Author: Andre Coleman

Jaipur, ‘The Pink City’ is a major tourist centre of the country. The city is packed with many attractions like beautiful and glorious forts, world famous theatres, gorgeous temples and many more. As a tourist you will be awestruck with the beauty of the monuments in the city. Flamboyant and vivacious bazaars bustle with attractive stuff.

Jaipur is legendary for its gemstone and gold jewelry work, fabrics, and ‘jutis or mozaries’ (traditional footwear) that possess quality are surely a cache for the shoppers. An opportunity to take along ‘the glory of the city’ as a souvenir of the visit is so amazing. You will wish to revisit the city to explore its beauty and intrigue to the fullest. Feel the grandeur of the Maharajas who lived in such magnificent forts and palaces

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II invoked the artisans from all over the world and facilitated them with all the things they required, to help in creating the exotic city of beautiful architecture as Jaipur. Today, Jaipur is a hub for rich wedding destinations. Royal weddings are organized here. Exquisite destinations are specially designed for marriages, and offer an experience of one of its kind. Jaipur’s forts, monuments, and museums can be read about further.

The temple of Sun God at Galta, Amber fort,Vidyadhar’s Garden, City palace, Sisodia Rani Palace, and Sanganer are some of the exquisite attractions that city comprises.

AMBER FORT

Distance from the city center: 10km

Built in: 1592

Charges:

Admission: Citizen INR 10/ Foreigner: INR 50

Photography charges: Citizen/foreigner: Rs 40/25

Video charges: Citizen/foreigner: Rs 100/150 but it includes all the three charges (entrance, still camera and video camera fee).

Timings: 1000 to 1600 hours

Specialty: Sheesh Mahal, Diwan-e-am

CITY PALACE

Distance from the city center: Situated at city center

Built in: 19th century

Charges: Indians Rs. 35.00 and for foreigners Rs.150.00 inclusive of entry to Jaigarh fort

Timings: 930 to 1645 hrs.

Specialty: Temple, Chandra Mahal, Govind Devji, Diwan-e-am

NAHARGARH FORT

Distance from city center: 15 km

Built in: 1734

Charges: Rs. 15 for Indians, Rs. 20 for Foreigners, 30/70 for Camera/Video

Entrance Fees for Indian Citizen Rs. 10.00, Foreign Citizen Rs. 80.00, Indian Students Rs. 2.00,

Vehicle Entrance Fees (Bus charges Rs. 100.00 Gypsy/Car/Jeep/Mini Bus Rs. 65.00 and Motorized two wheeler Rs.10.00

Timings: 1000 to 1700 hrs

Specialty: Madhavendra Bhawan, city view from top of the fort.

JAI GARH FORT

Distance from the city center: 15 km

Built in: 1726

Charges: Rs. 15.00 for Indians & Rs. 20.00 for foreigners

Timings: 1000 to 1845 hrs

Specialty: Collection of Ammunition, Worlds largest Canon

FORTS

The Maharajas and their royal families, the palaces where they lived are so exquisite that today, the city has become popular because of them. Initially, the foundation of the city was placed by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder and the ruler.

Amber fort was designed keeping in view his desires. He established his kingdom powerfully which effected the augmentation of the city. However, Jaipur was born as a place for the growing population and was made the capital. The ruler planned the architecture of the city majorly considering the security of the city. The lavish palace for the residence of the king was built ‘The City Palace’ and the rest is history. The famous forts of the city have been enlightened further.

AMBER FORT

The fort was built for the residence of the Maharaja & the royal family which today, stands as a monument to us. Amber was the capital of the Kachhwaha clan. And it is sited 10 km from Jaipur city. It was the residence of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The fort was established keeping in view the desires of the ruler.

Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khaas, Ganesh Pol, Jaleb Chowk, Singh Pol, Jai Mandir, Yash Mandir, Sukh Mandir, Sheesh Mahal (hall of mirrors), Suhag Mandir, Shila Devi temple, Bhool Bhulaiya, and Zanana Dyodhi (women’s apartments) are major attractions of the palace. This astonishing fort was accomplished in two centuries by consistence efforts of three consequent kings following Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Amongst all Sheesh Mahal is legendary, mirror work done is so inimitable, and it is so artistically set that even a tiny ray use to fill the hall with light. Maotha Lake adds a charm to the Royal Palace.

CITY PALACE

The City Palace is the present-day residence of the current Maharaja of Jaipur, His Highness, Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur. It is also evident of the life spent by Late Raj Mata Gayatri Devi (Queen of Jaipur).

The palace was created using a combination of the Mughal and Rajasthani architecture. Mubarak Mahal, Shri Govind Devji Temple, Badal Mahal, Chandra Mahal, and the City Palace Museum are so appealing. This exquisite palace was built in the sovereignty of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1699-1744).

Beautifully carved two elephants welcome at the entrance, ‘The Mubarak Mahal’ appears first from the entrance. It is built by Maharaja Madho Singh II in 19th century. Further it is escorted by the Diwan-E-Khaas. It is an open hall also known as ‘Hall of private audience’, with two huge silver vessels on display. These vessels namely ‘Gangajali’ (carrier of water from holy Ganges) have been documented in Guinness book of World Records for their size.

Ensure that you must visit Diwan-E-Aam. Actually the hall was meant for the public. Chandra Mahal sports exquisite paintings, mirror work, and lovely floral decorations.

The temple of Govind DevJi is renowned for its structure, and is also recorded in Guinness Book of World Records for the Best Concrete Structure award. An area of 15,827 sq. feet was roofed up at a height of 119 feet which rests on four peripheral beams; the temple can put up 5000 people at a time. A display of amazing architecture!

NAHARGARH FORT

An astonishing palace, constructed during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The Nahargarh Fort was built using a combination of the Indian and European style of architecture for residence and security. Nahargarh is situated at a height of approx 700 feet, and is about 15 km away from city. The fort was established in 1734, and also known as Tiger Fort. It is one of the first three forts of Jaipur. The name Nahargarh even carries a history with itself. Precisely, it was named after a dead Rathore prince named Nahar Singh. The fort is situated at the top of Aravali range of hills. The fort was made to uphold the city, along with Amber and Jaigarh Fort. With a breathtaking view from the fort, the Man Sagar Lake looks amazing and the sight of the city is stupendous from the top of the fort. It comes alive in the night with beautiful lights surrounding it.

JAI GARH FORT

The only fort in the world that encompasses world’s largest cannon on wheels “Jai Ban”. Jaigarh is crowned as ‘Fort of Victory’, constructed by Sawai Jai Singh II and Mirza Raja Jai Singh in 1726. It stands at a height of about 500 feet on the top of the hill named as Cheel ka Teela or Hill of Eagles. The fort is on walking distance from Amber.

The major attraction of the fort is “Jai Ban” the renowned cannon, it was assembled during the sovereignty of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1699-1743). With a diameter of 11 inches, its 20 feet and 2 inches long barrel weighs 50 tons. The circumference near the tip of the barrel is 7 feet 4 inches and that of the back is 9 feet 4 inches. The floral design on the barrel, an elephant on the tip of the barrel and a pair of peacocks is carved in the centre, a pair of ducks decorates the barrel’s posterior.

Built in 1691 A.D “Bajrang Ban” is other prestigious cannon. It is beautifully bedecked with dolphins and is stored in foundry of Jai garh. It was that bulky that it engaged thirty two oxen’s to drive it to the battlefield.

Famous Shri Ram Hari Har Temple in the fort has two big idols of Lord Shri Ram and Hari-Har. The idol of Lord Shri Ram has four faces depicting various incarnations of Lord Vishnu which are Lion, Boar, Tortoise and Fish. The temple was concluded in 1940 A.D under the dynasty of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The gardens, the palaces, the old water harvesting system, the reservoirs, armory, gun foundry, museum and temples all are appealing. Forts also contain the royal Laxmi Vilas, the Dining Hall for Gents, the Dining Hall of Royal Ladies, and Lalit Mandir (summer palace).

MONUMENTS

Jaipur is famous for its monuments, gorgeous forts, and great observatories.

Hawa Mahal, the world famous palace is recognized as “Palace of Winds”. This beautiful monument captures so many beautiful views from the horizon to the hustle-bustle of the bazaar at the foot of the mahal. Almost whole of the city can be viewed without being noticed from the top of the palace.

Gaitore is the royal crematorium for the rulers of Jaipur. The chattris (cenotaphs) were built in respect of every departed ruler’s soul and are beautifully carved. Most of all, the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II’s cenotaph is magnificent. Gaitore also contains cenotaphs built in the remembrance of the Maharanis too.

JAL MAHAL

One of the most magnificent palaces, Jal Mahal is also recognized as the Water Palace. Built in 1799, Jal Mahal Palace was built in Man Sagar Lake enclosed by the Nahargarh Hills. The palace was once used for the imperial duck shooting parties. The first four floors of Jal Mahal are under water and only the top floor is higher than the water level.

Jal Mahal is on the way to Amber, at a distance of about 6.5 km from the city. It looks so majestic and romantic in night, where the beauty of the palace is enhanced with colorful lights installed. The mirror image of the palace in the lake, gives it a panoramic view. The lake environment is even a preferred home of a number of migratory and resident birds too.

JANTAR MANTAR

Jantar Mantar is one of the finest monuments and striking creations by astronomers and architectures. It is a compilation of architectural astronomical devices which provided accurate astronomical results. It has even struck the modern approach of science. Jantar Mantar is the most well-known observatories amongst all the buildings formed during the sovereignty of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.

The observatory showcases two Ram Yantras containing the largest stone of the world and is unique in their isolation. The passion of the king resulted in the creation of such great observatory. These instruments were used to read and map the celestial movements of constellations and stars.

This amazing observatory was constructed in 18th century using red stone and marble. Its complex instruments, the settings, and the shapes are accurately designed. All the features make this monument so unique, and it is the sole in the world. The timings to visit are 0900 to 1630 hrs with an entry fee of Rs. 10.00

HAWA MAHAL

A beautiful and royal creation on display, this elite regal building is renowned for its royalty and architecture. Its 152 windows are arranged in a manner that the palace is also known as ‘Palace of Winds’. The concept behind the creation was to let the royal ladies watch the processions passing through the streets below, unnoticed by outsiders.

Built during the empire of Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, this building consist five stories. It is a semi-octagonal windowed building. Each storey of the building is carved with graceful stone and beautiful Jaalee’s and Jharokha’s (windows) which enhances it to an extra ordinary watch to the grand past.

“Jaipur Past and Present” is another museum which is a lesser form of an archaeological museum is an added star into the tourist spot list.The timings to visit the museum are 10.00 to 16.30 hrs, and the entry fee is Rs. 5.00, camera Rs 50.

As you will proceed from Hawa Mahal and reach the back-side of the monument, you can visit the Govind Devji Temple and then the City Palace situated close to each other. Each construction is legendary, all the monuments are arranged in such a manner that they can facilitate easy reach to the ruler.

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II lived in City Palace. So, Jantar Mantar was made at a distance that the king could see the actual time as he gets up in the morning. Later, the king wishes to visit the temple, so his desire turned in the form of Govind Devji Temple. It offered the king a convenient view of the temple idols from the palace itself.

Gaitore

This mesmerizing monument was fabricated for the purpose of cremation of the Royal bodies. Each Chhatri is created in the memory of the Kings and Princes. About 15 Km away from Jaipur, this monument is situated on Jaipur Amber Highway. Gaitore is considered to be the Hindi phrase `Gaye ka Thor` affirming `resting place of the departed souls`.

The cenotaphs are beautifully carved in typical forms. Good quality of marble and red stone is carved in such a manner that every chhatri or cenotaphs is exclusive and diverse from others. The main attraction amongst all of them is the one that was made for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.

MUSEUMS

Museums are a great place of collecting of art and craft specimens of the historical times. Jaipur has so many museums that hold up a huge collection of things that probably remained unseen. The Central Museum is the one that is under the Government. It houses about 19000 objects all together related to the rare old times. This place is a specialty of the city with architecture of the building, offering a great view. Museum’s carving is done following the Indo-Sarcenic technique of architecture. Another museum is the Dolls Museum of the city. It consists of a enormous compilation of dolls from all over the world.

Central Museum

Central museum is also known as ‘Albert museum’ or ‘Government Central Museum’. This is the oldest museum of the city and was constructed in 1876 beneath the command of Lt. Swinton Jacob. Initially the building was a town hall. But on the order of Maharaja Madho Singh it was transformed into an art museum.

The museum is positioned in the Ramnivas Gardens. The assortment, as well as the building is a sight to behold, with the pillars, the courtyards, and the arches worth seeing. This premium museum was created in 19th century. The museum comprises historic objects related to metal art, arms, furniture, weapons, tiger knives, hilts, swords, armor, and shields. Included are daggers, international art, the Egyptian collection, an Egyptian mummy, Japanese pottery, stone sculptures, pistols, pottery collection and revolvers. Moreover, chillums, musicali, miniature paintings, sculptures, ivory carvings, wood work, jewelry, carpets, lacquer work, and many more beautiful artifacts.

Time to Visit: Open on all days except on the festival of Holi

Preferred Timings: 0930 – 1630 hrs

Admission Fee: Citizen INR 5/ Foreigner: INR 30

City Palace Museum

Built in the 19th century, during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the City Palace has several sections to visit. A great collection has been arranged in the museum with mainly three departments. It consists of the textile, arms, and art museum.

The textile museum has a vast collection of the costumes and ornaments that were worn by the royal family members. The dresses were made of silk mostly. The arms museum consists of all the arms & ammunitions used in the medieval era. From the smallest to the largest, all of them are on display.

One can easily go back to the past by the view they offer with a vast variety of swords, daggers, knives, guns, and many more. The art collection is such that one can feel delighted with beautiful paintings, blue pottery, carpets, and other attractions. Worth watching are temples, the palace itself, the Mubarak Mahal, the gardens,Chandra Mahal, Badal Mahal, etc. This palace is one of the major attractions of Jaipur.

Preferred Timings: 0930 to 1645 hrs

Admission Fee: Indians Rs. 35.00 and for foreigners Rs.150.00 inclusive of entry to the Jaigarh fort.

Dolls Museum

The museum comprises of dolls from various parts of the country as well as international dolls. The museum is placed at a distance of 4 km from the city centre, and was build in 1974, and. Dolls of diverse attires look glorious. Dolls in bridal dresses of different states look colorful & beautiful. The Indian collection comprises of dolls in attires of classical dance forms such as Kathakali, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, and too.

