DEVELOPING A MARKETING STRATEGY FOR MTDC

RESORTS AKIN TO THE RESORT OPERATIONS

BRANCH AND RESERVATION BRANCH OF MTDC

A Report Submitted to
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Mumbai

For the
Summer Internship Programme of MBA 3rd Semester,
Department of Business Administration
Assam University, Silchar

In the Subject of
Hospitality and Tourism Management

Submitted By
KRISHNENDU CHOUDHURY
3rd Semester
MBA, Assam University
Under the Mentorship of
Mr. Rohit Ahire
Executive Assistant
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Mumbai

Under the Guidance of

Mr. Chandrashekhar S. Jaiswal
Deputy General Manager
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Mumbai
 PREFACE
In the recent years professional courses have reached a great height amongst the

present generation. The course of Master of Business Administration, (MBA) has

extensively developed for the students to meet high expectations and requirements to

be a part of the corporate sector and acquire knowledge in various aspects in business

administration.

As a part of the academic course curriculum in management, MBA students from

Department Of Business Administration, Assam University are sent to different

business organizations to undergo training to practice the theoretical knowledge

gained through studies and get accustomed to the day to day workings of an

organization.

I, Krishnendu Choudhury pursuing MBA course from Department Of Business

Administration, Assam University, Silchar. I took up this project on A STUDY ON

DEVELOPING THE MARKETING STRATEGIES For The MTDC RESORTS

AKIN TO THE RESORT OPERATIONS BRANCH AND RESERVATION

BRANCH OF THE MTDC RESORTS. and it has been my privilege to be

associated with MAHARASHTRA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION, MUMBAI with the aim to obtain practical exposure.

[i]
 ACKNOWLEGMENT
Grateful acknowledgement is here made to those who helped to gather data for this
paper. This work would not have reached its present form without their individual
help.

This training part of MBA programme taught me a lot to understand the key to
success in an organization. For the preparation of this project, many people have
helped me directly or indirectly since no project can be completed through the
individual effort only. Therefore, I would like to thank all those who helped me in
completion of my project. This project is not an individual effort but a collection of
efforts by each & every member associated with it. Working with MTDC has been a
gratitude to the following people without whose cooperation and help at every stage,
successful completion of the project would not have been possible.

I would also take the opportunity to thank my department, Department of Business

Administration, Assam University, Silchar, to put the theoretical inputs gathered at
the institute to practice.

I consider it my privilege to express a few words of gratitude to all those who have
guided and inspired me throughout the project. A successful project cannot be
completed with individual efforts alone. This project is done and completed with the
help of number of individuals. I shall remain grateful to those who have supported me
throughout the preparation of the project.

I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to my Organizational

guide Mr. Chandrashekhar S. Jaiswal, DGM, MTDC, Mumbai for his help and
guidance, which greatly contributed to the effective completion of this project and
also my project guide Mr. Rohit Ahire, Executive Assistant (Resort Operation)
MTDC, Mumbai for his help and guidance.

Krishnendu Choudhury

[ii]
!
!
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I)eclaration
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"Dev'elopinga Marketing Sttategt for MTDC Resorts
I herebydeclaredthat the project entitled
i MTDC'" is a record of
akin to the Resortoperation Branch and Reservation Branch of
! independentresearchcarried out by me at (MTDC, Mumbai), in
partial fulfillment of the

! MBA degreeaSper coursecurriculumofferedby Department

requirementfor the third semester,
t of BusinessAdministration, Assam university Silchar'

!
t {t is an original plece of work done by me and hasnot previously formed the basis
for award of
t anv degree,diploma or sinrilar other titles in full or parl'
t
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i tl^fih^"^fuLW
ChoudhurY V
Krishnendu
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MBA 2nd semester
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I' Administration
cif Business
Department

F AssamuniversitY, silchar

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 TO WIIO}I IT }LAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr. KrishnenduChoudhurystudentof MBA AssamUniversity

completedher SUMMER INTERNSHIPTRAINING from 25th may
Silchar, hassuccessfully
to2lth July20l6 at our company(MTDC, Mumbai ).

During the training period shedid the project on "Developinga Marketing Strategvfor MTDC
Resorts akin to the Resort Operation Branch and Reservation Branclt of MTDC' and her
projectwas found satisfactory.

Duringthe trainingperiod,he hasbeenfoundsincereandhardworking.

We wish him allsuccessin his futureendeavors.

// o ,
(-^,^.tP' . t t l . Y J
u I tt<v

Mr. Chandrahhekhar
S. Jaiswal
Mt*.ohit Ahire
Dy. GeneralManager
ExecutiveAssistant
M.T.D.C.,Mumbai
M.T.D.C.,Mumbai

Ii"]
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TOPIC : DEVELOPING THE MARKETING STRATEGY FOR

MTDC RESORTS TO THE RESORT OPERATIONS
BRANCH AND RESERVATION BRANCH OF MTDC
RESORTS

AREA OF STUDY : HOSPITILITY AND TOURISM.

PLACE OF STUDY : MAHARASHTRA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION LIMITED.

C.D.O. HUTMENTS, OPP. L.I.C. (YOGAKSHEMA)

BUILDING, MADAME CAMA ROAD, MUMBAI,
MAHARASHTRA - 400020

PHONE: 1800 22 9930

ORGANISATIONAL GUIDE: MR. CHANDRASHEKHAR S. JAISWAL

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER (DGM)

MAHARASHTRA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION LIMITED, MUMBAI.

PROJECT GUIDE : MR. ROHIT AHIRE

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (Resort Operations)

MAHARASHTRA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION LIMITED, MUMBAI.

