Author: Andre Coleman

Himachal Pradesh is one of Indias best tourist attraction regions, with its green valleys, snow covered Himalayan ranges and unique beauty, it is indeed a comfortable place for tourists. The region has a rich cultural heritage that attracts thousands of tourists each year.

The outer fringe of Himachal is formed by the Shiwalik hills, which are characterized by shallow valleys and dense scrub forests. The mid ranges have the majestic Himalayan cedar and the spruces followed by alpine meadows that intersperse themselves with the snow clad peaks of the Greater Himalaya.(tourism policy 2005)

The variances in climate and forest cover in Himachal make it attractive in different seasons of the year. The region also has a varied topography with beautiful flora and fauna. According to tourism policy 2005, Himachal has 32 sanctuaries, that is; Simbalwara (Sirmour), Churdhar, Chail (Solan), Maharana Pratap Sagar (Kangra) Manali (Kullu), Kanwar (Kullu), Kalatop Khajjiar (Chamba) and Daranghati (Shimla)., 2 national parks, Pin Valley National Park, Spiti and the Great Himalayan National Park, Kullu; and 3 game reserves, Kufri (Shimla), Manali (Kullu) and Gopalpur (Kangra).

There has been an increasing number of tourist visits to Himachal since the 90s to date. Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts have emerged as the most common destinations. Table 1. Below shows the increasing rate of tourist visits in the region. Visitors come from different nations all over the world, some of which are; United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany, Canada, and Malaysia. There are also domestic visitors that have been recorded and the ratios predict that there are more domestic visitors as compared to foreign visitors.

The trend of tourists’ visits follows the climate seasons of Himachal, the seasons in Himachal are not different from those of the whole India, India has quarterly climatic seasons, occurring every three months in a year. The first quarter is snowing and stormy, the second quarter is dusty because of the sun, it is a dry season, the third is the rainy season and the fourth is just fine weather. The tourist season normally begins in the snowfall and the numbers escalate in the summer.

More Data on Tourists Visits to Himachal

Number of domestic tourists between 2003 and 2004 was 5 million [HT May 2004]

Number of foreign tourists between 2003 and 2004 was 15,000

Total Number of tourists in 2007 was 720,000 [CNEI Jan 2007]

Increase of foreign tourist inflow from 2005 to 2006 was 20%

Target for foreign tourist inflow from 2006 to 2007 was 18%

Table3: Tourist Visitation to Himachal
YEAR(Monthly visitors)
DOMESTIC
FOREIGN

2001

521,866

8,171

2003

673,914

8,501

Source: Hindu times 16th May 2004

In 2003 the average population in Kulu Valley found in Himachal during summer was 50,000; the number of foreign visitor to the Kulu valley is 35,000 annually. The number of visitors to Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh during the peak season can go up to 10,000 daily.

Government’s Involvement in Tourism

In 2005 the government came up with a policy to improve tourism in Himachal and other areas and below are the objectives of the policy;

(1) To establish Himachal Pradesh as a leading tourist destination in the country and abroad;

(2) To make tourism a prime engine for economic development and prosperity of the State and as a major means for providing employment;

(3) To encourage a strong and sustainable private sector participation in creation of tourism infrastructure especially through public private partnerships;

(4) To promote sustainable tourism, which is not only environmentally compatible but also leads to economic betterment of the rural people;

(5) To attract quality tourists and to increase their stay in the State;

(6)To safeguard the State’s natural and manmade heritage;

(7) To encourage civil societies & non-governmental organizations for promotion & the conducting of tourism related activities;

(8) To position Himachal Pradesh as a one stop destination for adventure tourism;

The Tourism Department proposes to work actively with the Wild life Wing of the Forest Department to further develop and improve wild life parks/zoos, bird watching towers and other public utility services for the facility of the tourists. The government plans to set up a reasonable fee for the maintenance of the parks.

The state government together with the central government is also planning to make some efforts in developing the unexplored destinations to improve the sanitation, the accommodation, the parking, the roads, toilets, beautification and land scaping of areas that are of interest to the tourists. According to the government efforts will be made to keep these areas clean. And in the area of construction there is a plan to limit construction so as to control the population and hence reduce congestion in these new areas, the construction that is to be accepted is supposed to preserve the architecture and ecology of the state.

The government is concerned with preserving the cultural uniqueness of tourist areas so as to maintain the tourist visitations.

By focusing on quality tourists the State Government also aims at promoting sustainable tourism and encouraging the private sector to develop tourism related infrastructure in the State – without disturbing the existing ecology and environment.(India tourism Policy 2005)

To promote tourism in the countryside and to lesser-known areas, appropriate infrastructure will be developed within available resources. Himachal was earlier known only for the summer season. Efforts are being made to break the seasonality factor and tourism products have been diversified to attract the tourists in other seasons too.

Involvement of Other Local and National Authorities in Hospitality

According to the tourism policy, the private sector will continue to be encouraged to set up guest houses for which subsidy will be provided from the State budget. Tented accommodation will be encouraged with local participation so that maximum benefits accrue to the local economy.

The government has also set up tourism councils under the Tourism Act 2000 in the tourist attraction areas so that some fee is charged from the trekkers and tourists the proceeds of which will go to the locals for the maintenance and upkeep of the tourism related infrastructure and for regulating tourism on sustainable basis.

To Improve on Transport

The Manali Leh route which has already become a favorite for both domestic as well as international tourists will be further improved in coordination with the Government of J & K and efforts would be made to link it to the Buddhist Circuits of Shimla – Kinnaur- Spiti – Udaipur -Pangi and Palampur -Dharamshala – Dalhousie.

Economic Implication of Tourism in India and Himachal in Particular

Tourism is a key sector in India’s economy. It is presently India’s third largest foreign exchange earner after garments, and gems and jewellery. The best way in which the tourism industry is helping in income generation is through generating employment opportunities to the locals, hence improving their life styles. Many women and youths have gotten jobs in hotels, travel agencies, airline services, making art pieces and other cultural activities. Tourism also offers potential for utilizing natural resources like landscapes, rivers, beaches, mountains and others for the economic benefit of the population. The tourism industry employs more than 3% of the total Indian labor force while about 23 million persons derive their livelihood from tourism indirectly. So many new jobs are being created as the sector grows and because of this it is clear that tourism has become a very important sector in the Indian economy.

The economic contribution of tourism income to state revenue is around 5 billion Rs annually. (Hindu times 12th May 2004) which is 8%, the tourism Policy of 2005 proposes to increase it to 15% by the year 2020 and the contribution of tourism to Himachal Pradesh’s state domestic product is 2%.

The Hospitality State of Himachal;

By 2003 Himachal had 53 hotels, having 963 rooms and 2,052 beds; there were 60 restaurants and cafes, 25 luxury coaches, 1 Tata Sumo. These are all HPTDC (Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) tourist facilities. News has it that some of these facilities have been privatized and others are also up for the same. Himachal Pradesh has 1,512 hotels that have been registered by the tourism department and these have a bed capacity of 32,302. In Manali there are 14,000 registered hotel beds.

More Data on Hotels
Hotels in Shimla

Shimla being the capital city of Himachal Pradesh is always frequented by visitors either on official duty or for holidaying. Shimla boasts of a few heritage hotels in addition to luxury and comfort hotels.

Hotel Woodville Palace is a premier heritage hotel has 31 rooms, Hotel Springfields is spread over 4 acres of land but only has 11 rooms. Guests checking into this heritage hotel experience a wonderful blend of old world charm and modern facilities; it is a hotel for high class tourists.

Another hotel is the Cecil belonging to the Oberoi group, is a deluxe luxury hotel having 79 aesthetically designed elegant rooms.

The other hotels in Shimla include Hotel Span Resort, Hotel Snowcrest Manor, Hotel Ashok, Hotel Banon Reosrt, Ram Regency Honeymoon Inn, Hotel Devlok, and Manali Inn. The Regent Center Point and Apple Valley Resort.

Five Star Hotels in Shimla

There are three major five star hotels in Shimla. Those are Radisson Shimla, Hotel Windflower Hall and Shilon Resort. These 5 star hotels offer excellent accommodation facilities and are highly preferred by visitors.

Four Star Hotels in Shimla

There are three major four star hotels in Shimla. Those are Hotel Asia The Dawn, Hotel Quality Inn Himdev and Hotel Pineview. These hotels are well known for the facilities offered by them and are highly favored by visitors too.

Three Star Hotels in Shimla

The three star hotels in Shimla are well known for providing visitors with good facilities at reasonable prices. The three star hotels in Shimla are Hotel Ashiana Regency, East Bourne Resort, Baljees Regency, Hotel Combermere, Fair Mount Shimla and, Himani’s Premium Shimla.

Heritage Hotels in Shimla

The heritage hotels in Shimla are normally buildings with historical importance or are old buildings. The leading heritage hotels in Shimla are Chapslee Palace, Hotel Oberoi Shimla, Clarke’s Hotel, Woodville Palace Resorts and Hotel Springfields.

Luxury Hotels in Shimla

There is a wide range of luxury hotels in Shimla. Those are The Cecil (Oberoi Group),Shimla, Radisson Jass Hotel , Shimla, Wildflower (Oberoi Group), Mashobra, Hotel Willow Banks, ( The Mall ) Shimla, Woodville Palace, Shimla, Hotel Combermere, Shimla and The Destination, Kalka-Shimla Highway, near Kandaghat.

Deluxe Hotels in Shimla

There are a lot of deluxe hotels in Shimla. Those are Woodpark hotel, (near Kufri), Shimla, Hotel Silverine, Shimla, Ashiana Regency, Shimla, Brightland Hotel, Shimla, Hotel Baljees Regency, Shimla, Hotel Himdev, Shimla, Hotel Surya, Shimla, Hotel Leela Regency, Shimla and, Honeymoon Inn, Shimla.

Standard Hotels in Shimla

There are eight major standard hotels in Shimla. Those are Hotel Victory, Shimla, Hotel Shingar, Shimla, Hotel De Park, Shimla, Sukh Sagar Resort, Shimla, Hotel Himland West, Shimla, Hotel Blossom, Shimla, WILDSIDE- Eco Retreat & Campsite, Shimla and Cedar Heights Resort, Shimla.

Budget Hotels in Shimla

The budget hotels in Shimla are for those who want good facilities at lesser costs. There are five major budget hotels in Shimla. Those are Galleu Resort, Shimla, Hotel Mayur, Shimla, Park Woods Resort, Shimla, Hotel Dreamland, Shimla, and Hotel Taj Palace, Shimla. This is where most of the domestic visitors with a relatively low but not so low standard of life spend their nights when they visit Himachal.

Banjara Camps and Retreats in Shimla

There are 5 major banjara camps and retreats in the vicinity of Shimla. Those are Sangla Valley, Himachal, Mori Retreat, Shimla, Thanedar Retreat, Shimla, Sarahan Retreat and Shoja Retreat, Shimla.

Resorts in Shimla

There are a couple of resorts in Shimla that are well known for the superb facilities offered by them. The major resorts in Shimla are Snow King Retreat, Whistling Pine Resorts and The Chalets Naldehra.

Hotels in Kullu Manali

Kullu Manali is among the most visited hill stations not only in Himachal Pradesh but also in India. A few of the notable hotels in Kullu Manali include Hotel Span Resort on the River Beas banks, Hotel Snowcrest Manor, Hotel Banon Resort, Ram Regency Honeymoon Inn, Sagar Resorts, and Manali Inn.

The other noteworthy hotels in this north Indian hilly state are Hotel Grand View in Dalhousie, Hotel Hill Top in Chamba, Hotel Aupam Resort in Dharmsala, Hotel Taragarh Palace in Taragarh, and the Judge’s Court in Kangra.

About Transport in Himachal

Because of shortage of vehicles in Himachal, there are many other vehicles from out of Manali that are used for tourist activities, the number of vehicles entering Manali on a daily basis are over 1,000 during the peak season. The number of vehicles heading to Rohtang Pass during the peak season can go over 2,000 vehicles daily.

During the peak season, many vehicles come to these tourist areas causing a lot of traffic jam and therefore discomfort to the tourists, the traffic jam can go on for about two hours or so, which is time consuming on the side of the site seers. This is also attributed to the size and number of roads which seems less as compared to the number of visitors trafficking Himachal Pradesh for tourism. Also because of development purposes the towns are under construction, for example in Shimla, the roads have had several disturbances because of the electricity boards that have been digging from time to time and not only them but also the telecommunications people as well as the road constructors.

Traffic is not only experienced by the vehicle owners but also the increasing number of pedestrians is becoming a problem in this tourist area, the malls and shopping are no longer as attractive because of the masses that crowd the places, dropping all sorts of waste papers, waste bottles making the place so hard to maintain, the government has been trying to find ways of improving the situation but there is still a lot of work to be done in order to ensure that the environment is taken care of. Because of the different developments the forest areas of Shimla have not survived the saw and many trees have been lost in the process. The rise in population has led to increased air pollution in the area; the mountainous areas are no longer as clean and attractive as they used to be. The pollution levels goes to the peak during the winter season because of the heating machines which use coal and others wood, releasing a lot of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, and it reduces in the rainy season. The pollution is also increasing because of the vehicles that use fuel for their running, the exhaust into the atmosphere is increasing day by day and it is worse during the peak tourist seasons, burning garbage is another factor leading to increased pollution.

Below is a SWOT analysis that has been carried out on Himachal Tourism

SWOT refers to Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

According to the tourism policy of 2005 the STRENGTHS are:

Himachal is one of the rare places in the world offering five distinct seasons, thus having potential to attract tourist inflow round the year;

It is both politically and socially stable.

India is Recognized as a peaceful and hospitable State;

The climate is healthy.

It is a pollution free environment;

Offers a rare conglomerate of eco-tourism, pilgrimage, adventure, culture, heritage, leisure, wilderness etc.;

Fairly good infrastructure;

High literacy;

Rich history and heritage that has something to offer to all.