The collections of international dolls showcase national dresses of countries like USA, Mexico, and Sweden. The display also contains dolls that are dressed in bridal costumes of different countries. The compilation consists of some other art forms too, like paintings, woodwork, pottery, sculpture, metal objects, etc.

Preferred Timings: 1000 to 1600 hrs

Entry Fee: 2 Rs.

ZOO

This beautiful city has several palaces, monuments, forts, hotels, museums, gardens and lots more. One of the jewels of the city is the Zoo, or Zoological Garden, located in Ram Niwas Bagh (garden). The garden was built in 1868 by Sawai Raja Pratap Singh, for the purpose of drought relief. As per the records, it cost a huge amount four lakhs to create this historical garden, at that time.

The zoological garden consists of such major attractions for the city containing the zoo, the Albert Hall, the Museum, the zoological park, sports complex, etc.

The zoo was built in 1886, during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh II. It is at a walking distance from Albert Hall. The zoo is divided into two parts. One consists of the animal zoo and the other remains as bird’s zoo. A great place for kids and people who love animals and wild life, it contains a collection of 71 varieties of fauna which are on display for visitors.

The bird collection include parrots, ducks, peacocks, white peacocks, geese, pheasants, storks, swans, love birds and lots many more. The zoo holds a big collection of rare animals and varied plant. It is also renowned for its crocodile breeding.

Preferred Timings: 0830 to 1730 hrs (closed on Tuesdays)

Entry fee- Indians Rs. 10/-, foreigners Rs. 100/- children blow 5 years free

ROYAL WEDDINGS

This beautiful city celebrates every occasion with enthusiasm, with magnificent colors and lights. Jaipur has been evident for some of the exquisite weddings of the world. The city is fully loaded for celebrations, beautiful locations, great arrangements, and many other things. This city has been a paradise on earth to celebrate the amalgamation of two souls bound for a lifetime. Some of the resorts and hotels prepare themselves for every requirement with the luxuries provided to the guests as regal as royal. The traditions of the city flow in the blood of Jaipur people. The cuisine in fact is fantastic. Few of the amazing places as royal wedding venues are:

Jai Mahal Palace

Ram Bagh Palace by Taj Group

Oberoi Raj Vilas

Samode Haveli

Khasa Kothi

Narain Niwas Palace

Samode Palace

Cambay Spa & resort

Hotel Le Meridien

Hotel Rajputana Sheraton

LAKES

Jaipur does not comprise so many natural lakes as it belongs to a desert state. But there have been lots of attractions for people who love to enjoy their days in proximity with nature. One of the major attractions of the royalty of kings is that they have been building all the things they are fascinated with. The biggest example of this is the Ramgarh Lake situated at a distance of about 25 km from Jaipur. This is the famous manmade lake which is a great attraction for the visitors. This is the place where the king stayed before reaching Amber. There are forts and temples that are enhancing the beauty of the place, and the royal architecture attracts the eyes of the visitors. The other lake near to Jaipur is the Sambhar Lake. It is a treasure lake sourcing us from years with salt. The renowned SA?mbhar Lake is the largest saline lake of India.

RAMGARH LAKE

Pink City is a treasure for all kind of events that can be enjoyed in holidays. For nature lovers a beautiful lake is situated at a distance of about 25 km from Jaipur. The lake offers various activities like boating, fishing, and trekking. The best time to visit the lake is in winter season starting form October and going till March. The beauty of the lake is in its full form during Monsoons, the greenery attract every visitor. Prior poignant to Amber the Kachhawaha’s established at Ramgarh, and the temple of Jamwa mata is the biggest evidence. The temple is very beautiful and the architecture is so royal, white temple gives an outstanding look to the lake. The length of this beautiful lake is 4 km and is 2 km in width. Boating can be enjoyed in this huge manmade lake during the time period of October to June, trekking on the mountains also is available. The lake is home for dweller and drifting birds, various species of birds can be observed here. The lake offers a perfect place for nature lovers.

SAMBHAR LAKE

Jaipur is very fortunate to be associated to such a big source of Salt. As we all our now habitual of salt, we must thank God for providing us such great source of salt, imagine if there was scarcity of salt? The Sambhar Lake is renowned resource of salt that has been providing salt from so many years. This is the largest saline lake of India (length 22.5 kms), situated at a distance of 60km from Jaipur. A small town named sambhar is situated on Jaipur Ajmer artery; the name sambhar means ‘salt’. As a tourist you can get this opportunity to visit such a legendary place and admire its beauty. This lake even offers a preferred home for a number of migratory and resident birds, Storks, pelicans, redshanks, sandpipers, black-winged stilts, etc. The wildlife lovers can adore these beauties!!

WILD LIFE

The Royal Kings have been fond of hunting; these desires of the kings were taken care by the grounds that were specially designed. The Ranthambore National Park was initially a ground that was used for the hunting games of the Kings. It was then taken under the Project of saving Tigers, and then finally it was declared as a National Park. Today these shelters are helping a lot in saving the endangered species. The other park namely Sariska National Park is about 107 Km from Jaipur and is serving with the same motto of saving the rare species of animals and birds. These parks not only serve the motive of saving Tigers but also maintain a wide range of Flaura & Fauna.

RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK

This place can excite your senses; the park offers a view of the ‘King of jungle’ in its natural surroundings. This park was initially a hunting ground for the Maharaja (King); it was then taken under by ‘project tiger’ in 1972. The park is located about 145 km from Jaipur near a town named Sawai Madhopur. The park also consist a fort that is situated on the hill top known as Ranthambore Fort. In the year 1980 this hunting ground of the King took the shape of National Park. Best time to visit at the Ranthambore National park is Oct to June.

The park is having a vast area of 400 kms (approx) and is saving the wildlife in a very good manner. The park is surrounded with hills of Aravali’s and Vindya ranges. The park has maintained a wide range of wildlife; so many animals can be seen in their native environment. Tigers, Panthers, Jackals, Crocodiles, Mongoose, Hyenas, Foxes and so many more wild animals like Sambhar, Sloth, Lizards, Leopards, etc all are being conserved here.

There are about 30 tigers in the park. The park also consists of a good collection of Flora and Fauna. As per the records the park is having more than 300 genuses of birds & Plants. A beautiful range of migrating birds can also be seen along with the resident birds. Variety of Storks, black eagle, crashed hawk eagle, parakeets, peafowl’s, doves, etc. are some resident birds whereas grey lag goose, ruddy shelduck and pintails are few varieties of migratory birds. A wildlife lover can feel mesmerized by being a part of such a beauty.

Time Table Ranthambhor National Park
S.No.
Month
Morning Trip

1

1st October to 31st October

7.00 A.M. to 10.30 A.M.

2

1st November to 31st January

7.00 A.M. to 10.30 A.M.

3

1st February to 31st March

6.30 A.M. to 10.00 A.M.

4

1st April to 15th May

6.00 A.M. to 9.30 A.M.

5

15th May to 30th June

6.00 A.M. to 9.30 A.M.

The foreigners pay an entrance fee of Rs 200; Indians pay a fee of Rs 25, while the Indian students pay Rs 5 only. Additional charges are levied on electronic equipments like cameras and other stuffs.

SARISKA NATIONAL PARK

Sariska National park is about 107 km from Jaipur, the park is spread in a vast area of about 800 Km. The major attraction of the park are the famous Bengal Tigers, there are almost 35 tigers here. This park is positioned at Aravali Range’s northern part. Sariska National Park was acknowledged as sanctuary in 1955, whereas after coming beneath project tiger it finally became a National Park in the year 1982. Tigers, Panthers, Civets, Jackals, Caracal, Sambar, Chital, Hare, Nilgai, Hyenas, Porcupines, Chowsingha (four horned antelope), Leopards, Rhesus, Wild Boar and Langoor can be found in their natural habitat. The park has also reserved some rare species of Flora & Fauna; the variety of flora includes Peafowl’s, Partridge, Quail, Sand grouse, Tree Pie, Kingfisher, Woodpecker, Crested Serpent, Eagle and Great Indian Horned Owl. Various other activities can also be enjoyed like a drive around the surroundings. There are few temples nearby and a fort named Kankwadi is worth a sight for the people who love the architecture of the ancient period. The area is still intact from modern world, as you can even found the tribes over the surroundings. Siliserh Lake is yet another attraction offering nature in its full form. The Entry fee for Sariska National Park is Rs 25 per person. Extra charges have to be paid for cameras (about Rs 10) and vehicles (Rs 100 for a minibus; Rs 75 for jeeps and cars).

CAMEL & ELEPHANT SAFARI

Jaipur the pink city has been renowned for its royal culture & heritage. These animals have been once a trademark for the empires, and only source of transportation during that era. Elephants were used for the kings & queens as these were the signs of their royalty, and elsewhere the camels were with the officers of the Royal troops of the Royal kingdoms. These beautiful animals have been giving their services from decades; today also these are the part of the royal ceremonies. The kingdoms have been demolished now-a-days but the job of these animals and their owners is still continuing as this is the only source of earnings of these families. They have been now-a-days offering the rides from various places. Various monuments and resorts offer these rides as the special attraction like the Amber Palace, Chowki Dhani (resort), and Dessert Trail (resort), etc. Elephants & camels over here are ornamented with colorful stuff, and are beautifully decorated. One can experience the royalty by going through the ride!!

400-500

PRIDES OF JAIPUR

The city is renowned for so many things, in spite of all the famous things and monuments there are few specialty of the city. As we discuss about the prosthetic foot, we can go into the past and see that it was a dream for a physically challenged person to walk. But these few dreams are such that they changed into reality and served the mankind. Earlier the prosthetic foot was so costly that the people were not able to afford it, but today due to the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti it is in reach of every human being. The other pride is the Palace on wheels that does not requires any introduction. The train is amongst the 10 best trains all over the world. It offers a world class experience and a great tour to the city of royalty. The city developed according to the time, it was not too far from the silver screen. Raj Mandir Theatre is one of a kind cinema hall that is beautifully designed; one can even visit to the theatre just to adore its beauty.

JAIPUR FOOT

Jaipur Foot is renowned, and it has been changing lives of many physically challenged people. Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti has been working for humanitarian work from so many years. One thought of prosthetic foot has changed the lives of so many families. A person who is physically challenged suffers along with the family, in almost every field of life. Such helpless people are being aid by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti. The Jaipur Foot was been developed in 1968, which was then carried forward by the Samiti for social cause, in 1975. This is a social organization, it provides all the artificial limbs, wheelchairs, crutches, calipers, ambulatory aids, hand paddled tricycles and other aids and appliances totally free of charge to the physically challenged people. The organization has sixteen branches for Limb / Caliper making, and 9 Permanent Satellite centers. The organization has done foot fitments in 22 foreign countries. The idea of making Jaipur foot was first conceived by Mr. Ram Chandra Sharma who designed and developed the foot and the limb. These limbs are manufactured keeping in view all the factors, the cost, the flexibility, this is made with such technology that it looks almost like natural limb. The limb is so efficient that a person can walk like a normal person, sit in a cross legs position, it helps them to go back to their jobs and can earn for their families. LINK OF THE SITE

PALACE ON WHEELS

Palace on Wheels or we should say Paradise on wheels!! The train is so exquisite and beautiful, that its experience is unforgettable. The train offers tour that includes the visits to the heritage and culture of the royal cities of Rajasthan. The experience is one-of-its-kind as one can see and adore so many diversities within few days. The tours to the cities are so exclusive, that the train itself is a great place to cherish. The train offers opportunity to visit the beautiful monument and places, this is immense. The train started on 26th Jan 1982, and is based totally on the royal culture and heritage and then equipped with the latest technology to fulfill the desires of the Guests. The train departs from New Delhi and during its tour of eight days; it travels around Rajasthan with stoppages at Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur, and Agra. There are 14 well furnished coaches in the train which are named after former Rajput states. The train is even famous for its restaurants namely ‘The Maharani’ and’ The Maharaja’ that serves all kind of cuisines specializing in royal Rajasthani cuisines. This royalty is incomplete without liqueur, the train has a lavish bar that is stocked nicely, and the lounge inbuilt enhances the facilities that are being provided in the train.

Jaipur is the first stoppage in the tour of eight days, where the train reaches at Jaipur on second day i.e. on Thursday at 02.00 hrs, and departs at 19.30 hrs. After completing the tour throughout the city that comprises of, the first

Using various websites / internet sources, compare Malaysia’s performance with Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. Malaysia made up of Peninsular Malaysia and two states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia is separated from Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. In the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia lies Thailand and in the south, neighbouring Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are bounded by Indonesia while Sarawak also shares borders with Brunei.

Malaysia Tourism Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, tourism associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Malaysia’s tourism industry. Tourism Sector Tourist shows the robust performance. Looking at the most recent data from Immigration Department, the country welcomed 15.38mn tourists over the January-August 2009 period, which means an increase of 4.4% year on year. August itself was a particularly strong month with tourist arrivals up by 10.4% at 2.03mn.

Although the major contributors to the economy profile in Malaysia are manufacturing and primary commodities, but travel and tourism has a highly important part of the Malaysian economy too. The tourism accommodation and air transportation sectors have growth. For example, AirAsia, the country’s premium low cost carrier, has expanded its operations and now offers many more routes within and outside the country and is regarded as a significant regional player. The hotel segment has been growing particularly rapidly, with the popularity of top-end boutique hotels continuing to increase.

This can testify by Malaysia has gain the tourism awards 2008/2009 at the PICC, Putrajaya on 9 Jan 2010 from hon. deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Hj Mohd Yassin. Not only that, The premier awards and merit awards got innovation homestay, innovative tourist attraction, innovative tour programme, best foreign tour operator, best tourism guide and hotel services, innovative restaurant and tourism publication.

The Malaysian tourism will continues to grow rapidly because the government have hold many progress to promote tourism, For example one of Malaysia programme used to promote tourism is My Second Home, which is organised and launched by the Malaysian Government to allow foreigners who fulfil certain criteria to stay in Malaysia for as long as possible on a multiple-entry social visit pass. This could encourage them to stay in Malaysia. And the benefits are the social visit pass is initially for a period of ten years and is renewable.

The promotion of education tourism also continues to be expanded to the development of Malaysia as a preferred destination for international students. The project foreign exchange earnings are estimated at RM 900 Million by 2010.

Not only that, The Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, said that health tourism generated about US$85mn in revenue in 2008 and treated 370,000 foreign patients. Focus on Health Tourism in June 2009, state news agency Bernama reported that the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board is embarking on a three year project seeks to increase the number of people visiting the country for medical treatment. Have a preferred medical tourism destination and politically stable, Malaysia has become a more profitable tourism industry.