[v]
 ABBREVIATIONS

1. MTDC: - Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.

2. SOP: - Standard Operating Procedures.

3. USP: - Unique Selling Proposition.

4. UNESCO: - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization.

5. SWOT Analysis: - Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat Analysis.

6. WTTC: - World Travel and Tourism Council.

7. FTAs: - Foreign Tourist Arrivals.

8. TALC:- Tourism Area Life Cycle

9. HVAC: - Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning.

10. ISI: - Indian Standard Institute.

11. CRM: - Customer Relationship Management.

12. POS: - Point of Sale.

13. OTA: - Online Travel Agencies.

14. DOR.:- Dormitory

[vi]
 INDEX
SR.
NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. Abstract 1-2
2. Introduction 3
2.1 About the organization 4
2.2 About the topic 4-5
3. Literature review of the research 6-7
4. Marketing Mix (4 Ps of Marketing) 8-9
4.1 Product 9-11
4.2 Price 12-13
4.3 Promotion 14-16
4.4 Place, Quality and Tourism Potential in Maharashtra 17-21
5. SWOT analysis of the Organization 22-23
5.1 Strength(S) 23-25
5.2 Weakness(W) 26-28
5.3 Opportunities(O) 29-30
5.4 Threat (T) 31-32
6. Foreign tourist arrivals in India, 1998-2014 33-34
6.1 Graph showing the flow of foreign tourist 35
7. Top ten source countries for foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2014 36-37
7.1 Graph showing the percentage share of the top ten Countries 38
8. Number of domestic tourist visit in top ten states in India 39-40
Graph showing the growth rate of domestic tourist flows in top ten
8.1 41
states of India
Developing The Marketing Strategy For MTDC For Increasing The
9. 42-46
Resort Occupancy Rate
9.1 Strategies To Increase the Occupancy Rate of MTDC Resorts 47-58
Current Occupancy status and Comparison between Current and
10. 59-65
Expected Occupancy status
11. Applications And Recommendations 67-71
12. Conclusion 72-73
13. References 74-75

[vii]
TOPIC: - DEVELOPING THE MARKETING STRATEGY
FOR MTDC RESORTS AKIN TO THE RESORT
OPERATION BRANCH AND RESERVATION BRANCH
OF MTDC
 1.
ABSTRACT:-
The objective of this research is to explore marketing strategy in the hospitality
industry in terms of product offering, pricing, and promotion along with the
relationship of customers satisfaction with such practices. The study was limited to
the resorts that provide sleeping accommodations and meal options in Maharashtra.
The findings show that the resorts are mostly sole proprietorship. They offer
discounts, assist and greet customers, work in a friendly manner, and provide clean
rooms. Also, no significant relationship was found between the level of marketing
practices and the business-related factors. Likewise, there was no significant
relationship between the level of customers satisfaction and the marketing practices.
Implications and recommendations are provided for managers.

Key words: Marketing, products, prices, promotion, tourism.

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 2.

INTRODUCTION:-
About the Organization and topic :-

2.1. Brief description of MTDC:-

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has been established under

The Companies Act 1956 and it was set up in 1975 by Government of Maharashtra
with an authorized share capital of Rs 25 crore for systematic development of tourism
on commercial lines and to double the tourist traffic into the state. It has been
involved in the development and maintenance of various tourist destinations of
Maharashtra and it owns and maintains resorts in all tourist centers such as
Harihareshwar, Velneshwar, Tarkarli, Ganpatipule, Matheran , etc. Apart from this, it
has 17 information and reservation counters located in the state. MTDC aims to
promote tourism in the state of Maharashtra and change its image from a favorable
tourist destination to a premier tourist destination. Apart from acting as the nodal
agency of the state for promotion and development of tourism, MTDC also projects
and enhances its historical, physical and cultural heritage. A State Tourism Board,
MTDC has been playing a pivotal role in projecting the multi-faceted culture and
heritage of Maharashtra among visitors from all over the country and the world. The
main role of this Government body is to act as the nodal agency for the development
of tourism in the state, run holiday resorts, Resorts, motels, restaurants, and produce
publicity and promotional material for tourists. It also organizes festivals at the
heritage sites and places of historical and tourist attractions in the state, such as
Banganga, Kalaghoda, Pune etc. It gets the support from Corporate and other
sponsors for such initiatives.

2.1 About the Topic :-

Traveling is a normal part of life for most individuals. Thousands of years ago there
were the pre-historic nomadic tribes who traveled for better weather, safety and to
seek food. Today, traveling is a part of everyday life for most working professionals.
In keeping with the increase in tourists desire to travel for pleasure or for business,
Hotels and Resorts are there ready to provide sleeping accommodations, food,
beverage, and recreational facilities. In India, travel and tourism as an industry has
performed a key role in the economy because of its capacity to generate more
revenues for the local municipalities and the country. Maharashtra is considered one
of most beautiful places in India due to its strategic location and the interesting
adventurous sceneries that are preserved and protected by the government to attract
repeat tourists. The tourism industry provides career opportunities for people of every
generation, experience and education. Hotels and Resorts play an important role in
the attainment and acceleration of the social and economic growth of the country. In
the province of Maharashtra the potential growth and development towards
industrialization and its programs to promote local and foreign tourism led to the
growth of the Hotels and Resorts that are now serving the province. Aside from being
one of the main educational centers in the country, Maharashtra province is fast
becoming a tourist spot because of the beauty of the natural resources and the
rich/cultural heritage such as the presence of ancestral building, Sea beach, Religious
temples etc.

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 3.

LITERATURE REVIEW: PRODUCTS, PRICES,

PROMOTIONS, PLACE:-
Any Hotels or Resorts business can be formed as a sole proprietorship, partnership or
even a corporation, depending on the nature and type of the business. Regardless of
the type of business ownership, they all aim to create raving fans through customer
intimacy since they want all their guests to become repeat customers (Mujtaba and
Johnson, 2004). Etzel (2004) states that the business market consists of all individuals
and organizations that buy goods and services. So, any goods or services purchased
for a reason other than personal or household consumption is part of the business
market. The activity of marketing goods and services to business users, rather than to
ultimate consumers, is business marketing and a firm performing the activity is a
business marketer. Every retail store and wholesaling establishment is a business
user, as is the case with every Resorts, and restaurant. Business market demand
generally is derived, inelastic, and widely fluctuating. Business buyers usually are
well informed about what they are buying. Business market demand is analyzed by
evaluating the number and kinds of business users and their buying power.
Kotler (2009) argues that selling products and services to a company is
fundamentally different than selling to individuals.
Others disagree, claiming that marketing theory is still valid and only
involves some adaptation in the marketing tactics. In order for firms to be
competitive and remain in business, their products, prices and promotional activities
must be satisfactory and offer as good a value as most rivals and industry leaders
(Mujtaba and McFarlane, 2007).

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 4.
MARKETING MIX (4 PS OF MARKETING):-
According to Philip Kotler Marketing Mix is the set of controllable variables that the
firm can use to influence the buyers response. The controllable variables in this
context refer to the 4 Ps [product, price, place (distribution) and promotion]. Each
firm strives to build up such a composition of 4Ps, which can create highest level of
consumer satisfaction and at the same time meet its organizational objectives. Thus,
this mix is assembled keeping in mind the needs of target customers, and it varies
from one organization to another depending upon its available resources and
marketing objectives. Let us now have a brief idea about the four components of
marketing mix.

