked. Korea has adopted a three-day billing cycle, a source said.
There are some other benefits too. The agents are necessary to present bank
guarantees to IATA’s BSP, which would be revoked in case a manager defaults. Now
with the concentrated billing cycle, airlines will be able to determine defaults and stop
dealings with such agents much earlier.
Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) says it will be a difficult proposition to
make remittance four times a month. “No corporate pays you on the spot. So, from
where will agents arrange the finances,” asks Ajay Prakash, president of the
federation. For some large agents, he says corporate sales account for 50-60 per cent
of their business.
“There is also a fear that the change in billing cycle will hurt small travel agents,” he
adds.
“For us too cash flow is important,” reasons Pradip Lulla, former president of TAFI.
“Travel business is increasingly becoming a high-interest low-margin business.
Bringing about the change requires time.”
The Travel Agents Association of India plans to take up the issue with the airlines 119
later this month. “We are talking to the credit card companies as well,” reveals Types of Rooms and Bedding

association president Iqbal Mulla.

6.12 CUSTOMER SERVICE – SERVICE PROVIDER

IATA provides a high-quality customer service and provides a variety of preparation
program to improve the service. By the assistance of this we can study how to switch
a difficult client and circumstances with assurance, increase the customer connections
and develop loyalty.
What you will learn upon completing this course, you have the skills to:
z Account management teams
z Account managers
z Customer Service managers
z Customer Service staff
z Develop customer loyalty
z Feel confident in any customer situation
z Handle difficult customers and situations
z Make the most of every customer contact
z This course is recommended for
z Who should attend

6.13 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRAVEL

AGENT
Training and Development plays an important role in increasing professionalism in
the industry of tourism and travel agency operations. On the other hand, the condition
is that just like the manufacturing itself still does not have an obvious and sufficient
operational framework for managing human resources, the training is being largely
carried out in a haphazard and uncoordinated manner. In this volatile business
environment, only that travel and tourism organization will succeed that will modify
to get together the spirited fear to match the requirements of a new travel market, and
will bring creativity, innovation, flexibility, willpower and professionalism into its
operations. So as to meet these varying requirements, businesses and countries
challenging for tourists need to make substantial efforts on training and retraining
their staff for presenting high quality in service. Thus, Training and Development
plays a significant function in increasing professionalism in the business of tourism
and travel agency operations. Today, the travel industry is appropriately more and
more cutthroat. The part-time stage of the travel agency industry is long over. Over
the last two decades, the travel companies have altered their prototype and
arrangement to meet rough challenges in the worldwide tourism market. So, in this
unstable business surroundings, only that travel agency will do well that will alter to
meet the viable threats and opportunities to contest the needs of a new travel
marketplace, and will bring creativity, innovation, flexibility, determination and
professionalism into its operations. Travel agencies need tourism professionals
specializing in reservation and ticketing services, dissimilar operational and
administrative functions – tour planning and journey scheming, travel information,
destination counselling, sales and marketing, etc.
Consequently, a company’s staffing policy may not be only to focus on functional
know-how but on attitudes and approaches that fit their company goals and
120 civilization. Unluckily, the employee income is very high in the tourism industry –
Principles of Travel and Tourism
Operations and Aviation Safety particularly in travel agencies and tour operation business.

6.14 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (GDS)