Its Buddhist monasteries, which are of thousand years of old, ancient temples, churches and cemeteries;

Special package of incentives for setting up of tourism units;

Strong political will to promote tourism;

WEAKNESSES:

Negligible air and rail link in the State;

Inadequate flow of foreign tourists;

Non-disbursal of tourists round the year, putting severe strains on civic infrastructure during the peak season;

Lack of trained tourist guides at important tourist places and historical tourist sites;

Saturation at the established tourists destinations;

No new major tourists destination has come up recently;

Lack of adequate parking places at important tourist places;

Poor marketing of the State abroad and inadequate marketing within the country;

Very little budget;

Problem of land acquisition;

Problem of conversion of forest land.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Strong potential for activity based tourism such as white water rafting, Para-gliding, trekking, mountaineering, water sports, mountain biking, Car Rallies etc.;

A strong base for heritage tourism to attract persons from all walks of society and religious beliefs;

To develop an ideal destination for nature lovers by promoting eco-tourism;

Create synergy between heritage and pilgrimage tourism;

Development of wetlands of the State to attract nature lovers especially bird watchers;

Promote the State as an open university and learning centre in mythology, anthropology and ornithology etc.;

Position it as an ideal destination for the film industry;

Himachal has something to offer to persons of all ages, groups, beliefs and interests. There is unlimited scope for development of varied tourist packages;

Himachal can become one of the leading adventure destinations in the world;

Promote wilderness tourism for lovers and seekers of nature, peace and quiet.

Create new destinations in yet unexplored but beautiful areas. This would also ease the burden on established tourist destinations.

THREATS:

Tremendous strain leading to collapse, at times, of civic amenities at leading tourist destinations during the season;

Haphazard growth & construction threatening the environment, especially at the leading tourist destinations;

An alarming growth of concrete structures creating a disharmony with the local environment;

Unscrupulous commercialization of tourism could erode the social and cultural values;

Aggressive competition amongst the leading tourists States and a strong promotion of tourism by other States;

Lack of coordinated strategy by the different Government Departments;

A large increase in volume and limited increase in value;

Poor garbage/ waste disposal posing threat to the environment.

Discussion and Analysis of Data
Quantitative Analysis

According to the data above, the number of tourists coming to India and to Himachal Pradesh in particular increases every year, on average the number increases by 10,000 tourists annually, this has an implication that the income generation of the nation through ecotourism in Himachal Pradesh is also increasing annually. This large increase would therefore call for an increase in the number of hotels and transport facilities in the tourist areas. The 53 hotels and 60 restaurants in 2003 cannot be counted sufficient to hold the increasing number of tourists, the number of hotels and restaurants are also supposed to be increasing at the same rate as the number of tourists.

Looking at the government plans in the data above, there is hope that more hotels, restaurants and transport facilities will be put in place but there is also a challenge of space and environmental conservation which have to be considered while thinking of increasing the number of hotels and other facilities.

In reality it is hardly impossible to consider increasing facilities depending on the number of tourists because according to the data above tourists will continue increasing and therefore if buildings are to increase depending on tourist numbers then there will come a time when the government will have to encroach on the natural resources space to meet accommodation needs, if this ever happens that means the whole sense of tourist attraction won’t have meaning because there will be very little left in terms of scenery to attract tourists.

The SWOT analysis above shows that the government is so aware of the potential that is within the tourist attraction areas and therefore knowing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats it is easy to know where to invest much. But the challenge comes in on the national budget, despite the fact that the above data tells us that tourism industry contributes 8% to the state revenue, the government analysis shows that the industry has a limited budget, and that is why development is becoming so hard. This shows some contradiction, the contribution of the tourism industry to the national revenue is enough to develop the tourism industry and therefore there should not be a shortage in terms of budget since the industry can run on its own.

According to the data, there are more domestic tourists visiting Himachal as compared to foreign tourists, any nation would prefer to have more foreign than domestic tourists, for the case of Himachal the reasons have been explained in the data that there is a shortage in the airline services and of course accommodation as well, government has realized this need and has come up with ways of increasing availability of air transport for the tourists which is good, all this has been stated in the policy above.

Qualitative Analysis

To start with the point of increasing the available airlines and air crafts in order to allow more tourists to visit Himachal, this is a bright idea on the part of the government, and the data depicts a gap by not clearly explaining how the government plans to do all this without degrading the environment of the area and therefore without disturbing the eco system, there is an obvious challenge here which the government and local authorities need to address and integrate in their planning.

According to the above data, the government is fully involved in developing ecotourism and data shows that the government is ready to work hand in hand with the local and national authorities in improving the hospitality sector, something which is really encouraging.

The SWOT analysis shows that one of the strengths of Himachal is that the environment is pollution free, as the number of tourists increase in Himachal this strength is turning into a weakness and a threat at the same time, pollution is increasing at a high rate as some part of the secondary data is showing us that the more the people, the more garbage, the more fuel use and therefore combustion activities are increasing which cause greenhouse gas emission in the environment, there is need for the government to think highly on this.

Some of the threats spelled out by the SWOT analysis can be controlled by the authorities for example the alarming growth of concrete structures leading to destruction of the environment, the authorities can think of an alternative to concrete structures and as for the threat of haphazard growth and construction also threatening the environment, there is need to restructure the tourist areas and come up with infrastructure standards to be followed by the local and national authorities who are dealing with hospitality.

According to the data on hotels in Himachal, the luxury hotels are very few in number, with the government’s aim of increasing quality tourists, tourists who know and appreciate the environment, tourists who come with the aim of not only enjoying nature but also getting educated through nature, there calls for increase of the number of luxurious hotels in the area because such would prefer to spend their time in a more comfortable place. In this case the local authorities have to work hand in hand with the government because such developments need a lot of land and funds.

Architecture now days have become very utility oriented due to constraints of the current times. Practicing and producing ‘functional architecture’ is not at all wrong but the word ‘function’ itself is very involuntary. Just like machines which are proficient to do and achieve tasks for which they are programmed for but those performed tasks are impassive. One cannot develop any sense of belonging to a space or architecture unless there is something more than function involved into it which provokes the human senses and is capable of fluctuating human emotions and feelings. This thesis is conscious attempts to create functional architecture while keeping in mind the human emotions and sensory intensification. The basic objective is to create spaces which are not categorized by its volume and magnitude rather they should be acknowledged by their spatial experience. These types of experiences are critical particularly for such kind of building program involving leisure of tourism and extremity of action sports. Incorporating human sensorial characteristic will not only augment the user experience but it will also increase the architectural character of spaces.

INTRODUCTION

http://2bawards.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/extreme-sports.jpg

Man is a social animal. This is a cliche but explains most of the social requirements and demands of human race. Socializing is not just about human interaction with each other but it is also about how a person interacts with and relates to his or her environment. For most of the people an environments starts to become suffocating if they happen to experience the same thing over and over again. Man needs change. It may not be a unvarying or permanent change but the human psychology demands change for some time at least.

This type of design project and building typology is most suitable to explore the impacts of architecture on human emotions and moods and then apply it on spaces and over all architecture. As a tourist resort is a kind of a place where people actually come to relax, rehabilitate their energy, enjoy and experience something ‘different’. On the other hand extreme games also involve a lot of human emotions like anger, anxiety, fear etc. So for application of the respective research, in my opinion, this building typology is one of the most suitable.

Man has managed to come up with many ways to cater to his needs of changing and environment. He called it ‘recreation’ and ‘leisure’.

There are two types of leisure:

Passive leisure (minimal physical involvement)
Active leisure ( optimal physical involvement)

Both type of leisure facilities will be a part of program.

The facility will incorporate the following:

Water sports

Extreme games

Beach resort

Others

1.1-Architecture and psychology:

In day to day life we experience different type of situation causing different types of mood swings in us. These experiences come as a surprise to us most of the time. When we get out of our routine and go to an exhilarating activity like some excursion or some stimulating sports we tend to pre determine our moods. We ‘try’ to be happy and feel happy along with many other positive emotions like thrill, excitement, positive anxiety etc. This can be translated into architecture by incorporating an over lapping field of neurology and studying impact of architecture on human beings.

In my understanding architecture and building can be perceived in two ways:

Interactive architecture. Interactive architecture is very much program dependant. The practical aspects of the buildings are fulfilled and user’s movement and functions are catered then it’s an interactive building. At the most five human senses are considered while designing.

Active architecture Every form, space, color, space quality has certain impact on human brain when it interacts with 5 senses.-this is where interactive architecture ends. So we can say every space , form, color has an action on a user . A person reacts to it and hence “EXPERIENCES THE TRUE SPIRIT OF THE SPACE”.

1.2-Objectives and aims:

To enhance architectural experience through sensory fluctuations (Anxiety, Calmness etc) in user using spaces, space formation, colors, textures, heights and other architectural elements.

To translate the dynamics of extreme sports in the building form.

To provide a platform to people to enjoy and experience such activities for the first time in Pakistan.

1.3-Need Of the project:

Help in catering and improving the tourism infrastructure of the country.

Studies show that if such spaces and activities are not provided to the youngsters they can indulge themselves in negative activities.(explained further in the next heading)

Required in the urban fabric infrastructure of the second only city of Pakistan which is being master planned and this type of activity place has already been marked by the development authorities.

Why do people play extreme sports?

To get the answer to this question two qualified psychiatrists from CMH were interviewed namely D.Sana Naimat and Dr.Imtiaz Mubasshir.According to them people who are bored of life usually need a kick though everybody has a different genetic structure. They tend to have a reckless behavior if they require a change and they don’t get it. Endorphins (hormones which actually makes a person feel good about his own self) are released at a certain heart rate after a person gets a ‘kick’ according to his or her own genetic structure but usually the kick is in the form of an extreme behavior ,be it ecstasy, suicidal behavior or extreme sports.

People tend to deal stress in different patterns usually by changing their environment. Sometimes these patterns are adaptive and sometimes these are maladaptive.

So it can be concluded that extreme activities’ on the whole are a part of human nature and many human beings have the urge to do it in order to act ‘normal’ and stay ‘calm’ in daily life.

Clients brief:

For this project the client is The Ministry of Sports and Culture , Government of Pakistan along with a multinational company. At present ‘Red bull’ in collaboration with Yamaha and Caterpillar showed interest in the project and presented a feasibility report to ‘TIE’.

Project Supervision:

This project is to be executed in the 3rd phase development of Gwadar which will take place around year 2030. Currently the first phase is almost complete in which the road and other infrastructure of the city is laid out. In 2nd phase utility oriented facilities are to be planned and constructed and in 3rd phase recreation and large scale institutional projects are to be developed and constructed. The client is Ministry of Sports and Culture and it wishes to create a platform for action sports in Pakistan where main and major extreme sports can be played and experienced on one platform under one roof. The project would be under the supervision of GDA(Gwadar development authority).

The client wants to execute this project in Gwadar because multinational companies find the projects adequate for the city because of its thriving and hopeful future prospects.

USER:

The target user for this project is the youth and tourist of the country who enjoys scenic views, nature, and adventure, and likes to deal with challenging situations.

Social Objectives:

The intent of this project is not only to promote this new form of sports but also to promote and facilitate the tourism of the country. Gwadar has deep sea port and when it will be properly and fully functional it will eventually attract tourist from all over the world and this type of project fits and compliments the urban fabric of the city. It will also become a social spot for the city and the locality.

The site falls in the tourism zone (according to the master plan of Gwadar) of the city and this area will become a focal point of tourism and recreational attraction not only for the citizens of Gwadar but also for people coming from other areas and countries.

The main aim is to summon the youth under a roof to experience thrilling sporting activities in safe and monitored environment under proper supervision. By providing safe environment accidents can be avoided which happen because of the reckless behavior of youngsters seeking thrill on roads. Different level zones are provided for amateurs and professioals so that every adult and child can enjoy the facility according to his or her potential. The thrill seekers will not have travel to different places to enjoy the thrills of rock climbing on mountains or to the sea shores to enjoy water sports, people no more need to go to urban centers to enjoy the street sports like skate boarding and bmx stunts. This facility has it all under one emblem.

Other than generating tourism and sports activities it will also help in strengthening local economy. These sporting events bring all sorts of people together and hence it helps developing some cultural trends and it also helps in promoting a country’s image in this age where world is now a global village.

Site Location:

Site is location on the Shore of Gwadar Sea in the tourism development zone. Site is towards the west of Koh-e-Batil and on the south of Pishukan road which leads towards the pishukan town towards padi zar.

Feasibility:

In the current scenario the trend in the world and specifically in Pakistan is to develop lavish real estates. A project like this are part of overall development and compliments the current trends of real estate development. In the pursuit of profitable development, leisure and entertainment has to be catered for. There is a high need of development of places for healthy communal activities for the public, specifically the youth of Pakistan to bring out their full potential.

Scope of work:

Developing a master plan.

Experimenting with different type of spaces in order to facilitate different emotional and sensory experiences of a person.

Other than the feasibility of the project according to the social context, this project is also a live project and is a part of the master plan of Gwadar developed under the supervision of GDA (Gwadar development authority) .

Gawadr , A broader perspective

Gawadar is said to be the next mega polis of Asia .Its warm waters and other potentials are reason for its hardcore progress. Gwadar is spread over an area of aprox.1.52 million hectares or 15,216 square kilometers.

Gwadar is surrounded on the north by Kech and Awaran districts, on the east by Awaran and Lasbela districts, on the south by the Arabian Sea, and on the west by Iran. Geographical position of Gwadar has major standing in the global trade routes. Sea routes leading to Gulf estates and eastern hemisphere of the world passes along Gwadar.

Gwadar has all the distinct elements required for this project. It has a very massive water front which is a fatal requirement of this project. It also has scenic views all around it which can be very nicely incorporated into a tourist resort.

8.3-Land Use, Master Plan Phase-I GDA

Description Land Allocation

Land for Residential Projects 90,500 Acres(Extendable)

Land for Commercial Projects 2100 Acres (Extendable)

Land for Recreational Projects 13,500 Acres(Extendable)

Land for Industrial, desalination plants, Airport, Railway Linkages, and Urban facilities.45,000Acres(Extendable)

*Source: GDA

As it can be seen in the master plan that the area selected for the project is near to the area allocated for tourism development. It is an advantage which will be fruitful for the facility.