As a visitor to Malaysia, they can have the opportunity to experience and appreciate its rich historic and cultural heritage, exotic culinary delights, shopping splendours, nature-based adventures and fun-filled activities. The enjoyable and hospitable nature of its people will make the foreigner come to Malaysia.

Thailand

Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia are important sources of visitors for Malaysia. By contraries, Malaysia, Japan, and Korea are the important destinations from where the large amounts of visitors come to Thailand. Apart from ASEAN countries, tourist arrivals from China and India will remain influential throughout the forecast period (2007-2011).

Thailand its shape and geography divide into four natural regions; the mountains and forests of the North; the vast rice fields of the Central Plains; the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau; and the tropical islands and long coastline of the peninsula south. Bangkok is the capital city and centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. It is also the seat of Thailand’s revered Royal Family.

Tourism is a major economic factor in Thailand, its contributing an estimated 6.7% to Thailand’s GDP in 2007. It is also expected that inbound tourist expenditure per head will increase by around 10.49% in 2011 as compared to 2006.

The Thai tourism industry is projected to end the year with a total of 13.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2006. Revenue earnings from tourism are now projected at 486 billion baht. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has targeted 14.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2007 with estimated target revenues of 547.5 billion baht.

Unfortunately, H1N1 incident make reflect on Thai tourism industry in 2009 decrease, further discouraged visitor arrivals. Tourist arrivals have fallen sharply in the first half of 2009. Figures released by the Office of Tourism Development (OTD) showed that tourist arrivals fell by 16.2% year on year to arrivals of only 6.6mn. This followed a decline of 2% as a whole, with Thailand being one of the first countries with affected by the global economic downturn.

But these tribulations no daunt to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has worked hard to overcome difficulties and obstacles and bring forward the prosperity of Thailand’s tourism to meet international standards. Until now, Thailand has gained popularity from tourists all over the world for its quality and variety of tourist attractions. Thailand is also regarded as the premier shopping venue and ranked the topmost value-for-money tourist destination.

Besides attracting more quality international tourists to visit Thailand, the TAT has also promoting tourism by conduct many campaigns to attract tourist. For an example, Thailand has been promoting its healthcare tourism, where it is providing the visitors with private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the tourist arrival for the purpose of medical treatment will reach two Million by 2010. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is now preparing for the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards 2010, which aims to promote and sustain the Thai tourism industry with an international standard.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will host the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards 2010, which aims to promote and sustain international standards in the Thai tourism industry. The Thailand Tourism Awards helps ensure Thailand’s popularity as well as increase credibility among both domestic and international tourists. Thailand Tourism Awards project was initiated by TAT since 1996. The awards are divided into five categories including Tourist Attractions, Tourist Accommodation, Tour Programmes, Tourism Development and Promotion Organisations and Medical Tourism.

Singapore

The Republic of Singapore is an independent nation in Southeast Asia. Located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, separated only by the narrow Strait of Johor from the mainland, it is a prosperous nation whose people enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Asia.

Singapore may be small, but packs in quite a punch. It is Only about 655 square kilometers in area, it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with about 6430 people per square kilometer. Although it is one of the 20 smallest countries in the world, its economy is a world leader.

Singapore is a vibrant and colourful city where one can find a harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, art and architecture. And tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. Singapore has always been his charming tropical scenery and hospitality and attracted visitors from all over the world tourists. Singapore is one of the most visiting tourist destinations in the world. It offers numerous travel attractions, natural as well as man-made marvels. Its cultural attraction can be attributed to its cultural diversity that reflects its colonial history and Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab ethnicities. It is also environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs.

Tourism is one of the largest service sectors of Singapore. As of 2009, the tourism industry was estimated to reach S$6.4 billion and visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 4.5 million. This clearly shows the important role tourism industry plays in Singapore’s economy. And the country performance is Tourism receipts from visitors from Hong Kong (+11.3%) registered growth from January to June 2009. Visitor arrivals from Vietnam (+13.4%), the Philippines (+3.0%), Malaysia (+1.8%) and Germany (+1.3%) registered growth in the first half of 2009 versus the same period last year.

In additions, Singapore is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia-Pacific region and the tourism industry in Singapore is growing very rapidly for the past several years. This is because strengthening by the infrastructure developments, various events and the countries strategic location in the heart of region.

And the projected ranges for 2009 full-year tourism receipts and visitor arrivals of S$12.0 to S$12.5 billion and 9.0 to 9.5 million respectively remain unchanged, with travellers expected to stay cautious as uncertainties continue around Influenza A(H1N1-2009) and the general economic environment.

Indonesia

About the performance tourism in Indonesia, Tourism is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of foreign exchange revenues. With a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the second longest shoreline in the world, over 700 languages and tropical climate, nature and culture are both major components of Indonesian tourism.

The number of tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first half of 2009 rose 2.61 percent to 2.97 million from the same period last year, a tourist official said. Indonesia tourist arrivals rose in 2009 but spending declined. More foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year than in 2008, but they spent less, resulting in a sharp decline in total tourism revenue, “In June 2009 alone, the number of tourist arrivals rose 4.06 percent from a year earlier,” Domestic Promotion Director at the Culture and Tourism Ministry Fathul Bahri said.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) show the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in June 2009 reached around 550,600, up 4.07 percent from June 2008, or 5.53 percent from May 2009. The number of foreign tourist arrivals through the country`s 11 main entry gates in June 2009 went up 4.95 percent to 466,900 from 444,900 in June 2008. “The figure is promising now that the number of tourist arrivals in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore recorded negative growth,” he said. In addition, he remained optimistic that the country would be able to achieve its tourist arrival target of 6.5 million for 2009.

However, tourism development had sometimes clashed with local people, they have created criticism over Indonesia’s tourism industry. Most of the disputes were related over land possession, local traditions and the impact of tourism development to the local people. In another area, tourism industry in Indonesia faces major threats. Since 2002, several warnings have been issued by some countries over terrorist threats and ethnic or religious conflicts in some areas, which significantly reduce the number of foreign visitors. Visit Indonesia is a good program but it lacks proper implementation which is said by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, an economist from state-owned PT Danareksa Sekuritas.

After comparison with Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, the conclusion can made is Malaysia has better performance that the three country. Like compare to Indonesia, it miss their target that set before and still lags far behind its smaller neighbours in terms of tourist numbers. Malaysia is welcomed 15.38 million foreign tourists during the first eight months of 2009 alone, while Singapore saw 4.51 million tourist arrivals in the first half the year.

However, these three country also have their own strategic or technique to retrieval the tourism or to promote their tourism more. Planning is importing, lacking a more effective long-term strategy, the country’s tourism would likely only grow in line with the global economy.

Atlanta – Capital of the New South

Hello

Atlanta is the frontline of the New South, with the appeal and classiness of the old days. Home to over 5 million people in the world, it is a city that balances southern heritage with lustrous modernism. There are a lot of peach trees here and the tea is sweetened. This is one of the few cities which can claim to have three skylines and is home to the busiest airport in the world. This city has been destroyed and built up again; the terrors of war and agony of floods and droughts have all been seen by this city. Rebirth and survival, flows within the veins of Atlanta. Host to the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, Atlanta, also is the birthplace of the greatest character in the civil rights movement. Capital city to the state of Georgia, Atlanta has become the persistent leader among American cities.

Best Season to visit Atlanta

May to August is the best time to visit Atlanta, when you can enjoy outdoor activities and concerts alike. You might also like the days of the spring and fall, if you want to avoid the warm summers. Winter trips are recommended if you want to save some money, as the hotel rates go down and the chilly weather keeps visitors away.

Highlights (Special Things to Do in Atlanta)

Let your imagination run wild with building blocks at the LEGOLAND® Discovery Center, located at the Phipps Plaza, Buckhead. Having one of the largest boxes of LEGO® bricks, kids will love spending the day here.
Watch a Broadway play at the Alliance Theatre. This Tony Award Winner, provides a lovely platform for classical plays, musicals and dramas which are presented here much before they are made available at the Big Apple.
Scream your lungs out as you take on the Goliath or the Scream Machine, both are gargantuan rides at Six Flags amusement park.
At Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum you can get close with mummies, of the ancient world. With permanent collections from all over the world and popular travelling exhibits on display, the history fanatic in you will be fascinated by everything from Egyptian mummies to Greek relics!
Dance or watch a game at the Philips Arena, home to NBA and WNBA teams, the Atlanta Hawks and Dream, the arena rocks all through the year with the world’s best concerts when the games are not on.
Take in the view at the Sun Dial Bar & View, the only 360 degree rotating restaurant located 72 stories above the Peachtree Street. You can see everything from Georgia Tech to the Stone Mountain and of course, everything in between!
Pay homage to the souls of great Atlantans at the Oakland Cemetery. The oldest cemetery here, is the final abode of over 70,000 souls, each accompanied by a fascinating tale to tell.
Carry extra bags for all shopping you would end up doing at the Atlantic Station! Whether you are looking for a major retailer or a quirky local boutique, this is the place to be.
Get a glimpse of the restored rooms of the Margaret Mitchell House, where the “Gone With the Wind” was written. You would even find the writer’s desk and original fixtures.
Submerge yourself in surround sound, with the Grammy-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its cast of musicians are here to pamper you to a performance like you would have never seen.
Get personal with dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Travel back in time among the Giants of the Mesozoic, some of them are over 120 feet in length!
Open the doors of the Oval Office, at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, you’ll find a replica of the Oval Office along with gifts that were given to him during his time in Whitehouse.
Grab a bottle of wine, along with a picnic basket and hit Chastain Park Amphitheatre for a night you will never forget. Gigs at Chastain Park Amphitheatre offer a whole range of options for everyone, from blues and soul to rock and roll.
Check out the Twin baby pandas! Mei Lun and Mei Huan, are the most sought after at the Atlanta Zoo.
Wander around Piedmont Park, home to the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Lake Clara Meer. Whether you bring your pet for playtime or just a book to read on the grass, the Piedmont Park is a place which gives u lot of options.
Hike through the treetops on Sky Hike or backpack to the top of the mountain for beautiful skyline vantage points.
Click the world famous graffiti at the Krog Street Tunnel, is a favourite haunt for photographers and graffiti fans alike.
Snorkel or SCUBA among the great whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium.

Hotspots of Atlanta

You can check out these places if you are looking for the Atlanta tourist attractions:

NE, Atlanta
Fox Theatre: Returned back to its original golden look of the 1920s, the theatre features the “Mighty Mo,” a classic Moller organ, comprising of over 3,600 pipes. Currently hosting Broadway musicals and comedy shows this extravagant theatre also caters to dance companies.
Atlanta Botanical Garden: Come into the magical & serene world of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where attractions like the Fuqua Orchid Center take the visitors through rare collections of beautiful orchids never found in nature in this region.
Piedmont Park: Home to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, this 185-acre park is popular with joggers and summer festivals are also held here.
High Museum of Art: High Museum was the first museum to ever showcase art lent from Paris’ Louvre and is a lovely place to admire its architecture as well as its exhibits.
Ebenezer Baptist Church: The campaign ground for King Jr. and his fore-fathers, all of whom were pastors here. This also is infamous for being the place where his mother was killed back in 1974.
Downtown
Georgia Aquarium: The sheer beauty of the world’s largest aquarium is hard to deny: beluga whales and whale sharks, theatre shows, where actors/trainers and intelligent bottlenose dolphins perform in tandem is a spectacle not to be missed.
World of Coca-Cola: This museum would prove enjoyable to fans of the fizzy drink. The climax of the tour comes with guests sampling Coke products from all over the world. There is also Andy Warhol pieces to see, a 4-D film to watch, company history milestones, and what would look like over 20 billion promotional items.
The Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: This second oldest building in Atlanta was designed by William H. Parkins, a local architect. Built in 1873 and still in use and has survived the devastating fire that gutted the city in 1864.
Buckhead
Atlanta History Center: Located on 33 acres in the centre of Buckhead, it is the perfect gateway to Georgia’s past, taking you through award-winning exhibits; Centennial Olympic Games Museum; historic households, including 1928 Swan House and 1860s Smith Family Farm; 22 acres of beautiful gardens and trails; and the Kenan Research Center.
Grant Park
Oakland Cemetery: Step back in time in at the Oakland Cemetery. This heritage park is the final abode for many Civil War soldiers, the golfing exponent Bobby Jones, and the author of “Gone with the Wind”, Margaret Mitchell.
Poncey – Highland
Jimmy Carter Library & Museum: The Carter Presidential Library and Museum is an out of this world museum tracking the life and works of President Jimmy Carter, from the time he was a kid in the Plains to the work Mrs. Carter and he do all over the world to promote peace and health. Sitting on a hilltop, it exhibits highlights of Jimmy Carter’s life during the 1977–81 presidency; The Oval Office replica is a must see. Carter’s Nobel Prize is also displayed here. And the serene Japanese garden in the back is not to be missed either.
Old Fourth Ward
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site: A key attraction, the park draws over 500,000 visitors annually. Explore the house where the leader of the America Civil Rights movement was born, the church where he preached and the memorial site where he is buried.

Shopping in Atlanta

Atlanta shopping is spread-out all over the city, from antique and outlet centres to boutiques and art galleries. Head to Buckhead for the luxury shopping, you will find all major brands at the Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square Mall.

Come across the most happening boutiques in the shopping districts around Virginia Highland and Midtown; for funky vintage items head to Little Five Points. Westside is the place to go to for home goods.

Decatur Square – Considered one of the most pedestrian friendly locales, you can randomly walk around the wide spread of shops here. If you need rest between your jaunts, sip a coffee or grab a beer or a cocktail. This place is so versatile that you might as well pick up a book and soak in the sun.
Atlantic Station – You might need to carry an extra suitcase for all of the things you would end up picking up here. This spread-out outdoor shopping haven is a place for some serious retail therapy.
American Girl Boutique and Bistro – The ultimate daughter’s day out. A doll-shopping heaven, you could find the perfect doll, pick a matching outfit, have a tea party and even let your doll enjoy a day at the salon!
Sweet Auburn Curb Market – For local farm produce or meats, also exclusive eateries serving you soul food and gourmet hot dogs or just the good old ice cream, look no more than this farmer’s market with a urban twist.
Little Five Points – A place where you can pull off those skinny jeans and flannel shirt, head here for bar hopping and vibrant live performances. Vintage boutique shopping is a must here.