4.1. Product:-

A product is any tangible or intangible good or service offered to customers. To

satisfy customers, businesses should render quality products and services. Nankervis
(1992) mentions that productivity of Resorts in Southeast Asia assumes crucial
importance when compared with competitors; for example, in terms of intangible
services, even the check-in and check-out speeds and luggage delivery times should
be monitored, measured, and compared with Competitors by business managers.
Lovelock and Foster (1991) describe service as intangible and experiential.
According to Kotler (1996), service is an act or performance that one can offer to
another that is essential, intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.
He further on Journal of Management and Marketing Research Marketing of Resorts
and Resorts, Page3 stated that service can be categorized into four groups: (a) pure
tangible goods (b) tangible goods with accompanying sources, (c) major service,
accompanying minor goods or service, and (d) a pure service which could also be
classified into people and equipment based. Peter and Donnelly (1991) stated that
service quality is paramount for all service providers. In recent years, more than forty
percent of all customers surveyed listed poor service as the number one reason for
switching to the competition while only eight percent listed price as a reason for
switching (Peter and Donnelly, 1991). It is easier and five times cheaper to keep an
existing customer than to recruit a new one. One special marketing challenge facing
most service businesses is to find ways of keeping their current customers and to
make their offerings more tangible to potential customers. According to Walker,
Boyd and Larreche (1996), some methods for keeping customers can include:
1. Designing recreational facilities and training personnel to serve as
symbol of service quality.
2. Creating a tangible representation of the service.
3. Tying the marketing of services to the marketing of goods. A service is
an experience, perishable and cannot be inventoried for future use.
Whether the company adopts a standardized or localized international
Marketing strategy the services and products offered must be at their
highest quality.

So service and product quality are paramount for all service providers and
organizations that want to survive.
4.1.1 Following shows how MTDC is relating to the product:-

Products Relating to MTDC Resorts:-

SR. NAME OF THE RESORTS UNIQUE SELLING

NO. (AS A PRODUCT) PROPOSITION(USP)

1. HARIHARESHWAR BEACH RESORT

2. VELNESHWAR BEACH RESORT

3. TARKARLI BEACH RESORT

4. TARKARLI HOUSE BOAT BEACH RESORT

5. GANPATIPULE BEACH RESORT

6. MATHERAN HILL RESORT

7. MALSHEJ GHAT HILL RESORT

8. MAHABALESHWAR HILL RESORT

9. PANSHET HILL RESORT

10. BHANDARDARA HILL RESORT

11. CHIKHALDARA HILL RESORT

WORLD HERITAGE SITE
12. ELLORA RESTAURANT AND BEER BAR
RESORT
WORLD HERITAGE SITE
13. ELEPHANTA RESTAURANT AND BEER BAR
RESORT
WORLD HERITAGE SITE
14. AJANTA T JUNCTION
RESORT
WORLD HERITAGE SITE
15. AJANTA TOURIST RESORT
RESORT

16. RESORTS SHIRDI PILGRIMAGE RESORT

17. TADOBA MOHARLI JUNGLE RESORT

18. NAGPUR TOURIST RESORT

19. KARLA NATURE RESORT

Source:- MTDC TARIFF

4.2 Price:-

Price is the amount that can be charged for a companys products or services. In the
setting of prices, managers/owners should see to it that prices are reasonably
affordable, fair, and competitive. According to McCarty and Perrault (1990), price is
what is charged for a firms products or services since a business transaction can be
an exchange of money, which represents the price. Walker, Boyd and Larreche
(1996) state that companies find it difficult to adopt standardized pricing strategy
across countries because of reasons such as different transportation cost, exchange
rate, competition, market demand, objectives, government policies and regulation,
taxes and other factors. Pricing is an art and its main goals are to optimize profit,
reduce losses, and maintain market share for the organization and the industry.
According to Pagoso and De la Cruz (2000), price is a very important factor in the
operational market because this is the only element among the four Ps of marketing
mix that generates income. Lao (2001) states that pricing is a science, but it is not
necessarily an exact science since it require some skill and research. Through an
exhaustive accumulation of decision-making information combined with the
company operation, managers can create a good pricing policy. According to OHara
(1995), pricing plays a major role in any business establishment. He suggested that
the determination of prices involves three primary considerations such as cost,
competition and customers. The right price is one which the customers will be willing
to pay and at the same time it allows a reasonable margin of profit. As mentioned by
Salazar and Sanvictores (1990), there are various ways to figure the right price. Some
entrepreneurs use the cost-plus method wherein the costs of Journal of Management
and Marketing Research Marketing of Resorts and Resorts, Page 4 making an item
are calculated and an extra amount is added for profit. Others figure the prevailing
market prices and then use them as guide to their own prices, either a little above or a
little below the prevailing market price. Prices of products can be changed from time
to time due to fluctuation or an economic recession. Prices influence the market
share, competition, profit, product quality and the entire marketing program. An
example of pricing can include what a resort or Resorts charges for a room per night.
There are two major components of room rates as mentioned by Vallen (1985): first,
room rates must be large enough to cover costs and a fair return on invested capital;
and secondly, it must be reasonable enough to attract and retain the clientele to whom
the operation is being marketed.
4.2.1 Following Shows how MTDC relating to Price:-

Price Relating To MTDC Resorts:- (01-01-2016 to 30-04-2017)

SR.
SEASON PERIOD OFF SEASON PERIOD
NO.
NAME OF THE RESORTS
MAX. MIN. MAX. MIN.
TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF
1. HARIHARESHWAR Rs. 2450 Rs. 2250 Rs.1750 Rs. 1550
2. VELNESHWAR Rs. 1700 Rs. 1200 Rs.1200 Rs.900
3. TARKARLI Rs.4700 Rs. 2400 Rs.3100 Rs.1700

4. TARKARLI HOUSE BOAT Rs. 10000 Rs.7100 N/A N/A

5. GANPATIPULE Rs. 4000 Rs. 2000 Rs. 2800 Rs.1400

6. MATHERAN Rs. 4000 Rs. 1100 N/A N/A
7. MALSHEJ GHAT Rs. 5600 Rs.1500 Rs. 4000 Rs. 1100
8. MAHABALESHWAR Rs. 4750 Rs. 1200 Rs.3150 Rs. 900
9. AJANTA T JUNCTION Rs. 1800 N/A N/A N/A
10. AJANTA TOURIST RESORT Rs. 1900 Rs. 1600 Rs. 1700 Rs. 1200

ELLORA RESTAURANT AND

11. N/A N/A N/A N/A
BEER BAR
12. KARLA Rs. 8100 Rs.1400 N/A N/A
ELEPHANTA RESTAURANT
13. Rs. 1500 N/A Rs. 1000 N/A
AND BEER BAR
14. PANSHET Rs. 10000 Rs. 1500 N/A N/A
15. BHANDARDARA Rs. 4850 Rs. 1100 N/A N/A
16. RESORTS SHIRDI Rs. 2000 Rs. 700 N/A N/A
17. CHIKHALDARA Rs. 4000 Rs. 2100 N/A N/A
18. TADOBA MOHARLI Rs. 2950 Rs. 1600 Rs. 2400 Rs. 1200
19. NAGPUR TOURIST RESORT Rs. 6000 Rs. 1500 N/A N/A

SOURCE:- MTDC TARIFF

 4.3 Promotion:-

Promotion refers to the process of informing and persuading the consumers to buy
certain product. By using this process, the marketers convey persuasive message and
information o its potential customers. The main objective of promotion is to seek
buyers attention towards the product with a view to;
arouse his interest in the product;
inform him about its availability; and
inform him as to how is it different from others.

