Introduction to Tourism II PDF - Class X

INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM - II CLASS - X Student Handbook CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION Shiksha Kendra, 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi-110301 Introduction To Tourism - II Student Handbook, Class - X Price : ` 35.00 First Edition : April 2016, CBSE Copies : 16,000 Paper used : 80 gsm CBSE Watermark White Maplitho "This book or part thereof may not be reproduced by any person or agency in any manner." Published By : The Secretary, CBSE, Central Board of Secondary Education, Shiksha Kendra, 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi-110301 Design, Layout & : Pelican Press C-118, Mayapuri Industrial Area, Phase-II, Printed By New Delhi-110064 Preface India has emerged as an attractive tourism destination for all types of tourists around the year resulting in Travel & Tourism taking its place among the key industries in the economy. It employs a large number of workforce and its contribution to national income is also substantial. It is in this context that Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a course on Travel and Tourism. This Student Handbook "Introduction to Tourism-ll" for class X, will familiarize the students to the Tourism Industry and will explain about various Tourism and Business opportunities and the importance of Soft Skill in Tourism Industry. Academicians and Professionals from the field of Hospitality and Tourism comprised the team of authors for this book. The language of book has been kept as simple as possible for the benefit of the students. Necessary diagrams and pictorial illustrations have been included to help students to understand the concepts without any difficulty. The Board is grateful to the members of Committee of Course for their advice, guidance and total commitment towards development of this course. We are indeed indebted to these academic advisors who have lent us the benefit of their rich and insightful experience. I would like to appreciate Vocational Education Cell, CBSE for coordinating and successfully completing the work. I hope this book will help the students and serve as a useful resource in this subject. Comments and suggestions are welcome for further improvement of the book. Chairman, CBSE Acknowledgements Advisors Sh. Y.S.K. Seshu Kumar, Chairman, CBSE Sh. K.K. Choudhury, Controller of Examinations & Director (V.E.), CBSE Content Developed By Dr. Pawan Gupta, Chairman - PGDM (TL), IITTM, Noida Dr. Charu Sheela Yadav, Asstt. Professor, IITTM, Noida Dr. Paramita Suklabaidya, Asstt. Professor, IGNOU, New Delhi Dr. Prashant Gautam, Asstt. Professor, UIHMT, Panjab University, Chandigarh Ms. Aditi Chaudhary, Asstt. Professor, IITTM, Noida Editing & Coordination Dr. Biswajit Saha, Additional Director (V.E.), CBSE Contents UNIT - I : SOFT SKILLS Page No. 1.0 Unit Overview & Description 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Defining Personality 2 1.3 Determinants of Personality 3 1.4 Personality Development 5 1.5 Positive Work Attitude 8 1.6 Creating First Impression & Grooming 11 1.7 Basic Social Etiquettes - Work and Telephone 16 1.8 Positive Body Language 20 1.9 Summary 22 UNIT - II : INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM-II 2.0 Unit Overview & Description 23 2.1 Introduction 24 2.2 What is Tourism? 25 2.3 General Impacts 26 2.4 Typology of Tourism Impacts 27 2.5 Sources of Tourism Information 32 2.6 Tourism Organisations 35 2.7 Summary 39 UNIT - III : TOURISM BUSINESS - II 3.0 Unit Overview & Description 40 3.1 Introduction 41 3.2 Travel and Hospitality Terminology 42 3.3 Activities in a Travel Agency 45 3.4 Documentation for Travel 47 3.5 Summary 49 UNIT - IV : TOURISM PRODUCTS - II 4.0 Unit Overview & Description 50 4.1 Introduction 51 4.2 Classification of Tourism Products 51 4.3 Natural Tourism Products of India 58 4.4 Man Made Tourism Products of India 59 4.5 Symbiotic Tourism Products of India 60 4.6 Event based Tourism Products of India 60 4.7 Site Based Tourism Products of India 60 4.8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites 60 4.9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India 61 4.10 Summary 62 UNIT - V : FAM TOUR 5.0 Unit Overview & Description 64 5.1 Visit to a Tourism Organization (Travel Agency / Tour Operator) 64 5.2 Report on the Visit 65 5.3 Visit to Local/Nearby Museum 65 5.4 Report on the Visit 65 5.5 Do’s and Don’ts for Tourist (Sustainable Practices) 65 Introduction to Tourism - II UNIT- I Soft Skills Contents 1.0 Unit Overview & Description 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Defining Personality 1.3 Determinants of Personality 1.4 Personality Development 1.5 Positive Work Attitude 1.6 Creating First Impression & Grooming 1.7 Basic Social Etiquettes –Work and Telephone 1.8 Positive Body Language 1.9 Summary 1.0 Unit Overview & Description This unit will further sharpen the basic soft skills learned by the students in the ninth class. This unit will help students to: Understand Concept of Personality, its determinant and how to develop personality. Understand Importance of Positive Attitude in Life. Learn the process to create first impression i.e. by understanding the importance of Grooming. To learn about work-place Etiquettes and how to handle the Process of Telephonic Conversation professionally. To know the required positive body language for Tourism and Travel Industry. Resource Material 1. Barker, A. (2006), Improve your communication skills. New Delhi: Kogan Page India Pvt. Ltd. 2. Bovee, Thill & Schatzman (2003), Business Communication Today, Person, New Delhi. 3. Gopalaswamy, Ramesh and Ramesh, Mahadevan (2010), The Ace of Soft Skills: Attitude, Communication and Etiquette for Success. Pearson Education India. 4. Klaus, Peggy (2009), The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Soft Skills for Succeeding in a 1 Hard World. Harper Collins. 5. Knapp, Donna (2010), A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professionals. Cengage Learning. 6. Mandal S.K. (2007), Effective Communication and Public Speaking, Jaico, Mumbai. 7. Seely, John (2004), The Oxford guide to writing and speaking. New Delhi, Oxford University Press. Assessment Plan Exercise: Questions & Answers, Role Play and Group Discussion. 1.1 Introduction The Introductory unit on Soft Skills for Tourism and Travel industry has highlighted the importance of soft skills. The unit has explained in detail one of the most important soft skills i.e. Communication. In this unit we shall study other important soft skills that will help you to earn an edge in your personal, social as well as professional life. In fact these soft skills are directly related to your personality and will help you to develop a personality suitable for travel and tourism industry. 1.2 Defining Personality Before we start defining personality, let’s have a trip down the memory lane and remember two of your neighbourhood or old school friends with whom you have interacted. One is liked by everyone. She/he makes friend very quickly, smiles and greets people. Always a favourite student of teachers as well as favourite of all relatives and neighbours. Everyone enjoys talking to and being around him/her. The other one always complains and has trouble keeping friends for long. She/he bosses his little siblings at home. Always a troublemaker at school and neighbourhood. All kids complain that she/ he picks up the fight. Even in the school she/he is never able to be a part of sports team. What is the difference between the two? The difference is their different personalities. The concept of personality is one of the major topics of interest for some of the top psychologist. In this unit we will define it from the view point of social attractiveness of an individual not from the scientific view point. The word ‘personality’ has its roots in Latin word ‘persona’ which means a mask. In old days in order to represent qualities of a typical character of drama on stage masks were used. Personality in general terms means the unique set of qualities (i.e. physical, mental and emotional attitudes, values, interests) that 2 Introduction to Tourism - II make you different from others. Personality is actually how you present yourself to others and how people define you. Your personality is everything about you. Oxford Dictionary defines personality as a combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. Here the question which tickles our mind is that what all comes under personality? Encyclopaedia Britannica describes personality includes way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Personality embraces moods, attitudes and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. It includes behavioural characteristics that distinguish one person from another and that can be observed in people’s relations to the environment and to the social group. The case of two friends discussed in the beginning of this unit also highlights the fact that in simple term personality means social skills. The difference in their social skills like one is friendly, collaborator and other is domineering, troublemaker brings out the differences in their personality. Thus personality is being used as a general label for the amount of social skill and finesse. 