How to reach Atlanta

By Plane: The Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, is located about 8 miles south of the city. The world’s busiest airport, its efficient layout makes it easy to navigate and keeps delays to a minimum. All major cities across all continents are connected from here.
By Train: Served by the Amtrak, the Crescent train runs daily and serves most major cities on the eastern belt. Located at 1688 Peachtree St. N.W., The Atlanta Amtrak Station is to the north of city.
By Bus: Greyhound Bus Lines provides bus service to Atlanta from many locations throughout the country. The Greyhound terminal at 232 Forsyth Street, located directly below MARTA’s Garnett Station.

Other bus services such as megabus.com and Bus Bank offer charters buses and can help plan a tour for you or your group.

By Car: The Interstate Highway System links Atlanta to the rest of the country. So driving down to the city is a very feasible option. The main interstate highways crossing Atlanta are I-75 (Detroit to Florida), I-85 (Mid-Atlantic to New Orleans) and I-20 (Texas to South Carolina).

How to get around in Atlanta

By Foot: Touring the city by foot is one of the best ways to see Atlanta. Most neighbourhoods are easy to walk around, with bars, restaurants, and shops being in close vicinity. In particular, walking times would not exceed 10–20 minutes, however buses and trains are recommended for longer jaunts.
By Transit: MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) operates both rapid rail and bus networks in the city of Atlanta and the neighbouring counties, Fulton and Dekalb.

Comprising of four lines: Red, Gold, Blue, and Green; where the Red and Gold lines run north-south, while the Blue and Green lines run east-west, meeting at the Five Points Station.

With over one hundred different bus routes, Bus service runs from 5AM until 1:30AM Monday-Friday and on the weekends or holidays they run all day.

By Taxi: Booking taxis is recommended, however it is possible to flag taxicabs down near tourist locations and watering holes in Downtown and Midtown.

24-Hour Taxicab Services:

Checker Cab
Atlanta Royal Cabbies

Fixed rates are available for Airport runs, insist on it even if the cabbie denies knowledge of the same.

By Car: All major car rental service is available around Atlanta. Cars are considered the most efficient way to move around the city in case you have to visit a lot of places. However do look out for peak hour traffic.

Top areas in Atlanta

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – If you are a business traveller and prefer to be located close to the busiest airport in the world, then the area around the Hartsfield-Jackson has a lot of hotel options to spend a night or more. You can find midrange to budget hotels to suit your needs.

Midtown – The second largest business district in Atlanta, situated between Downtown and Buckhead, Attracts over six million visitors every year. Marked for its cultural attractions, institutions of higher education, Midtown is also noteworthy for its architecture, and urban layout. Atlanta Hotels in Midtown are mostly high-end.

Pine Hills – Located to the east of Buckhead, the region is abundant of plant life. Its tall trees, such as the pine, oak and maple are home to a wide variety of animals such as chipmunks, squirrels and a variety of birds. Quite a few mid-range hotels can be found here.

Sandy Springs – Even though Sandy Springs is a separate area it extends into the city limits. Most of this region is affluent and is very scenic, with mansions on single-lane roads. You can find cheap Atlanta accommodation deals in this location.

Buckhead – Known for its nightlife, Buckhead Village has transferred into Buckhead Atlanta, with plenty of shopping options with Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square near here. Buckhead even has its own skyline of high-rise apartments/condominiums and office buildings. You will also find hotels across the range in this area.

Conducting a SWOT analysis, that is, reviewing the strengths of an organization, its weaknesses, opportunities it can capitalize on for maximum profits, and the threats to achieving its full potential provides very invaluable information to the organization about the market and understanding the industry, as well. The aviation industry is not an exception, it too has its own share of strengths and opportunities which once utilized by an organization can help it grow substantially and weaknesses and threats which the organization must strive to minimize to the lowest possible levels.

Strengths

One of the strengths of an organization in the aviation industry is the growing income levels. The growth in individual incomes increases the amount of disposable income and hence many people are able to utilize the carriers to fly to their destinations

Growth in tourism is also a major strength as it has led to a significant increase in the number of domestic and international passengers with statistics indicating a 50% growth in the number of domestic flyers and a 25% increase in the number of international flyers.

Despite the downturns, air travel has continued to grow over time and is one of those industries that are far away from reaching their peak. This can be partly attributed to the ever growing population and the increase in the propensity of people to fly. With efficient management, an organization in the aviation industry is guaranteed to grow into a big and profitable enterprise.

Air travel has a marked safety record and has been generally accepted as a safe and fast way to travel. Even the low cost growing airlines have safety and speed attributed to them and therefore, a small growing airline shares this strength with big and recognized brand names in the industry which is quite an advantage. Airline staff consists of highly trained personnel, which is a major strength, to any organization in the industry.

Weaknesses

One of the major weaknesses in the aviation industry is infrastructural development. The development of infrastructure has been very slow thus unable to keep up the pace of growth of the aviation sector. It is therefore, a major bottleneck in the industry. A growing airline should therefore, give priority to investing in infrastructure by constructing state of the art airports with adequate runways and ample parking lots for passengers. It should also invest on routes leading to the airports to help reduce passenger delays due to traffic.

Airlines have been known to have a very high ‘spoilage’ rate in comparison with other industries. Once a passenger misses his/her flight, the income/revenue from that seat is lost. In order to avoid or minimize this occurrence, the airline should establish a method of contacting all the passengers prior to departure to remind them of their flight. There should also be a larger time window between the boarding time and the departure of the airbus to cater for those passengers who arrive late for their flights.

Aircrafts are very expensive and running an airline requires a very huge capital outlay. For this to work to the advantage of the airline, proper marketing strategies are required, and careful planning to ensure that returns on investment are greater than the initial investment.

An airline may find it very difficult to compete with other carriers due to their low fares. To survive this, the organization can lower its fares but ensure that they are in balance with the returns to avoid losses. Extensive advertising campaigns on quality can also give it an edge over the low cost carriers.

Airlines have to maintain a huge work force which is spread over an outsized ecological area and which requires constant communication and monitoring. For this to work to its advantage, extensive evaluation of the personnel is required to ensure competence and also the ability of the workers to work under minimum supervision.

Opportunities

There are many opportunities that an airline can capitalize on to reap maximum profits. Expected investment is one of the opportunities that can benefit an airline. The aviation sector is ever growing, and there is an increasing number of stakeholders in the industry willing to invest in air travel. An airline can take this opportunity to increase its capital base so as to be able to enjoy large economies of scale.

Development of new products and services can have a substantial blow on the profits of an organization. In aviation, an airline can introduce mailing services for delivery of mails and parcels across the globe. It can also introduce special fare packages for those travelling to certain destinations for pleasure or business.

Technological advancement and investment in information technology is an opportunity that can greatly help an organization to minimize its operation cost. An airline can rely on information technology to offer more customers friendly services and also provide customers with other services like internet while travelling which would make them pay more for the services hence increasing the profit margins of the organization.

The organization should evaluate end user response to its services to gain information on what areas of its services to improve. This would go a long way in helping the organization acquire new customers as well as retain its old ones who are satisfied with the services being offered.

The organization should also take the opportunity to expand and cover a larger geographical area. It should grow into the untapped markets and offer its products and services in these regions. Having a large customer base would increase its profits.

Acquiring better supply deals, for example, a less expensive fuel supplier would greatly minimize the operation cost of an organization in the aviation industry. The airline can also retain its suppliers but negotiate for better deals with the aim of increasing its profit margin.

Cutting down on delays is very important in the aviation industry. Minimized delays would mean less refunds and minimal compensation due to inconveniences made. It would also help the organization to gain the customers trust thus establishing itself as a carrier of choice for many travelers.

Linking up with other carriers in the industry is an opportunity that should not be ruled out. Linking up with another carrier would increase the passenger volume greatly. This can be done through ensuring a coordinated schedule where the airlines offer their services to various destinations through a sharing agreement. Only one carrier flying to a given destination from a particular location would enable the partnering carriers to avoid the long time taken before an aircraft is filled.

Threats

There are many threats facing organizations in the aviation industry. Travelling for leisure and business is greatly impacted by the global economy. A downturn in the global economy means that less people are likely to travel for pleasure and to do business. This leads to low income to the airline during this period. To minimize the effect of this, the organization should devise a mechanism of lowering its operation cost to the minimum possible levels to avert possible losses due to its operating costs exceeding income.

Some government legislation can also be a major threat to investors in the aviation industry. Intervention by the government can come with it rules which are very costly to adhere to and also competition from unexpected quarters, for example, from international airlines due to liberalization of the market.

Air travel is very vulnerable to environmental changes. Heavy storms are detrimental to flight schedules, and this may mean refunding those customers who opt to cancel their flights all together other than to wait. It can also lead to loss of an asset, for example, the crashing of an aircraft. To minimize the effect of this, the airline should ensure that it is well insured against losses resulting from these weather changes. There should also be an insurance cover for its passengers.

Air travel has a seasonal demand especially where the largest percentage of travelers involves those travelling for leisure. In this case, the highest demand is likely to be during international holidays like the Christmas season and a significant decrease in demand midway through the year. To ensure that there is no considerable drop in customers during the off peak seasons, the organization can come up with a method of encouraging people to travel during this period by, for example, lowering the travelling rates, offering discounts and special travelling packages.

In recent times, air travel has been a target to terrorists, and this has had a very negative impact on the airlines themselves. Frequent fliers have been scared away, and the airline industry has lost a considerable number of customers. To gain back the lost confidence, an organization should carry out an extensive campaign meant to assure customers of their safety when travelling using their airline.

Over the next few years, huge investments are expected to be made in the aviation industry. New airlines are likely to crop up and this will lead to a strain on the available pilots, and airport staff. This will be a limiting factor to the continued growth of the airline. To prevent this, the airline should start training its own pilots and airport staff. This would in future give it an advantage over the other airlines which would be experiencing a shortage of the same. The airline can therefore, transform this threat into an opportunity by selling some of its staff to the other businesses for a profit.

With the increasing number of airlines and aircrafts, there is likely to be a marked shortage of airports and airport facilities. The airline should therefore, invest heavily in its own airports and ensure that they have ample parking bays for its aircrafts.

The organization also faces the threat of being vulnerable to attacks by its major competitors. It should therefore, have all the mechanisms of counteracting this in standby so that it does not fall to accusations from other airlines.

The greatest hurdle facing many airlines today is high fuel prices. A huge upward surge in fuel prices can destabilize an investment in the aviation industry. To counter this, the airline should ensure that it has its own fuel reserve so that it is not immediately affected by the changes in fuel prices as it will have time to adjust while relying on its fuel reserves. With its own reserve, it can benefit from this threat by providing that much needed resource to its competitors at a large profit margin.

Jump to: SWOT Analysis | Marketing Mix AnalysisExecutive Summary:

The new event of process scheduled in the recent era is the launch of e-Business. This process is basically an additional method for the growth of productivity and an increase in the zone of profit for the business that is involved. The key structure of the e-Business is the active utility of the computers and online transactions. This also involves various strategies to complete the process and handle the structure with core techniques for the best result. The acquired process of marketing and management in the recent years have grown and taken its place with latest techniques and new acronyms in the global touch.

E-Business is the new integration of the activities of the organisation or the company and their products along with their services and procedures in the internet. A old traditional business linked with the new growth of enables e-Business strategy integrating the activities of the organisation or the company featuring sales, accounting, marketing and many more operations that are concerned with the organization and their process involved takes us to the pride of achieving the future growth and their expansion.

Outline Segment:

This assignment includes the necessary of identifying the principles of marketing and a complete analysis of the structure of e-business in to the chosen illustration. The time to time market explains the product launch and their association with the market for the release. It redirects the right time for the consideration of launch of the project or practice in accordance with the implementation changes that has to take place within the organisation as a matter of fact.

Branding:

The process of branding shall be concerned as the part of sources provided in the internet and other resources about the brand and by the tasks of business of participation. The web page normally supplies the relevant scope of information about the brand and the organisation with its benefits and service provided on the real. A website establishes the fact of the company or the organization and creates awareness about the offers and availability of the schemes provided by the company. It also brings the latest key on notice to the immediate reach of the customers and creates a satisfaction among the customers. The process of branding not only has an impact on the customers but also enriches the source of customers with a build of trust and raises itself with a value of accreditation in the market of competition. The brand becomes a part of the quality and promise of the customers and the partners along with the employees as a part of flexibility, trust and growth.

Singapore Zoo:

The Singapore Zoo, Located at 80 Mandai Lake Road, is also known as Mandai Zoo or Singapore Zoological Garden. Popular for its Night Safari attraction, the Zoo has a reaped a long list of awards, both local and international.

”This has to be the one of the really beautiful zoos, of which there are all too few. It is brilliant laid out, so that the ceclosure fences are almost totally hidden. The expanses of the water of the seletar reservoir are a magnificent additional feature of the setting. The animals are beautifully maintained in good health, in spite of the climatic conditions. All in all, the Zoo shall receive a warn congratulation for the heads that are responsible for them, and declaring it for us was a great experience to see it.”

The gem of an idea to have a zoo was conceived by Dr. Ong Swee Law. Opened on 27 June 1973, the Singapore Zoological gardens caters to recreational, educational and social needs of Singaporeans and tourist to the republic. “The Open Zoo” which reflects the absence of physical barriers in enclosure design. Instead cascading waters, lush vegetation and moats cleverly mask the hidden barriers to enhance the illusion of freedom and natural jungle-like atmosphere for the animals. The Zoo began with the humble collection of 270 animals of about 72 species. To date, a total of over 2000 animals of 240 species are displayed in some 70 exhibits.

One of the more appealing attractions at the zoo is the animal show. The animal shows – Primate Reptile show s and Elephant and Sea-lion shows. Due to popularity and surge in crowds, an Amphitheatre was built in 1985 to centralize these shows and to seat visitors comfortably. The amphitheatre which has a long pool with glass panels for aquatic acts can seat 1,500 and can accommodate up to 2,000 spectators.

The Animal Shows are specially designed to incorporate the natural behaviours of the animals to educate visitors in an entertaining presentation. The conservation messages are disseminated to the audience during the shows to heighten their awareness of the environment. In 1987, the Zoo introduced the Special loan exhibit, where rare animals on loan from other Zoos are displayed for a short period. The animals which have been displayed at the special Loan Exhibit include the golden monkeys, white tigers and giant pandas. This novel idea gives visitor s an opportunity to view rare animals which cannot be exhibited permanently at the zoo. The enclosure was renamed Singaporean Press Holdings (SPH) enclosure following its adoption by the SPH group in 1990. Another major breakthrough for the Zoo was the introduction of underwater viewing exhibits. The first was in 1988 – the underwater viewing polar bear exhibit – enable visitors to “rub noses” with the Zoo’s polar bear. Since 1987, the Zoo passed the million marks in visitor attendance.