In their report about Gadar SMEDA (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority) states:

“District Gwadar as a coastal area has rich marine life and present viable opportunity for ecotourism. The district has untouched clear beaches which can be an attractive place for tourism. Kund Malir, Daraan, Asthola Island, beaches of Jewani, Guns and Ormara are some of the most beautiful tourist beaches.

Asthola Island is located at a distance of 150 kilometer from Gwadar tehsil. It is an

internationally recognized wetland and has numerous species of aquatic creatures.

Hingol National Park is the largest natural forest of Asia, coastal highway run for 55 kilometers in the scenic mountains of this natural forest. Hingol National Park is also one beautiful tourist sight Wild life creatures like tigers, Ibex, goats and monkeys are found in this sight.

At present, 6 hotels and resorts are operating in Gwadar, a major break through in hotel and tourism industry is the construction of a 5 start Zaver Pearl Continental Hotel at Koh-e- Batill, opposite to Singhar Housing Scheme in Gwadar.

Potential exists for development of tourist resort and motels, seafood restaurants, country parks and beach sports recreation facilities. Ecotourism sector can be developed to its potential in Gwadar district as the number of tourist from Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore has remarkably increased due to the construction of coastal highway.

There exist a very good opportunity for setting up country parks and other recreational facilities at Gwadar, there is great gap of amusement facilities in Gwadar, and the population requires recreational facilities, easy to mobilize large number of visitors to the facility and spending capability of people of the area.”

8.4-Road Network:

The creation of the Gwadar deep-sea port is now one part of a larger growth plan which includes construction of a system of road and rail network linking Gwadar with the rest of Pakistan, like the 650 km Coastal Highway to Karachi and the Gwadar-Turbat road (188 km). This system of roads links with China via the Indus Highway.

8.5-Development Projects Oman

Oman has proposed $100 million support for the growth of community and infrastructure amenities in Balochistan. From that $100 million, Oman has given $7 million for the runway at Gwadar Airport, building of jetties, constructionof Gwadar Hospital, stipulation of 100 engines to fishermen and for building a power house. Oman is also sponsoring infrastructure of Gwadar-Hoshab Road.

8.6-Air Port:

Gwadar has a huge airport for commercial airlines. There is a need for the extension of the airport and improvement of its landing strip to accommodate the landing of larger commercial aircrafts.

8.8-Strategic Importance of Gwadar:

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According to Tourism Philippines, “Boracay is famous for its long white sandy beaches, and is also a popular outlet for water sports activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing etc. Other than the sandy beaches, Boracay is well known for the nightlife and party scene. There are numerous bars and clubs along the whole stretch of beach, mostly located at station 2 of Boracay. Spas are also readily at most places; you can even find freelance masseurs “patrolling” the beaches!” (Tourism Philippines, 2008, Retrieved From: http://tourism-philippines.com/boracay-travel-guide/)

According to corporate.mozcom.com, “The best part of the island is its 4 km. White Beach, also called long beach by the locals. It is situated at the west coast between the villages of Angol and Balabag, and some experienced travellers claim it to be the finest beach of all Asia. The water is shallow here and its sand brighter and finer than most beaches in the archipelago. There are about 350 beach resorts with 2000 rooms to suit virtually everyone’s taste. There is accommodation of all types and price categories. Restaurants range form the native fastfood stalls to establishments that would satisfy even a gourmet. You can find beer joints as well as discos with amazing light and sound equipment.” (corporate.mozcom.com, n.d, Retrieved From: http://corporate.mozcom.com/dot/r6/borfacts.html)

Nestor P. Burgos Jr. of the Philippine Daily Inquirer states that, “DISCERNING travelers and tourists prefer destinations off the beaten track. But many of them still end up in the world-famous beach of Boracay Island in Aklan.” This is because of its white beach and fine white sand and crystal clear waters, according to Edwin Trompeta, regional director for Western Visayas of the Department of Tourism. “The beach and waters combined with the island’s nightlife make Boracay irresistible,” he says.

Despite controversies on land ownership and unregulated development, Boracay has drawn more tourists every year because of its famous white beach, consistently included in the lists of the best beaches in the world.

Furthermore, the global economic slump has failed to dampen tourist arrivals with new foreign markets and local tourists making up for the slack in visitors from countries hit hard by the world recession.

As a matter of fact, tourist arrivals on the island have been on the upswing for a decade. They are up from 554,181 tourists in 2006, 596,707 in 2007, 634,263 in 2008 and 649,559 last year. For the first five months of this year, tourist arrivals have grown by 12 percent, according to data from the tourism office of Malay town in Aklan.

Boracay’s peak season usually begins in October and lasts until May the following year

From January to May 2010, tourist arrivals reached 378,694, higher than the 337,664 tourists who visited the island in the same period last year and the 320,994 tourists who came in 2008.

The highest number was recorded in May with tourist arrivals reaching 101,349, higher than the 92,813 tourists in the same month in 2009 and 83,731 in 2008.

More than 600,000 local and foreign tourists visited the white sand beaches and various parts of Boracay during the period, more than 40 percent higher than the 2009 figure of around 470,000.

DOT 6 said they have recorded more than 230,000 foreign tourists in the island as of early October.

This is good news amid the various travel advisories issued by several countries against visiting in the Philippines, the DOT 6 said.

The United States, Australia and United Kingdom had earlier issued advisories as precautions in traveling to the country in the wake of reported terror threats.

The tourism of Boracay is continuing to grow in fact, The News Today states that, “Boracay’s revenue, mainly due to tourism, has reached P 12.17 billion as of the third quarter, higher compared to last year’s figures.

Income from tourism in Boracay from January to May reached P6,961,683.28.” (Burgos, 2010, Retrieved From: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20100814-286677/Boracay-tourism-still-up-amid-woes)

Tourist Attractions and Activities in Boracay

According to travelnet.com, Boracay is famous for the following:

Beaches / White Beach

Boracay boasts of a sugary white sand beach and azure blue waters. The best part of the island is the four-kilometer White Beach known to be the “finest beach in the world.” The surrounding water is shallow and the sand is finer and brighter than most beaches in the archipelago. White Beach is so, soooo fine, it feels like treading on miles of baby powder!

Aquasports

The island paradise of Boracay is a perfect place for watersports. Here, you can partake in a smorgasbord of exhilirating aqua action – from swimming and snorkeling to scuba diving, windsurfing, sailboating, kayaking, boardsailing, and boating.

Nature Tripping / Eco-Adventure

World-renowned Boracay is an adventure island ideal for island hopping, hiking, trekking, caving, mountain climbing, biking, and horseback riding. Trekking and mountain biking can bring even the intrepid to the island’s quaint interior villages and to the edges’ scenic rocky cliffs, discovering along the way many hidden coves with isolated beaches far from the tourist crowd.

Boardsailing at Bulabog Beach

On the eastern side of Boracay Island is Bulabog Beach. It is a boardsailor’s mecca that draws enthusiasts from all over the world, especially during the peak season from November to March. In January, it is the site of an International Funboard Cup.

Paraw Regatta

Sailboating and kayaking are popular sporting activities, with Boracay playing host to the annual Paraw Regatta, an international sailboat race that makes use of the native outrigger.

Diving

Dive sites surround the island and are learning venues to both novice and professional divers, guided by competent instructors of the many dive shops that operate in the area. For trueblue scuba diving enthusiasts, Yapak in Boracay is a great deep dive.

Recreational Sports

Laid-back Boracay is the perfect venue for golf, tennis, bowling, even beach volleyball. Top-of-class amenities for these activities are available in the island. For golf bugs, Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf and Countryclub has an 18-hole championship course.

Partyhopping

The code in Boracay is strictly informal. Walking barefoot than shod is the rule rather than the exception. Swinging discos have the beach for a floor, giving dance a new twist. From dusk to dawn, the island turns into one big party place where everyone is welcome to join in.

Mambo Number 5

For the adventure-driven, “Mambo Number 5” is a little bit of boating and wind surfing, a little bit of scuba diving, a little bit of trekking, a little bit of mountain biking, and a little bit of golf.

Shopping

Bargain shopping is a joy of a diversion while in Boracay. Souvenir pieces provide endless possibilities, from trinkets and native accessories made of shells and semi-precious stones to exotic or contemporary beach wear and fashion artworks.

Dining

The taste of the 6th Region, to which Boracay belongs, is quite simple. Charbroiled chicken is common fare. Another favorite dish is raw fish marinated in spicy vinegar. Dining is no problem in Boracay, with most resorts having their own restaurants that serve both Filipino and international cuisines. Small snack bars line the island.

Relaxation

Diversions are not a problem in Boracay, with leisure activities calendared throughout the year and amenities offered by some 350 tourist establishments. The island is ideal for beachbumming, relaxing, and simply lazing around. At the end of the day, unwind with a relaxing massage. The island never runs out skilled masseurs offering massage services by the beach. For a more luxurious treat, visit the new Mandala Spa.

Boracay Boardsailing

The picture-perfect tropical island of Boracay offers flat-water speed sailing, wave jumping, and longboard cruising. White Beach, shielded from the amihan, or northeast monsoon, is for beginners. Bulabog Beach, on the other side of the island, has ideal conditions for speed, slalom, and high-wind shortboard sailing. It is also the site of the annual Boracay International Funboard Cup. Tabon Strait has superb high-performance sailing, but there is a real risk of being swept away, so this site is for skilled sailors only.

Tibiao Whitewater River

Rising near the peak of Mt. Madja-as, the Tibiao River descends almost 2000m on its short but tumultuous journey to the sea. The lower section of the river, known as the “Chicken Run”, is grade 3; the more difficult upper section reaches grade 4. The Tibiao has all the classic features of a tropical whitewater river, with rich vegetation hemming the banks, views of rice terraces, spectacular falls and clear water. The river is close to Boracay and easily accessible.

Natural Formations
Beaches / White Beach

Boracay boasts of a sugary white sand beach and azure blue waters. The best part of the island is the four-kilometer White Beach known to be the “finest beach in the world.” The surrounding water is shallow and the sand is finer and brighter than most beaches in the archipelago. White Beach is so, soooo fine, it feels like treading on miles of baby powder!

Festivals
Ati-Atihan (second weekend of January)

January is the time to hang loose in Kalibo, the “Land of the Atis” and the gateway to Boracay. For all of three days, it celebrates the Ati-Atihan Festival – where frenzied streetdancing is performed by costumed and black-sooted “tribes” as they wend through the main streets from dawn until the witching hours. Ati-Atihan commemorates the 13th-century land deal between ten migrating Bornean chieftains and the aboriginal Ati King Marikudo. It also honors the town patron, the infant Santo Nino. To the accompaniment of hundreds of lyres and drums, merrymakers throw all inhibitions to the wind as they join the tribes in a mad jig punctuated by rhythmic shouts of: “Hala bira! Puera pasma! Hala bira! Viva Santo Nino!” (Loosely translated: “Let go! Don’t get sick! Let go! Hail the Holy Child!”)

Paraw Regatta

Yearly, Boracay Island plays host to the Paraw Regatta, an international sailboat race that makes use of the native outrigger.

International Funboard Cup

A music and dance festivity depicting the history, folklore, and traditions of the Lobocanons. Bolibong Kingking is a term applied to the drums and gongs and their rhythm used to accompany the supplication dance ritual in front of the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the 2nd Patron of Loboc.

Pana-ad sa Loboc (Holy Thursday & Good Friday)

Bulabog Beach, situated on the eastern side of Boracay Island, is a boardsailor’s mecca that draws enthusiasts from all over the world. Every January, it is the site of an International Funboard Cup.

Marketing Boracay

A study was undertaken for the International Finance Corp. (IFC) by a team of Filipino and German consultantsA to improve and develop Boracay to make it a world-class tourist destination. According to this study, the plan is achievable and through this, the island of Boracay can compete with other world-renowned beaches like those in Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia.

“The plan is to redesign the marketing strategy to make the island more visible and accessible to tourists from around the world,” declared IFC Country Manager Vipul Bhagat. Boracay is presented as a haven of good investment opportunities, paying attention to strategic tourism marketing and promotion so as to invite and persuade more tourists into visiting the island.

The study emphasizes the major changes which are intended to be done and implemented to develop, sustain and make Boracay a major destination for big-ticket tourism. These changes include the “transfer of solid waste management facility from Boracay to Caticlan; the construction of low-cost mainland housing to ease migration and congestion in Boracay; improved transport facility between Boracay and Caticlan; development of Caticlan’s airport and marina; a Caticlan-based full service hospital to respond to emergencies, and; an agro-industrial center in Caticlan with ice and cold storage facilities and a public market.” Issues like migration, zoning, lack of health facilities and medical personnel, visual and noise pollution, solid waste and water management, energy supply and intra- and inter-island transport are also addressed. In addition, the building of educational facilities offering tourism-related services, environmental management and eco-tourism in Caticlan was also recommended to raise the awareness of the locals to continue preserving, sustaining and developing the island that is considered as one of the Philippines’ most treasured and precious natural resources. .A

To start with the marketing and strategic management development, the IFC conducted a web marketing seminar for local officials and businessmen to improve and hone their skills and utilize the use the Internet to market Boracay and improve and build-up its image. A separate forum for potential investors was also held in Manila.

Today tourism is one of the largest and most dynamic sectors, of the economy. It is growing at a fast pace, leading to infrastructure development, considerable, volume of foreign currency inflows, and good job opportunities. So it affects various sectors of the economy, contributing to the social and economic development of the country

as a whole. According to recent statistics, tourism provides about 10 per cent of the world’s income and employs almost one tenth of the world’s workforce. All considered, tourism’s actual and potential economic impact is astounding.

The hospitality industry came into existence in order to accommodate tourists.

When guests stay in a hotel and use the various services and facilities provided by the hotel, they seldom think about the complexity of hotel operations. The smallest of their demands, like for a cup of tea, requires coordination among a series of people. The hotel industry is a people-oriented industry. It is the effectiveness, efficiency, and courteous behaviour of the hotel employees that make a lasting impression on the guest’s total experience.

The front office department of a hotel is the hub of guest activities. This department looks after the guests’ needs-right from the booking of rooms to receiving and registering guests, to assigning rooms, to handling guests’ mails and messages, to presenting bills and settling guests’ accounts at the time of check-out. It is important for the front office staff to provide excellent and flawless services to guests, as it goes a long way in creating an indelible image of the hotel.