1.3 Determinants of Personality Each individual has unique personality. Have you ever think how personality is shaped? There are certain factors which shape personality of individual called determinants of personality. A survey of works of different psychologist brings forward a plethora of determinants of personality. Here to keep things basic we will discuss the generic determinants of personality These are: 1. Heredity 2. Culture 3. Family Background 4. Our Experiences through Life and 5. The People we interact with 1. Heredity Oxford dictionary describes heredity as the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another. We inherit certain traits, such as the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face and body from our father, grandfather and great grand father. Mainly these four aspects of personality we inherit i.e, body build, physical attractiveness, physical defects and health conditions from our ancestors. Most people are born with a mixture of traits. Heredity forms your basic personality. And then the effects of our environment add to our personality development. Environment includes everything and everyone around us. Environment may help bring out certain traits more than others. The other four determinants we will study now constitute our environment. 3 2. Culture Culture can be defined as the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society. We learn values and inclination from our culture and it shapes our behaviour. Behaviour defines our personality. Thus people born in different cultures tend to develop different types of personalities. In India we can find diversity in cultural backgrounds and each culture has some general features that highlight personality of people of that culture in general. For example, people from Gujarat are more enterprising, people from Haryana are daring and people from Bengal are creative and have great intellectual bend. Also it is not necessary that all people belonging to a culture showcase the similar personality trait but in general according to culture the dominating personality trait is found in majority of people. 3. Family Background Family is the smallest unit of society. Family is a group of people related by blood or marriage. The foremost influencer after heredity to shape personality of a baby is family. Many aspects of family like background and education of parents, socio-economic status, the number of children in the family and birth order and extended members of the family such as uncles and aunts influence the shaping of personality to a considerable extent. Think once your liking – disliking, way of problem solving, way of expressing your feelings etc. All are one in other way a reflection of what you have learned from your family. 4. Experiences in Life One of the famous quotes by Julio Caesar - “Experience is the teacher of all things” best explains this determinant of personality. Your personality might have kindness as a trait but repeated experience in your life where you felt cheated due to kindness can influence your this personality trait for future. Suppose three such incidents happened to you with three different individuals in the past few months where you have given money but they never came back to you. What is the probability that you would trust another person who comes and asks you for a loan tomorrow? Rather low, one would think. Thus, certain personality characteristics are moulded by frequently occurring positive or negative experiences in life. 5. People We Interact With “A Person is known by the company he or she keeps” is a common proverb. We interact with an array of people in our life like – neighbours, teachers, classmates, schoolmates, friends, cousin, colleagues, boss and even strangers etc. People who are alike us in attitude and value we persuade them and associate with them. Even we change our behaviours to get accepted and associated with them whom we like. For instance, we may have to become less aggressive, more cooperative to work successfully in a team etc. Thus, our personality becomes shaped throughout our lives by at least some of the people and groups we interact with. In summary, our personality is a function of both heredity and environment (external factors) that shape it and keep it shaping. 4 Introduction to Tourism - II REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Fill in the Blanks: 1. The group of traits that makes you unique is your __________________________________. 2. The word ‘personality’ has its roots in Latin word ___________ which means _______. 3. In simple term personality means _____________________________________________________. 4. Major determinants of personality are __________________ and ________________________. 2. True and False: 1. A person’s personality stays the same throughout life. 2. A person’s neighbourhood has the greatest effect on his or her personality. 3. Early experiences are very important to shape personality. 4. Personality is natural as well as nurtured. ACTIVITY In terms of the definition of personality that is offered here in this text, write an essay about yourself. Identify what is unique about you. Finally, include in your essay as many factors in your heredity or environment as you can find that affect your daily behaviour and thought. Once you finished the essay above, ask a friend to write a similar essay about you. Once your friend has finished, compare your own essay (the answer sheet!) with that of your friend. How are they similar? How do they differ? If both you and a friend did the essay suggested above, and then compares your essay about yourself with a friend’s essay about him- or herself. How many parts of your essays are similar and how many are different? What factors do you both mention as influencing your personality? 1.4 Personality Development The above discussion on determinants of personality brings to light an age old debate that whether personality is natural or nurtured. In this regard, the central view supported by acme psychologist is that each individual is born with basic personality. To cope up with the challenges offered by external environment individual strive to change and develop personality in meaningful ways throughout the lifespan. Thus, personality development is a continuous and multi-faceted process which requires a set of skills that need to be learned and at times unlearned. 5 The need to develop your personality in line with personal and professional requirements underlines the process of personality development. This is true particularly in the present times where sea-change has occurred in the realm of industries, where now only technical knowledge of doing things is not the sole criteria of selection and where wide cluster of skills are required to cater to the changing demand of industry. In this assortment of wide cluster of skills the social attractiveness of personality is paramount important. Hence it is clear that an intelligent individual can identify the expectations of the profession he/she wants to pursue and work on the desired personality traits. This will help him/her to have a well developed conducive personality and earn a competitive edge over others. It is more relevant in Tourism Industry where a well developed personality having high social attractiveness is more imperative and demanded than any other skill set. The reason for same has been discussed in the earlier unit last year. Now the question arises how can we develop a personality which is most suitable for tourism and travel industry? What are the areas of our personality which we should fine tune to become an asset for tourism industry? To answer this question, first we should remember that tourism is a people to people industry where the service provider is an integral part of the tourism product. For example: the comfort of five star hotel room like high quality bed and linen, best of antiques in room, international quality good food, costly furniture etc. are useless if the people serving in hotel lack professional serving attitude, manners, communication skills and have poor hygiene sense etc. Thus, essentially we can say that to have a happy customer (tourist) at the end of the day the people serving in tourism industry should have: 1. Positive Attitude to work. 2. Well Groomed Personality to create first impression. 3. Social Etiquettes & Telephonic Etiquettes. 4. Professional Body Language. Thus, eventually these above - mentioned areas turn into the key aspects of personality which require to be developed to have a desired personality for tourism industry. In succeeding pages we will study these areas to learn how to develop personality for tourism industry. 6 Introduction to Tourism - II REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Define Personality Development. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Personality is natural as well as nurtured. Do you agree? Explain and give examples from your life experiences. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Tourism Industry is an industry where social attractiveness of personality is very important. Explain and give examples in support of your arguments. ? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ACTIVITY Recipe for Happy Tourists & Personality Traits The Teacher should divide the whole class in small groups of five –five students. The teacher should then ask students that as a tourism service provider what personality traits they think can be a recipe to make a tourist happy. Give them 10 minutes to think over it. Once the students have done with their recipe then the teacher should discuss the following recipe for happy tourist and also discuss the personality traits this recipe highlights. 1. One smile 2. Two eyes 3. One voice 4. One mind 5. Two ears 6. One firm handshake The smile gives visitors a warm welcome. Eyes establish direct contact with them. One voice and mind gives the tourist a perception of the enchanting sounds and 7 picturesque scenery of the region. Two ears are essential for listening to what the visitors are looking for. One firm handshake wishes them a pleasant stay. Spice it up with a well-trained staff. Bake well at summer temperatures before opening and you will have a visitor information centre to be proud of. (Source: Hospitality and Tourism Activity by New Brunswick, Department of Education.) 