The string of awards bagged by the Singapore Zoo attests to splendid inhabitants and services: 2002 Asean Tourism Association (ASEANTA) Awards for Excellence, Best New attraction in ASEAN (Singapore Zoo for Hamadrya’s Baboons – The great rift valley of Ethiopia). 2001: STB (Singapore Tourism Board) Tourism Awards: Leisure Attraction of the Year 2001 (Singapore Zoo). 2001 – The Singapore Totalisator Board Excellence – Singapore Award: Internationally acclaimed “open zoo” design and excellent in-situ conservation achievement. 2000: Where Singapore magazine’s Concierge Choice Awards: Best Place to Take the Kids. 1999: IMA (Incentive & Meeting Asia) Awards: Best Theme Attraction.

Important Campaigns in the process of integration of the organisation in e-Business are as follows;
A new architecture of strategy and launch of business automation by the process of e-Business.
An enhanced view and recommendation of the developed solution in the web and front-end legacy applications.
A new format of the developed portals of the organization or the company with the update of the latest information.
New value chain integrated through the web based application for the company or the organization.
SWOT analysis:

The SWOT analysis is an understanding of the total result of the current position of the business. It defines the Strength, weakness, opportunities and the threats of the organization matching the external opportunities with the internal strengths. The company or the organization involving for the SWOT analysis has to order the strategies and strengths to hold in control the weaknesses and eliminate the threats in any from the external sources.

(S)trengths:

They are open 365 days all around the year and it is considered as a most entertained tourist attraction. They open at 8:30 am in the morning and close at 6:00 pm in the evening creating an enthusiastic environment for all ages from 6 to 90 daily all around the year. The last ticket sale everyday is available at 5:30 pm enabling the visitors to enter at the event of closing for short time enjoyments too.

The cost of the entry is also reasonable for the attractions available in the theme forest, the Singapore Zoo.

Rental of the stroller is available enabling a hassle free travel until the Zoo and the charges are also reasonable as $9 only.

Complimentary admission for DDR(Disability Development Registry) card holders and entitlement of beneficiary programmes chosen by the Voluntary Welfare associations.

Protection and conservation comes with education. The visit enhances us to understand the necessary of conservation and protection raising awareness.

Organising events such as wedding and parties for own reason with reasonable cost guaranteeing the success of the occasion conducted.

Sponsorship and adoption also remains as a part of the team along with small donation initiating the success of protection and conservation of wildlife.

The location suits the entry itself with a night safari and orchid gardens roaring itself with pride for visiting.

Shows are unique and visiting Australian outback, cat country, critters Longhouse, Fragile forest, Elephants of Asia, Hamadryas Baboons, Orang Utan, Polar Bear, Proboscis Monkeys, Primate Kingdom, Rainforest Kidzworld, Reptile Kingdom, Wild Africa, White tiger are the main attractions.

(W)eaknesses:

Weather: The weather circumstance may be the stop point, as prediction is never accurately right hence the market prediction refers accordingly.

Cost: This cost may sound reasonable when considering the factors of the total value and convenience referred in the place.

Place: The location depends convenient on consideration upon the general factors but the unique thoughts upon the each visitor vary.

Shows: Visitors though they are happy with the shows and preferences that are given or organised by the organisation but they prefer to have more shows.

(O)pportunities:

The Singapore Zoo is said to be an organised theme with shows, events and attractions. They tend to have increased in their growth along with the years. Now they have become a part of the wildlife protection and conservation creating awareness in the social media. There are quite a lot of opportunities and competition that exist in the field in and around the world.

(T)hreats:

There are no huge threats when concerned with the whole of the organisation whereas some exist such as the competition between the other themes around the area. There exist another night safari and orchid gardens for visiting. The location Singapore itself refers itself for a calm and roaring entertaining area.

The visitor can become a sponsor or a member, he can involve himself as a part of the team enriching the lives of animals the wonder and an escape for the reality in admiration. They are the sources of a living entertainment and they have to be preserved.

Marketing Mix:

The most important elements of marketing are defined as the 4 P’s. They are Product, promotion, price and place. An organization may change the elements of marketing according to their requirements and tendencies. The target for their own caste in the market is set with official designation with the alteration of the principles of marketing mix if required and are taken in to consideration for the fact of earning their benefits in the resource implemented. The main component to be considered is the addressing of the competitive market and the implementation and the process of support by the operations merged to prove the reach of the target through the marketing mix principles.

Taking the marketing mix in this instance for this organisation comprises of the products, place, promotion and distribution. The products offered are the actual offering that is present in the location and the price is the value that remains exchanged for the offering present in the place. The promotion includes the targeting of the audience with the mix of promotions for the attraction of visitors. Distribution covers the place where the product is being offered and located for the targeting of the audience.

Place:

The location is been chosen as the best suited place for the construction of the Zoo and it’s the perfect place for the process chosen by the organization. The organization built has various ideas such as scheduling events and wedding ideas indoor or outdoor events. They also categorize themselves in organising the events and catering and all sources for the booked events. The location sets scenic view and way for the other places of attraction such as the night safari and orchid gardens that cover the tourist spots.

The major point discovers the area as a whole of tourist attraction and determines itself with a variety of attraction such as night safaris and gardens on way to the Rainforest zoo. They also become a part of other organisations such as the zoo’s and wildlife conservation within the country. The animal encounters and rides, feeding times, animal photography, zoo shop plays an important role in the pride of being unique among the other attractions.

Price:

The cost of the entry is effective when considered the shows and features of the Zoo. The price is $20 per adult and $13 for the Child aged within 6-12. Students concession and group allowances are available when booked as a whole and has to be contacted the organization. They have some plans for the disabled and authorised visitors allowing a free entry for the DDR card holders.

Product:

The zoo comprises of various shows in exhibiting the wildlife of the organisation and other specific animals such as White tiger, fragile forest, wild Africa, Elephants of Asia, cat country, Orang Utan, Reptile Garden, Polar bear, Proboscis Monkeys, Rainforest Kidzworld, Primate Kingdom, Hamadrya’s Baboons, Critters Longhouse, Australian outback. It is also considered as the finest zoo in Asia and ranks top among the beautiful zoo of the world too. The animals adopt an open concept of living in the landscape and spread across the vivid and spacious environment separated for the curious spectators with wet and dry moats.

The shows are of varieties and the spark for enthusiasm lie in high potential for customers to return often in visiting the zoo. It is considered to be the world’s first zoo with night wild life park on may 26th 1994. It covers the second place for the dense forest divided among the east and west loops. An extraordinary experience with the nocturnal species of more than one thousand animals within a count of 100 species toggled in the technique of soft light of visibility.

The night safari is said to the wholesome and popular entertainment in the night attracting almost all the visitors of tourist attractions present in the city. Over the past decade it has not let itself one percent down with the novelty. It has loaded itself with four awards in the recent past including the local and international being a part of the IFEA Pinnacle award of the 2001 with a present title as the Gold winner. The Night safari process is also famous for its Gourmet safari Express.

Promotion:

The promotions of the organisation comprises of the animal photography, guided tours, Animal encounters and rides, feeding times, foods and beverages, shops in zoo, friendly facilities for the disabled and shows organised according to the periods of season. Education and conservation are part of the promotional scheme for the visitors to get involved with the social space.

The children’s world was created in the year of 1973 consisting of the play land and the animal land. The famous miniature train ride that connects the lands together and the animals are placed in such a manner that they exist in their natural habitat unlike the artificial influence and stimulation. The animal land in entitled for the children’s to play and with a real life experience as the domestic animals participate in the play. The domestic animals include the chickens, rabbits and sheep. The play land is efficiently placed with conventional equipments used for play enhancing the space of life. The children’s world has been voted the best location for the kids in the magazine “Where Singapore” inaugural concierge choice 1999 awards.

This is the first world wide entertainment promotion among the other specimens in the same category all around the world to introduce the varieties of elements such as the underwater exhibits an opportunity to view the rare animals within the short span of time as the zoo is just 37 years old. The zoo is amphitheatre centralised that was built in the year 1985 and now it has reached the heights of audience including the primate, reptile and elephant shows starting in the 1970’s and helping the launch of amphitheatre with more than 1500 to 2000 seats of accommodation.

Awards:

The awards have been contributed for the specialised services and splendid inhabitants of the zoo.

The Zoo initially started with 270 animals of about 72 species and has grown to an extent of 2000 animals contributing from the 240 species displayed in almost 70 exhibits. The awards are both local and international as listed below;

1999 – Best theme Attraction- IMA (Intensive and meetings Asia Awards)

2000 – Concierge choice awards – Where Singapore Magazine – Best place for kids

2001 – Leisure attraction of the year – Singapore Totalisator Board of Excellence for Singapore award

2001 – Singapore tourism Board (STB) – Leisure attraction the year 2001.

2002 – ASEANTA – Asean Tourism Association Awards for excellence: Best New Attraction.

Experiences:

The various attractions that are found in the organisation is said to be dimensional and are the best experience in one’s life after the visit. The new vision of administering and maintaining the species of living example and their conservation is the most important feature. The visitors all over the world have always been satisfied and this organisation has taken the pride of providing more than the cost involved per person for the entertainment.

The events organised consist of vivid ceremonies personalised according to the booking made by the individual and general events such as wedding and celebrations of specific occasions are organised in such a way that they are most remembered and considered the best in the minds of celebrated individual family. The vast number of crowds and selection of shows organised in the zoo according with the seasons play an important role for the visit of various visitors and audiences.

Marketing Controls:

Market research, customer surveys, participation, sponsorship, attendance with on-field success is considered to be the main controls of marketing generally. The e-business plays an important role in the marketing roles for this organisation. The website is specially designed to contribute al the efficiency and entertainment lively probing the customer to participate in the visit. The design of the website enhances the quality and governance of contribution in a specialized way. It also shows complete data of the zoo and further to the facts present it also allots a chance for the participation of the visitor along with the excitement offers.

Conclusion:

The overall consideration and the above report show the complete focus of the organisation. The report after the examination from the history until the latest score of the organisation considering the facts along with the advantages and disadvantages conclude that they are listed in the top ranking for the attractions world-wide. This result shows the specific activity and growth of their marketing through a new median of e-Business launching their complete attractions and consideration with a virtual view over the available charts of the organisation. The marketing strategies that actively participate in the role of increasing their growth from the past decades have contributed much to their heights of enhancement. Hence the process of growth has taken an important ride in the marketing strategy and mix along with core key of E-Business.

Introduction

Emirates Airline was founded on October 25th 1985 with a flight from Dubai to Karachi using a leased A300 Airbus. Now the airline has more than 150 airplanes, making 2,300 flights a week to 103 destinations in 65 Countries on 6 Continents. Emirates Airline is owned by the Government of Dubai, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum is the Chairman and Chief Executive.

2.0 Mission

Their mission is to be able to carry a passenger from anywhere on this planet, via Dubai, to any other place on the world. Their procurements division mission is ‘to provide an innovative and responsive service that positively supports the group in a commercially astute manner. We want to constantly renew ourselves, shedding the past, adapting to change and creating a promising future’.

2.1 Vision

The vision and the principles which propel the airline forward is for ‘a strong and stable leadership team, ambitious yet calculated decision-making and ground-breaking ideas all contribute to the creation of great companies. Of course, these have played a major part in our development, but we believe our business ethics are the foundation on which our success has been built. Caring for our employees and stakeholders, as well as the environment and the communities we serve, have played a huge part in our past and will continue to signify our future’

3.0 Competitors

When the airline first started, its main rivals were British Airways and Gulf Air. In 2007, Emirates airline dominates the Asian Pacific Continent market share with 39%, Singapore Airlines 26% with Gulf Air reduced to 8%, but with Dubai s tourism soaring, other locally based airlines are trying to increase their passengers. These two airlines are Etihad Airlines and Qatar Airways. Other rivals, jealous of the success of Emirates Airlines have prompted their governments to limit Emirates Airlines access to airports. These are Air France and Lufthansa.

4.0 Stakeholders

The stakeholders include the groups employment of more than 40,000 persons. Dnata Airport Operations is responsible for ground handling and Freighter handling. Like it parent company, Dnata is rapidly expanding and now is represented in nineteen international airports in eight countries. Emirates SkyCargo, as the name suggests, handles the cargo side of the business, it has eight freighters carrying 1.6 million tonnes of cargo a year to 25 destinations. This contributed 17.2% of the total transport revenue and on March 27th 2011 managed the first ever fully paperless flight having electronic air waybills in line with the groups green policy.

Other stakeholders include Alpha Flight Group Ltd (owned by Dnata) who supply over 120,000 in flight meals daily at 58 airports in 11 countries. Alpha directly employ nearly 6,000 persons. Emirates Engineering are responsible for the aircraft maintenance who can proudly boast there has never been a fatal incident involving any of their fleet. Emirates/skywards handle the frequent flyer programme and e-mail existing customers regarding special offers.

More diverse stakeholders are Mercator; this is the I.T. solutions provider to the global air travel industry for the Emirates group. Exploiting the tourism bonanza, Dnata Travel Services are the travel agents, Congress Solutions International provide professional congress organisation. Emirates Holidays are the official tour operators, Arabian Adventures sell overland explorer escorted trips as well as cruises down the creek and deep sea fishing in the Gulf Sea.

Away from the U.A.E., the group own the Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in Australia; this is a 4,000 acre conservation resort

5.0 SWOT Analysis of Emirates
5.1 Strengths

One of the strengths of Emirates Airline appear to be their independence, they have resisted the temptation of mergers and acquisitions with other airlines. The thinking behind this is that they think that such actions will strangle their flexibility, being able to change direction quickly without having to seek agreement with outside partners. They also decided to allow free competition, the thoughts behind this decision was they believe encouraging competition would see an overall increase in the standards and the Emirates Airline are in a position to be a good performer, acknowledged within the industry. Furthermore, they wanted to show they were not frightened of any other airline, that they were forerunners not just trying to financially survive but were focussed at the most important part of the airline industry (with the exception of safety) in giving the customers what they want. This goes beyond the amount of leg room, the quality of the food served and keeping delays and cancellations to a minimum. Nowadays, people are aware of their carbon footprint and Emirates have made key decisions regarding their own environmental programme. Although the average age of the fleet is only 6.5 years, they are investing heavily in the 650 seat A380 Airbus which are the worlds most fuel and emission-efficient planes. The on-board kitchens are the most eco-efficient in the world and they recycle more than 100 tonnes of paper, plastic and aluminium a month. As per the official website of Emirate they are named the best airline of the year 2010-2011

5.2 Weakness

-Not all of diversification and approach have been successful and this can be considerate as one the flaws or weaknesses of the company. Analysts have accused the company for focusing too much on their high end acquisition’s and diversification inspite of the risky effect of such decisions

-Another potential weakness is that the operating profit is based on low wages paid to the general workforce for duties such as baggage handlers, cleaners, and caterers. They are generally recruited from India and are non unionised. These migrant workers face instant deportation if they show resentment to the wage structure.