It is thus a persuasive communication and also serves as a reminder. A firm uses

different tools for its promotional activities which are as follows:
Advertising
Publicity
Personal selling
Sales promotion

These are also termed as four elements of a promotion mix. Let us have a brief idea
about these promotion tools.

A. Advertising: Advertising is the most commonly used tool for informing the
present and prospective consumers about the product, its quality, features,
availability, etc. It is a paid form of non-personal communication through
different media about a product, idea, a service or an organization by an
identified sponsor. It can be done through print media like newspaper,
magazines, billboards, electronic media like radio, television, etc. It is a very
flexible and comparatively low cost tool of promotion.

B. Publicity: This is a non-paid process of generating wide range of

communication to contribute a favourable attitude towards the product and the
 organization. You may have seen articles in newspapers about an organization,
its products and policies. The other tools of publicity are press conference,
publication and news in the electronic media etc. It is published or broadcasted
without charging any money from the firm. Marketers often spend a lot of time
and effort in getting news items placed in the media for creation of a favorable
image of the company and its products.

C. Personal selling: You must have come across representatives of different

companies knocking at your door and persuading you to buy their product. It is
a direct presentation of the product to the consumers or prospective buyers. It
refers to the use of salespersons to persuade the buyers to act favourably and
buy the product. It is most effective promotional tool in case of industrial
goods.

D. Sales promotion: This refers to short-term and temporary incentives to

purchase or induce trials of new goods. The tool include contests, games, gifts,
trade shows, discounts, etc. Sales promotional activities are often carried out at
retail levels.

If the product is manufactured keeping the consumer needs in mind, is rightly priced
and made available at outlets convenient to them but the consumer is not made aware
about its price, features, availability etc, its marketing effort may not be successful.
Therefore promotion is an important ingredient of marketing mix as it refers to a
process of informing, persuading and influencing a consumer to make choice of the
product to be bought. Promotion is done through means of personal selling,
advertising, publicity and sales promotion. It is done mainly with a view to provide
information to prospective consumers about the availability, characteristics and uses
of a product. It arouses potential consumers interest in the product, compare it with
competitors product and make his choice. The proliferation of print and electronic
media has immensely helped the process of promotion.

Promotion is a way of informing people about the services and products of an

organization. It is an important tool in business to persuade more and more
prospective customers in order to be successful in the industry. Promotion is a
technique that is designed and utilized by companies as a way of enhancing their
brand perception as well as to encourage customers to use their products and services.
As mentioned by Strong (1977), promotion can be improved through: (1) analysis of
spending and establishing objectives, (2) better selection of appropriate promotional
techniques, (3) pre-testing, (4) evaluation, (5) focusing on the long-term, and (6) the
development of more detailed information on the effect of promotion. Peter and
Donnelly (1991) mentioned that a sellers product can be promoted through
advertising in printed and electronic media. A message can be designed to inform,
persuade and remind people about the firms offerings. Peter and Donnelly mention
that there are three basic factors to be considered in devising a promotion mix: (1) the
role of promotion in the over-all marketing mix, (2) the nature of the product, and (3)
the nature of the market.
As of now Maharashtra Tourism is well versed with its Products and Price
which is almost well known to the tourist visiting Maharashtra or willing to visit
Maharashtra while tourist are not aware about promotional activities conducted by
Maharashtra Tourism, It is worth mentioning here that Maharashtra Tourism should
have acceptable promotional activities which can be easily accepted and understood
by the tourist.
4.4 Place:-

Basically, place or distribution activities are used to transfer ownership to

consumers and to place products, services and ideas at the right time and place.
Distribution is made up of two components:
(1) Physical distribution
(2) Channels of distribution.

Physical distribution consists of the activities involved in moving products or

services from producer to consumer. Examples include:
1. Transportation
2. Warehousing and Storage
3. Order Processing
4. Inventory Control
5. Locations
Often, the objective of physical distribution is to move goods to consumers at
minimum cost. This can frequently be accomplished through cost trade-offs, as and
when an organization shifts from railways to air transportation, thereby increasing
transportation costs but possibly decreasing total costs because of substantial decline
in the cost of inventory. Sometimes, management considers the cost of lost sales in its
cost trade-off analysis. The cost of lost sales is that cost which results when goods are
not available at the time, place, and in the condition desired by consumers. Thus, if
air freight moves goods to consumers faster than trucks, the cost of lost sales can be
reduced.
The physical distribution network should be oriented towards the needs and desires of
target consumers. Thus, the target consumers for cut flowers may require very rapid,
fresh and damage-free transportation, thereby necessitating air freighting.
(e.g., sending roses from Bangalore or Nasik to Bombay by air). On the other hand,
target consumers of an item like steel or cement may look for reliability in delivery
schedules but relatively' unconcerned with speed of delivery suggesting the use of rail
transportation.
The channels of distribution are those routes through which the ownership of goods,
services and ideas flows on the way from producer to consumer. Thus, a rather
typical channel for consumer goods such as grocery items is from producer to
wholesaler to retailer to ultimate consumer.
In establishing channels of distribution, the marketer decides which marketing
functions are needed in order to satisfy target consumers, and then determines which
institutions can best perform these functions.
A typical marketing plan has the following components:
Description of the current marketing situation, i.e., `where we are' or situation
analysis, identification of problems and opportunities in the situation, definition of
objectives of the marketing plan, i.e., `where we want to be', designing the marketing
strategy, developing the marketing programme, and estimating the necessary
appropriations, i.e., budgeting, forecasting sales and estimating cost and profit
contribution. An important point that you should remember here is that marketing
planning, like any other planning process, is an iterative process and has to be done
on a continuing basis. In other words, what is needed is constant monitoring,
redefinition, adaptation, and re-evaluation of objectives and strategy, its
implementation and control in an effort to obtain maximum payoff from ever-
changing market situation.