1.5 Positive Work Attitude Attitude is another stimulating and mystifying subject of interest to many researchers as well as psychologist. Attitude and personality has a deep relationship as attitudes play a major part in determining a person’s personality. That is why it is important to know what attitude is, how attitude affects personality and how to have positive attitude at your workplace. Attitude as defined by Oxford Dictionary is a settled way of thinking or feeling or evaluation (positive/ negative) about some person, object or issue. Attitude is how we look at things, events, people around us and it all starts inside our head. We can say that attitude is our mental focus on the world around us i.e. the socially significant objects. We can focus it on whatever we want- either on good or bad, positive or negative, problem or opportunity. On what an individual chooses to focus can become a habit, habit forms our behaviour, behaviour becomes part of our psyche, then it is reflected in our activities and finally it becomes the core of personality. Thus, by changing our focus (i.e attitude) we can change our personality. Power of Positive Attitude Researchers have proved that a person who focuses on positive side of anything, be a person, event or object are happier, live longer and become successful in their life as compared to those who have negative attitude. The statement of the most influential American Philosopher William James further strengthens this fact. He had said that “Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.” The power of positive attitude has been reinforced by a study of Harvard University also which says that the main driving force to get a good job in eighty-five percent cases is attitude and remaining fifteen percent is the technical know-how. Thus positive attitude enhances our personality traits and lifts our personality to a more attractive level both in personal as well as professional arena of life. Furthermore following points highlight the power of positive attitude: 8 Introduction to Tourism - II 1. A positive attitude triggers our enthusiasm. 2. A positive attitude enhances our creativity. 3. A positive attitude makes good things happen. Positive Work Attitude Till now we have understood that a positive attitude is a virtue for one’s personality. But to be always positive at your workplace whether school, office or society is not very easy. Every day we face many ups and downs especially at work place. Sometimes we feel positive and sometimes we feel negative. It becomes necessary for us to handle these ups and downs positively. How we can do this? Following strategies can help us to have a positive work attitude irrespective of any circumstances at work place: 1. Examine Your Attitude Regularly: Every day one should examine his/her attitude towards work, co-workers and boss whether it’s positive or negative. If it’s positive do your co-workers and boss perceive it positively or not? Also if it is negative then what are the reasons behind it? When you question yourself like this, you will definitely find a problem, and if problem is there it must have a solution. Then try to solve this problem by adjusting you attitude or if required by even changing your attitude from negative to positive. 2. Balance Work with Personal Life: Another strategy is to have a mix of fun and work. For this you should establish your priorities in life. Priorities mean something that is more important than other things. At home family should be priority and at work place office work should be priority.We should not think about work when at home and also should not allow family concerns disturb our office work. Setting priorities and meeting them successfully make our attitude more focused and positive. 3. Focus on the Positive: Always focus on your strengths and successes even if you are not able to be successful in all aspects of your work and in your relationships in the job. 4. Communicate: Communication is lifeline of all relationship. When communication stops, miscommunication begins and negativity spreads. Thus it is very important to communicate effectively as well as listen patiently. You should be able to make other understand what you want to say and at the same time understand properly what they want to communicate. Practice good listening and communication skills every day. 5. Turn Unexpected Changes into Opportunity: Change is inevitable and change 9 always bring friction. Human beings soon adapt themselves to a routine and any change in it brings negative reactions. Example – Change of Boss or co-worker or job profile. But one can learn to accept change and remain positive. Focus on what one can learn from this change and see the change as an opportunity to learn new things and grow. 6. Educate Yourself: One should be well –versed in one’s job only then one can enjoy it. One should put effort to educate oneself in all areas where improvements are required. Even if you know your job well always try to update your knowledge and learn new things. Be a lifelong learner. The more you learn, the more confident you will be. 7. Maintain Your Interest: A new job means new challenges and many new things to learn. But with passage of time the challenges become routine affairs and you start feeling bored and negativity increases.Thus, you should look for ways to regain the interest. Take new initiatives and invent new ideas for doing routine tasks. 8. Maintain a Sense of Humour: Humour can help you to overcome tension at work and see the lighter side of the things. Having a sense of humour does not mean joking or clowning around. Having a sense of humour means developing the ability to see positive things and lessen the tension in environment. The famous quote of 34th President of U.S.A Dwight D. Eisenhower reemphasizes the importance of humour - “A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” 9. Take Care of Your Health: There is a direct relationship between healthy habits, productivity and positive attitude. A person who has habit of exercising daily will definitely have good health and high productivity at workplace. Such individual will have high positive energy and attitude towards everyone in the office. But if you sleep very late, do not exercise in the morning, have low level of energy at office definitely your productivity will be less and negative attitude will increase in you, your boss and also co-workers. Thus poor health habits can affect your job performance and your attitude. 10. Dress for Success: Last but not the least. How you dress and how you carry yourself reflects your attitude. In fact this is one of the most important areas of personality development and also our next important topic under study. This point is explained in later pages as a separate topic. Thus, the above mentioned ten strategies help us to maintain positive attitude and thus can make our personality advantageous for tourism industry. 10 Introduction to Tourism - II REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Define Attitude. Describe how attitude and personality are related.Can we change our personality by altering our attitude? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. List the ten strategies you can use to improve your attitude. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Describe a difficult situation when you were needed to maintain a positive attitude, even though it was difficult. What strategies did you use? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ACTIVITY Case Study – Torn Between Two Priorities You have been appointed as captain of the project for an interschool project competition by one of the strictest teachers of your school. You with your team are representing your school in this project competition. The final day of project presentation is on last Saturday of this month and you want that your school wins the best project title. You have to come to school on Sundays to help with a special project. At the same time, your family is moving to a new home. Your family is counting on you to organize the move and help pack. You are exhausted because of the physical and mental demands that are being placed on you. You are torn between your need to spend time at home and your desire to show your mettle as project leader in school competition. Case Discussion: (Moderation by teacher) 1. List three options for dealing with your situation. 