FRONT OFFICE GM AT WORK AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Most general managers depend on the performance of an outstanding front office to help them meet their guest service and profitability goals. The front office and its manager(s) are responsible for, a variety of important hotel functions.

Because the rooms sold by a hotel are extremely perishable (an unsold room on a certain day is an eternal and unchangeable circumstance), it is very important that hotels do the best job possible in matching guest room availability with guest room demand. Also, since it is not possible to change the number of rooms available to sell up or down on a daily basis due to the constructed fixed number of rooms, an important responsibility of the front office is the sale of rooms at a rate that management feels will maximize revenue per available room. A well-managed and talented front office will do this well.

The making of guest reservations is often the first thing that comes to mind when considering the major functions of a front office, and this is indeed an important and often complex aspect of the front office`s role. In addition to reservations, however, it falls upon the front office to actually assign arriving guests to specific guest rooms and respond to their special needs during their stay. These needs can include anything from transportation and information to medical assistance. In all of these situations and more, the unwavering role of the front office is to make the guest’s stay as comfortable and as welcoming as possible.

An essential aspect of the front office is its responsibility for collecting the revenue charged to guests for their rooms, restaurant meals, telephone calls, and a host of other hotel services. This means that the front office manager, working with the G.M. and controller, must devise and administer revenue management systems that ensure guests are properly charged for the services they use and that the hotel fully collects all monies it has earned.

When forecasting room demand, accommodating guests, and collecting monies for services rendered, the front office generates a large quantity of data, much of which are critical for management decision making. It is the role of the front office to collect, sort, and present these data in a way that assists in management decision making. As a G.M. my daily tasks can be made much easier by the support of an effective front office.

OVERVIEW OF THE FRONT OFFICE

The front office sometimes referred to as the front desk, the front office usually controls much more than the activities occurring at the front desk. In a small, limited service hotel, the front office may consist, physically of only that area reserved for guest registration. In a larger property the front office may include several staff members, each responsible for a portion of the office`s management or operation.

Regardless of its size, the front office must be organized to manage its key tasks and areas of responsibility.

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY GROWTH + economicaly

Tourism and hospitality, which are inextricably linked to each other, are among

the major revenue-earning enterprises in the world. They happen to be among

the top employers too. There has been an up market trend in tourism over the

last few decades as travel has become quite common. People travel for business, vacation, pleasure, adventure, or even medical treatment. The present-day tourist, who has higher levels of disposable income, international exposure, and refined tastes, wants specialized versions of products and services, such as quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays, or commercial hotels. This has led to a demand for better quality products and services, mainly regarding accommodation and travelling, thus feeding the growth of the hospitality industry as a whole.

The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such as jumbo jets, low-cost airlines, and more accessible airports have made tourism affordable and convenient. There have also been changes in lifestyle-for example, now retiree-age people sustain tourism round the year. The sales of tourism products on the Internet, besides the aggressive marketing of tour operators and travel agencies, have also contributed to the growth of tourism.

With several business-related activities associated with tourism, the industry

has a tremendous potential of generating employment as well as earning foreign exchange. There are many countries in the world, such as Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, and Caribbean, whose economies are primarily driven by tourism. Tourism can contribute to the economic growth of a country in the following ways:

Employment generation: It creates a large number of jobs among direct service

providers (such as, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tour operators, guide and tour escorts, etc.) and among indirect service providers (such as, suppliers to hotels and restaurants, supplementary accommodation, etc.).

Infrastructure development: Tourism spurs infrastructure development. In order

to become an important commercial or pleasure destination, any location

would require all the necessary infrastructure, like good connectivity via rail,

road, and air transport, adequate accommodation, restaurants, a well-developed telecommunication network, and medical facilities, among others.

Foreign exchange: The people who travel to other countries spend a large amount of money on accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, etc. Thus, an inbound tourist is an important source of foreign exchange for any country.

HOTELS DEFINITION AND CORE AREAS

The term hotel was used for the first time by the fifth Duke of Devonshire to name a lodging property in London sometime in AD 1760. The word hotel is derived from the French hA?tel, which refers to a French version of townhouse. Historically in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and several other countries, a townhouse was the residence of a peer or an aristocrat in the capital or major cities.

A hotel or an inn is defined by the British Law as a ‘place where a bonafide

traveller can receive food and shelter, provided he is in a position to pay for it

and is in a fit condition to be received’. Hence, a hotel must provide food (and

beverage) and lodging to a traveller on payment, but the hotel has the right to

refuse if the traveller is not presentable (either drunk, or disorderly, or unkempt)

or is not in a position to pay for the services. Alternatively, a hotel may be defined as ‘an establishment whose primary business is to provide lodging facilities to a genuine traveller along with food, beverage, and sometimes recreational facilities too on chargeable basis’. Though there are other establishments such as hospitals, college hostels, prisons, and sanatoriums, which offer accommodation, they do not qualify as hotels since they do not cater to the specific needs of a traveller.

A hotel is thus an establishment that provides paid accommodation, generally

for a short duration of stay. Hotels often provide a number of additional guest

services, such as restaurants, bar, swimming pool, healthcare, retail shops;

business facilities like conference halls, banquet halls, board rooms; and space for private parties like birthdays, marriages, kitty parties, etc. Most of the modem

hotels nowadays provide the basic facilities in a room-a bed, a cupboard, a small table, weather control (air conditioner or heater), and bathroom-along with other features like a telephone with STD/ISD facility, a television set with cable channel, and broadband/Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. There might also be a mini-bar containing snacks and drinks (the consumption of the same is added to the guest’s bill), and tea and coffee making unit having an electric kettle, cups, spoons, and sachets containing instant coffee, tea bags, sugar, and creamer.

Areas of a Hotel: An Overview

The organization of a hotel today is very complex and comprises various

departments. The number of departments varies from one establishment to another. All departments may have their own managers, reporting to the general manager and the assistant general manager.

The front office is where my principal research were held during this task:

This department is headed by the front office manager, the front office department is the operational department that is responsible for welcoming and registering guests, allocating rooms, and helping guests check out. Uniformed services like concierge and bell desk, and EPBAX operators are part of the front office department.

-Hotels are commercial establishment that provide accommodation, meals and other guest services. In general, to be called a hotel, an establishment must have a minimum of six guestsaa‚¬a„? rooms, at least three of which must have attached private bathroom facilities.

Although hotels are classified into `star` categories, there is no standard method of assigning these ratings, and compliance with customary requirements is voluntary. An American hotel with certain rating, for example, may look very different from a European or Asian hotel with the same rating, and would provide a different level of amenities, range of facilities, and quality of service. Although hotel chains assure uniform standards throughout, non-chain hotels (even within the same country) may not agree on the same standards.

In the travel and tourism industry, the hotel industry plays a very significant role, as all tourists need a place to stay at their destinations, and require many more services and facilities to suit their specific needs and tastes.

FUNCTIONS (FRONT OFFICE)

Front office is the first department of the hotel with which guests come in contact at the time of their arrival and also the last department they interact with when they depart from the hotel. This department performs various functions like reservation, reception, registration, room assignment, and settlement of bills of a resident guest.

This chapter is aimed at providing an understanding of the organization of the

front office department. Here, we will study the various sections of the front office

and their functions, the organization of the front office staff, and the qualities,

attributes, duties and responsibilities of front office personnel.

FUNCTION AREAS

The front office personnel are mostly in direct contact with guests throughout

their stay. Guests contact the front desk to book a room; check-in; inquire about

hotel services, facilities, and about the city or surrounding areas; and finally, to

settle bills and check out from the hotel. Apart from these services, the front desk also provides services like handling guest mails and messages, maintaining guest accounts, paging guests (locating guests within the hotel), arranging travel services, and various other services as per the guest’s requirement.

The front office is the contact point between the guest, management, and other

departments. It handles guests’ complaints, dispatches housekeeping and engineering requests, prints and files reports, receives and answers phone calls, and sends and receives faxes. Thus, the front office personnel perform the following functions:

Sell hotel rooms to guests, which may be standard or deluxe rooms, executive or presidential suites, etc.

Accept advance booking of hotel rooms through telephone, fax, e-mail,

websites, etc.

Receive and register guests when they arrive at the hotel and assign them rooms according to their preferences-smoking/non-smoking, pool view/ garden view/sea view, high floor/low floor, near the elevator/far from the elevator, etc.

Maintain accurate room status information.

Maintain guest accounts and monitor credit.

Handle guests’ demands and complaints.

Prepare account statements of guests.

Settle bills at the time of check-out.

Coordinate guest services like handling of guest mails and messages, locating guests within the hotel premises, connecting guest telephone calls, keeping guests’ valuables in safety deposit lockers, handling of room keys, making sundry payments on behalf of guests, and so on.

Provide information about the hotel’s facilities and services, the city, important events, festivals and shows, and places of tourist interest.

FRONT OFFICE LAYOUT

-For the efficient and smooth functioning of a department, it is important to divide it in sections and delegate tasks accordingly.

-The front office department is divided in sections:

*Reservation / Reception / Information desk / Cash and bills / travel desk / Communication / Uniformed services (which include bell desk and concierge)

-A well designed layout should involve proper space utilization, aimed at improving the efficiency and control of the staff. The front desk should be located at a prominent place in the lobby for example.

-the hotel lobby is an area furnished with seating arrangements just inside the hotel, where hotel guests and their visitors can meet and wait.

-located just beyond the entrance to the hotel, the lobby is the first and last point of guest contact with the hotel.

-A well-appointed lobby creates an impression about the overall standard of the hotel in the eyes of the guests.

RESERVATION

While planning business or pleasure trips, people like to ensure that they will have a safe and comfortable accommodation at their respective destinations. This can be achieved by booking a room of their choice in advance.

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The reservation section of the front office department of a hotel is responsible

for receiving and processing reservation queries. Depending upon the level of

automation, volume of business, and house customs, the procedure of processing reservation queries may differ from hotel to hotel in terms of reservations handling, maintenance of reservation records, confirmation, amendment, and cancellation of reservations. This section is headed by a reservation manager, who is assisted by a reservation supervisor and a team of reservation clerks or assistants.

Layout of the Reservation Section

The location of the reservation section depends upon the size of hotel and the volume of business of the hotel. In a very small hotel, the function of reservations can be performed by the front desk. In a large hotel, a separate section is needed, which should preferably be located behind the reception counter and should have a communication door between the reception and reservation sections.

Functions of the Reservation Section

The following functions are performed by the reservation section:

-Receiving reservation requests through various means like telephone, fax,

e-mail, websites, sales representatives, or central reservations department.

-Processing reservation requests received from all means on the hotel property

management system (PMS).

-Depending upon the availability of desired room type and projected sales during and around the requested stay dates, the reservation, waitlisted, or denied.

-Updating the room availability status after each reservation transaction, i.e., after each confirmation, amendment and cancellation.

-Maintaining and updating reservation records to reflect accurate information about room status.

-Preparing reservation reports for the management.

RECEPTION

This section of the front office receives and welcomes guests on their arrival in the hotel. It is headed by a supervisor and comprises a team of receptionists and front desk assistants. The personnel of this section procure all the necessary information about the guest to complete the registration process. After finishing the registration formalities, a room is assigned to the guest, and a bell boy carries the luggage and escorts the guest to her room. The entire process is carried out professionally in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Layout of the Reception Section

The reception section is located in close proximity to the entrance of the hotel. The layout of the section depends upon the size of the hotel and the volume of business generated by it. The front desk assistant carries out many tasks like receiving guests, registration, etc.; hence, the reception area should be designed in such a way to assist the staff in performing their tasks efficiently and effectively. The front desk may be circular, L-shaped, curved, or straight depending upon the requirement.

Functions of Reception

The following functions are performed by the reception section of hotel:

-Receiving and welcoming guests.

-Completing the registration formalities.

-Assigning the room.

-Sending arrival notification slips to the concerned departments.

INFORMATION DESK

As the name suggests, the information desk provides information to guests. It is

manned by an information assistant. In a small hotel, the same function may be

performed by the receptionist. The need of a separate information desk is felt in

large hotels where the traffic of guests is higher. The information desk may be

located next to the reception.

Functions of Information Desk

Some of the functions of the information desk are as under:

-Maintaining resident guest rack.

-Handling guest room keys.

-Coordinating guest mails, telegrams, faxes, couriers, parcels, etc.

-Providing information to guests regarding hotel facilities and services, city

information, etc.

-Handling guests messages.

-Paging guests.

CASH AND BILLS

The cash and bills section records all the monetary transactions of guests. It maintains guest folios and prepares the guest bills to be settled by the guest at the time of departure. This section is headed by a cashier.

Functions of the Cash and Bills Section

This section performs the following tasks:

-Opening and maintaining of guest folios.

-Posting room charges in guest folios.

-Recording all credit charges in guest folios.

-Maintaining a record of the cash received from guests.

-Preparing bills at the time of check-out.

-Receiving cash/travellers cheques/demand draft for account settlement.

-Handling credit! debit! charge cards for the settlement of a guest account.

-Organizing foreign currency exchange for the settlement of a guest account.

Travel Desk

The travel desk takes care of travel arrangements of guests, like air-ticketing,

railway reservations, sightseeing tours, airport or railway station pick up or drop,

etc. The hotel may operate the travel desk or it may be outsourced to an external travel agency.

Functions of Travel desk

The travel desk performs the following tasks:

-Arranging pick-up and drop services for guests at the time of their arrival

and departure.

-Providing vehicles on request to guests at pre-determined rates (charged

kilometre/hour wise and depend on the kind and size of vehicle used-

premium cars, semi-luxury cars, coaches, mini vans, etc.)

-Making travel arrangements like railway reservations/ cancellations/

amendments, or purchasing air-tickets for guests.

-Organizing half-day or full-day sightseeing tours in and around the city.

-Arranging for guides who can communicate in the guest’s language.