5.3 Opportunity

-A huge opportunity for growth is the physical location of the Emirates. China has the fastest growing economy in the region and possibly in the world, and with that growth comes a greater demand for air travel and air-freight movements. If this requirement is aggressively marketed then Emirates Airline could fulfil this demand with its network of air routes and the ability to be flexible as previously described.

5.4 Threats

-Threats to the airline can come from other established airline companies. As they see their diminishing passenger numbers on their traditional routes, they see the traveller numbers to the U.A.E. increasing and will try to prise the Emirates Airline passengers away by undercutting the ticket price.

-The airline industry is notoriously volatile and subject to cyclical variations of trade. Emirates Airlines seems to weathered the storm in the current global recession, not cutting back on its ambitious expansion plans. Only time will tell if the correct decisions were made.

6.0 Emirates Strategy

-The cornerstone of Emirate Airline’s success is quality control. Creating and maintaining a state of the art airline for the sole purpose of keeping their customers happy.

-Extensive aviation training. The company not only trains young employees but also trains other people within the industry.

-Has successfully created a resort, hotel and tourism strategy. This was done by the creation and acquisition of various resorts and spas, even in this field emphasis was given on quality control and comfort.

-Emirates Airline have always strived to make their passengers satisfied, winning awards for the innovative in-flight entertainment system, immaculately dressed cabin crew. Because of this it is now a brand name globally.

-It has direct routes compared with the much hated stop-over that other carriers frequently use .

-The main reasons for the airline’s success is to make creative decisions, a unique business model, thriving on flexibility, made on a sound foundations but it may have to reel in part of its ‘open sky ‘policy and expand its global market in line with its vision of being able to take any passenger from one place on the planet to any other place on the planet via Dubai.

7.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the rise of Emirates Airlines from its inaugural flight in 1985 to the now prestigious airline voted 8th best carrier in the world good luck or good judgement? Has the success been due to excellent planning and vision or merely success on the back of the tourism explosion in Dubai? Has the decision to shun any strategic alliances both regionally and globally, which for decades has been the main business tactic in the airline industry been correct?

Abstract

The airline industry has always been and continues to be the most fiercely competitive business sector in all facets of its operations. Operating on paper thin margins the drop in passenger traffic brought on by the events of September 11th, 2001 have affected domestic United States airlines as well as all global carriers. The events of that day have caused governmental intervention in the form of loan guarantees, compensation for terrorist attack losses, as well as insurance related to war risk (Shane, 2003). The Associate deputy secretary of Transportation stated that the industry is in its “aˆ¦worst financial crisisaˆ¦”(Shane, 2003), since the industry was deregulated in 1978. It is important to understand that two differing types of airline carriers exist in the United States. The majors refer to airlines earning revenues in excess of $1 billion USD annually and generally they provide national as well as international service. These airlines cater to the business class customer and passengers who either expect or desire full in flight services such as meals and related amenities. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Air Lines, U.S. Airways, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines fit these designations (Mayer, 2002). The discount air carriers have changed the face of the airline industry with their no frills, low-cost airfares and have put pressure on the majors in terms of eroding their market share.

The preceding battle between discount carriers has further exacerbated the majors thin operating margins and has resulted in Delta, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways (Beck, 2005) filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy laws while they restructure and renegotiate union contracts and creditor agreements. United States Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain has stated that the United States government should be “aˆ¦reluctant to do anything that might keep inefficient businesses afloat” (Shane, 2003). This is the climate in which the subject airline, American Airlines operates.

Chapter 1 – American Airlines
PEST Analysis

The utilization of a PEST analysis with regard to American Airlines takes into account the political, economic, social and technological (NetMBA, 2004) environment the industry is embroiled in and how this has, is and will threaten to impact its operations and profitability. It must be remembered that the number of possibilities concerning macro-environmental aspects is almost limitless, thus concentration will be paid to those areas perceived to have the highest impact.

Political

The political stability of the United States was severely shaken by the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, and this directly resulted in a catastrophic drop in business as well as personal air travel (Ito et al, 2003). The preceding along with the following areas have impacted negatively on earnings as well as profitability among the majors:

Pricing regulations

Wage legislation and union requirements

Deregulation policies of 1978

Increased emphasis on national and airport security

Economic

The overall economic climate in the United States prior to the events of September 11, 2001 called for a mild recession and the airline industry was wrestling with discount carriers. The pre 9-11 airline climate forecast a slight contraction as a result of the reversionary climate which was dramatically impacted by the events of 9-11 and the resulting economic aftermath (Ito et al, 2003):

Dramatic slowdown of the economic growth rate

Increase in fuel costs

Balance of trade accounts

Inflationary and fluctuations of the dollars against the Euro, and Yen

Social

The emphasis on September 11th throughout these varied analysis is due to the sweeping impact that event had on global events in all theatres. The social implications thus shaped or amplified are as follows (Mayer, 2002):

Increased layoffs impacting all income groups

Sharp decrease in lower and middle class travel

Decline in airline related vacations destinations

Negative impact of air travel safety brought on by the events of 9-11

Decrease in general airline related travel plans by consumers

Low-fare travel stigma attitude shift to an acceptable alternative

Technological

The Internet’s impact on business and consumer purchasing habits heralded in a new age of information exchange which changed the manner in which airline tickets are sold.

Airline SABRE system

Decrease in airline travel agencies

Introduction of Internet airline ticket reservations and ticketing

Entry of Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheaptickets, Expedia and other best price shopping services

The availability of the Internet as a consumer and business fare and flight shopping tool

Porter’s Five Forces

Michael Porter’s ‘Five Forces” model (QuickMBA, 2005) provides a framework to view the airline industry from the perspective of five forces that influence it:

Rivalry

American ranks as the world’s largest airline in terms of passengers carried, however is rated number 11th in terms of overall airline quality (Holderbach, 2004).

Low-fare airlines garnered three of the top four spots in airline quality ratings, 1. Jet Blue, 2. Alaska, 3. Southwest, 4. America West. All but Alaska Airlines are low fare carriers. The remaining airlines are 5. US Airways, 6. Northwest, 7. Continental, 8. AirTran, 9. United, 10. ATA, 11. American, 12. Delta, 13. American Eagle and 14 Atlantic Southeast (Holderbach, 2004).

Some of the more important facets within this category of the Five Forces model are:

slow market growth since 9-11

high fixed operating costs

low relative levels of product differentiation among the majors

inroads of the low-fare carriers in the changing perception of air travel

shake out of the industry since 9-11 in terms of bankruptcies and failures

Threat of Substitutes

Within Porter’s model substitute services come into play when demand exceeds supply, or vice versa. In the airline industry the excess supply has been attacked by low-fare carriers who have continually gained market share.

Buyer Power

The airline industry suffers from oversupply as well as fixed costs which served as the foundation for low fare carriers who offer no frill flights in return for discounted fares. This approach effectively pulled the casual traveler and spread to frequent travelers and some classes of business travel for companies seeking to cut costs. Buyer demand is re-shaping the airline industry as a result of these options.

Supplier Power

In terms of this category, fuel is the single largest airline cost expenditure item which affects all firms equally. Low Fare carriers by eliminating frills lower their per flight operating costs which have and is attracting scores of travelers to their fold.

Barriers to Entry / Threat of Entry

Traditionally, the high cost of entry in the airline industry reduced the treat of entry by competitive companies. However the business model offered by low fare carriers exploited the lower end segment of the market via price and provided a foundation for the entry of Southwest, Jet Blue, America West and others (Ito et al, 2003).

SWOT Analysis

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats internal to a company represent the strategic environment known as a SWOT analysis (QuickMBA, 2004).

Strengths

Some of the advantages that American Airlines has in comparison to its competitors are (American Airlines, 2005):

Recognizable brand name

Largest global airline in terms of passenger traffic

National and International routes serving all corners of the globe

Perception as a major carrier with the commensurate levels of service

Weaknesses

internal flight amenities draining profits

inability to compete with low fare carriers on price

lack of competitive pricing to attract casual traveler base

vulnerability to pricing

Opportunities (American Airlines, 2005).

code sharing agreements with domestic and international airlines

SABRE ticketing system

Presence at most airports

American Eagle regional routes

Lucrative route structure

Threats

thin operating margins favoring low fare carriers

public acceptance of low fare carrier concept

customer quality perception of low fare carriers that exceeds the majors

prolonged slow economy favors low fare carrier pricing structure

segmentation of the industry into business and discount carrier classifications

high fuel prices

government intervention

Chapter 2 – Conclusion

The intense competition in the airline industry along with thin operating margins and fuel costs along with other expenditures existed before the dramatic events of September 11th. The strengths of American Airlines in being the world’s largest airline provides it with a huge customer base that is familiar with the airline. This represents the core of all marketing, customer retention as well as the foundation to attract new customer trial. Customer retention and utilization represent the primary advantage that American Airlines enjoys and needs to utilize to protect its position as well as build upon. The American Eagle division provides the company with an additional customer convenience marketing tool via intra city (regional) destination traffic. In order to accomplish the preceding objective the company must increase its quality of service from its current 11th position to increase customer satisfaction. The 50/50 mix of business and leisure travelers that comprise its customer base has remained relatively constant and business class travelers contribute heavily to profits as a result of the higher fares paid for first class and business class seating (American Airlines, 2005).

Utilization of target marketing with concentration on the frequent flier base represents American’s primary advantage to capitalize upon since is does not compete in a low fare platform. Tightened restrictions on fares has closed a lot of the gap, thus consumer perceptions in the higher income categories represent a huge customer base for American to capitalize on in stealing customers from the other majors as a primary strategy and eroding the fringe low fare customer base as a secondary target market. Technology in terms of software advances along with code sharing, peaking and American’s route and connection structures offer convenience. Increased international travel also helps the company as a result of its global routes and destinations. American’s size, reach, reputation, fleet and presence at over 154 airports reinforces the preceding (American Airlines, 2005). The company’s corporate vision states its objectives are to:

set industry standard for safety and security,

provide superior customer service,

produce returns for stakeholders and shareholders by increasing business and thus revenue opportunities for vendors and allied firms

further solidify the brand name and image as a premier carrier

increase creative ticketing, promotions, vacation packages and associated areas to distance the company from low fare carriers and thus minimize their effects,

capitalize upon inherent advantages

As the world’s largest carrier American Airline’s business and leisure base provides the customer foundation to enable it to compete successfully against other majors as well as differentiate itself from low fare carriers. This ability to be the choice in the full flight service category along with the number of airports, seamless domestic and international route structure that enable it to offer direct service to the most destinations via its own branded airline represents a key convenience and thus marketing factor to garner success in this highly competitive environment.

INTRODUCTION:

American Airlines was the U.S.’s largest carrier in 1992. It had a fleet of 622 jet aircraft, flying 2,450 flights daily to 182 locations. It also had innovative technology and programs. They were the first to introduce a computerized airline reservation system called Sabre, ‘Super Saver’ fares and frequent- flier programs. Despite these innovations, American Airlines and the airline industry as a whole was still not operating as profitably or providing customer satisfaction the way it should in 1992. There were two main reasons. First, the airline industry was suffering from the economic downturns in 1990 and 1991. In 1991 alone, the industry’s cumulative losses were $1.87 billion, which exceeded the total amount of profits the industry had ever earned throughout its 60-year history. American Airlines itself reported losses of $77 million in 1990 and $165 million in 1991. In terms of customer’s flying, the dollar volume of pleasure travel grew only 8% in the 1989-91 period compared to 19% for 1987-89. The comparable figures for business travel were a 9% increase for 1989-91 in contrast to 28% growth experiences in 1987-89.

April 9th, 1992 American Airlines announced that their yields were too low and they were going to bring value back to air travel through a new pricing strategy termed, ‘Value Pricing’.

SWOT ANALYSIS:
Strengths

Market leader: American Airlines is the largest U.S. airline in 1992 with a 19.15 market share in 2001.

Strong Innovation

Technology: American Airlines created the first and largest Computer Reservation Service, SABRE, which was a valuable resource for yield management and extra profits. It was such an effective technological innovation that in 1992, 92% of domestic reservations were made through Computer Reservation Systems in the United States.

Marketing Promotions: American Airlines were the first to create a frequent flier program aimed to increase brand loyalty with business customers in 1981.

Distribution: The use of hubs meant replacing non-stop flights with a set of connecting flights, and this benefited both carriers and consumers. Airlines could serve more locations with fewer planes. American Airlines benefited by having six hubs in 1992, two of which are ranked as the largest airports in America: Chicago and Dallas.

Market Growth: Between 1981 and 1991, passenger volume grew by almost 80%, the equivalent of a compound annual growth rate of 6%. There are still opportunity gaps to further increase demand.

Strong Brand Image: A survey that generated the ratings of domestic airlines on service quality, American Airlines had the joint highest satisfaction index of 76. This implies that American Airlines has a stronger image of high quality service, relative to competitors.

Problems:

There are high risks of delays and inbound flight delays of even a few will inevitably delay connecting flights and then affect large portions of the network thereafter.

Enormous transaction costs from the extreme complexity of capacity planning, crew roistering, flight scheduling, ground handling and fare structures.

High risk of missed connections and lost luggage with connecting flights

Opportunity

Increase the demand for air travel through reaching more customers and increasing the frequency of travel per customer: There is already a growing percentage of Americans is using air travel. In 1991, 76% of American Adults reported that they had flown at some time in their lives and 32% had flown in the past year. The increase in American air travel can be seen in the table below:

Percentage of American adults who have:
1981
1989
1990
1991

…ever flown?

65%

78%

74%

76%

…flown in the last 12 months

24%

34%

31%

32%

The table implies that American’s are increasingly adapting to air travel and this means that their is an opportunity for American Airline’s to continue their expansion.

Price discrimination models: Price discrimination models provide an opportunity for American Airlines to capture the two main customer segments, business and pleasure travelers in the most profitable way. Using price discrimination models provides an increasing opportunity.