2. List the option you would choose, and explain why you would choose it. 1.6 Creating First Impression & Grooming Often you have heard the famous phrase –‘First impression is the last impression’. Have you ever thought what this impression is, how it is formed, why first impression is so important 11 and how one can make first impression extraordinarily? In this section we shall try to answer these questions. According to Oxford dictionary impression is an idea, feeling or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence. As the definition highlights when we meet somebody for the first time without knowing much about other in totality we create an idea about him/her. Also, the first impression becomes very important because the idea which is created lasts long. In fact a study by Harvard Business School social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, says that if in first few seconds of meeting we are able to show trustworthiness and confidence as leading trait of our personality then we earn a long lasting relationship. And these two traits are conveyed not on the basis of one’s intelligence or experience, rather than on basis of one’s attire and grooming level. Thus one has to work on these two aspects of one’s personality to make first impression extraordinary. Attire / Clothing Attire means the way we dress up. As we judge books by their covers similarly we judge people by their clothes. Also the way we dress up show our attitude towards life. It is very important to wear clothes which convey positive about us. But how can we do this especially in our work place? The thumb rule is that we should adapt ourselves to the dress-code of the work place. When we follow the dress –code of the industry than we project an image which gel with the image and work –culture of the work-place. In tourism industry it is very important because the way we carry ourselves convey the image of the company as well as the quality of service. This is the reason why airline employees wear high quality formal clothes to reassure high quality of service. Thus, at the work place what we wear indicates towards our professionalism. Also two types of clothing are common in tourism industry – Business Formals (generally Monday to Thursday) and Business Casual (generally Friday). The following two images give a description of types of business formals and business casuals prevalent in tourism industry. Grooming The second important area which helps you to create a first good impression is grooming. The Oxford dictionary defines grooming as a noun (derived from ‘groom’) which means to have a neat and tidy appearance. It is imperative to take care of your overall appearance which includes neatness and cleanliness of body and hair. It also includes how we manage accessories which we put up with our clothes like belt, shoes, purse, watch, jewellery etc. Daily grooming is a must –must especially for work place. Your health, as well as the health of others, depends on your practices of personal cleanliness. Also, if we are not well groomed then even the most costly clothes do not help a person to create a good impression. Overdo of make–up and use of accessories can destroy the most professional attire. 12 Introduction to Tourism - II (Source: Instructional Guide: Business Attire by The University of Texas at Austin 13 (Source: Instructional Guide: Business Attire by The University of Texas at Austin) Thus, to have a true professional formal look at workplace one has to take care of many do’s and dont’s of dressing and grooming. The following general grooming tips help you to be professionally groomed: 1. Hair: Clean and neatly styled, no wet hair, no over the top colours or hairstyles. For Men go for a shorter haircut, and trim chest hair (no hair visible at the neckline!). 14 Introduction to Tourism - II 2. Shoes: Polished and in good condition. 3. Nails: Clean, trimmed, neatly manicured. For women no extreme colors or length. 4. Cosmetics: Makeup should be conservative, aim for a natural, polished look. 5. Perfume/Cologne: Use very little or not at all, clothes should be odour free (no smoke smell!) 6. Facial Hair: Clean shaven or trimmed very short and neat. 7. Tattoos: Cover all tattoos if possible. No Tattoo should be visible. 8. Piercings: Remove all facial and body piercings. For women one earring per ear and for Men no earrings allowed. 9. Back-packs: Do not take a back-pack to an on-site interview. 10. Purse: A small, conservative handbag or business tote bag is acceptable. Bag should coordinate with shoe colour. The above details in attire and grooming when taken care of help you to create a positive professional first impression and in this way your battle is half won in the beginning. REVIEW QUESTIONS True and False: 1. Bold colours such as bright green or pink are good choices for a job interview. 2. Putting too much accessories enhance our professional look. 3. Some employers can mandate that you do not have any facial hair. 4. Ear piercing for men is allowed as professional grooming standard.. 5. Tattoos should be covered by clothing if possible. 6. Your first job is taking care of yourself. 7. Keeping a wardrobe of professional work clothes is always expensive. 8. You want to make sure your appearance stands out in an interview, so that the interviewer concentrates most on how you look. 9. If you aren’t certain about the dress code, you should ask your employer. 10. Once you are hired for the job, you don’t have to worry about your dress and grooming anymore. 15 ACTIVITY Dress and Grooming Checklist: Have each student divide a piece of paper lengthwise down the middle. Instruct students to label one half or column “At the Party” and the other half or column “On the Job.” Instruct each student to make a list of all of the things they need to do-in terms of dress and grooming-to prepare for each of those two situations. Remind them that some things (like taking a shower) will be the same, but that others (like polishing dress shoes) may be different. Give students 5-10 minutes to prepare their personal checklists. When they are finished, come back together as a class and create a master checklist that includes everyone’s suggestions. Write this checklist on the board or on overhead. Be sure to allow time for discussion of those items that are questionable. Also be aware that male and female students will have some what different lists. Discuss the dress and grooming similarities and differences between party dressing and being on the job. Which things would you only do for the party? Which things must you always do to be professional? Encourage students to revise their personal lists based on the master class list you created. 1.7 Basic Social Etiquettes Another area which helps us to define and shape your personality is Social Etiquettes. Oxford dictionary defines it as ‘the customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.’ Etiquette when defined most simply means respect, good manners and good behaviour we project in our social settings be it office, friends or family. It is not just each of these things, but it is all of these things rolled into one. For the purposes of this unit, we will focus on two major areas of business etiquette: Work and telephone. Work /Office Etiquette These days office is the place where we spent more waking hours of a day as compared to our home. Office environment and office people have become a vital part of our life and shape our success in life. It has become imperative to treat our office people and office environment a notch better than family. The following principles given by Myrna Hoover in her work Using Proper Etiquette can be utilized by office employees to show proper etiquette; they include all aspects of the work environment. 16 Introduction to Tourism - II 1. Be timely: To be punctual at work and meetings is an important attribute of one’s personality. It shows that you value other’s time. Also one should complete work assignments on time. 2. Be polite, pleasant and courteous: Treat others the way you want to be treated. 3. Learn office politics: One should understand the story of office and role played by different employees. Utilize effective listening skills to discover appropriate office behaviour. Pay attention to the way things are done. 4. Understand the four unwritten rules of business: a. The Boss is the Boss: right or wrong, the boss always has the last word. b. Keep the boss informed. Good or bad, you don’t want the boss to listen informtion mentioned from an inappropriate source. c. Never go over the boss’ head without telling him or her first. d. Make your boss look good. Promotion and opportunities arise when you help the organization reach its goals. 5. Adopt a can-do attitude: This highlights the positivity of your personality. Those who accept challenges as opportunity can display creativity and become valuable. 6. Be flexible: Not necessary that everything that happens in the office is liked and accepted by you. Sometimes you can have a difference of opinion about a change but at that time it should have flexibility. By remaining flexible and implementing change, you gain a reputation as a cooperative employee. 7. Give credit to everyone who made a contribution to a project or event. In this way you earn good reputation and at the same time you will also enjoy credit by others. 8. Do not differentiate people by position or standing in a company. Thus, by following more and more business etiquette you will be able to create a good impression about your personality. These visible signals are essential to your professional success. Business Telephone Etiquette Think of one day in your life without telephone. Out of all modes of communication the telephone is the one of the most useful tools in every day communication. It has been estimated that major percentage of today’s business is conducted over the telephone, as it is 17 an immediate means of communicating. Particularly in tourism industry telephone is the most used way of communication with customer, supplier as well as within the office. The way telephone call is answered create the image of the company. One can enhance their professional reputation through polite and effective telephone manners. It has been proved that if we cannot handle telephone calls professionally then people think twice before doing business with the company. That’s the reason these days companies have standard operating procedure of handling phone calls in which these aspects are most important: 1. Answering the call 2. Making the calls 3. Taking a Message 4. Leaving a Message Answering the Telephone Answering promptly that is allowing no more than two or three rings before picking up the handset. An immediate response says a lot about you and promotes good public relations. Answering with a smile which the caller will hear it in your voice. A cheerful voice begets a happy caller or listener, and a favourable impression is created. Speaking in a warm, audible, clear voice at a moderate phase so that the caller can follow the conversation. Not eating, drinking, smoking or coughing while talking into the mouthpiece. If you have to cough, excuse yourself first, cover the mouthpiece and cough away from it. Always sound professional, pleased to hear from someone and ready to deal with their concerns. Making Telephone Calls The impression you create on the telephone reflects not only your personality but also the image of your company, organisation or employer. Try to phone when you know it is convenient for the other person and confirm that they are able to speak. 