COMMUNICATION SECTION

The communication section maintains the communication network of the hotel,

which is generally quite complex. The hotel may have its own private branch

exchange (PBX), along with post and telegraph lines. Earlier all outgoing calls

were routed through the telephone operator. This was done to ensure proper

accounting of outgoing calls. Switchboard operators were required to place wake- up calls, monitor automated systems, and coordinate emergency communications.

Recent technological advancement in telecommunications has revolutionized the way hotels operations are run. Now guests are able to make outgoing calls without routing them through the operator. There is a computerized call accounting system that charges the outgoing calls to the guest’s account. Wake-up calls may also be registered on the system, which dials the guest’s extension at the pre-registered time and plays a pre-recorded message when answered. So hotels can now manage with lesser number of telephone operators per shift. The telephone operators, who answer incoming calls, protect the guests’ privacy and contribute to the hotel’s security programme by not revealing guest room numbers to any unauthorized person. Many hotels also provide guest paging services over the public address system. These systems generally operate through the communications section.

Functions of Communication Desk

The duties of the telephone operator include:

-Answering incoming calls.

-Directing calls to guest rooms through the switchboard/PABX system.

-Providing information on guest services.

-Processing guest wake-up calls.

-Answering inquiries about hotel facilities and events.

-Protecting guests’ privacy.

-Coordinating emergency communication.

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UNIFORMED SERVICES

The uniformed services in the hotel include the bell desk team and the concierge.

Bell Desk

The bell desk is located very close to the main entrance of the hotel. This section is headed by a bell captain, who leads a team of bell boys (also called bellhops) and page boys. They handle the guest luggage from the guest vehicle to the lobby and to guest rooms at the time of arrival and from their rooms to the guest vehicle at the time of departure. They escort guests to their rooms and familiarize them with hotel facilities, safety features, as well as in-room facilities.

The bell desk person is the last front desk employee who comes in contact with guests at the time of their departure.

Functions of bell desk

The bell desk is responsible for the following tasks:

-Handling guest luggage at the time of arrival and departure

-Escorting guests to their rooms on arrival.

-Familiarizing guests about safety features and in-room facilities.

-Providing information to guests about hotel facilities and services when asked.

-Locating a guest in a specified area of the hotel.

-Posting guest mails.

-Making sundry purchases like postage stamps, medicine etc. for the guest.

-Keeping guest luggage in the left luggage room if requested by the guest. aa‚¬”

-Checking if in-room amenities are in their original condition at the time of departure of guests.

CONCIERGE

A concierge is a hotel employee who provides information and personalized services to guests like dinner reservations, tour and travel arrangements,

and obtaining tickets for special events in the city, etc. A concierge is often expected to achieve the impossible, dealing with any request a guest may have, relying on an extensive list of personal contacts with various local merchants and service providers. The concept of concierges came from the days of European royalty; the concierge was the castle doorkeeper in those times. His duty was to ensure that all castle occupants were safe in their rooms at night. When the royal families travelled, they often took their concierges with them for security and for making food and lodging arrangements. As the hotel industry grew, concierges became a part of the hotel staff to provide personalized services to hotel guests.

Functions of concierge

The concierge provides the following services to guests:

-Making reservations for dining in famous restaurants.

-Obtaining tickets for theatres, musicals, sporting events, etc.

-Arranging for transportation by limousine, car, coaches, buses, airplanes,

or trains.

-Providing information on cultural and social events like photo exhibitions, art

shows, and local places of tourist interest.

++++++++++++++++++++++
GUEST CYCLE

The guests of a hotel have four main stages interaction with the hotel aa‚¬” at pre-arrival / arrival / stay / departure. All guests go through the same procedure as they proceed from reservation to arrival and allotment of rooms, to their stay in the hotel, to the settlement of their bills and departure from the hotel, these various stages of activities constitute the guest cycle.

PRE-ARRIVAL

The interaction between a guest and a hotel before the guest arrives at the hotel forms the pre-arrival phase of the guest cycle. Reservation is the most important pre-arrival activity. During this phase, the guest first selects a hotel for stay.

The guest’s choice about a particular hotel is affected by factors. Like advertisements, recommendations from family and friends, previous experience with the hotel, reputation, location, contractual agreement with the hotel, etc. Once a hotel has been chosen, the guest or a person designated by him (who could be his secretary or spouse or a travel agent) contacts the selected hotel through telephone, e- mail, or fax for reserving a room for the period of his proposed stay.

The reservation request is received by the reservation staff, whose efficiency and

competence in handling the request creates a good first impression of the hotel in

the mind of the guest.

Before confirming a reservation, the hotel may ask for a credit card guarantee

or an advance deposit from the guest. In case of high occupancy periods, guests

are requested to pay retention charges. This is to ensure minimum loss to the hotel

in case of any last moment cancellations or no shows. Once the retention charges

have been paid, the room is reserved or ‘blocked’ for the guest for the required

stay dates. The hotel also makes note of any special arrangements to be made, like a wheelchair and a barrier free room; airport or railway station transfers; an extra bed or crib in the room; etc.

Thus the functions of the front office in the pre-arrival phase include:

Processing the reservation request of the guest.

Creation of guest folio (in case the hotel has received any advance payment).

Blocking the room for the guest.

Making special arrangements for the guest (if required).

The data collected during the process of reservation can be utilized in future front

office and sales activities. A well-managed reservation system can maximize the

room sales and revenue by constantly monitoring the room status and forecasting

the room revenue.

ARRIVAL

Guests have their first face-to-face interaction with the hotel staff on their arrival at

the hotel. This is a very critical stage as guests form an opinion about the standards

and services that the hotel can provide to them. During this phase, guests are greeted by the front desk staff and the registration process begins. The guests are asked to verify the details printed in the registration card – these details are generated from the information received in the pre-arrival stage.

The registration activity is an agreement between the hotel and the guest, whereby the hotel offers the accommodation product and services to the guest, and the guest agrees to pay for the services received. A hotel might pre-register guests (i.e., register guests before their arrival) like VIPs, groups, airline crews, and frequent guests.

Once the guests have been registered with the hotel, they are assigned a room at the negotiated room rate. The guest is then shown to their room and their luggage is brought to the room by the bell desk. If any mails or messages have arrived at the

hotel before the arrival of the guest, they are given to her.

Thus the functions of the front office on the arrival of a guest include:

-Reception and welcome of the guest

-Registration of the guest

-Room rate and room assignment to the guest.

-Handing over the room key to the guest.

-Luggage handling of the guest by bell desk.

-Delivering the mails and messages that the hotel has received on behalf of

the guest.

The front office staff maintains lists of expected arrivals and departures on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. They keep updating these lists, along with the arrival and departure details, and keep the other departments informed of any changes in the schedule of guests. This is very essential to provide a flawless service to guests and to avoid embarrassing situations like not arranging for the pick-up of a guest, or not having the room ready in time and making the guest wait for it.

STAY

During this stage the guest gets a first-hand experience of the facilities and services

offered by the hotel. These services and facilities are the most important part of a guest’s overall experience at a hotel. An excellent level of services would lead to the satisfaction of the guest, which would make him, come back to the hotel and give positive feedback to other potential customers.

The front office is the interface between the guest and the other departments of the hotel, so it must coordinate well

Tourism Theories and Practices

“What do tourists do and why?” Critically discuss

Tourism industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing industry and largest employers in the modern world. This sheer vastness of the industry is understood from the fact that the numbers of tourists worldwide are anticipated to be doubled to one billion plus by the end of 2010.(Kamra, p 184)

This essay will discuss in brief the different theories of tourism which define tourist behavior, their roles, activities and motivations which in turn influence the industry.

Thesis statement: Tourists and their thought process, their behavior and motivations are centrifugal to the concept of tourism. Many scholars have tried to define the typology of the tourists, their classifications in order to understand the concept of tourism.

The essay will outline some of the old theories and the modern day approach and why there is a need for more research based studies to exploit the potential of this industry.

Meaning of tourism-What is tourism

Michel Eyquem De Montaigne said, “A man should ever be ready booted to take his journey.”

Man because of his gregarious nature is bound to travel from one place to another to fulfill his various needs be it social, emotional or physical. Traveling is thus characteristic to human society on the whole.

Travel and tourism was traditionally considered as a luxury item. But with the turn of the century, definition of travel and tourism has evolved. Tourism no longer stands for simple traveling or temporary journeys and stays mainly for pleasure, leisure and or recreational purposes or a luxury element. Twentieth century ushered in the paradigm shift in the concept of tourism. In fact it will not be unjustified to say that there has been transition from the 19th and early 20th century concept of tourism as an exercise in leisure and pleasure domain to the concept of tourism as an exercise in business, economics. It is more of a consumer product; tourism industry is a vibrant market where tourism products can be sold now as any other consumer product, consumer here is the tourist. (Kamra, p 157)

According to statistics brought out by the statistics of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in 1994, tourism contributed 12 per cent of the world’s Gross National Product. (Kamra, 12)

Tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industry employing hundreds of millions of people worldwide, which explains the reason why the study of the tourism and tourism research has become so important in not only the academic field but also for the economy on the whole.

Modern day tourism is much more than simple traveling; it is pure economics, which is determined by theories of demand, and supply, which brings in the question of sustainability. Tourism is no more synonymous to traveling.

Today tourism is just like a normal consumer product, which is driven by market dynamics, demand supply, sold through retail outlets. It no longer remains a luxury of the upper class but has become a mass product for the growing consumer market, in this case the growing tourist community. (Swarbrooke and Horner – p 4)

In fact there has been a combination of factors which have resulted in the proliferation of tourism industry. The prime being increased leisure, higher incomes of burgeoning middle class. One of the main drivers to growth in the coming era would be the growing middle class.

The study of tourism theories and practices therefore would mainly revolve around the needs, motivations, role, experiences of the the tourists. What do tourists do and why?

The most general classification of tourists is on the basis of the needs of the tourist. This would mainly classify the entire tourist community into two groups-the traveler and the tourist.

While the former is mainly conceived as one who would basically travel to understand the place and thus would rather prefer longer trips and would plan it individually. The latter classified, as a tourist in layman’s version would be characterized as one with superficial interest. One who would indulge in shorter trips and group tours or charters and would mainly depend on tour agents. But this classification is very vague.

Motivations

Most of the tourists travel for change of environment because of which new concepts of tourism like eco-tourism, rural tourism have come into existence. Cultural attractions, education, gaining knowledge about new cultures might be other important motivations. For example attraction towards Buddhist culture has made Myanmar and some parts of North East India a major hub for Buddhist tourists from all around the world. People from all around the world travel to these places to get experience the Buddhist spirit. There can be other motivations also like quest for new experience, personal visits etc.

Some of the most prevalent theories of destination development and classification of tourists

Some scholars have tried to classify the tourist on the basis of their needs, which explains the reason for their travel. For example a tourist can be classified as explorer, elite, offbeat, unusual, mass or charter on the basis of his/her demand.

While an explorer tourist group will want discovery, adventure, exploration, a elite tourist might have a special personally customized tailored trip to any exotic places. Or for example an offbeat tourist might travel to get away from the crowds.

The classification according to demand describes the main purpose of travel. There can be a pure mass group also under the demand-based classification where the tourist might prefer normal tour packages and holiday trips to conventional places.

Thus classification on the basis of demand to a large extent determines the needs and the activities of the tourists.

There can also be classification on the basis of the meaning and requirement, where tourists might travel for the sake of simple recreation, diversion, experiential, experimental reasons. There can be also motivational based classification. Understanding the motive behind traveling might help to predict consumer psyche.

An American researcher named Plog (Mason 26) put forth his theory based on the psychology of tourists and these were published in 1973. Plog’s theory was based on a case study conducted on New York residents and their attitudes to travel.

Plog’s discussed the tourist behavior and motivations based on the psychology of the tourists. Thus there are two types of tourists, the allo-centric and psycho-centric types of tourist. He argued that there are particular psychological types who do not like unfamiliar environments or cultures, so when they select a holiday they will seek the familiar regions than unfamiliar remote regions (these he termed psycho-centric).

Plog further added that there are still some groups in society who will be prepared to risk a far more uncertain holiday destination. These tourists will search for strange or unfamiliar and these he termed allo-centric.

While the psycho-centric would not travel far from the local environment the allo-centric would travel long distances to unfamiliar locations. He concluded that the majority of the tourists were neither fully psycho- centric nor fully allo-centric.

Rather most of the tourists were located in the center point between the two extremes of psycho-centric and allo-centric.And that majority of the tourists would seek the familiar and prefer not to travel great distances to get there.

An important point that emerged from the destination development of Plog’s theory is that different tourists destinations are attractive to different types of tourists based on the kind of traveler they are, psycho or allo-centric and that majority of the tourists will prefer to travel for short distances than longer ones to go for holidays.

Thus it suggests that the tourist destinations in most of the developed countries which are in close proximity to major population areas, busy areas, markets, residential areas are likely to be developed and grow more quickly than those in the distant remote areas.

However, in actual practice, sometimes this theory may also prove wrong. On the contrary many of the remote areas are now getting faster developed than those near the major population areas.

While Plog’s theory was based more on the psychological part of tourists, Erik Cohen’s theory relate to the behavior of the tourists. Erik Cohen who developed a classification of tourists where there was a four chief classification.

First was the organized mass tourists who travel in groups, who prefer packaged holiday (travel, accommodation, food etc.) usually arranged by a travel agent.

The second type was the individual mass tourists who use the same facilities as the organized mass tourists, but the difference lies only in decision making. This group makes more individual based decisions about their activity and trip. There are also the explorers and the drifters.

While explorers would most often arrange their own trips, meet and interact with the locals drifters avoid all contact with other tourists and leave with the locals. This classification of tourists lives longer than the other groups.

If both the above mentioned tourist theories which basically delve into the characteristics of human behavioral aspects are combined then we would see that majority of Cohen’s mass tourist and independent mass tourists would converge with Plog’s psycho-centric tourists.

Later in the mid 1970s, Doxey proposed the Irritation Index or the Irridex. The Irridex was based on the relationship between the tourists and the locals.

The fundamental idea as it is evident from the name of the index itself is that over a time period as the number of tourist increase in a particular area, a greater irritation and hatred would build up amongst the locals towards the tourists.

So, over the time as the locals gets more irritant with the visitors and become hostile, the number of visitors might actually decline or might not continue to grow at the same rate as previously.