A global distribution system (GDS) is a network operated by a company that allows
automated transactions between vendors and agents in order to establishment travel
linked facilities to the end customers. A GDS can link facilities, rates and bookings
combining products and services across all three travel sectors:
z i.e., airline reservations,
z hotel reservations,
z car rentals,
z and other activities.
GDS is different from a computer reservations system which is a booking system used
by the particular vendors. Primary customers of GDS are transportable agents (both
online and office based) to make reservation on various reservations arrangements run
by the vendors. GDS grasps no inventory, the list is held on vendor’s arrangement
system itself. A GDS system will have real-time association to the vendors’ database.
E.g., when a travel agency needs a registration on the service of a specific airline, the
GDS system routes the appeal to the suitable airline computer objections system. This
allows a travel agent with a construction to a single GDS to select and book numerous
flights, hotels, actions and related services on all the vendors in the domain who are
part of that GDS.
Table below lists the numerous portals run by GDS enterprises. A client can view
their questions held in the GDS's own database or using the airlines booking system
itself. If a registration is made through a GDS—there are generally two registration
references, one is called a GDS locator code and the other the actual reservation or
PNR number.
Portal Name GDS Company URL link Sector
View My Trip Travelport https://www.viewtrip.com/ Airline
(includes Galileo,
Worldspan & Apollo
Check My Amadeus https://www.checkmytrip.com Airline
Trip
Virtually Sabre https://www.virtuallythere.com Airline
There
Some GDS systems (primarily Amadeus and Sabre) also have double use ability for
holding multiple computer difficulties system, in such circumstances functionally the
computer reservations system and the GDS panel of the system perform as if they
were separate systems.
Future of GDS: Use of GDS in the travel business created from an old-style legacy
business model that occurred during the initial days of computerized reservations
systems of 1950s. Most airline sellers (including budget and mainstream operators)
have now accepted a strategy of 'direct selling' to their consumers by participating in
their own questions and distribution systems, removing the dependence on a dedicated
global GDS. Hence some specialists argue that modern skill improvement and change
in commercial models will finally lead to phasing out of GDS in the Airline space.
Hotels last to advantage from selling lodgings via the several GDSs because of the
large spreading network and low cost when associated to online travel agencies. Some
GDS corporations are also in the process of participating and establishing important 121
offshore competence in a move to reduce costs and improve their profit margins. Types of Rooms and Bedding

Check Your Progress 2

Fill in the blanks:
1. Hotels continue to …………………… from selling rooms via the various
GDSs because of the large distribution network and low cost when
compared to online travel agencies.
2. Use of GDS in the travel industry originated from a traditional legacy
business model that existed during the early days of computerised
reservations systems of ……………………
3. A mirror image of the passenger name record in the airline reservations
system is maintained in the ……………………

6.15 LET US SUM UP

A sleep or not we spend a large part of our lives in bed. If you are suffering from sleep
problems, you may not be aware that your bed is affecting the quality of your sleep.
Many people find they sleep better away from home. There may be a number of
reasons for this – being away from the stress of home and work, peace and quiet less
expectation of being able to sleep – or, possibly the bed is more comfortable!
The right bed for a good night sleep will be depending on a number of factors. People
sleep in different environments throughout the worlds, from straw bedding on the
floor, to a hammock strung between two trees. You need a bed that will give you the
correct support and comfort, and provide you with a health space to sleep.
It is recommended that a bed should be changed every 8–10 years. We sweat an
average of half a print each night and a matter is a haven for dust mites, conditions
that may affect our health as well as our sleep. Wear and tear means that it may not be
as supportive as it was when new – all reasons to take a regular look at the condition
of your bed.
Tourism industry is managed by both the public and private sector enterprises.
Tourism has four primary components such as attraction, accommodation, transport
and technology. Tourism is a subjective experience and an amalgam of products and
services. Tourism is a small-business industry. More than 70 per cent of businesses in
the hospitality sector employ less than ten persons. It is a diversified and decentralised
industry because the commercial imperatives that drive tourism change according to
the location, environmental, social and cultural impacts of tourism on particular
communities. It is controlled by government and mostly run by private players. The
nature of tourism is over-consumption but it can be reduced with sustainable
approach. This industry is highly inter-dependent and inter-connected among sectors.
It is a profitable industry and dominated by sellers. The particulars of the tourism
system are the impacts of numerous independent components with a wide range of
relationships that differ both quantitatively and qualitatively. The system is run by
structural components such as the visitor, transit and destination regions. It is also
managed by the providers of support services, the government, the environment and
the community. Tourism is a sunrise industry with much of the positive benefits if the
tourism activities are managed meticulously. Tourism industry should be supported by
the policy and planning guidelines of the government and private sector should be
allowed to operate in all stages of the development of tourism. Tour operators are the
organisers and providers of package holidays. They make contracts with hoteliers,
airlines and ground transport companies then print brochures advertising the holidays
that they have assembled. Travel agency as the name suggests, is responsible for
organizing travel. It in fact, is a travel consultant and organizer for the tourist.