Percent of American Adults traveling on:
1989
1990
1999
2001

Business

52

51

42

41

Pleasure

47

49

53

57

This provides an opportunity for American Airlines because the two segments have different demand fluctuations and buying characteristics and if American Airlines can capture both markets through different pricing fares then it will increase their yield per customer, smooth out overall demand fluctuations and achieve profit maximization. The differences can be distinguished by demand and buying values.

Buying differences: Business travelers are more loyal to one particular airline because they have the ability to build up frequent flier miles. They are less pricing sensitive due to being more time sensitive. On the other hand, leisure travelers are less loyal, more price sensitive and more flexible in terms of time, date etc.

Online Reservations: Like low cost airlines and adopt online reservations, which mean less need for travel agents, no paper tickets and convenient booking.

American Airlines currently only serves 80 destinations worldwide, compared to 182 locations in the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. Therefore, there is a strong opportunity to focus on increasing long haul, international flights as opposed to short haul flights.

Threats:

After the deregulation of the airline, industry competition intensified as national and regional airlines grew or merged and became fixated on profit maximization. American Airlines major domestic competitors are United Airlines and Delta Airlines as they both operate with similar scope and service to American. American Airlines main competition from regional airlines includes US Air, America West, Southwest, TWA, Northwest and Continental. US Air serves primarily eastern and southwestern markets. American West and Southwest are discount carriers serving the Southwest and California areas. TWA that offered primarily coast-to-coast service, Northwest that served the Northern tier of the U.S. and Continental that served the southern tier. Furthermore, mergers meant that the combined market share of the four largest airlines rose from 54.2% in 1982 to 64.8% in 1987.

Growth of low cost airlines: Low cost airlines are expanding rapidly. Southwest in particular is successfully promoting its bargain fares, low cost and no-frills approach to service and are the seventh largest U.S. carrier, though only operating in 15 states for local, and short haul markets. The low cost airlines are able to charge extremely low discount prices because:

Distribution costs are reduced using direct selling through the internet or call centers and having no tickets

Pricing segmentation only occurs on two variables: the date of booking and the effective demand of that specific flight so there are less complex fares and less restrictions imposed to increase customer satisfaction

The operating expenditure passenger and their operating margin are also significantly higher. American Airlines does not have the ability to compete directly through matching such low prices because they could never achieve such low costs, nor does the brand image of American Airlines compliment this strategy.

Airline Industry is vulnerable to price wars: Industries that have extra capacity, high fixed costs, and low differentiation and are price elastic are the most vulnerable to price wars.

High Fixed costs and extra capacity are profit-damaging combinations because it means that airlines must have high yields through yield management in order to maintain profitability, which is very complex.

Low Differentiation means customers see airline travel as a commodity- like business. In general, they simply want to get from one city to another in the shortest amount of time, at a convenient time that fits their schedule, and at a reasonable price.

High Price Elasticity: Due to the combination of the above, airline travel is typically price elastic. Therefore, airline companies are becoming more inclined to lower prices in order to stimulate demand.

Sensitive to economic downturns due to high fixed costs structure, for example in 1991 the industry’s cumulative losses were $2.67 billion

The dominant distribution channel is the travel agent. Therefore, the cooperation of travel agents with the Airline is necessary. Airlines get the agents cooperation through giving them commissions from ticket sales.

Key Issues

Develop a pricing strategy that will increase the demand of air travel and the long term profitability of the airline industry.

Identify and evaluate alternatives by considering competitors reactions, customer impact on yield, costs and long term profitability.

1. Value Pricing

The main objective of this pricing strategy was to provide ‘simplicity, equity, and value’ for air travel, compared to the existing system with a multitude of ever changing fares and discounts.

Value Pricing:

Segmented Pricing: On any given flight, there would be only four different fares: First Class, Regular Coach, Discount Coach (booked seven days in advance) and Discount Coach (booked twenty-one days in advance). Each fare had different restrictions and offerings. E.g., Discount coach involved Saturday night stay over, advanced purchases (21 days), not refundable but they could be re-issued for another flight and priced 49% below the regular coach fares.

New fares will be 38% below the levels of comparable existing fares and will be the same for everyone, meaning no need for special deals.

Advertising: American Airlines would spend $20 million on media time and space over two weeks. They anticipated that revenue would increase additionally by $300-350 million annually and cost savings of $25 million per year.

Pros

· Business travelers will benefit from ‘value pricing’. The advantages for business travelers is that, they no longer need to worry about inflexible restrictions attached to reduced fares, forcing them to pay higher prices. Now they can get the advantage of being able to book at short notice but ensuring that they will still receive the same 38% off full Coach with no restrictions with any time fares. Furthermore, if they can book in advance they can pay even less.

Reduced Costs: American Airlines forecasts cost savings of $25 million per year through the reduction in the number of fares offered, as it will reduce its CRS from 500,000 to only 70,000. Secondly, as all flights will be priced based on the distance of the flight path, so the variable costs actually determine the prices, in theory providing higher revenue.

Cons

Price elasticity: Air travel has quite high price elasticity as a review found that the majority of estimates were between the range of -.8 and -.2, with the elasticity for business travel generally being less than unity, while that for pleasure travel typically exceeding unity. Therefore, leisure travel demand changes with changes in price more than business travel because of a price change.

American Airlines, the price sensitive customers will be highly dissatisfied by the new ‘value pricing’ and they will be encouraged to switch to low cost airlines.

American Airlines will no longer benefit from the business travelers that were typically price insensitive but time sensitive and so prepared to pay the higher costs. This will have incremental affects on yield and profitability as the high fixed costs of airlines previously depended upon business travelers to buy higher priced tickets.

Competitors Reactions: For air travel demand, which in turn creates the lack of customer brand loyalty to airlines, a 38% reduction in American Airline prices in theory would cause customers to switch to American Airlines. However, American Airlines has failed to consider competitors reactions in their ‘value pricing’.

Lower their prices to match American Airline prices to guarantee the consumer the lowest fare without committing to a lower price but ultimately keeping their customers and sending the message to American Airlines that they should increase their prices.

In turn, this will reduce the profitability of the Airline industry, as airlines will need to keep lowering prices in order to remain competitive, leading to a decrease in profit margins and economic growth.

Competitor’s reactions will ultimately prevent American Airlines from reaching their forecasted revenue for 1992.

Promotion problems: The travel agents are less likely to promote this reduced fare platform and the CEO only plans a one-time $20 million advertising effort.

High Fixed Costs of Airlines: American Airlines has a high cost structure and as a result, they rely on high-yield and high traffic. Therefore, it is not feasible and it will be disastrous for them to lower costs in the long term without reducing their fixed costs.

They expect market share to increase by an additional one-half of 1% of the total U.S. market.

They believe that in the second quarter of 1992, revenues could decrease by $100 million, but that revenues will increase by $300-?350 million for the entire year.

They assume that the demand for air travel as a method of transportation will increase by 3-4% with the new pricing structure.

American Airline’s yield and revenue assumptions are flawed because the value pricing is assuming that all present factors in the industry will remain the same but in reality competitors will match prices and travel agents will not be so cooperative.

Break Even changes: American Airlines would need to increase their sales dramatically in order to break even, which will be very difficult.

Regular Coach
1990
1992

1992

Route: New York- Chicago
Old
New
New (including $20m advertising)

Selling Price

$854

$500

$500

Total Revenue (assume sell 1000)

$854000

$500000

500000%

Variable Cost as a percentage of the total costs

3.60%

3.60%

3.60%

Variable Costs per person

$40

$40

$40

Total Variable Costs

$40000

$40000

$40000

Unit Contribution= selling price- variable cost

$814

$460

$460

Fixed Costs as a percentage of the total costs

96.40%

96.40%

96.4% + ?20m

Fixed Costs ( 96.4/3.6=26.777?40000= 1071111.111)

1071111.111

1071111.111

21071111.11

Break Even= fixed cost/ unit contribution

1315.861316

$2328.502415

45806.76328

Break Even sales change

1012.641099

44490.90196

Break Even Point % sales change

176%

3481%

Pros

Product Differentiation will be valued: On long haul flights added ‘frills’ are valued because passengers are on the plane for longer so they will require more services in order to feel comfortable. There are a range of services and products that American Airlines has the opportunity to offer customers to differentiate their fare prices..

Reduce the risk of a price war.

Through concentrating on long haul flights and maintaining low but profitable prices, competitors will be less likely to reduce their costs because American Airlines is the market leader and every competitor wants to have profit maximization. Furthermore, it will increase the long-term profitability of the industry as demand and profitability will increase.

Increase customer brand loyalty: American Airlines are differentiating their products from competitors and if these differences are valued then customers will be encouraged to be loyal to American Airlines, as they will receive the extra benefits from the products on top of their frequent flier program.

Opportunity gap in the market: Expanding into new markets will increase their customer base and market share as long haul flights e.g. 15-18 hour will become more and more popular through increasing international business communications.

It is impossible for American Airlines to match the leading low cost airline fares while at the same time operating at a profit due to their higher cost per seat mile.

The current brand is image of a high quality service airline.

Simplifies pricing without the need to price too low and curbs demand, so customers will be willing to pay more and also they will better maximize flight capacity through curbing demand and so they will not suffer from opportunity costs found in ‘value pricing’.

Cons

Increasing the number of services will increase their variable costs per customer. Fixed costs will rise dramatically from initial expansion.

Risk of International Business Problems:

As American Airlines expand they must ensure that they maintain good communication or else their costs could increase

Foreign markets will bring more challenges when facing new competitors

Currency differences

American Airlines does not react to the growing number of low cost airlines by matching their low prices then they will expand further, increase their market share within America with price sensitive customers and decrease American Airlines competitive advantage. This could reduce the profitability of the U.S. air travel industry in the long term.

Require heavy investment, funding, planning and advertising in order to implement and communicate the difference of services between flight fares to customers and get customers to value these differences.

Recommendation:

Recommended that ‘Value Pricing’ be adjusted and combined with alternative three, to focus on long haul flights and segmented pricing through service differentiation as despite ‘Value Pricing’ being a very innovative pricing strategy it has many shortcomings. The ‘value pricing’ must be embedded in a broader and consistent marketing strategy.

The ‘value pricing’ aim to simplify fares through offering four fare structures should be implemented as this will reduce CRS costs and increase customer understanding of fare prices. However, the restrictions imposed should be reduced on the discount fares, otherwise customers will go to low cost airlines. Instead, it is recommended that fences be built between the different fares to prevent customers from switching from higher fares to discount fares through service differentiation, not just the transportation and a few marginal restrictions. Furthermore, American Airlines should focus on long haul flights as opposed to short-medium haul flights within America because it is within these flights that service differentiation is highly valued. In addition, if American Airlines can expand into more markets it will increase their market share and long-term profitability. This will also prevent the erosion of profitability in the airline industry because it will prevent a price war.

Haridwar

Haridwar, literally translated means Gateway to God, is a holy city in the Haridwar district of Uttar Pradesh. It is also regarded as one amongst the seven holiest cities by Hindus.

Haridwar is a place rich in culture and civilization which blend smoothly into each other giving this city a typical, rustic charm that is irrestible for many. It is amongst the first places where the river Ganga touches the plains after flowing down the mountains. Haridwar is also the entry point to the four main centers in Uttar Pradesh namely Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

Significance

Haridwar is a town steeped in rich history and traces its root back to the vedic ages. According to popular Hindu mythology, the city of Haridwar was created when a drop of nectar spilled over from the kundalini which was being carried by the celestial bird Garuda after the mythical Samudra Manthan.

Haridwar is home to numerous temples presided over by different deities. Another attraction that Haridwar offers is the Ganga Snan, a dip in the holy waters of river Ganga which, according to Hindu belief, washes away all sins and allows the chance to start life afresh, devoid of any sins and ill deeds.

Attractions

Hari – ki – Pauri: This is a ghat constructed on the banks of the Ganga by king Vikramaditya to commemorate his brother Brithari’s penance to invoke divine blessings. The most sacred and pious amongst all ghat that comprise Hari ki Pauri is Brahmakund. The evening aarti, an enchanting and spiritually rewarding experience, is offered to Goddess Ganga where, after the aarti, diyas are set afloat in the river. The sight of these diyas bobbing up and down in the water is a mesmerizing experience and is bound to leave you spellbound.

Chandi Devi Temple: Constructed in 1929 by Suchat Singh, the king of Kashmir, this temple is dedicated to Goddess Chandi.

Mansa Devi Temple: Situated atop the Bilwa Parvat and offering a panoramic view of the city below, Mansa Devi temple is the place to go if you need your desires (mansa) to be fulfilled. The cable car ride to reach this temple is very popular amongst tourists and pilgrims alike.

Other Attractions

Neel Dhara Pakshi Vihar: A bird watcher’s delight, the Neel Dhara bird sanctuary is situated approximately 3.5 km from the city.

Sati Kund: Another place of historical and cultural importance. This is the place where, if legend is to be believed, Sati immolated herself.

How to Reach

Like the other dhams in Uttarkhand, Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun is your best bet to reach Haridwar. The city is well connected with other cities by road and easily accessible. You could also board a train at Delhi and alight at Haridwar station.

Abstract

This project “A study on Bangkok tourism- The Future of Bangkok tourism” puts forward a detail study on tourism in Thailand especially Bangkok as a tourist destination. This study is made at the appropriate time because the tourism sector plays an important role in tourism industry and in the recession period right when people are thinking that tourism industry in down.

This paper aims to provide a light on how tourism has made the economy to boost over the past three years. Research was conducted to understand about the efforts taken by the government to boost tourism in Bangkok. Finally recommendations are also provided at the end of the research which would help in the further development of the tourism in Bangkok. The analysis and the discussions based on the questionnaire is also given in detail.

Introduction
About Bangkok

Bangkok is a famous tourist destination in south East Asia. It is one of the most cosmopolitan, contrasting and, above all, compelling of Asian cities. More than ten million reside here and it is a steamy and pulsating metropolis there is no dull moment in Bangkok city. Whether you’re a spectator, looking for an entertainment or physically active, you’ll be surprised with the vast choices the city has to offer.

Bangkok’s modern, multi-storey shopping malls are a shopaholic’s paradise… you will find the city’s finest fashion stores, global brands, book shops, specialty stores, accessories stands and all kinds of luxury designer lifestyle goods. There are two important malls in particular which attracts more people than others.

According to a leading tourism site, The Emporium “is like a glossy magazine come to life. Behold the seven layers of shopper’s paradise, where the first three floors are dedicated solely to fashion. Exclusive world-class brand names dominate the ground floor, hot international designer items, leather and jewellery the first floor, and glamorous garb for the young and trendy, the second. Fashionist as, this is your playground”.