But the problem with most of these theories was that most of them were not based on proper field research but on discussions.

Butler’s Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) (Mason, 33) model on tourism which is still the most widely accepted and important theory deals with a particular destination, his theory explains how a destination emerge as a tourist destination after several stages.

Butler suggested a model where a tourism destination develops over time as a result of several factors. Destination is a very important element in tourism. A destination is defined most widely as a product is marketed to its consumers. And like all other products, tourist destinations also have a life cycle. Butler proposed a model for tourism area life cycle in which he showed how a destination begins as a relatively unknown place and visitors first come in small fractions because of lack of access, facilities and local knowledge (Miller and Galluci, 2004)

The key point in Butler’s model was that planning and proper remedial action by the tourists can help arrest the decline in resorts and tourism infrastructure.

One of the major challenges that the World Tourism Organization made in its Global Forecasts for the year 2000 and beyond is the issue of sustainability, which relates to the absorptive capacity of an economy with respect to tourism.

This does not refer to the physical capacity alone but also to the capacity of a particular area to provide tourism infrastructure, pool in investments, manpower, and natural resources.

While manpower would not be a constraint, other natural resources might be. The theory of sustainable tourism thus off late has emerged of greater relevance, which is necessary to promote environmental awareness and boost tourism industry on the whole.

Sustainable tourism in a nutshell can be explained as a means by which tourist growth is achieved as well as environment and earth’s scarce resources are preserved.

Apart from the environment issue another burning issue, which might emerge as an impediment is lack of trained skilled workforce to deliver value additions.

In conclusion it can be said that although several tourism theories have been put forth by several scholars to determine the roles and activities, the characteristics of tourists to boost the industry. There is a general lack of awareness about these theories amidst the policy makers. Tourism industry is still one of those industries, which is regulated by government administration. There are wide varieties of conceptual and theoretical approaches to tourism, which have to be tested in reality. This apart there is a further need for more field studies and employment of professionals in conducting the research, which will help achieve greater theoretical orientation and practical application.

The tourism industry has been growing at a phenomenal rate for the last fifty year especially, after the Second World War. The recession has had an effect on the industry, but the numbers of tourists worldwide are anticipated to be doubled to one billion plus by the end of 2010.

Keeping in tune with the changing times consumer demands will also change, more classifications based on growing needs of tourists might emerge.

What can be the cultural and social impact of tourism development

Researchers have identified a whole gamut of positive impacts of tourism development on societies. For example the direct outcomes of tourism development would be the modification of the internal structure of the community, increasing employment opportunities of the local residents, social change, economic affluence, improvement of the quality of life through infrastructure development. Similarly the interaction between the host and tourist increases tolerance and communication skills etc.

On the cultural side the arts, crafts and culture of the local area might be revived. Researchers have also identified several cons like deployment of natural resources, increased pressure on existing infrastructure, commodification of culture and its negative effects etc (Beeton 18)

Thus it can be seen in the essay how tourist behavioral needs, motivations, actions directly and indirectly affect tourism development in a place. Only right kind of practices would be able to give the necessary boost to this industry, which alone will contribute the largest chunk in global trade.

Understanding the needs and motivations of the tourists will help boost tourism industry manifolds. What is required is the right approach. Tourists’ behavior research in tourism has to be based on motivations, typologies, destination choices and the decision process. While this is good some scholars criticize it as stereotypical and generalized which might not be the same in reality. The gap between the theories and the reality can be bridged through research and constant study of tourist behavior.

References

K Kamra 1997, “Tourism: Theory, Planning and Practice”,

Second Edition-2008

Peter Mason, “Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management”

Online book version), Second edition- 2008,

Mason, P. & Cheyne, J. (2000).” Residents’ Attitudes to Proposed Tourism Development, Annals of Tourism Research.”

Peter Mason, “Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management” Second Edition

Abraham Pizam, Yoel Mansfeld, “Consumer behaviour in travel and tourism” Softcover edition published 2000

John Swarbrooke, Susan Horner, 2007, Consumer behaviour in tourism, Edition: 2, p 4, 428 pages

Sue Beeton 2006, “Community Development through Tourism.”, p 18.

I am trying to answer the following question of the extent to which tourism has had a positive effect on the development of Dominican Republic’s economy, environment, and cultural change. I decided to research tourism in the Dominican Republic because I traveled there last year in March with my graduating class. I stayed in Punta Cana at a beautiful all-inclusive resort. I had a wonderful time there and experienced the magnificent beaches as well as amazing hospitality. In this paper I will argue that tourism does not benefit the majority of people and in fact third world tourism can be measured up to colonialism. The tourism industry in the Dominican Republic has had a positive effect on economic development however in effect the environment and cultural changes are suffering.

I will argue this by first looking at tourism as a developmental strategy and the increase of foreign tourism, which presents clear economic benefits. Secondly, I will demonstrate the environmental issues and threats to the ecosystem that have started to arise because of the great number of tourists. Thirdly, I will look at the cultural changes that have evolved such as the increase of prostitution and sex tourism.

Background Information

The Dominican Republic (DR), due to its spectacular beaches and landscape has developed along different parts of its territory that are mainly devoted to tourism. The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for ensuring the endorsement of tourism in the Dominican Republic and the agreement with the provisions of the Organic Law of Tourism. [1]

According to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, there have been dramatic increases in foreign tourism. In 2010 alone there have been 4,135,480 tourists that arrived by air. 3,189,306 of which have been foreigners, most of which were from North America. Tourism revenue increased rapidly in the 1990’s, more than doubling from 1992 to 1997, when it reached $2.1 billion. The Dominican Republic was one of six Caribbean countries that in 1992 earned more from tourism as a share of their exports than from any other sector. [2] Tourism in the Dominican Republic, as in other developing countries has an interplay of inequality with visitors from rich countries dropping in on the poor. The Caribbean is more tourism centered than any other part of the world. In some smaller islands, tourism threatens to become a new ‘monocrop economy’ leaving countries dependent on tourists.

Definition of Terms

Tourism has been described as the ‘new colonialism’. As said by author Srisang,”Tourism, especially Third World tourism, as it is practiced today, does not benefit the majority of people. Instead it exploits them, pollutes the environment, destroys the ecosystem, bastardizes the culture, and robs people of their traditional values…In other words, tourism epitomizes the present unjust world economic order where the few who control wealth and power dictate the terms. As such, tourism is little different from colonialism” [3] The DR is seen as a prototype for ‘enclave tourism’, which means that they maximize economic benefits and limit social and environment impacts by concentrating investments and visitors to a small geographical area. [4] These all-inclusive resorts provide everything so there is no need to leave the resort complex.

Connections to the Course

This topic connects to the course in many ways. Firstly, the Dominican Republic has been getting help from the IMF and World Bank for years now. The World Bank created a commitment to tourism as a development strategy for developing economies. Secondly, we can look at Wallerstein’s world system theory, which is arranged according to influence: core (most dominant), to semi-periphery, to periphery (least dominant). The DR is a semi-periphery because it is industrialized third world nation but it lacks the power and economic dominance of the core nations. Thirdly, Andre Gunder Frank argued that rich colonial (‘metropolitan’) powers acquired wealth through exploiting weaker (‘satellite’) countries such as the DR. Finally, ‘enclave tourism’ at the national level is frequently seen by the native population as a form of neo-colonialism. [5] Enclave guests are basically segregated from the local culture and from the local informal sector, which includes vendors, drug dealers and prostitutes. This inevitability creates a wall between the guests and the locals and the bigger issue is that it prevents economic benefits from these resorts to actually going back into the community. [6] A case study was done in Luperon, Dominican Republic, a small community with no prior experience with the tourism industry. The study found that the natural flaw of enclave tourism as a form of development in this area was that the management of the enclave resort wanted to reduce economic exchanges between tourists and local businesses in order to increase resort revenues. [7] There is an issue with the distribution of profits from these resorts because the local communities are not seeing any improvements.

Tourism as a Developmental Strategy

Although there are numerous tribulations with tourism in the DR, there have also been a lot of positive effects. In 2010, the Dominican economy showed a strong recovery by growing 7.5% during the first half of the year. [8] This is partly because of their trade exports such as cocoa, coffee, and tobacco but mostly because of tourism profits, which reached nearly US$3.2 billion in 2004. [9] Over the last four decades, the World Bank has had a strong commitment to tourism as a development strategy for many developing economies. In return, the Dominican economy has had a very dynamic growth largely dependent on tourism. Hotels drive most tourism and the all-inclusive appeal of everything being free along with attractions and activities as well as nightly entertainment. This increases the targeted audience to couples, families, teenagers and elders because there is something for everyone to do. The DR also has natural assets such as the climate, that is always warm and it rarely rains which entices tourists. Also, the Dominican’s tourism tax policy is important because it has one of the lowest taxes in the Caribbean, which allows them to get extra revenue from tourists. [10] We can see that the economy has increased and grown in many ways, however one cannot just focus on the economy. We must look at the environment and social impacts and analyze how they have been affected by tourism.

Environmental Impacts

The environment and sustainability can often be under looked when judging the success of tourism because the economic benefits are usually the first to be looked at. Despite the economic success the DR has had, it faces a series of problems related to its rapid growth. For example, insufficient supplies of clean water and electricity, combined with slow construction caused by shortages of materials that has forced some vacationers to leave early because of unsuitable living conditions.

The Dominican Republic has environmental issues in the areas of deforestation, water supply, and soil erosion and as the eroding soil goes into the sea, it in effect damages the nation’s coral reefs. Negative impacts from tourism occur when the level of visitors is greater than the environment’s ability to cope with this use, also known as “carrying capacity.”

The UN sources report that as of 1993, the nation was losing 20,000 hectares per year of its forestlands largely because of business interests. [11] The destruction of trees was forbidden in 1967 to try and fix the harsh effects of the forest destruction. However, many farmers continue to cut trees secretly to make more land available for development. Water pollution is also an issue and it results from the effects of mining along with industrial and agricultural sources. [12]

In addition there are endangered species in DR, some include the tundra falcon and three species of sea turtles. As a result of the rapid urbanization, the environment started to be greatly affected. Water resource management issues associated with tourism include, dumping of untreated wastewater and solid waste along the coast, overexploitation of groundwater, destruction of forest cover, and over fishing of coral reef and marine species. Sustainable development is what the country needs, which is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Social and Cultural Impacts

There have also been impacts of tourism on the rural livelihoods of the Dominican locals. The impact has generally been good, with an increase of household income along with increased job satisfaction. The rapid and rigorous development of tourism also results in different and usually less favorable consequences than small-scale development. Cultural clashes may arise through economic inequality or job level frictions. The clear relative wealth of the tourists often leads to unfair exploitation on the hosts’ side. One might add to these concerns the danger that tourism may lead to the commercialization of human relations. [13] Tourism often fails in promoting mutual understanding among different nations and stereotypes prevail. The tourist-host relationship is often restricted by space and time constraints. Tourists often fail to respect local customs and moral values, either out of ignorance or carelessness. Also, the profitable sexual exploitation of children and young women has matched up to the growth of tourism in many parts of the world. While tourism is not the cause of sexual exploitation, it provides easy access. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world, which before had no access to luxury services. The allure of this easy money has caused many young people, to trade their bodies in exchange for numerous different bits and pieces.

Responsible Tourism

We hear this term of being a ‘responsible tourists’ quite a bit. What is meant by it is that we as tourists should respect the people who are working at the resort, be culturally aware and having a low-impact.

The street vendors in the market are normally the last to see the financial rewards of the all-inclusive, mass in the DR so paying the tourists price is not so much a bad thing. We as tourists have the privileged attitude of being able to give something back directly to the people because we are in constant contact with them. In addition, it hardly needs saying that tourists should pick up litter, refrain from uprooting plants and coral, and use energy resources such as water and electricity efficiently, which are scarce in the DR.

Conclusion

After looking a great deal of articles and websites, I would have to say that tourism in the Dominican Republic has done more harm than good. In my opinion, the detrimental environmental and social impacts of third world tourism are more of a concern than economic benefits. There will always be a demand for tourism in the Dominican however if the supply of beautiful and clean beaches, water and local hospitality is not available then tourists will change their vacation plans. The implications of my findings are that, tourism and tourists impinge on the local environment and traditional customs of Dominican workers. This is important to realize because from knowing and understanding this we can move forward by changing our ways. Acting as a tourists should by not putting a strain on the environment and being more culturally tolerant. Just because we are on vacation does not mean our values should fly out the window. There are always implications to our behavior and it is time that we become responsible tourists.

Britton, S.G. (1982) “The political economy of tourism in the Third World” Annals of Tourism Research” 9: 331-38.

Debbage, K.G. (1990) “Oligopoly and the resort cycle in the Bahamas” Annals of Tourism Research 17: 513-27.

“Dominican Republic Environment,” Encyclopedia of the Nations [Online] [Accessed Febuary 15th 2011]

Available:

Freitag, T.G. 1994. “Enclave tourism development: for whom the benefits roll?” Annals of Tourism Research 21: 538-54

Kiskeye Alternativa. 1999. “Tourism Development in the Dominican Republic: Growth, Costs, Benefits and Choices” New Jersey, USA: Rutgers University.

(http://kiskeya-alternative.org/publica/afuller/rd-tourism.html)

[Meritas Lawyers]. 2010. Doing Business in Latin America and the Caribbean. Minneapolis, US: Meritas

Meyer-Arendt, KJ., Sambrook, R.A. and Ker-math, B.M. (1992) “Seaside resorts in the Dominican Republic: a typology” Journal of Geography 91: 219-25

Srisang, K. 1991. “Third World Tourism- The New Colonialism” In Focus (Tourism Convern) 4:2-6

The map of the world is in phase of being redrawn, according to the surgical specialties and the fields of intervention: plastic surgery, eyes and dental in Tunisia, treatment of the skin diseases in Turkey, organ transplant, in particular renal and transplant of the liver in Thailand, surgery of eyelids in the Panama, the in vitro fertilization in Spain aˆ¦

The competition begins to rage among destinations which invest in infrastructures, regulations and communication. All demand a part of a very juicy cake. Professionals of health and tourism, as well as all the strategic studies agree with considering the potential of this new crenel as “enormous”. Tourism, the transverse character of which in all other activities be it economic, ecological, agricultural, cultural, social etc, cannot make any more the dead end on the principles governing its own development and has to show in the next years of innovation and imagination to answer a request which has become increasing. For Africa generally and Tunisia in particular, tourism constitutes a crucial control lever to contribute to impulse the development. In Tunisia the quality of training in health and in tourism as well as its adjacent broadcasting countries can establish a competitive advantage at the level of medical tourism.

