Tourism Product Development

IDEA GENERATION FOR COMMERCIAL VENTURES
India as a country cannot afford to miss the opportunities for economic development, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings that the growth of the tourism industry brings in its wake. We should strive to achieve faster growth in this sector through infrastructure reinforcement, product improvement, new product development, product mix and innovative promotion and marketing strategies.

The tourism industry like any other industry is striving to attain a competitive advantage in an increasingly complex world. Achieving such an advantage is increasingly tied to knowledge, know-how, and other intangibles. Organisations that intend to stay ahead in their field must take the necessary steps to identify their assets and use them to their best advantage. Tourism departments and travel agencies have to generate new ideas for diversification of tourism products, packages and circuits along with qualitative and quantitative changes in their packages. It is profitable to prepare packages based on their core competence i.e., the strengths of individual states rather than a generalized mix.

India is, and has always been a storehouse of intellectual and cultural wisdom and her diversity, cultural richness, and multifarious ways of living place her in a unique position of being able to offer many culturally distinctive products to the global community.

The rich cultural heritage of India, which has always evoked a sense of great awe among people all over the world, is vast and varied in scope. India’s achievements are highly original as revealed through its art and architecture, religion and philosophy, language and literature, music
India can use the rich potential offered by its people and their customs, ancient myths and legends, colorful rites and rituals, festivals, and pilgrim centers for achieving diversification of tourism products, packages and circuits. Proper research conducted in these areas will provide new insights to those who are actively involved in tourism introduction of qualitative and quantitative changes in their packages. This will create ‘Special Tourism Areas’ for investment and development, which will reduce the burden on existing circuits.industry and other industries related to tourism.

The cultural attractions can be classified as hard and soft. The former includes historical sites, museums, architecture, monuments, religious buildings and archaeological sites while the latter consists of music, drama, poetry, literature, painting, sculpture engravings, herbal medicines, folklore, handicrafts or even heritage walks. Both have to be imaginatively combined. Tourism packages should combine one cultural medium with another and incorporate a whole range of lectures, presentations, demonstrations etc.

Tourism products based on cultural heritage are unending. Packages may range from Emperor ‘Ashoka’, ‘Ayurveda’, ‘Museums’, ‘Game of Chess’, ‘Poetry’ to specific ‘Sculptures’-the list is endless. The products based on cultural heritage accentuate the relevance of national heritage to everyday life. Cultural attractions should be interpreted in such a way as to make them living, vibrant and entertaining. This process of interpretation in tourism is essential. It adds to the quality of the experience by adding to the way in which tourists are informed and the degree to which their interest is stimulated.

The skills and knowledge of a tourist guide alone are not enough. Interpretation must adopt a multi-media approach to the reconstruction of the past by including video presentations, talks and lectures, regular guided tours, music and poetry recitals, guided trails and walks, books and published information, posters and postcards, and other printed material, special displays and exhibitions, signboards and explanatory notices. It is a holistic approach.

Tourism markets tend to talk about the new traveler who may be described as cultural traveler. The new traveler is described as better educated, more culturally aware and sensitive, and more curious and analytical. Such travelers look for an alternative to the large mass tourism markets. They do not want large, modern hotels constructed and equipped according to international norms. They want to stay in small locally owned accommodation units, very much a part of the local community and reflecting local values and ways of life. This provides an opportunity to the tourism industry to feature and protect local culture and to involve the community in such a way that local people benefit fully.

Cultural tourism products are to be developed so that they assimilate and support local needs and aspirations. These new products must promote local cuisine, the use of local materials and handicrafts, and develop a whole range of other participating tourism services viz. local folkloric performances, handicrafts demonstrations, and cultural and recreational activities, heritage walks etc. It must also encourage the creation and development of tourism enterprises operated and owned by local people.

Tourism product at the destination comprises all those attractions, facilities, and services used or visited during a stay. It also comprises everything that happens to visitors, everything they experience. Tourism product consists of both tangible and intangible components. The natural, cultural and historical resources, infrastructure and superstructure are tangible. They can be evaluated, measured and subjected to specific standards of provision while the intangible aspects cannot be. They come together to form the atmosphere of a place and its aura of hospitality and friendliness. The intangible elements can be said to give the tourist product its life, colour and excitement. All of the tangible aspects, however good, cannot guarantee satisfaction. The way tourists are treated and how they feel, influences decisively their overall reaction to a place.

The image builds up over the years and it is a product of history, of cultural influences, and also of myth and legend. Who else goes there and what they say about it also influences the image of a destination. Leading personalities may speak well of a place. If a well-known transnational companies sets up operations in a country, it contributes to enhancing the reputation of the place. If major tour operators feature it as a part of their programs, this too contributes to a positive image. It is built up over time, as the result of a constant flow of messages and stimuli. It should be kept at the forefront; people have to keep writing and talking about a product. Once people visit a place they will form their own impressions. They will take an image away with them. What they say and the personal recommendations they make affects the product.

Before concluding it is apt to quote the Indian medical genius viz. Charaka who said: na kinchit anushadham which means there is nothing in this world that cannot be used as medicine. We may modify this and say there is nothing in India that cannot be developed into a tourism product. This should be a morale booster for all those involved in Tourism industry.