18 Introduction to Tourism - II Always identify yourself and your company immediately. This information makes you sound confident and in control and enhances your chances of being put through promptly to the person you’re trying to reach. If you make a long distance call and the other person is not available, you should try again. Do not leave a message that the person should phone you. When leaving a message Give full details so that the person who returns your call can get in touch with you. The first name and surname are important, as is the reason for the call. If you want to offer or sell the person something do not leave a message; rather phone back later. Ask when it will be convenient to speak to the person and call back at that time. When taking a message Keep the following at hand at all times: a pen, a message book, a calendar and a dairy (in case appointments have to be made). Take messages carefully and write down all the details in your message book for the possible future reference. Note for whom the message is intended plus the full name and title of the person who called. Ensure that you have the correct spellings of all names and surnames. Record the date and time of the call. Obtain their telephone number and code as well as the extension, and ask until what time their call can be returned. Note the name of the organisation or business they represent, as well as the purpose of the call. In the case of an urgent message, take the caller’s home or cell phone number. For safety sake, leave the handwritten message on the person’s desk. Thus, when one handles this mode of communication effectively in office then problems are solved easily, productivity and customer satisfaction is achieved. Also, your positive image is created, professional worth increases in office as well as with customers. 19 REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Define Etiquette. Why should we give importance to workplace etiquette? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. List the principles which help us to inculcate work-place etiquettes. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Describe the precautions you take when making a call from our office to a customer. Why any mistake while making a call can mar the image of your company? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ACTIVITY Role Play of Customer Care Executive and Irritated Customer The teacher will ask for volunteers who will participate in this role –play exercise. One student will become a irritated customer who is not happy with the service delivered to him during his tour to London. Then two students will play role of customer care executives – one very effective in handling telephone calls professionally and one who lacks the basic telephone etiquettes. During the role play teacher should note that the customer care executives follow the do’s and do not’s of telephone etiquettes. Other students should evaluate the effectiveness of execution and meanwhile learn that how by following telephone etiquettes we can make an unhappy customer pacified and calm. 1.8 Positive Body Language We have already studied body language and its components last year. It is the study of movements of our body parts like eyes, head, hands, legs, sitting style, walking style etc. Which is called body language. It is also called Gestural Communication or Kinesics. It truly depicts the inner feeling going in our mind. We can fake our words to conceal our true inner feeling but our body movements convey it. Thus, we should know how to depict a positive body language so that we give impression of a well –developed personality. We have to work on following areas of body: 1. Eye contact: Eye contact is the first thing that people look for when they meet us 20 Introduction to Tourism - II first and good eye contact will give them a feeling of comfort and genuine warmth in your company, maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest in what they have to say. Lack of eye- contact signifies in-attention and lack of interest. 2. Posture: Getting your posture right will automatically make you feel more confident. And when you feel good other people pick up on that. When we feel down we slouched over with your shoulders drooping down and inward. This collapses the chest and inhibits good breathing, which in turn can help make you feel nervous or uncomfortable. 3. Head position: With our head position we convey many things.When we are confident and self assured we keep our head level both horizontally and vertically, when we project ourselves authoritative our head is in straight position. Conversely, when you want to be friendly and in the listening, receptive mode, tilt your head just a little to one side or the other 4. Arms: One of the most interpreted body parts in body – language is arms. It gives away clues as to how open and receptive we are to everyone. We should always keep our arms out to the side of your body or behind your back. It shows openness and ready to receive new ideas. In general terms the more outgoing you are as a person, the more you tend to use your arms with big movements. Crossing your arms is a no-no in meetings or at interview as it can be interpreted as being passive, aggressive or closed to suggestion. 5. Legs: Legs again convey a lot about our inner feelings as these are farthest point from brain and difficult to control consciously. The way our leg moves convey our state of mind. When we are nervous, stressed or being deceptive our legs tend to move around a lot more than normal. Also the way we cross our legs and where we cross it at the knees or ankles. Crossing of legs shows that the person is defensive. Also on the legs depend the angle of your body in relation to others. It gives an indication of your attitude and feelings towards them. We angle inward toward people we find attractive, friendly and interesting. 6. Hand gestures: With hands we make numerous gestures and each conveys definitive meaning. Some are: Palms slightly up and outward is seen as open and friendly. Palm down gestures are generally seen as dominant, emphasizing and possibly aggressive. This palm up, palm down is very important when it comes to handshaking and where appropriate we suggest you always offer a handshake upright and vertical, which should convey equality. 7. Mouth movements: Our mouth movements can give away all sorts of clues about us. The most expressive part of mouth is lips. When we twist them to the side when we’re thinking or sometimes we use this movement to hold back an angry 21 comment that we don’t wish to reveal. There are also different types of smiles and each gives off a corresponding feeling - A full smile with the lip coming above the teeth shows genuine joy and a smile that does not reach the eyes is NOT a smile but manipulation. A full smile is one of the most positive body gestures. By working on above said components of body language we can project a positive body language. When we project a positive body language our personality becomes more charismatic. In fact, positive body language is reflection of one’s positive attitude towards life and ability to project openness of one’s personality REVIEW QUESTIONS Fill in the Blanks: 1. Positive attitude leads to _________________________________ body language. 2. An open palm shows _______________________________aspect of personality. 3. We should do handshake _____________________________ to convey equality. 4. A _________________________________ on face is the strongest body language. 5. _______________________ eye- contact signifies inattention and lack of interest. 6. Passiveness and aggressiveness of mind depicts in ____________________of arms. 7. When we slouched over with our shoulders drooping down and inward, it shows we are feeling _______________________ 8. We angle inward toward people we find _________________________________ 9. A positive body language makes our personality ____________________________ 10. _______________ of head suggests one want to be friendly and in the listening, and receptive mode. 1.9 Summary Personality development is a cautious and continous effort of individuals to inculcate attributes like positive attitude, etiquetts and positive body language in their personality so that they achieve new heights in Tourism Industry. Tourism industry is a people to people, intangible and glamourous industry which demands professionals which have a right blend of hard skills and soft skills. This unit has described in the simplest way the importance of personality and how it is formed. It also explains that with our efforts we can develop our personality as desired. For it, we need to develop positive attitude. We need to take care of our looks and grooming and learn the etiquettes of work place and telephone handling. Further, learning of positive body language helps us to put up a charsmatic personality. All this makes us employable for tourism industry and help us to achieve new heights in the tourism industry. 22 Introduction to Tourism - II UNIT - II Introduction to Tourism-II Contents 2.0 Unit Overview & Description 2.1 Introduction 2.2 What is Tourism? 