Being a growing niche these last years, medical tourism in Tunisia is widely becoming within the reach of potential applicants. Strong of its entry to the zone of the free – exchange with Europe at the beginning of this year, Tunisia is positioned as a partner of choice. A wide program is established to make of the country a pole of quality and future in terms of export of health services. However this commitment is conditioned by the integration and the raising awareness of the various stakeholders in such adequate steps.It is of this fact that most of the persons in charge and the actors operating in the tourist sector have to meet around a real consensus on the concept of medical tourism, and launch the challenge in front of an open to criticism present and a more or less desirable and optimistic future. The various stakeholders of the Tunisian tourist system establish then a relevant space of reflections and exchanges towards the development of medical tourism, these are main things of concern by the optimal management, the health, the integration of the population, the promotion, the competitiveness, the quality and the durability and this can raise only decisions and fixed approaches collectively on the basis of the forward-looking reflections generating the best scenarios which can lead to improve medical tourism in Tunisia.

Even if the concept of medical tourism was not as well important as it is it today, the current situation allowed to report the necessity of better promoting it and of organizing it to reach the objectives assigned by the project of development of the tourist sector and that of the health, and so we are engaged in this research work which concerns at the same time, the present and the future to explain and understand the realities which allow to support the potential evolutions to reach a sustainable development. This work tries to emphasize a solution of the dilemma to maintain the development and the decision-making support by analyzing the change of the attitudes of the stakeholders implied in the tourist system and that of the health in Tunisia.

1. Current status of tourism sector in Tunisia and Methodology
1.1. Tourism in Tunisia: inventories of fixtures

The tourist sector plays a leading role in the economic development of Tunisia, considering its important contribution for the growth of the Gross domestic product (In 2009 it contributed to 7 % of the GDP [1] (Gross Domestic Product) and 20 % of receipts in currencies, in the equilibrium of the balance of payments, in the polarization of any kinds of the investments, besides the job creation and the energization of the economic activity generally.

This sector knows a continuous development and carried out a qualitative jump at every level, thanks to the multiple assets which the Tunisian tourist product has and which make of Tunisia a privileged tourist destination.

The geographical setting of Tunisia, which opens on two banks of the Mediterranean Sea, the wealth and the variety of its cultural and natural heritage and its profound acquired experience on tourism, have made of our country a general-purpose tourist destination. The development which the tourist sector has known in Tunisia is reflected through the increasing rise of the number of the tourists who reached approximately 7 million tourists in 2008, (+ 4.4 % with regard to 2007) [2] .

Within the framework of the IXth plan, the strategic orientations turned around four axes:

The diversification and the enrichment of the tourist product and the location on the promising markets;

The improvement of the quality of the services;

The upgrade of the infrastructure and the maintenance of the tourist environment;

The consolidation of the role of the private sector in the tourism.

1.2. Medical tourism in Tunisia:

Tunisia made a commitment in the continuous improvement and development of the strategic sectors to be known; the education, the health and the tourism. Indeed the health and the services which are connected to it are considered as a promising crenel and an important engine of the economic and social development. For some years Tunisia lives a dynamics of growth in this domain which smoothed it among leader countries on an international scale. So much so, it occupies the second position in the field of the tourism of health after South Africa according to the African scale and the second world destination in thalassotherapy after France.

In the light of the study carried out by the French Agency of development (AFD) in 2005 on the exports of health services of developing countries, we notice that Tunisia is very competitive on the subject. The study has henceforth highlighted a strong potential in the field of medical tourism which can have more questionable performances in the future. The recent study of the World Bank on ” the world integration of Tunisia: a new generation of reforms for boosting growth and employment ” on 2008, confirms this performance by identifying medical tourism as one of the emergent crenellations.

In fact not enough reliable and detailed statistics exist on the subject.

The statistics which exist show that in 2007 more than 100000 foreign patients of diverse nationalities visit Tunisia for health care against 42000 in 2003

number of well-kept Tunisians abroad is crossed the 1.152 in 1987 to reach 180 persons in 2006.

24 % of the turnover of the private hospitals deprived results from the export of health services with foreign patients. The Libyan clientele is dominant, that is 80 % of the well-kept foreign patients, whereas the European patients constitute 11 % as well in number as in turnover. This European demand can be the object of a remarkable development in the years which come with the ageing of the population in Europe and the mobilization of the tourists with the aim of treatment, care or other similar services. The most mobile of them are the Italians (68 %) and the Germans (63 %).

The exploration of the market of medical tourism brings to light four big demands for Tunisia, as such:

The inter-Arabic and the mediterrean market: the importance and the regularity of the flows of Arabic patients coming from nearby countries particularly Libya drove numerous clinical Tunisian to organize an offer of services specialized for this clientele. The qualitative advantage of Tunisia could be widened in the other local markets, in particular Algeria, which constitutes approximately 3 % in foreign number of patients and in figure of business exported of private hospitals deprived. Also, the other adjacent African markets present a potential which begins to be exploited.

Henceforth, some private hospitals of Tunisia signed agreements with Mauritanian institutions. The presence of the African Development Bank also contributes to improve the fame of the private hospitals Tunisians and to attract a new African clientele.

A niche to develop the tourists and the European expatriates: the market of the care to the European tourists is difficult to estimate. Indeed, the number of patients in private hospitals seems very low compared with the flow of 2,8 million European tourists. Nevertheless, the medical tourism of the European represents a strategic stake for the improvement of the medical and technical level and for the fame and the reputation on the international plan. It also constitutes an important factor for the development of the paramedical tourism and the well-being, such as thalassotherapy, massages, etc.

This method implies that the researcher case-studies his data. “The work of analysis is made as one goes along, important parts of this analysis matching the data collection” (HOURS Becker, 1958 quoted by [Aktouf1992], p197). Now, it is not the approach which we followed because we became a researcher on a well-determined subject (the project of development of the medical tourism in Tunisia). Nevertheless, we shall use the techniques of the participating observation namely: the daily observation accompanied with notes taking, with collection of archives and with retrieval systems (Fortin1988). The participation entails inevitably relations of nearness, even an intimacy with the actors of a given ground. The observation constitutes in its part a “natural” activity of every participant. But in its most rigorous academic meaning of a word, it is supposed to lean on a remote stake objectivized by these same human relations.

3.2. The active and semi-directive with no leading questions interview:

This technique could be interesting for the implication of the researcher which it proposes. According to Alex Mucchielli [3] : ” the maintenance is opened and centered, it rests not on the reactions of the interviewee to precise questions but on the expression free of its ideas on a given subject (aˆ¦) .In this technique, the interviewer does not ask questions but contents with following the progress of the thought of his interlocutor. He presents syntheses regularly, but he is active at most.

3.3. The Mactor Method: crucial control lever of the strategic prospective.

The theory of actors’ games supplies a set of tools of rather vast analysis but to the applications limited by the mathematical constraints and the often restrictive hypotheses. The method MACTOR (Method of Actors, Tactics Objectives and Recommendations) propose an approach of analysis of the game set of the actors and some simple tools which allow to take into account the wealth and the complexity of the information to be treated, by supplying the analyst with the intermediate results which enlighten him on certain dimensions of the problem.

Acknowledgement

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to many people who have been there for me to supervise, direct, assist to help in the completion of the dissertation.

First and foremost I would like to thank my tutor Ms.Pupinder Kher (Ms.Puppi) for her kind help throughout my dissertation.

I would also like to thank Mr Saleem from the Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies in Maldives for providing me with a lot of information on number of girls who have studied in the faculty over the past 5 years which has enabled me to sum up the trend of the young women joining the industry through their higher studies.

I am also grateful to my young respondents for giving their time in order to fill up the survey forms for which has enabled the most to fulfill my objectives in this dissertation.

Last but not least to my beloved family & friends who have given me support and help throughout my bachelor degree program at the Taylors University and believing in my research. Without their help I wouldn’t have been able to compile this report. Thank you everyone although I could not have mentioned every name, your help is most appreciated.

Abstract
General Introduction

With the rise of tourism sector in the Maldives in 1972 with one resort, it has improved to be the “Ranbis alhaa kukulhu” by the Maldivians or defined as “The chicken that lays golden eggs” which made a gateway to the employment as well as a boost in the economy of Maldives. The country with more than a thousand pearl islands in the Indian Ocean depends heavily on the contribution of tourism to its economy.

Along the years of the tourism development, the start of one resort in 1972 has changed to 91 registered operating resorts, 14 hotels, 23 guesthouses, and to more than 147 registered tourism vessels in operation and many more in development, over the last 3 decades.

The tourism sector has developed over the years since the first resort emerged in the year 1972 which also created a boost gateway in the employment sector of the country. During the 1990’s, it was 6% of the employment which contributed to the tourism sector due to reasons such as lack of education in the field, un acceptance of the working environment since in Maldives its ‘one island, one resort’ concept and also due to the religious facts such as working in places where wine & liquor are served are prohibited, and lack of foreign language. Then, it was mostly men who travelled to work in the resorts while the women were to look after the family and most were housewives.

Over the years, the acceptance of women working in the tourism sector directly dealing with the tourists have been increasing slowly. it is believed the main reasons which limits the number of women working in the resort are due to the ‘one island, one resort’ concept where by a person has to work all week in the resort for which they are also accommodated on the same island and are able to visit back to their family once a week. This becomes problems for most that have a family. And also due to ethical beliefs among people for which woman have to work among men far away from the families is still not being well accepted by the perception of the community.

As mentioned above, this dissertation would focus on issues regarding possibilities, reasons and opportunities which lack the young women to work in the tourism sector, mainly in the resorts which the small island nation such as Maldives is well known for. Hence the topic chosen for this dissertation is: An analysis on the reluctance of young women joining the tourism industry in Maldives. The ‘young women” is described as young girls between the age of the 16 – 20 which is the most appropriate age for the girls to chose a field to build their career either through further higher studies in a desired sector or working.

The main four objectives to be covered in the research would be in order to find the following.

What are the views and opinions of the fresh graduates from high school towards women working in the tourism sector?
What can hospitality education programs or facilities do in order to attract more women towards the industry?
What are the factors that motivate them to join the industry? ( that is either starting their higher studies in the tourism sector or work)
What are the factors why most girls are reluctant to work in resorts?

The following objectives are to be covered on the primary data collected.

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part discuses the existing facts and figures of the women in the industry, concept and existing practices in the community. Also issues, challenges and barriers in the industry for woman theoretically explained by different people which is related to the independent and dependent variables of the research.

The second part consists of the research methodology, the findings and analysis.

For the research methodology, the research consists of primary and secondary data collected. The primary data would be the Questionnaire forms which would be filled up by the sample ages group which is girls between the age of 16 – 20. The analysis on the primary data would complete the objectives to be covered in the research as well as give the results of the hypothesis in this dissertation. The research methodology would be more briefed in the second part. The hypotheses to be tested are:

H1: The views and opinions of the fresh graduates from high school towards women working in tourism industry would be an acceptable factor in the minds of the modern generation; hence they may be not able to work due to family influence in choosing their career or the perception of the people towards girls working.
H2: The views and opinions of most fresh graduates towards working in the tourism sector would be unstable and would need guidance from informative sources about their career path
H3: The resorts assuring the women as well as the parents of them on the safe and security of the working environment would attract women towards the industry
H4: Factors such as families influence, the perception among people towards girls working in resorts and religious beliefs are main reasons why most girls are reluctant to work in the industry

The importance of the chosen topic is due to several reasons such as, as per a survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2006, it showed that it was a percentage of 54% employed are locals in the resorts, among that only 3% represents the women in the industry. The importance of feminism gender in the industry is very much needed in the tourism industry today.

Today, due to the dominant of the male gender in the tourism sector over the years since the beginning of tourism in Maldives, it has been a failure to recruit or to attract the female gender not even equivalent, but not even close to being equivalent to the male gender to work in the resorts.

If the tourism industry ignores this problem today, in the future, there may not be any chances of career building for a woman in the industry which has become the main occupation of the country.

Also one reason that motivated me personally in choosing this research topic is that I have seen my friends who studied with me, chose another career due to several barriers which they faced that changed their career leaving the hospitality industry after their higher studies in the tourism sector.

Part 1 – Literature Review
Existing situation in the industry

As per a survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture in the year 2006 shows that a percentage of 7.876% is the total of women, both local and foreign working in the industry while the rest 92.124% are male, both local and foreign.

The survey also summed up that there were more foreign women in the industry then locals with a difference of 2%.

In order to find the existing problems that are faced by the women to join the industry, the main theory focused in this dissertation would be the “Glass Ceiling” theory (Knutson & Schmidgall ,1999) and Human Capital Theory (Becker,1975).

The ‘Glass Ceiling’ is described as an invisible barrier which cause the women difficulties or are unable to reach higher posts. These barriers either limits the further growth of a women’s carrier in an organization or consists of de-motivating factors for which most chose not to work long term in the industry.

This may be occurring in the Maldives since over the years, the tourism sector has been dominant by the male gender that the woman are not provided with higher positions unless with long time work experience or by higher studies, and for a long time, with the males working in the resorts, the women have mostly been housewives or been in other fields of work.

The Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1975), describes that the differences in the income as well as the jobs offered are based on a person’s experience, education and trainings. And that it involves no gender discrimination.

The glass ceiling is also caused by different other factors such as sexual harassment, limitations in ‘the old boy network’, work and family balance,

Describing sexual harassment, (Dunwoody-Miller and Gutek 1985). Sexual harassment could also be described in a work place other then abusing, but also such as humiliation in front of other people. Mostly within a work force with a larger number of men, the women could be humiliated for what they said in a crowd which they could feel sexually harassed. In most cases, it could be their seniors doing it. But unfortunately, most are un1ware of the policies of an organization on whom it has to be reported for which some chooses to leave the organization.