Quality:-

According to McCarthy and Perrault (1990), quality means the ability of a product to
satisfy customers needs. Resorts and resorts must focus on providing quality services
and products to their customers in order to keep them satisfied and perhaps make
them repeat clients. Foster (1992) pointed out that the dining experience and image of
a restaurant may be enhanced through a friendly welcome and devotion to the
slightest of customers needs. Regardless of restaurant type, promptness and courtesy
should be offered to customers. Quality in many respects is derived from the
successful management of the other key products and services (Jones and Pizam
1993) and the two broad strategies for success in the hospitality industry can be
quality control and quality assurance.

Maharashtra has recognized tourism as a major thrust area for Economic growth in
the state because Sahyadri Mountain is the backbone of Maharashtra. Maharashtra is
a land of rich culture, tradition and festivals and is a major trade and tourist
destination of India, attracting thousands of tourists from across the world every year.
As a result Maharashtra is the first state to declare Tourism District for the tourism
development.

Marathi is the language of Maharashtra. Maharashtrian take great pride in their

language and history, particularly the Maratha Empire; its founder Shivaji is
considered a folk hero across India. There are many temples in Maharashtra, some of
them being hundreds of years old, and are constructed in a fusion of architectural
styles borrowed from North and South India, The temples also blend themes from
Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cultures. The temple of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur is the
most important temple for the Varkari devoties of God. Other important religious
places are the Ashtavinayaka temples of Lord Ganesh; Shirdi is famous for Shri Sai
Baba, Bhimashankar which is one of the twelve Jyotirlings (Lord Shiva temples).
Ajanta, Ellora caves near Aurangabad and Elephanta caves near Mumbai are
UNESCO World Heritage Sites and famous tourists attractions. Mughal architecture
can be seen in the tomb of the wife of Aurangzeb, called Bibi Ka Maqbara situated at
Aurangabad. Maharaja Ranjit Singhs endowment saw the construction of a beautiful
Gurudwara at Nanded around 1835 A.D. The Gurudwara features an imposing golden
dome with intricate carving and a breath taking Gurudwara. Maharashtra, like other
states of India, has its own folk music. The folk musical programme like Gondhal,
Lavani, Bharud, and Powada stands popular especially in rural areas. The state has a
separate department for tourism, set up in 1969, but the Maharashtra State Tourism
Development Corporation (MTDC), a government body to promote tourism was
established in 1975. The offices of the MTDCs are located in most of the major
cities of the state, and also outside state as in New Delhi, Goa and other places. There
is opportunity to develop tourism industry on large scale in Maharashtra. The
government of Maharashtra has shown keen interest to promote tourism activities in
all over Maharashtra since 1989.Under the aegis of the corporation a number of
tourist homes, resorts, and Resorts operate from several tourist sites to accommodate
visitors and provide information and also arrange guided tours. The corporation also
organizes numerous festivals at some of the well-known tourist places like the culture
and traditional performances, dance, and music providing visitors an opportunity to
experience the land, its heritage, its people and their customs. Some of these festivals
are the Ellora festival, The Pune Ganesh festival, The Gharapuri festival, Paryatan
Mahotsav in Murud (Raigad) and others. Maharashtra contains a number of sites of
historical importance. Of these, some monuments also figure in the list of World
Heritage Sites recognized by UNESCO. MTDC joined hands with Indian Railways
and launched the `32 crore luxury trains, Deccan Odyssey, to promote Maharashtras
history, culture and cuisine. The luxury train travels the Konkan coast on a week-long
journey through Maharashtra and Goa.

On a 720 kms long strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, lie a host of
hidden beaches and creeks. Only a few of them are known to the regular beach
hopper. These solitary beaches, alongside the wild and verdant Western Ghats, are a
quiet alternative to the more boisterous goan counterpart. During a drive between
Mumbai, Ratnagiri, and Goa, one can spot dozens of unexplored beaches with white
sands, turquoise blue sea and calm and cooperative people. There is no dearth of
beautiful things to buy in Maharashtra: Kolhapuri-Saaj and Chappals, Paithani-Sari,
Solapuri-Chaddar, Irkali-Sari, Sawantwadi-toys, Warli-Paintings etc.

Tourism Potential in Maharashtra:-

Maharashtra is the third state of India, both in area and population, located on the
western coast of India with a 720 km long coastline along the lush green Konkan
region. Nestled in the Western Ghats and the Sahyadri mountain range are several hill
stations and water reservoirs with semi-evergreen and deciduous forests. The
Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, with its dense forest, is home to several wildlife
sanctuaries and nature parks. Thus all three regions of Maharashtra offer considerable
tourism potential. Maharashtra abounds in numerous tourist attractions ranging from
ancient cave temples, unspoiled beaches, ancient historical forts and monuments,
forests and wildlife, unique hill stations, pilgrimage centers, and a rich tradition of
fairs and festival, art and culture. So, the campaign slogan for Maharashtra Tourism
is MAHARASHTRA UNLIMITED!

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 5.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR THE STATE OF
MAHARASHTRA FOR TOURISM
The SWOT analysis is a business analysis technique that your organization can
perform for each of its products, services, and markets when deciding on the best way
to achieve future growth. The process involves identifying the strengths and
weaknesses of the organization, and opportunities and threats present in the market
that it operates in. The first letter of each of these four factors creates the acronym
SWOT.

HELPFUL HARMFULL

INTERNAL STRENGTHS WEAKNESS

ENVIROMENT

EXTERNAL
ENVIROMENT OPPURTUNITIES THREATS

Figure: - SWOT Analysis.

5.1. STRENGTH:-

Strength is something that has a positive implication. It adds value, or offers your
organization a competitive advantage. Strengths include tangible assets such as
available capital, equipment, credit, established and loyal customers, existing
channels of distribution, copyrighted materials, patents, information and processing
systems, and other valuable resources.
You may want to look at and evaluate your strengths by function, for example
marketing, finance, production, and support. Looking at things in this way can make
it easier to identify the positive attributes within each function. Certain teams may
have specialist or unique knowledge, education, credentials, contacts, reputations, or
backgrounds that provide a competitive advantage or add value to your product or
service.
The sort of questions you can ask to ascertain your strengths are:

What do we do well?
What qualities or aspects persuaded our customers to choose our product or
Service?
What resources do we have at our disposal?
What do others see as our strengths?
What areas are we seen as being expert in?
What advantages do we have over our competition?