2.3 General Impacts 2.4 Typology of Tourism Impacts 2.5 Sources of Tourism Information 2.6 Tourism Organisations 2.7 Summary 2.0 Unit Overview & Description This unit will introduce students to Tourim and its impact. After reading this unit, students will be able to: Pinpoint the reasons as why do we need tourism. Study about tourism sources. Recognise the sources of tourism information. Appreciate the contributions by some of the tourism organisations including MOT, STDC, UNWTO. Resource Material Internet Sources indiarefer.com tyrocity.com sielearning.ta fensw.edu.au tourism.gov.in stdc-mongolia.org wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_Organization unwto.org 23 Books Cook, R.A., L.J. Yale, and J.J. Marqua,( 1999), Tourism: The Business of Travel, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hall C.M. and Stephen, J. Page, (2002), The Geography of Tourism and Recreation. Environment, Place & Space, London: Routledge. Hudman, E.L. and D.E. Hawkins, (1989), Tourism in Contemporary Society: An Introductory Text, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Lundberg, D.E., (1990), The Tourist Business. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Nabi G., (2000), Socio-Economic Impact of Tourism, Jaipur: Pointer. Punia, B.K., (1994), Tourism Management-Problem & Prospects: Delhi, Ashish. Seth, P.N., (1997), Successful Tourism Management, New Delhi: Sterling. Assessment Plan Exercise: Questions & Answers, Role Play and Group Discussion. 2.1 Introduction Today, tourism is one of the largest and dynamically developing sectors of external economic activities. Its high growth and development rates, considerable volumes of foreign currency inflows, infrastructure development, and introduction of new management and educational experience actively affect various sectors of economy, which positively contribute to the social and economic development of the country as a whole. Most highly developed western countries, such as Switzerland, Austria and France have accumulated a big deal of their social and economic welfare on profits from tourism. According to recent statistics, tourism provides about 10% 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. Many people emphasize the positive aspects of tourism as a source of foreign exchange, a way to balance foreign trade, an “industry without chimney”- in short, manna from heaven. For decades tourism industry growth has been a major contributor to increased economic activity throughout the world. It has created jobs in both large and small communities and is a major industry in many places. It is the dominant economic activity in some communities. The slogan ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ which means ‘guests are like God’ truly represents the fact that Indians have been highly hospitable people and this trend is still present in modern India. A guest is considered as highly revered person. Intricate arrangements are generally made for a guest who visits somebody’s home for a holiday or other reasons. The family plans well for the comfortable stay of a guest. Moreover, best crockery and bed sheets are kept in store room just for the usage of the guests. 24 Introduction to Tourism - II Going through a broader picture, the tourist visiting India find our country very enigmatic. They have a quest to watch the villagers walk on the rope, eat the butter with rotis and partake in the ritual dance after sunset. Foreigners love India as it is a storehouse for art, culture, dance and drama. The ethnic culture is present in clothing which attracts several shoppers who love to collect trinkets and serious artifacts. Responsible tourism is conducted by way of giving the tourist the right concept in tours. Their accommodation in government lodges and private hotels is always a luxury. The importance to tourism is essential as they carry the picture of our culture and hospitality. Our courteous attitude reflects our inner self. On the economic context, foreign currency in India can be gathered via tourism. Several tourist spots do well throughout the year and in special seasons they perform exceptionally well in tourism as the foreign and domestic tourists throng the places for sightseeing or holiday trips. A trip for any visitor has to be trouble free. With the betterment in information & technological facilities, the stay of tourists has become more comfortable. Taxi cabs, translation books and a dependable guide all make the trip interesting. The hygiene conditions in the areas are improving as well as the maintenance of hotels and tourist spots. Ministry of tourism is looking for new ways to encourage tourism in India. It is very much essential for a visitor to enjoy the stay and is enhanced by facilities like road transport, guides and good hotels. Many hotels & restaurants have multi cuisines to accommodate the choices of foreign and domestic visitors. Tour operators have become more concerned about tourist plans. Complete details about weather conditions, clothes required and facilities are given to the tourists to help them prepare for a holiday. This all has led to the multi-dimensional changes in the tourism and travel industry. This requirement starts with mitigating destination needs with trained manpower for successful tourism management. This unit aims at identifying the need of tourism industry, the information sources available in tourism and exploring the role of the agencies (governmental) for the development of tourism. 2.2 What is Tourism? Tourism refers to that activity which is conducted for a short period of time, more than 24 hours and less than 1 year, for a non-remunerative purpose. Based on the UNWTO definition on tourism, tourism could be categorized as: Domestic Tourism: Domestic tourism involves trips made by local residents within their own countries. Example: An American, who lives in New York, takes a business trip to Los Angeles. International Tourism: International Tourism involves trips between 2 countries. To a certain country, a visit by residents of that country to another country is an outbound tourism; a visit to that country by residents of another country is an inbound tourism. Example: Trips between Hong Kong and Japan. Hong Kong as the point of origin/point of destination: Visits made by Hong Kong residents to Japan are Hong Kong’s outbound tourism; Visits made by Japanese to Hong Kong 25 are Hong Kong’s inbound tourism. International tourists are those who travel to a country other than the one in which they normally live. Why Tourism? Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening diversification to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Modern tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses growing number of new destinations. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio- economic progress. Today, the business volume of tourism equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, food products or automobiles. Tourism has become one of the major players in international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income sources for many developing countries. This growth goes hand in hand with an increasing diversification and competition among destinations. This global spread of tourism in industrialized and developed states has produced economic and employment benefits in many related sectors - from construction to agriculture or telecommunications. Thus, answer to the above asked question is delivered by the following impacts made by ‘TOURISM’ (Taking Case Study as of India): 2.3 General Impacts Generating Income and Employment: Tourism in India has emerged as an instrument of income and employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development. It contributes 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. Almost 20 million people are now working in the India’s tourism industry. Source of Foreign Exchange Earnings: Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange earnings in India. This has favourable impact on the balance of payment of the country. The tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. Preservation of National Heritage and Environment: Tourism helps preserve several places which are of historical importance by declaring them as heritage sites. For instance, the Taj Mahal, the Qutab Minar, Ajanta and Ellora temples, etc., would have been decayed and destroyed had it not been for the efforts taken by Tourism Department to preserve them. Likewise, tourism also helps in conserving the natural habitats of many endangered species. Developing Infrastructure: Tourism tends to encourage the development of multiple-use infrastructure that benefits the host community, including various means of transports, health care facilities, and sports centres, in addition to the hotels and high-end restaurants that cater to foreign visitors. The development of 26 Introduction to Tourism - II infrastructure has in turn induced the development of other directly productive activities. Promoting Peace and Stability: Honey and Gilpin (2009) suggests that the tourism industry can also help promote peace and stability in developing country like India by providing jobs, generating income, diversifying the economy, protecting the environment and promoting cross-cultural awareness. However, key challenges like adoption of regulatory frameworks, mechanisms to reduce crime and corruption, etc. must be addressed if peace-enhancing benefits from this industry are to be realized. 