2. Introduction
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The
number of tourists has been registering phenomenal growth and it
is expected that this number would shortly touch 1.5 billion.
Nature has bestowed Himachal Pradesh with unique beauty and
splendour with its lush green valleys, snow covered Himalayan
ranges, a serene, peaceful, hospitable and comfortable
environment, smiling people and a rich culture heritage – which
tourists will not find elsewhere. Being in the lap of Himalayas, this
fact becomes its natural and unique USP with global appeal.
In order to increase the duration of the stay of the visitors/ tourists,
a special emphasis is being placed on the development of activity-
based tourism and opening up new sub destinations. 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. Now
himachal is known as “ A Destination for All Seasons and All Reasons”
3. OBJECTIVES
Tourism contributes nearly 8 % of the State Domestic Product. Following are
the some objectives:
1) To establish Himachal Pradesh as a leading tourist destination in the
country.
2) To make tourism a prime engine for economic development and prosperity
of the state and as a major means of providing employment.
3) To promote sustainable tourism, which is not only environmentally
compatible but also leads to economic betterment of the rural people.
4) To attract quality tourists and to increase their stay in the State.
5) To safeguard the state’s natural and manmade heritage.
6) To position Himachal Pradesh as one stop destination or adventure
tourism.
4. SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths:
1) One of the rarest places on earth offering five distinct seasons, thus having
the potential tourists throughout the year.
2) Political and economic stability.
3) Recognised as peaceful and hospitable state.
4) Salubrious climate
5) Pollution free environment
6) Rich history and heritage, that has something to offer to all. Its Buddhists
monasteries, which are thousands of years old, churches, temples and
cemeteries.
5. WEAKNESSES
1) Negligible air link and rail link in the state.
2) Inadequate flow of tourists.
3) Lack of trained tourist guides at important places and historical tourist sites.
4) Saturation at the establishes destinations.
5) No new major tourist destination.
6) Lack of parking spaces at important tourist places.
7) Very little budget.
8) Problems of land acquisitions.
6. OPPURTUNITIES
1) Strong potential for activity based tourism such as
rafting, paragliding, trekking, mountaineering, water sports, mountain
biking, car rallies, etc.
7. OPPURTUNITIES
2) A strong base for heritage tourism to attract persons from all walks of societies
and religious beliefs.
3) To develop an ideal destination for nature lovers by promoting ECO- TOURISM.
4) Position as an ideal for FILM INDUSTRY.
5) Himachal has something to offer to persons of all ages, groups, beliefs and
interest.
6) Himachal can become one of the leading adventure destination in the world.
7) Create new destination in yet unexplored but beautiful areas.
8. THREATS
1) Tremendous strain, leading to collapse at times of civic amenities at leading
tourist destination during the season.
2) Haphazard growth and construction threatening the environment, especially at
the leading tourist destination.
3) Aggressive competition amongst the leading tourist states and a strong
promotion of tourism by other states.
4) Poor garbage/ waste posing threat to environment.
9. THRUST AREA WHERE TOURISM NEEDS
DEVELPOMENT:
1) RURAL TOURISM
2) ECO TOURISM
3) WILDLIFE TOURISM
4) PILGRIMAGE TOURISM
5) ADVENTURE TOURISM
6) PROMOTING UNEXPLORED HIMACHAL
7) HEALTH TOURISM
10. VARIOUS MEANS OF MASS MEDIA THAT CAN
BE USED TO PROMOTE TOURISM :
1) Print media
Metropolitan newspaper
Suburban newspaper
Regional newspaper
Magazine
2) Radio
3) Television
4) Internet
11. ADVERTISING FOR TOURISM
Great advertising talks to customers, not to itself. It makes reader feel good
about the product or service advertisement. In tourism we have wonderful
advantage. We are selling enjoyment, fun, good times, and who doesn’t want
to experience those things. We are also in the peoples business. Travelers
returning home are more likely to talk about the people that gave them good
service and the friends they made before they get around to the things they
saw and did.
Many advertisements lose their impact because of a lack of consistency in
presentation. They appear jumbled and often cater to local views rather than
giving first consideration to the readers. Typefaces should be easily read and
appropriate to the image of the destination or product.
An overall design of the layout of the advertisement should highlight the key
points and features. A bland uninterested presentation will not be effective
nor will a layout which is crammed with too much details.
12. STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE HIMACHAL TOURISM
1) Installation of touch screen KIOSKS with full information of the state at
important national and international airports and railway stations of the
country.
2) Participation in leading national and international fairs.
3) Organisation of tourism events in the state, particularly in the off season in
order to attract a large no. of tourists.
4) Providing information through modern means of communication like:
website, e-mails, round the clock toll free assistance and helpline.
5) Release of advertisements in print media and electronic media.
6) HOME STAY SCHEME.
13. MEDIA PLANNING
Advertisements for print:
The following ads will be published on weekends in the most popular news
papers of the region , in the most read monthly and fortnightly magazines for
two months, i.e., October and November.
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17. Advertisements through T.V.:
The focus remains on the widely watched channels and broadcasting the
commercial during that time when mostly families and friends are sitting
together. The target channels will be: national geographic channel, Discovery
channel, Travel and Living. News channels: NDTV 24X7, CNN-IBN, Aaj
tak, Star news.
The commercial will run on all the above channels. Since budget is not an issue
from the side of the government, the T.V. time frame of the commercials can be
extended as per requirement.
The timing for the advertisement to be broadcast would be: in the morning 8
a.m.- 12 p.m.. And during the prime time, i.e., 7-8 p.m. and 8-11p.m.
18. EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
ADVERTISEMENT
Each year most businesses spend sizeable sums on advertising and other
marketing, yet no effort is made to measure the effectiveness of the funds spent.
Evaluating responses to advertising is not very difficult. It only requires a routine.
One simple method is for tourism businesses to ask customers where they learned
of their accommodations. All that is necessary is to put a list of recent advertising
beside the phone or the reception desk. When customers respond to a question, a
simple tick or other entry can be noted on the list. The origin of customers can also
be important.
By evaluating results, it is possible to get better returns from future advertising
expenditure.