However you judge the responses to these questions it must be from the perspective
of your operating environment and not from an internal aspect. For example, if
guaranteed next day delivery is the norm within your industry then this cannot
really be considered strength because your customers would expect it. On the other
hand, if guaranteed next day delivery is not normal in your industry then it could
legitimately be classified as strength.

Maharashtra is financially very strong and hence has a robust tourism promotion
budget. Maharashtra has highest number of world heritage sites compared to the rest
of the Indian states (Four world heritage sites and one Biodiversity World Heritage
Site). There are many more sites which are equally valuable. Maharashtra has 720
kms coastline region having beautiful beaches like Tarkarli and others. Tarkarli has
won the award of Asias Best Beach. The state receives highest footfall of foreign
tourist, this gives opportunities to 237 convert these travelers to potential tourist.
Bollywood is the biggest attraction for the domestic tourist nationwide. Now the fan
following has extended to global sphere. Various amusement parks boost domestic
tourism. Maharashtra has ample scope for special tourism like Cultural, Rural,
heritage, wine and food festivals, Event tourism and Bollywood tourism. Maharashtra
has diversified tourist destinations which offer various avenues for tourism. Basically
the strength of MTDC is the Location and the fund given by the government. The
MTDC resorts are situated in fabulous places where the natural beauties helped them
for attracting the tourist and helped them to generate revenue for them.
Following are some key points which can be the strength of MTDC:-
1. The existence of financial resources and possibilities for refinancing.
2. Possession of patents and/ or technologies that give the company a competitive
nature.
3. The existence of distinctive competencies on the following areas:
organizational management, Research and development.
4. Improvement of the services offered to tourists.
5. Tourism market leadership.
6. The existence of the enterprise culture.
7. The existence of a well-organized and effective strategic planning system.
8. The diversification of the tourism offer and of the tourism products compared to
those of the competition, by additional attractive elements.
9. Flexibility and adaptability to market requirements.
10. The competitiveness of tourist services is determined based on the value for
Money, Marked by a strong seasonality.
11. The existence of a high occupancy rate of the Resorts company will increase the
efficiency of the tourist activity.
12. Extension of the tourist season.
13. Location, privileged geographical position
14. Increasing the tourists loyalty to the companys products /services.
 5.2 WEAKNESS:-

These are the characteristics of your product or service that are detrimental to growth.
Weaknesses are those things that detract from the value of your offering or place you
at a disadvantage when compared with your competitors.
Factors that are identified as weaknesses can often be remedied with suitable
investment or restructuring. In the example above, it might be possible to relocate the
business or set up a distribution center in the south of the country, but both of these
things would require changes to the way the business currently operates.

The type of questions you would be asking and discussing to identify your
weaknesses are:
What can be improved or altered?
What do we do badly?
How do we compare with others?
How does our performance compare with our competitors?
What have our customers told us?
How did we respond to this feedback?
What should we avoid?
How do third parties judge our performance or service?
Have we self-imposed any constraints?

The more accurately you identify your weaknesses, the more valuable the SWOT
analysis will be. However, because weaknesses are by definition internal there can be
a lot of resistance to admitting to them. In fact, highlighting weaknesses can be
synonymous with drawing attention to areas of the organization which have been
badly managed or where poor decisions have been made. This can make it very
difficult to talk about weaknesses objectively if you want to keep your job. Do not
lose sight of the fact that the existing senior management will be responsible for the
current state of the organization. This is often an obstacle to a full and frank
admission of organizational weaknesses. Assuming that you do feel able to discuss
your organizations weaknesses honestly, then it is important that you do so because
the more realistic your assessment is at this stage the more value the SWOT analysis
will have. Many organizations use a simple matrix to compare the importance and
significance of each of its strengths and weaknesses, referred to as a Performance-
Importance Matrix. The level of importance is often simply shown as high, medium,
or low, with the degree of significance rated as key, significant, minor, or neutral.
Those items you identify as being both important to your success and show a low
performance for the organization are the factors your strategy should be addressing.

The promotional campaign lacks in terms of visibility as compared to some of the

other state tourism campaigns and does not have a very strong tagline and visibility
which affects its brand recall. Maharashtra tourism highly depends on leisure tourism,
long-haul markets of UK, USA, France and Germany which is of very unpredictable
nature. Any security and safety issues at the destinations initiate cancellation of
vacations. Mumbai is the most visited destination site of Maharashtra; it gives the
state its first impression. Mumbais poor conditions of highways, road traffic,
transport, touts and beggars creates very poor host ambience. Mumbais transit
destination status: In spite of having highest foot fall of foreign tourist around 50%
tourist visiting India through Mumbai airport, only 5-8% of them travel to various
destination of Maharashtra. Due to Mumbais traffic and transportation they are
skeptical to visit Mumbais attractions. According to the World Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC) research, India has the highest tax policy for tourist; tourist
pays around 40% tax. Mumbai is among the least, competitive destination with
highest tax burdens. Connectivity to destinations is poor. Mumbais dependence on
Business tourism most of the Resorts in Mumbai cater to the high return business
tourist and have not focused on leisure tourism. Tourism product of Maharashtra
lacks the innovative tour packaging which cater and impress tourist. Maharashtra
tourism lacks proactive information strategy to attract a tourist at the decision making
point. Web based resources should be used extensively. Overall increase in web-
based reservations reflected a growth of 400%. MTDC lacks the collections of data of
tourist arrivals-destination/country wise, spending patterns etc. which if researched
will help for decision making and future planning. Lack of quality human resources.
Load shedding and improper drinking water facilities are areas of concern. State fails
to establish itself as a brand in the tourism industries.
Following are the Key points which can be the weaknesses for MTDC:-
1. Number of tourists in permanent decline.
2. Old and outdated tourist structures.
3. The existence of inadequate infrastructure, physically or morally worn-out.
4. Reduced duration of the summer season.
5. Inadequate cost management strategies.
6. The existence of high costs and failure to act on them because of the obsolete
equipment that requires high maintenance costs.
7. Inappropriate management of the existing assets.
8. The business environment is unfriendly to foreign investors.
9. Population impoverishment.
10. Competition with the resorts in Anandvan Resort(Bhandardhara), Tiger
Trails(Tadoba) etc.
11. Underperforming management at all levels.
12. The lack of a clear strategy in this area.
13. Permanent erosion of the competitive position.
14. Because, in high season, there are significant deviations of competitiveness and of
the quality of tourism services, the consequences of this policy are manifested today
by the tourists changing preferences to tourist destinations abroad.
5.3 OPPURTUNITIES:-

Opportunities can occur for a variety of reasons and may result from changes within
the market, customer lifestyle changes, and advances in technology, new production
methods, etc. These opportunities for growth can also occur from a resolution of a
problem associated with your current product. For example, Skodas market share
rose considerably once its cars were known to be reliable. Successful organizations
are constantly reviewing their market and services to see how they can increase their
market share.