2.4 Typology of Tourism Impacts The impacts of tourism can be sorted into six general categories: 1. Economic 2. Environmental 3. Social and Cultural 4. Services 5. Taxes 6. Community Attitude Understanding that tourism development may result in many and complex impacts suggests that local elected officials, the tourism industry and community residents need to work cooperatively and carefully to plan for its growth and development. Planning can help create an industry that enhances a community with minimal costs and disruptions in other aspects of community life. Having broad community involvement and embracing different perspectives during planning helps identify and resolve concerns that would otherwise create problems later. Economic Impact Tourism increases employment opportunities. Additional jobs, ranging from low-wage entry- level to high-paying professional positions in management and technical fields, generate income and raises standard of living. Particularly in rural areas, the diversification created by tourism helps communities that are possibly dependent on only one industry. As tourism grows, additional opportunities are created for investment, development and infrastructure spending. Tourism often induces improvements in public utilities such as water, sewer, sidewalks, lighting, parking, public restrooms, litter control and landscaping. Such improvements benefit tourists and residents alike. Likewise, tourism encourages improvements in transport infrastructure resulting in upgraded roads, airports, public transportation and non-traditional transportation (e.g., trails). Tourism encourages new elements to join the retail mix, increasing opportunities 27 for shopping and adding healthy competitiveness. It often increases a community’s tax revenues. Lodging and sales taxes most notably increase but additional tax revenues include air travel and other transportation taxes, business taxes and fuel taxes. New jobs generate more income tax revenues. When considering the economic impacts of tourism, it is essential to understand that tourism businesses often include a significant number of low-paying jobs, often at minimum wage or less. These jobs are often seasonal causing under-employment or unemployment during off-seasons. Labour may be imported, rather than hired locally, especially if particular skills or expertise is required, or if local labour is unavailable. Some tourism-related businesses are volatile and high-risk ventures that are unsustainable. Greater demand for goods, services, land and housing may increase prices that in turn will increase the cost of living. Tourism businesses may claim land that could have higher- value or other uses. Additionally, non-local owners and corporations may export profits out of the community. The community may have to generate funds (possibly through increased taxes) to maintain roads and transportation systems that have become more heavily used. Similarly, if additional infrastructure (water, sewer, power, fuel, medical, etc.) is required, additional taxes may also be needed to pay for them. Environmental Impact Areas with high-value natural resources like oceans, lakes, waterfalls, mountains, unique flora and fauna and great scenic beauty attract tourists and new residents (in-migrants) who seek emotional and spiritual connections with nature. Because these people value nature, selected natural environments are preserved, protected and kept from further ecological decline. Lands that could be developed can generate income by accommodating the recreational activities of visitors. Tourist income often makes it possible to preserve and restore historic buildings and monuments. Improvements in the area’s appearance through cleanup or repairs and the addition of public art such as murals, water fountains and monuments (part of making a community ready for tourism) benefit visitors and residents alike. Tourism is generally considered a “clean” industry, one that is based on hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions, instead of factories. Social and Cultural Impact The social and cultural ramifications of tourism warrant careful consideration, as impacts can either become assets or detriments to communities. Influxes of tourists bring diverse values to the community and influence behaviours and family life. Individuals and the collective community might try to please tourists or adopt tourist behaviours. Interactions between residents and tourists can impact creative expression by providing new opportunities (positive) or by stifling individuality. Increased tourism can push a community to adopt a different moral conduct such as improved understanding between sexes (positive) or increased illicit drug use (negative). Safety and health facilities and staffing tend to increase but also the safety problems such as crime and accidents increase. Traditional ceremonies may be renewed and revived by tourist interest or lost in alternative activities. 28 Introduction to Tourism - II Community organizations can be invigorated by facing the opportunities of tourism or overwhelmed by its associated problems. Calamities such as natural disasters, energy shor tages, terrorism, political upheaval, disease outbreak, a chemical spill, or even wide spread negative publicity could shut down tourism abruptly but sometimes can attract curious visitors. Tourism can improve the quality of life in an area by increasing the number of attractions, recreational opportunities and services. Tourism offers resident’s opportunities to meet interesting people, make friendships, learn about the world, and expose themselves to new perspectives. Experiencing different cultural practices enriches experiences, broadens horizons and increases insight and appreciation for different approaches to living. Often, dwindling interest in host cultures is revived by reawakening cultural heritage as part of tourism development, which increases demand for historical and cultural exhibits. This interest by tourists in local culture and history provides opportunities to support preservation of historical artefacts and architecture. By learning more about others, their differences become less threatening and more interesting. At the same time, tourism often promotes higher levels of psychological satisfaction from opportunities created by tourism development and through interactions with travellers. Establishing or developing a tourism industry involves expenditure as well as gains/ benefits. If these impacts are taken into consideration from the outset of planning, strengths and opportunities can be maximized. Lists of potential benefits are presented below. Table 1 presents some of the positive impacts of tourism. Table 1: Impacts of Tourism Economic Benefits Tourism generates local employment, directly in the tourism sector and in support and resource management sectors. Tourism stimulates profitable domestic industries, hotels and other lodging facilities, restaurants and food services, transportation systems, handicrafts and guide services. Tourism generates foreign exchange for the country and injects capital and new money into the local economy. Tourism helps to diversify the local economy. Improved road systems and infrastructure that contributes to the entire destination can be justified and supported by the benefits from tourism development. Often the jobs created through tourism can be low-paying and unskilled but they constitute an important step for the poor to improve their economic condition. Increased tax revenues from tourism. 29 Social Benefits The quality of life of a community can be enhanced by economic diversification through tourism. Recreational and cultural facilities created for tourism can be used by local communities as well as domestic/international visitors. Public spaces may be developed and enhanced through tourism activity. Tourism enhances local community’s esteem and provides an opportunity for greater understanding and communication among peoples of diverse backgrounds. Cultural Benefits Tourism can enhance local cultural awareness. Tourism can generate revenue to help pay for the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and districts. Despite criticism about the alteration of cultures to unacceptable levels, the sharing of cultural knowledge and experience can be beneficial for hosts and guests at tourism destinations and can result in the revival of local traditions and crafts. Physical Environmental Benefits Parks and nature preserves may be created and ecological preservation supported as a necessity for nature based tourism. Improved waste management can be achieved. Increased awareness and concern for the environment can result from nature-based tourism activities and development. Source: United Nations (2003). Poverty Alleviation through Sustainable Tourism Development, New York. Services Tourism creates opportunities to develop new amenities and recreation facilities that would not otherwise be viable in a community. Tourist expectations can upgrade service by local shops, restaurants and other commerce operators. Tourist traffic in a community creates an opportunity for upgraded fire, police, and medical protection that also benefits residents. Traditional services may be forced out or relocated due to competition with tourist interests. Supply shortages may occur temporarily, seasonally or chronically. Water, power, fuel, and other shortages may be experienced with increased pressure on the infrastructure. 