And here is another mall under this review,

‘From a sporty yellow Ferrari to a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, Siam Paragon is a shopping mall without rival in Southeast Asia when it comes to luxury goods. This shopping and entertainment complex is an up market, five-storey colossus with 500,000 square metres of retail space. The gleaming, modern mall opened in December 2005 at a cost of 15 billion baht (US$ 375 million), and is home to more than 250 famed international and local luxury brands…’

Tourism Industry in Bangkok

Over all Bangkok is a mix of old and new, classic yet trendy and very traditional yet modern. Visitors from all over the world visit Bangkok to experience the beauty of the Buddha’s smile.

Thailand’s tourism industry makes up about 6.5 percent of the country’s GDP. When seeing the number of tourists, and the number of tourist destinations and hotels, one would actually expect a more substantial portain of GDP. But Thailand’s tourism industry, while very visible, brings in much less money than other service industries, and certainly less than its manufacturing industry.

Nevertheless, international visitors spent more than 547 billion baht (something like 16 billion U.S. Dollars) in 2008. The average length of stay per tourist in 2007 was 9 days.

Impact of the Regional

Interestingly, the tourism sector does not only depend on foreign visitors. The number of domestic tourists actually dwarfs the number of foreign tourists. But domestic tourists (mostly Thais) do spend much less per day and their trips are shorter, on average two days and a half. In 2007 there were reportedly more than 83 million in-country travel trips. This created 380 billion baht in revenue.

Average daily expenditure was around 1770 baht per person in 2007 (as compared to 4120 baht per person for international tourism).

In 2008, 52.37 % of international tourists were East Asian, with Malaysia and Japan providing the most visitors. Close to two million Malaysians visited Thailand. I assume they take short trips over the Thai-Malaysian border, and I think the number of Malaysian visitors, excessively inflates the total number of international visitors.

Europeans provided close to 4 million visitors in 2008, about 27.22 % of the total. The number of visitors from the Americas, South Asia and Africa, is much smaller. However, close to 700,000 Australians visited Thailand, which is actually an enormous number, when taking the total population of Australia into account.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand over the first eight months of this year (2009) dropped 14.1 per cent from the same period last year to only 8.9 million, according to deputy spokesman of the Democrat Party, Atthawit Suwanphakdee,

Mr Athhawat attributed the declining to impacts of the Songkran riots by the anti-government red-shirts in April and the pandemic of the A (H1N1) flu virus.

However, he was confident that the situation of the tourism sector will improve in the fourth quarter of the year as the number of foreign arrivals is increasing.

The graph below shows the number of tourist arrivals in the first quarter and second quarter of 2009 were 3,64 million and 2,96 million respectively. These figures were lower than during the first 2 quarters of 2007 or 2008. In the third quarter of 2009 we see that the number of visitors is similar to the number of visitors in both 2007 and 2009, suggesting that the worst in over. Preliminary data for October 2009 show an increase in visitors as compared to October 2008.

Based on these reports the aim of this project is to find the shopping experience of people visiting two malls namely, the Emporium shopping Mall and Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. We planned according and executed this survey successfully and hence we submit our report, analysis and discussions based on the survey results.

Source: ThaiWebsites.com

Literature review

Trying to get information from books I went to the library and local book stores to get books on Thailand and to know about Bangkok, its history, culture, religion and traditions etc. one book which I found was ‘Eyewitness Travel Guide to Thailand’. This travel guide was written by Philip Cornwel and the book is published by the Dorling Kindersley Publishing. It had 504 pages and was priced at $17.50. it offers easy access to Thai history, politics, music, festivals, sports and culture. It also has lists of hotels and restaurants, shopping places, golf, diving, white water rafting and several pictures and maps related to the information provided. It was a very practical guide overall.

The next book I took for reference is ‘Lonely Planet Thailand’, written by Joe Cummings, Sandra Bao, China Williams and Steven Martin. I got it from Amazon books and it was priced $18.19. it was more like a survival guide with in depth information on Thai spa, resorts, culture and some important phrases and words to remember etc. it has nearly 148 maps which were very easy to follow and I found this particular book very helpful.

Lonely planet is a series of books focused on specify locations in Thailand such as, lonely planet Thailand’s Islands and Beaches, Lonely Planet Chiang Mai Northern Thailand, Lonely Planet Bangkok etc. As I was to go to Bangkok I ordered the “Lonely Planet Bangkok”, from Amazon for $14.00 it was authored and published by Michelin Publications. This book had a 4 star review in Amazon and true to this fact this book was a tourist marvel.

It is recommended to everyone traveling to Bangkok as it is a treasure house of information’s on all aspects of the city and overall about Thailand. The food, night markets, day bazaars etc which no travel guide will take you in real can be seen reviewed here in this book. A total and complete guide t the shopping festivals and other celebrations in Bangkok and the right time to visit, places to see and other attractions in around the city is all focused and explained very well. Many more online resources are also helpful but nothing can be more comfortable than having a travel guide in hand with maps to read.

It is not always possible to carry your laptops and work on them for details. I carried all the books with me during the trip and found them to be very useful. I learned some common phrases and I used them. Local people were very delighted to see a foreign student speaking their language. Thus these books made my trip more memorable and lively. My experiences were enhanced through these books.

Methodology

When we decided to conduct a survey the first thing we did was plan. We first prepared the questionnaire as per our requirement and choose two famous shopping malls as our target for this survey. Once the questions were ready we decided how many people we should target. We set the number as 60. We took print outs of the 60 copies of the questionnaire and set out on our educational tour to Bangkok.

We successfully finished the survey in the two malls, Emporium shopping Mall and Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. It was a great experience interacting with tourist from different nations. They were very co-operative and were happy to help us by answering the questionnaire.

Based on the questionnaire we prepared an analysis and discussion below. We found out why people visit Bangkok and why they loved to shop in the malls. We also found some online data about the tourist flow in Bangkok over the period of years. The local residents were not that co operative as foreigners. They were very serious and some refused to take the survey.

The staff of the mall and many shop owners was very friendly and they asked us about why we were conducting survey and what we were doing. It was great experience to interact with local businessman. We even asked them about how foreigners come to the mall and what exactly attracts them in their stores. They agreed that economic slowdown has affected tourism in Bangkok as fewer tourists turned up this year.

This indeed had effect on their own business they said very sadly. Overall it was a great exposure to us as we knew how to interact and communicate with people. We were able to balance between the good and bad aspects that we encountered in the malls. We learned to address all types of people and we learned how to communicate politely.

Analysis and discussion
Analysis of the Questionnaire

Emporium Shopping Mall

In the above graph you see the first question from the questionnaire asking “Are you resident of Bangkok? Almost 80% of people who took the survey were residents. And among the 20% who were non residents answered the second question which was “is this your first visit to Bangkok?” almost 90% tourist were first time visitors.

The third question was how they knew about the mall. In this question we did find one major factor that travel sites helped lesser in finding the best shopping malls in the city. People found out more from friends, online forums and social media networks. Next coming to the main topic about what they liked about the Emporium mall many answered that they like the service and the ambience more. The cost they felt was bit costly yet they found it worth the money they spend. The food wasn’t very impressive in the food court in the mall. Overall service was the leading force for the malls success.

The overall rating was GREAT as against good (30%), bad and not bad (1%) the same feedback was also noted about the shopping experience.

Many liked the interiors and the ambience. The huge area and space attracted others and they were not very attracted by the food and other things. Almost 95% wanted to come back again for the same experince.

Almost 95% felt they can relate this mall to that they show in other countries. This is alarming as this means this mall is not as unique as it looks like. Similarities do exist between others and this mall. 90% of the people felt that they got what they wanted or found things which were very impressive.

Another astonishing fact was that people felt that it was a mix of west and east. Not many felt it was old fashioned, eastern or western in particular. Some people felt irritated by the huge crowd but many others loved and had no irritations.

The mode of transport to and from the mall was by Taxi mostly and the next important mode of transport was the public transport like bus, metros etc. many people like the tuktuk ride across the city. Many people who stayed nearby walked to the mall. Most of them felt that reaching the mall was very easy.

Many visitors felt that this mall was a one stop place for all their needs. But many felt they had other options. They visited the place for specify items alone. People in the age group of 20-30 visited the malls very often and the next was people from age group 40-59. Youngsters below 20 were the next in lead and not many silvers above 60 were seen around.

Almost without any gender bias men and women were seen coming to the mall. There was no big difference. Married people seem to come her more than singles. It is more sophisticated and hence singles don’t prefer coming here. It is also very crowed and not a preferred hangout for singles.

Among the visitors almost 90% were Asian and closely following were Americans. Other nationalities counted less. Many were into private sector jobs or owned their own business establishments. Students also visited these malls more than the government employees. The occupation mostly of the visitors was public sector.

Siam Paragon Shopping Mall

In the above graph you see the first question from the questionnaire asking “Are you resident of Bangkok? 10% of people who took the survey were residents. And almost 90% who were not residents answered the second question which was “is this your first visit to Bangkok?” almost 90% tourist were first time visitors.

The third question was how they knew about the mall. In this question we did find one major factor that online information and travel sites helped a lot in finding the best shopping malls in the city. People found out from friends, online forums and social media networks. Next coming to the main topic about what they liked about the Emporium mall many answered that they like the service and the ambience more. The cost they felt was bit costly yet they found it worth the money they spend. The food wasn’t very impressive in the food court in the mall. Overall ambience was the leading force for the malls success.

The overall rating was Good as against great(60%), and not bad (1%) the feedback was just the opposite about the shopping experience. People found it Great to shop here and many felt it was not bad.

Many liked the ambience,interiors and the huge area. The food attracted others. Almost 90% wanted to come back again for the same experince

Almost 95% felt they can relate this mall to that they show in other countries. This is alarming as this means this mall is not as unique as it looks like. Similarities do exist between others and this mall. 90% of the people felt that they got what they wanted or found things which were very impressive.

Another astonishing fact was that people felt that it was a mix of west and east. Not many felt it was old fashioned, eastern or western in particular. Some people felt irritated by the huge crowd but many others loved and had no irritations.

The mode of transport to and from the mall was by Taxi mostly and the next important mode of transport was the public transport like bus, metros etc. many people like the tuktuk ride across the city. Many people who stayed nearby walked to the mall. Most of them felt that reaching the mall was very easy.

Many visitors felt that this mall was a one stop place for all their needs. But many felt they had other options. They visited the place for specify items alone. People in the age group of 20-30 visited the malls very often and the next was people from age group 40-59. Youngsters below 20 were the next in lead and not many silvers above 60 were seen around.

Almost without any gender bias men and women were seen coming to the mall. But men were seen slightly more than women. There was no big difference though. Married people seem to come less than singles. It is a heaven for singles to hang out.

Asians visited this mall most followed by other nationals like Americans, Africans, Latino and others. As for the occupation of the visitors who visited the mall, it was found that students came here the most. They liked the place very well and it was their favorite hangout with friends. People working in government and public sector jobs came lesser and business people visited lesser.

Discussions:

When comparing the shopping experience in both the malls we found a vast difference in the data we collected through the questionnaire. The results were totally in contrast in some areas and in some fields both were almost the same. We found that more residents visited the Emporium Mall while more foreigners visited the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. Most of the visitors were first timers.

Both places people liked the ambience and the services. The cost in the malls was high in both malls and the type of people visiting the malls also varied a lot. Many young people and single people preferred visiting the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. It was a best hangout for youngsters and students in particular. Senior people preferred the Emporium mall. We were able to find this out through questions like their age and occupation.

Next comes the source of information. Many people found information about the city online through forums, social media networking sites and travel sites. This sows how online media is helping tourism a lot. And as for the ethnicity we find Asians visiting the place more than the westerners. Which means this area is still to be tapped by the tourism industry. By promoting Bangkok in the western world there are greater chances of attracting people from European and American countries. Overall the goal to find out the shopping experience in the two malls was achieved and very important details were analyzed.

Limitation

We faced certain limitations and problems when we started our survey at the two malls. First was the reluctance from the individuals to spend few minutes to fill up the questionnaire. Many westerns were too obliged to help and they even spend some time to ask us about our education. They were very friendly and concerned. But local residents were irritated when we stopped them and most of them refused to stop.

After the survey we found out that unique websites must be created to promote Bangkok tourism. A best tourism promotion strategy must be developed by the tourism depart to invite foreigners to Bangkok. We also saw placed which were not well maintained. Government should take steps to maintain its rich tradition and culture. Moreover the fees for entering historic places and Buddha temples were very high. This also must be reduced.

Conclusion

My trip to Bangkok was a great success as I was not only enjoying with my friends I was also learning new things that was enriching my knowledge. The city of Bangkok is thronged by tourists from all nations who come here for many varied reasons. Our plan was to find out what made Bangkok a preferred tourist destination in the eyes of the tourists. We planned to conduct a survey in two famous shopping malls in Bangkok. We prepared the questionnaire accordingly and finished the survey successfully. After analyzing the report we have discussed certain issues and limitations. Overall this entire trip was very useful for my studies. It gave me self confidence and the courage to go to new countries and converse and relate to people who come from many nations.

Bangkok is a great city rich in culture, religion, tradition etc and is also a very modern city with a touch of western culture too. So foreigners prefer this city and they come here to see the eastern tradition, to know more about Buddhism, to visit all historic places in and around Bangkok, and also to experience the exotic Thai food which is world famous. The aim of this project was to find the shopping experience of people visiting the two malls, namely the Emporium shopping Mall and Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. Our goal was achieved successfully and we are now confident enough to conduct more studies and surveys in future.

References

(Lonely Planet, 1992) Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Thai for Lovers (Nit and Jack Adjee, 1997)

Top 10 Bangkok (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides) by DK Publishing

Thailand (Country Guide) by China Williams

Thailand’s Islands & Beaches (Regional Guide) by Celeste Brash

Top 10 Hong Kong (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE) by DK Publishing

Thailand (Country Guide) by China Williams, Austin Bush, Brandon Presser, and Tim Bewer (Paperback – Aug. 1, 2009)

Thailand: The Golden Kingdom by William Warren et al and Luca Invernizzi Tettoni (Hardcover – Sept. 15, 1999)

Thailand’s Islands & Beaches (Regional Guide) by Andrew Burke and Austin Bush (Paperback – Aug. 1, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok

http://www.bangkok.com/tourism-first-time-visitors/index.html

http://www.tripbase.com/Bangkok-Tourism-Thailand.html

http://www.city-travel-guide.co.uk/travel-guide/bangkok-travel-guide.html

http://www.1stopbangkok.com/