Maharashtra happens to be the fourth most visited state by domestic tourists and the
most visited state by international tourists in India. The promotional campaign can
make use of the social media space for better visibility. Maharashtra offers a good
mix of tourist attractions including beaches, forts, hill stations etc. which the
promotional campaign can take advantage of. Maintaining the developed commuting
system and can further develop the transportation facilities. Internet and innovative
IT applications can be a boon for the tourism industry services. Many countries today
have large NRI (Nostalgia and Root Tourism population) e.g. UK, USA, SA and
Australia etc. can be tapped for the growing trend of nostalgia tourism. International
airport at Goa will boost the visit of foreign tourists to beaches of Konkan (e.g.
Tarkarli, Kankavli, Vengurla, Ganapatipule etc.). The government funds are the main
opportunities of MTDC.
Following can be the Opportunities for MTDC:-
1. The endowment with natural factors: the Black Sea, mud lakes or freshwater lakes,
climate suited to summer tourism.
2. The attractiveness of the resort where the accommodation and leisure structures are
placed.
3. The ongoing projects supporting future tourism activities: Motorways, Constanta
port expansion and modernization of rail transport, shipping terminals for tourists
etc.
4. Reconsideration of the seaside tourism by modern concepts.
5. Attracting investors, especially foreigners, with management input. The concession
of land on favorable terms to investors, including for setting new resorts.
6. Providing tax incentives for new investments, depending on the size of the
investment in the tourism businesses.
7. Free zone status for casinos.
8. Rehabilitation and restoration of cliffs, greening and maintaining beaches.
9. Organizing events in season beginnings and endings.
10. Promoting tourism abroad by developing regional strategies on attracting foreign
tourists (from the former Soviet area) by offering differentiated tourism products.
11. Amplifying and expanding tourism activities.
12. Completion and quality of infrastructure.
13. Decisions at national, regional/ local levels on finding solutions to the Pheno
menon of the narrowing of beaches and water pollution in the Sea.
14. Diversification of tariffs for tourists, according to comfort and season, in order to
promote the tourism for young people, for low-income tourists and for students.
15. Tourist attraction by diversifying tourism packages, customizing them, and taking
into consideration the whole potential of Konkan region.
16. Interactive museums, Interactive craft workshops, Small industrial workshops
working at the tourists demand: glass, ceramic, metal engraving, jewelry etc.
5.4 THREATS:-

The final part of the SWOT process involves assessing the external risks your
organization faces. These are referred to as threats and are made up of external
factors that are beyond your control. Even though they are external, which means that
you have little or no control over them, your organization should consider making
contingency plans, no matter how sketchy. This will ensure that you are not taken
completely by surprise, but perhaps more importantly, it can put items on the
agenda for discussion that people may be more comfortable ignoring. The greater
your ability to identify potential threats the more proactive you will be able to be in
your planning for and responding to such events. Anticipating and responding to your
competitors actions is one of the biggest challenges your organization has to face
and clearly indicates the need for gathering good market intelligence.

Competition from other neighboring states: States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
Goa are giving a tough competition to Maharashtra by aggressive marketing and
branding using the IT and social media bringing a noticeable change in their tourism.
States like Karnataka improved its road transport at large comparative to the state of
Maharashtra. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have much stronger
promotional campaigns. As Maharashtra is one of the most commercially driven
states of India, any fluctuations in the economy affect its tourism prospects. As
Maharashtra is traditionally not a tourist state it lacks in the area of tourism
infrastructure. The terrorist attacks and bomb blasts scares have caused a major
setback to tourism in Maharashtra. Present potential tourist market perceive the
destinations image, beyond its leisure, fun, shopping etc. in terms of their health and
safety. International airports at other cities of India will curtail the number of foreign
tourist visits to Mumbai, thus missing out on an opportunity to attract tourist for
further tourism in Maharashtra. The other states long term and visionary planning
with cooperative working of all the stakeholders towards the set goal (tourism) of the
state e.g. Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. States like Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh are doing aggressive branding which are getting recognized by
tourist with positive response. The Resorts which are near the MTDC resorts are
restricting the tourist for accommodate in their respective rooms by giving lower
tariff then MTDC resorts.

Following can be the threats for MTDC:-

1. Unattractive environment for foreign investors due to the fiscal policy of the state.
2. Obsolete equipment in the field of entertainment, catering, internet caf, games for
children and adults.
3. The transport between and within stations is hampered by lack of road
infrastructure.
4. Bringing tourism to insignificant economic performance.
5. Recession at national and international levels.
6. Changes in tourists preferences, needs, tastes.
7. Entry of new competitors on the tourism market.
8. The mounting pressure of competition.
9. Vulnerability to fluctuations in the business environment.
10. The infrastructure with varying degrees of disrepair.
11. Labor productivity in the business of tourism is heavily influenced by factors
such as:
- Degree of tourist attraction of the tourist area
- Size and intensity of tourist flows
- Weather conditions
- Circumstantial factors.
12. The companies located in resorts with low attractiveness will record lower
performance and will have to adopt an aggressive policy of investment.
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 6.
FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN INDIA DURING
1998-2014
 Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India, 1998-2014
Percentage(%)
FTAs in India (in
Year change over the
millions)
Previous year
1998 2.36 -0.7
1999 2.48 5.2
2000 2.65 6.7
2001 2.54 -4.7
2002 2.38 -6.0
2003 2.73 14.3
2004 3.46 26.8
2005 3.92 13.3
2006 4.45 13.5
2007 5.08 14.3
2008 5.28 4.0
2009 5.17 -2.2
2010 5.78 11.8
2011 6.31 9.2
2012 6.58 4.3
2013 6.97 5.9
2014 7.68 10.2
Source: - (1) Bureau of Immigration, Govt. of India, for 1998-2014.
(2) Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

-----
6.1. GRAPH SHOWING THE FLOW OF TOURIST IN INDIA:-

Foreign Tourist visit In India

0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Foreign Tourist visit In

India

Figure: - Graph showing the pattern of foreign tourist footfall in India

-----
 7.
TOP TEN SOURCE COUNTRIES FOR FOREIGN
TOURIST ARRIVALS IN INDIA IN 2014
TOP TEN SOURCE COUNTRIES FOR FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN
INDIA IN 2014

Tourist Arrivals Percentage(%)