30 Introduction to Tourism - II Positive Increases availability of recreation facilities and opportunities. Better standard of services by shops, restaurants and other commerce Improves quality of fire protection. Improves quality of police protection. Taxes Increased retail activity from restaurants and tourist shopping will add state and local sales tax revenue. Lodging tax revenue to the city (or state) should increase since travellers account for virtually all lodging tax. Increased tax burdens to expand infrastructure and public services will be passed on to property owners through increased property taxes. Positive Additional state and local sales tax revenue. Lodging tax revenue to city (or state). Community Attitude Visitor interest and satisfaction in the community is a source of local pride. Seeing visitor interest makes local residents more appreciative of local resources that are often taken for granted. As tourism develops, local residents will enjoy more facilities and a greater range of choices. Tourism activities and events tend to make living in a place more interesting and exciting. However, heightened tension and community divisiveness can occur over tourism development, pitting tourism supporters against non-supporters. Also, tension between residents and tourists can occur. People will often feel stressed over the new, increasingly hectic community and personal pace of life. They may claim the result is no better than before or perhaps even worse. Where culture is part of the tourist attractions, over-amplification of cultural traits and creation of “new” cultural traits to satisfy tourist tastes may create a phoney culture. Residents may experience a sense of exclusion and alienation over planning and development concerns. They may feel a loss of control over the community’s future as “outsiders” take over establishments and new development. Over-dependence on non-local developers and an influx of outside businesses creates a sense that the community is being manipulated and exploited by outsiders for the sole benefit of those developers or business people. Hotels built in monolithic cubes or restaurants with standardized franchise designs might clash with local standards and disrupt the aesthetic appearance of the community, damage unique community character, and spread “sameness.” Positive Heightens pride in community. 31 Greater appreciation of local resources. More facilities and range of choices available. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Define Tourism? ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How much proportion does Tourism contributes to India’s GDP? _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Which industry has surpassed the business volume of oil exports, food products and automobiles? _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What sources are helping the government with the funds to manage natural resources? _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Name the various impacts which have laid down the need of Tourism industry? _________________________________________________________________________________ 2.5 Sources of Tourism Information Current, accurate and relevant tourism information is essential for travel and tourism industry professionals. This information underpins most of the industry’s activities. It is required for the development of travel itineraries and tour products. It is essential for the successful sale of tourism products to customers. Let’s consider some of the ways in which travel and tourism industry personnel develop and update their destination knowledge. You should access as many of these information sources as possible so that you can see the type and range of information available for yourself. Current destination information is distributed within the travel and tourism industry in many ways. Key sources of destination information are listed below. Industry people Industry principals, tour wholesalers, tour operators and national tourism organizations often employ sales representatives to visit other industry firms, particularly retail travel agents and distribute the latest tourism destination and product information. Sales representatives may call on a regular basis or as required. Many tour wholesalers hold destination and product launches, introducing new 32 Introduction to Tourism - II destinations and products to those working in other sectors of the travel and tourism industry. This is usually done early in the year when new tour brochures are being distributed. To expand and update the knowledge of industry personnel, travel and tourism firms and organizations also hold seminars and workshops focusing on destinations and products. Where possible, industry personnel undertake educational and familiarisation visits and carries out site inspections to improve their knowledge. Educational, ‘famils’ and site inspections are usually provided by principals, tour wholesalers or tour operators. Informal discussion with well-travelled colleagues, customers and others is a very valuable source of current destination information. Personal travel is even better. Brochures, Journals and Media National tourism organizations (NTOs) and other government bodies distribute agent’s manuals, maps, videos and other destination-specific information. Destination and product updates are a feature of trade journals like Travel trade and Travel Week. The general media, particularly newspapers, journals and television, is an important source of current destination information. World news is important to travel industry personnel. We must know what is happening in destinations world -wide since this will have an impact on tourism products and services. Many newspapers and journals also have travel sections or features. Television provides travel shows and documentaries on specific destinations. Visual information of this kind is very valuable. Tour brochures and other industry publications like in-flight magazines contain a wealth of destination information. Publications Atlases, maps and publications containing maps are essential to fully understand the relationship between places and how they may be arranged in a sequence to form an itinerary. Maps provide other information too. For example, many maps indicate the distances between places. Since distance and travel time are related, this type of information is also necessary for itinerary planning. Guide books, a range of reference books and other destination publications are used by industry personnel. Among the industry publications are The World Travel Guide, the Travel Trade Visa Guide and TIM (Travel Information Manual), usually 33 accessed these days as Timatic on an industry CRS (computer reservation system). Industry publications of this kind provide us with information on a range of issues, including entry and exit requirements for destination countries, customs regulations and health and safety considerations. Many websites also deal with these issues. Travel literature is also important. It covers personal travel narratives, memoirs, biographies and photographic records of specific places or journeys. Travel literature often provides interesting insights into destinations not otherwise available, thereby adding another dimension to destination information. Other sources Travel and tourism industry trade shows open to the industry and/or the public are significant. Many industry staff members undertake formal study to improve their destination knowledge (as you are doing now). Internet, email and fax destination and product updates are a feature of the industry. These are the easiest methods to reach a large number of people quickly, with the latest information. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Name the key sources of tourism information. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Measures to expand and update the knowledge of industry personnel? _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Name two Travel-Trade Journals. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Expand CRS. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Name the source of Tourism Information which includes biographies and photo graphic records of specific places or journeys. _________________________________________________________________________________ 34 Introduction to Tourism - II 2.6 Tourism Organisations The various institutes that show there due concern in the massive and ever growing tourism industry are called tourism organisations. Few of them are discussed below: Ministry of Tourism The Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the formulation of national policies and programmes and for the co-ordination of activities of various Central Government Agencies, State Governments/UTs and the Private Sector for the development and promotion of tourism in the country. This Ministry is headed by the Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge). The administrative head of the Ministry is the Secretary (Tourism). The Secretary also acts as the Director General (DG) Tourism. The office of the Director General of Tourism {now merged with the office of Secretary (Tourism)} provides executive directions for the implementation of various policies and programmes. Directorate General of Tourism has a field formation of 20 offices within the country and 14 offices abroad and one sub-ordinate office/project i.e. Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM)/ Gulmarg Winter Sports Project. The overseas offices are primarily responsible for tourism promotion and marketing in their respective areas and the field offices in India are responsible for providing information service to tourists and to monitor the progress of field projects. The activities of IISM/GWSP have now been revived and various Ski and other courses are being conducted in the J&K valley. Role and Functions of the Ministry of Tourism The Ministry of Tourism functions as the nodal agency for the development of tourism in the country. It plays a crucial role in coordinating and supplementing the efforts of the State/ Union Territory Governments, catalysing private investment, strengthening promotional and marketing efforts and in providing trained manpower resources. The functions of the Ministry in this regard mainly consist of the following: 1. All Policy Matters, including Development Policies Incentives External Assistance Manpower Development

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