Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ANALYSIS
4.1
EXPECTATIONS
OF
TOURISTS
REGARDING
INFRASTRUCTURE
Gunn (1988) denotes the tourism product as a complex consumptive
experience that results from a process where tourists use multiple of
services
(information,
relative
prices,
and
transportation,
infrastructure
is
housed
within
the
larger
macro-
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among others) are also visible and determining features that can
enhanced the visitors' trip experience. Other authors subsequently
supported his views (Choy 1992; Buharis 2000; Crouch and Ritchie
2000). They posited that tourists overall impression develops their
image of a destination after their visitation and that infrastructure
may play an important role in that respect.
Crouch and Ritchie (2000) interestingly summarised (Figure 1) the
various factors that together make a tourist destination experience
attractive. They highlighted the importance the service infrastructure
layer, which includes transport services, in the tourist destination
experience.
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and
resources
component.
The
destinations
general
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163
lengthy and uncomfortable journey, the likelihood that they will seek
alternative destinations may increase. Tourism resorts have also often
been cited as an important attractor of tourism, especially for the
high-class segment. Prideaux (2000) posited that a critical mass of
public infrastructure (including transport) is essential for enabling
the establishment of high-quality resorts in a country. If this critical
mass is not available, the operators would have to incur these
infrastructure costs, thereby adding to the capital and operating costs
of tourism development and thus reducing competitiveness. [1]
Let us discuss an example of Chinese tourists who have high
expectations with respect to infrastructure while travelling:
Expectations of Chinese Tourists
Chinese visitors have certain expectations when travelling with
respect to the following aspects of infrastructure
Accommodation
Chinese tourists tend to choose hotels based on location,
cleanliness, safety and security and value-for-money. They
expect functional, quality and family-friendly rooms with
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The Chinese usually eat warm food and are not used to salads
and cold dishes. Typical breakfast includes rice porridge with
pickles, noodle soup and Chinese dim sum. Hot soup and hot
tea must be provided in cooler months during meals. For
packed lunches, it is advisable to prepare some instant cup
noodles for those who prefer a hot lunch over sandwiches or
similar. Always offer hot or warm water instead of iced water
to the Chinese.
To create a feeling of being welcomed, the menu should be
translated into Chinese.
Tour Guides and Itineraries
It is quite common for a Chinese travelling group to decide
their itinerary close to departure. Even during the trip, they
may try to change or rearrange the itinerary, so you need to be
prepared to be flexible and accommodate their requests. Free
time for shopping must also be included in the itinerary. Please
read the shopping section below for some tips.
Western Australia is an extraordinary State and is popular
among the Chinese tourists for its:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Diverse landscape
8.
9.
10.
and
understand
local
customs
and
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cultural
festivals
and nightlife.
They seek
regard
travel
as a
way of
broadening
their
golf,
cruise
shipping, crabbing,
sand-boarding,
to
provide
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opportunities
for
taking photos,
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They would normally sleep on long bus rides and a stop will be
required every one to two hours for a washroom and smoking
break.
Telecommunication
When Chinese visitors are abroad, keeping in touch with
family and friends is very important. Hence, convenient
communication options such as mobile wi-fi access and inroom internet connection are highly appreciated. As there is no
time difference between China and Western Australia, they are
likely to send the photos taken during the trip to their family or
load them onto social media websites to share with their
friends.
Service Expectations
Chinese visitors desire genuine respect, hospitality and a good
understanding of Chinese culture from service providers.
Chinese tourists appreciate a high level of enthusiasm, a
positive attitude and having mandarin-speaking staff. It is
advisable to put in place a service recovery plan to handle their
complaints. [3]
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Public conveniences
(b) Tourist Transport
Mini-buses, jeeps, elephants, etc. for wild life viewing
Cruise Boats, ferry launchers, etc. for water transport
Tourist Coaches in selected circuits
Special Tourist trains
The most frequent pattern of funding which has continued over
successive plan periods is known as "normal funding". Under this
pattern, the Central Department of Tourism meets almost the entire
expenditure, except the cost of land and interior decoration in the
case of construction projects.
A new method of funding by way of grant-in-aid towards project cost
was introduced during 1992-1993. In this scheme, 28 per cent of the
project cost is provided by the central government and 12 per cent is
provided by the state government. The balance of 60 per cent has to
be raised as a loan from financial institutions or banks. This method
of funding is applicable to projects requiring large investments. It is
expected that the state governments would be able to mobilize more
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PRESENT STATUS
India's rich cultural heritage and history, food, friendly people,
architectural monuments, hospitality and services are positive
strengths for its tourism sector, which make it ahead of many of the
emerging markets.
Today, tourism is the most vibrant tertiary sectors and has a strong
hold on the economy. The sector contributes 6.23 per cent to the
national gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.78 per cent of the total
employment in India. Moreover, India stands 42nd in the world
rankings in terms of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in the country,
according to a report titled 'Competitiveness of Tourism Sector in
India with Selected Other Countries of the World' by Ministry of
Tourism. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) named
India as one of the fastest growing tourism industries for the next 10
to 15 years.
In addition, India has also developed as one of the world's most costefficient medical tourism destinations, and is anticipated that the
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174
inventory
over
the
next
five
years.
(source:
HVS)
No. of Hotels
175
No. of Rooms
165
43, 965
4 Star
134
20, 770
3 Star
505
30,100
2 Star
495
22,950
1 Star
260
10,900
Heritage
70
4,200
Uncategorised
7,078
Total
8,707
1,32,885
Restaurants
12,750
Market Size
The amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflow into the hotel
and tourism sector during April 2000 to January 2013 was worth US$
6,561.78 million, as per data provided by Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce.
FTAs have shown a growth of 2.8 per cent in March 2013 over March
2012 while the growth rate in Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from
tourism stood at 21 per cent over the same period in rupee terms.
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Government Initiatives
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has consistently been
working on improving India as a prime destination for tourists. It
further aims at promoting various Indian tourism products vis--vis
competition faced from various destinations and to increase India's
share of the global tourism market.
The Government of India allows 100 per cent foreign direct
investment (FDI) in the hotel sector on automated basis.
The allocation for Ministry of Tourism in the Union Budget 2013-14
has been increased by Rs 87.66 crore (US$ 16.03 million) to Rs
1,297.66 crore (US$ 237.23 million).
Moreover, the Indian companies in the hotel sector, with a total
project cost of Rs 250 crore (US$ 45.70 million) or more, irrespective
of their geographical location, have been allowed to tap the external
commercial borrowing (ECB) route. The maximum ECB by an
individual company or group, as a whole, has been restricted to US$
3 billion.
The fourth meeting of ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers was held
in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). A protocol to
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On the other front, India has the potential to develop the rural
tourism industry. This can benefit the local community economically
and socially, and enable interaction between tourists and locals for a
mutually enriching experience. [7]
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References:
1.
2.
3.
Chinese
visitors,
Available
at:
http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Industry_Resources/China_industry_
toolkit/China_Marketing_Toolkit/Pages/Expectations_of_Chinese_Vi
sitors.aspx
4.
Raveendran
G.
(2013),
Development
of
Tourism
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5.
of
External
Affairs,
Government
of
India,
7.
Tourism
Available
at:
and
Hospitality
Industry
In
India.
http://www.ibef.org/industry/tourism-hospitality-
india.aspx
8.
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