The informal social group which has the high connection with the management allowing them for easier promotions and higher positions are described as ‘The boy network’ (Oakley, 2000). Thus in the hospitality industry, a lot of women complain that they are excluded from this informal groups where by the old boy net work also limits the opportunities of growth to the women.

Unlike the men, the women are also mostly responsible for the family as well as work. In order to balance out their work life as well as family life, the woman either try to find helpers or nannies to manage the homes or chooses jobs with lesser responsibilities and time that has to be spend in the work. (McGrath, 1999; Higgings et. al, .2000).

Goa is known as the “Rome of the East” having an area of 3702 Sq. Km. of lush green mountains, blue waters and white sands, winding rivers and picturesque villages with local flora and fauna Goa is thus famous for tourism. Tourism is important because it helps to maintain goa’s economy and also great contributors to exchange. Besides tourism there is mining, farming and fishing as the other important occupations of the people. It is a small state, with 140 km from North to South and 65 Km from East to West. Goa beaches has become the major attraction for the tourists such as Agonda, Calangute, Candolim, Dona Paula etc. besides this there are also churches like Basilica of Bom Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Augustine and others. The state is famous for unending carnivals; Christmas parties and the sunburn festival are the centre of attraction for massive crowd. Goa receives largest number of tourist from Germany, Finland, UK, France, USA etc. The domestic tourists come from all over India as it is very popular tourist’s destination. Goa caters to the tastes of various tourists through the various types of tourism such as Beach Tourism, Adventure tourism, Wildlife Tourism, Pilgrimage Tourism and Cultural Tourism.

Having a coastline of 105 km, the beaches of Goa are a very important tourist attraction. From Keri in the north to Palolem in the south, Goa has many world famous beaches like Arambol, Colva,Vagator, Anjuna (known for its flea market),Baga Calangute, Palolem and many other small lesser known beaches where the tourists can relax, soak up the sun and feast on the local cuisine. Goa also has a very good potential for activities like trekking, paragliding, dolphin sighting, boating, go-carting and mountain climbing.Goa has 4(four) wild life sanctuaries, one wild life national park and one bird sanctuary. A lot of tourist visit these sanctuaries every year. Goa has a variety of flora and fauna which are also used to attract tourists. Goa also has two beautiful lakes, at Mayem and Carambolim, where migratory birds are sighted in large number., Goa is also famous for its religious places and it is a major reason why tourists all over the world come to these places to visit them. The World Heritage Site at Old Goa is a major tourist attraction with a large number of churches such as St Cajetan church, St Francis of Assisi Church and Convent, Basilica of Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, the Archaeological Museum, the Christian Art Museum, the ruins of the Church and Monastery of St Augustine, The Chapel of St Catherine, the Viceroy’s Arch, Chapel of St Anthony (opposite the ruins of the Church of St Augustine) Convent of Santa Monica. Besides this there are many other beautiful churches and temples all over Goa. Besides the churches in Old Goa we have the famous Mangueshi and Mardol temples as well as the Saptakoteshwar temples at Narve . Goa is also a land of rich and diverse culture and people of different religions who live peacefully together in harmony and are famous for their own traditions and culture. Goa hosts the famous Carnival and also in recent years, the IFFI. Besides, Bonderam at Divar , the Sangodd (Boat festival) and Taranga are also famous. Goa is also known for its traditional cultural dances and songs like Mandos, Fugddies, Goff, and many others. Goa has an architecturally rich heritage of the old Portuguese houses and has many forts like Chapora, Teracol and Alorna which attract the tourists. The Alorna fort is an attractive attraction for backwater Tourism.The Rivers flowing from the eastern Sahyadri Range to the western Arabian Sea, from north to south, include Tiracol, Chapora, Mandovi, Zuari, Sal and Talpona, winding through villages give support to the local economy, either for agriculture or for fishing.

Sustainable tourism is also important for goa. Sustainability means a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. Thus it is a process which takes care of tomorrow as well as today conserving resources which are necessary to ensure continuity. Sustainable tourism makes minimal impact on the environment and local culture by helping to generate income and employment for locals as well as for the conservation of local ecosystem. If tourism grows at a high rate, it tends to destroy or at least cause irretrievably damage to flora and fauna. Sustainable tourism is especially important for a small state like Goa because large number of both Indian and foreign tourists are increasing every year. Goa being a tiny state the carrying capacity of the state with regard to size, facilities available and the ecological fragility must be studied and taken into consideration while allowing tourism only then such tourism will be beneficial for the state and the people. Community-based management, nongovernmental organizations, tourists and locals all should be trained so that goan ecosystem does not suffer as a result of excessive tourism. The local community has an important role to play in sustainable tourism and they have to keep in mind certain points if they wish to continue tourism to be the mainstay for the economy of the state The local people should be courteous to the tourists and help them to have a wonderful holiday. They should not harass the tourists by staring at them and following them unnecessarily. There should be no over charge for tourists with regard to transport or food.

The local’s should not force tourists to buy their products such as the harassment done by local vendors and the small children who continuously follow them in order to buy their products.

Tourism has brought a positive impact on goa in many ways like financial contributions with regard to this it has been one of the largest contributors to the exchequer. Goa’s economy receives a major boost from the tourist industry. Goa, a tourist paradise for both domestic and foreign tourists, it attracts tourists in thousands. Being immensely gifted by nature for its scenic beauty, beautiful beaches girdling its 105-km long palm-fringed coast interspersed with enchanting coves, bays and estuaries, paddy fields, shady coconut, cashew and mango groves dotted with tiny picturesque villages, temples and churches renowned for worship and pilgrims, forts. Tourism is so prominent that the number of tourists almost equals the number of state population. Tourism has also helped goa with regard to employment. Because tourism has given rise to many hotels across goa, many goan youth pursue their career in such hotels. As a result of tourism the booming hotel industry has catered the financial needs of the weaker sections of the society. This helped them to earn their livelihood. Hotel management courses set up by the goa government are giving more of the local unemployed the skills to secure higher paid jobs in the industry.

To conclude I would say that Tourism in goa has had a positive effect on many businesses including bars and restaurants, boutiques, construction, cinemas, bakeries, shacks, local stalls, etc. The earnings from tourism has helped to raise investments required to sustain a tourism that is linked to historic and cultural places in Goa the heritage places within Goa. Tourism is a big business in Goa, and one that is continuously growing. The modern world is full of stress and people search new ways to relax themselves and thus come to Goa in search of a peaceful life and break from all the stress and become refreshed and rejuvenated.

In the past few years, the body of literature on tourism promotion has grown. Some scholars have paid more attention on this field. Through review being provided by Rothschild (1987, p, 24) and Shimp (1990, p, 19), promotion was originally used in the marketing communication field, and concept of promotion consists of four main elements, namely publicity, advertising, personal selling and sales promotion. According to, Witt and Moutinho (1995, p, 376) claim, “promotion is the crux of any successful tourism venture”. Moreover, the promotion of tourism regards as complex communication activities. In other words, the point of Witt and Moutinho (1995, p, 377) is that “promotion is the mix of communication activities designed by tourist organizations to influence those target audiences upon whom their sales depend both directly and indirectly, in both the short and long term”. In addition, in terms of tourism products have their own features, therefore the ways of promotion are different from other types of products. Furthermore, based on previous research, promoting tourism is not only a responsibility of tourist organizations, but also is a program activity of countries, states and provinces (Gunn & Var, 2002, p, 57). According to Ascher (1982, cited in Hall, 2007, p, 182), tourism promotion plays an active role in activities of government. What is more, Hall (2007, p, 182) explained that in Australia either Commonwealth or state government pays more attention on the promotion of tourism. In addition, according to the studies of Gunn and Var (2002, p, 57) claim that “promotion for tourism usually encompass four activities: advertising, publicity, public relations and incentives”.

The terms of purpose of tourism promotion is attract visitors and build the sense of a destination. As Middleton (1993, p, 32) suggest “tourism promotion serves many functions in addition to the more obvious one of increasing awareness of a place and encouraging visitors through the communication of attractive images”. In other words, Tourism promotion can be a tool in image of destination building and increasing a sense of place. And then based on the studies of Henderson (2003, p, 72) point out that tourism promotion can inspire civic pride, as well as to strengthen the sense of belonging for place on the one hand, on the other hand via tourism promotion, destinations can enhanced the reputation in the world wide. In addition both governments and tourism organizations can get economic benefits.

According to the research of Witt and Moutinho (1995, p, 379) concluded that promotion of tourism has several fundamental features. For instance, tourism promotion regard as tourism products, which means promotion in tourism, has almost the same features as tourism products. In addition, due to tourism promotion based on symbols, such as sounds, images, pictures, and words, promotion in tourism is harder than in most other kinds of marketing. In brief, “promotion alone must generate desire and acceptance in the absence of more tangible evidence, which is why it is no exaggeration to say that promotion is the product” (Witt & Moutinho, 1995, p, 380). Moreover, the risk associated with tourism promotion (Dwyer & Forsyth, 1992, P, 18). Because tourism promotion could be seen as either short-tern or long-term investment activities, the whole process of promoting tourism faces risk. In addition, tourism industry, which is a risky industry, can affect on tourism promotion (Witt & Moutinho, 1995, p, 381). Furthermore, tourism promotion has integrated feature. Based on previous research from Witt and Moutinho suggested that promotion might be seen as complex activity for the governments, travel agencies and destinations. As a result, all the diverse elements of tourism promotion, such as brochures, advertising and films, could be consistent with this feature (Witt & Moutinho, 1995, p, 380). Moreover, tourism promotion has certain cultural feature. Since tourism is a cultural product to customers, promoting tourism is to reflect the cultural expectations of the market. It seems that “promotion tends to deal with cultural stereotypes” (Witt & Moutinho, 1995, p, 380).

2.1.1 Tourism promotion in Traditional Media

In general, the concept of traditional media is opposite idea of social media (Bruhn, Schoenmueller & Schafer, 2012, p, 770). In addition, according to studies provided by Hsu, Killion, Brown, Gross and Huang (2008, p, 302) indicated that traditional media consist by television, film, radio, magazines, newspapers and other print materials. These various forms of traditional media play different roles in tourism promotion. For instance, advertisements are regarded as significant form among tourism promotion. Tourism advertisements are available in different traditional media platforms, such as newspapers, magazines and television (Gunn & Var, 2002, p, 57). According to previous research from Hsu, et al (2008, p, 302) asserted, advertising in newspaper, which is seen as the low-cost promotional way. Despite the feature of low-cost, Leckenby (2005, p, 24) asserted, newspapers provide wide reach. As a result many tourism organizations prefer this form as the channel of promotion. Furthermore, compared with advertising in newspaper, advertising in television is more expensive. According to Hsu, et, al (2008, p, 304) point out that “a television advertisement can achieve national exposure and reach a large proportion of the population if it is shown several times during prime-time shows over a number of weeks”. It clear that advertising in television is traditional and significant tourism promotional way. Additionally, tourism television advertisements are also regarded as the important channel of national tourism campaign in the past few years (Hall, 2007, p, 181).

Additionally, tourism brochures are one of common tourism promotional ways. Based on a literature review, Hsu, et al (2008, p, 298) assert “Brochures and other printed materials play a more significant role in tourism than in most other industries”. It is clear that brochures, as printed media, play a key role in tourism promotion. In addition, because of other forms of media are expensive for promotion, advertising in brochures is more popular forms of promotion in travel and tourism (Rozier-Rich & Santos, 2011, p, 395). Furthermore, from the research of Andereck (2005, p, 8) assert “brochures is an influential source of travel information for tourists”. In addition, a variety of researchers exist which show brochure is one of significant and widely of promotional method available in tourism industry (Holloway & Plant, 1988; Wicks & Schuett, 1991, p, 301). With rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies, according to previous researchers, Andereck (2005, p, 3) suggested “travel brochures continue being the main promotional tool for many places or tourism business which does not have the necessary economic, human, technical or structural resources for spreading information in a more complex or sophisticated way”. However, similar to researches put forth by Andereck (2005), Hsu et al (2008, p, 311) argued that if tourism brochures have not been chose appropriate ways to attract attention from customers, and distributed to the improper destinations, brochures are going to be ineffective. As a result, despite printing tourism brochures, many organizations using website to promote their products and services. Moreover, according to Gunn and Var (2002, p, 57) claim “of great aid in promoting tourism is the recent explosion in the use of the Internet and electronic business”. It seems that the Internet might be seen as a challenge to tourism brochures.

Furthermore, in some studies found that films as a tourism tool, which play an active role in tourism industry. Riley and Doren (1991, p, 267) point out that “movies become ‘pull’ factors (attraction) situated in ‘push’ locations (tourism generating areas)”. Via films, which can attract tourists to travel as well as cultivate familiarity feeling of tourists toward destinations. From the beginning of 1980s, for example, Australian government used movies as promotional tool. In 1986, the movie Crocodile Dundee released, which express Australian bush culture and laconic Australian identity. Additionally, when the film Australian released, which encourage more international visitors to Australia (Beeton, 2004, p, 131). Therefore, Australia is an appropriate example to analysis movie as a tourism promotion tool.

Currently, a large number of studies focus on using tourism brochures, advertising and films to promote tourism business. In addition, little research has pay attention on the impact of Internet for tourism promotion. However, tourism promotion in traditional media existed some problems. For example, traditional media platforms are difficult to attract and capture the attention of target customers on the one hand. On the other hand, the process of update and transmit information is ineffective, such as advertising in newspapers and television, the content need to repeat several times might be attracted attention from target customers or travelers. According to the studies produced by Stern (1995, p, 127, cited in Leckenby, 2005, p, 5) claimed, traditional media, such as television, is a passive and time-constrained media. With rapid development of network communications, social media is gradually effect in many industries. It seems that “social media are increasingly replacing traditional media” (Bruhn, et al, 2012, p, 771). In addition, many scholars pay more attention on promotion in marketing area. However, few studies show a concern on how to use social media, which play a key roe in promotion, to promoting tourism.

2.2