SR. NO. Source Country
(in millions) share

1 United states 1118983 14.57

2 Bangladesh 942562 12.27

3 United kingdom 838860 10.92

4 Sri Lanka 301601 3.93

5 Russian federation 269832 3.51

6 Canada 268485 3.50

7 Malaysia 262026 3.41

8 France 246101 3.20

9 Australia 239762 3.12

10 Germany 239106 3.11

Total Top 10 Country 4727318 61.56

Others 2951781 38.44

Grand Total 7679099 100.00

Source:- Bureau of Immigration, Govt. of India

7.1. Percentage Share of Top 10 Countries for FTAs in India in 2014:-

Percentage Share of Top Ten Countries for FTAs in India

45.00%

40.00%

35.00%

30.00%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00%

Percentage Share of Top

Ten Countries for FTAs

-----
 8.
NUMBER OF DOMESTIC TOURIST VISIT
ACCORDING TO THE TOP TEN STATES OF INDIA:-
 NUMBER OF DOMESTIC TOURIST VISIT ACCORDING TO THE TOP TEN
STATES OF INDIA:-

YEAR
RANKING STATES GROWTH
2013 2014

1 TAMILNADU 244232487 327555233 34.12%

2 UTTARPRADESH 226531091 182820108 -19.30%

3 KARNATAKA 98010140 118283220 20.68%

4 MAHARASHTRA 82700556 94127124 13.82%

5 ANDRAPRADESH 98017783 93306974 -4.81%

6 TELANGANA 54084367 72399113 33.86%

7 MADHYAPRADESH 63110709 63614525 0.80%

8 WEST BENGAL 25547300 49029590 91.12%

9 JHARKHAND 20511160 33427144 62.97%

10 RAJASTHAN 30298150 33076491 9.17 %

Source:-
http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/FTA/Revise%20DTVs%20FTVs%202013_
14.pdf
8.1 Graph Showing the growth rate of domestic Tourist flows in top 10 states
in India:-

Growth Rate
100

80

60

40

20

-20

-40

Growth Rate

-----
 9.
DEVELOPING THE MARKETING STRATEGY FOR
MTDC FOR INCREASING THE RESORT
OCCUPANCY RATE:-
 Maintaining the Tourism Area Life Cycle(TALC) of the particular place where
the resort is located :-
Before going straight way into the point, first we must understand that
What is TALC?

TOURIST AREA LIFE CYCLE:-

 It basically constitute of 7 stages namely:-

1. Exploration :-
A few hardy and adventurous people looking for something different in a
holiday find a place that is special in terms of its culture, natural beauty,
history or landscape. There may be no tourist services available and local
people will not be involved in tourist money making activities.

2. Involvement :-
Now local people start to notice that there are increasing numbers of people
coming to their local area. They start businesses to provide
accommodation, food, guides, and transport.

3. Development :-
Big companies start to see the emerging potential of the area as a tourist
resort and therefore start to invest money in the region. They build large
Resorts complexes and sell package holidays (a package might include
travel, accommodation, food and excursions). This makes the numbers of
tourists swell dramatically and massively expands the number of job
opportunities for people in the local region, in both tourist related jobs and
in construction and services.

4. Consolidation :-
The local economy is probably dominated by tourism at this stage, and
many local people will make their money from this type of industry.
However, this can remove people from other industries such as farming and
fishing and these industries can suffer as a result. There will be continued
building and expansion of the resort BUT some of the older buildings will
start to become unattractive and a lower quality client base might result.
5. Stagnation :-
The competition from other resorts and a loss of the original features (e.g. if
it had a great beach but that is now crowded and full of rubbish) can cause
the resort to stop growing. The number of people going levels off then
starts to decline, threatening local businesses and services.

6. Rejuvenation :-
It requires a complete change in tourism attractions, and previously
untapped tourism may be found and as a result the place may again attain a
growth period.

7. Decline:-
If the place will unable to compete with newer tourism attractions,
holidaymakers replaced by weekend or day-trippers. Tourism facilities
replaced by non-tourism activities. Resorts or resorts may become
retirement homes or flats for local residents. Ultimately, the area may
become a tourism slum or drop out of the tourism market completely.

Now, on the behalf of above study on TALC we can understand that

how maintaining a tourist site or place is as important as maintaining
the resorts amenities because if the particular place is in a decline place
then the occupancy rate of any Resorts or resort on that particular area
will go on decreasing. So, from the above study on TALC we can see
that the TALC is directly proportional to the occupancy rate of resorts.
i.e., more sustain is the place more and more will be the occupancy level
of the resorts.
 Providing or Giving effective offers for the valued customers:-

The customers who are regularly visiting the resorts they are basically is the
targeted customers for any organization so, to retain them for long run the
organization should provide a valued offer or incentive to them.

This offer may be a discounted rate on the rent which they will pay to the
resorts or some freebies should be offered to the customers or some
complimentary breakfast or lunch or dinner should be offered by the organization.

On this competitive era, organization should think some innovative ideas so

that with lesser cost we can retain the customer in a long run some of the ways
may be as follows:-

1. Wishing the customer on his/her birthday or anniversary.

2. Sending some gift on the auspicious occasions of the customer.
3. Giving a special offer to the customer who is very much valued to the
organization.
4. Providing the customer with some offer cards on the visit to the resorts.
5. Providing every possible amenity to the customers.
9.1. STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE OCCUPANCY RATE OF
MTDC RESORTS:-

Running a successful resort is an ongoing challenge that requires the combined forces
of both management and staff. Policies must be in a place to make sure that daily
operations run smoothly and all resort guests are treated well. It is fair to say that the
primary goal of almost every owner and operator of resorts is to make as big a profit
as possible. To achieve such a goal the focus needs to be on both revenues and costs.
Resorts can boost their bottom line by increasing revenues or decreasing costs.

Following are 30 ways that resorts can do better and boost their bottom
line:-

1. Invest in a more efficient HVAC system

You never want to tell a guest that they cant keep their room as cool as they like
because you are try trying to conserve energy. Since resorts often spend more than 50
percent of their operational budget on air conditioning and heat, the best way to cut
those costs is to invest in a highly efficient HVAC system that uses less energy and
fewer kilowatts to cool and heat a room. As todays world believes in green
environment so we should use the energy in an effective and efficient manner. The
Electrical equipment which we will use in the resort should be of good quality and
should posses 5* marking and it should be certified by ISI (Indian Standard Institute).
The Electronics goods which are to be bought should be a branded one. So, that it can
work effectively and efficiently.

2. Differentiate your resort from your competitors

Give your guests a reason to choose your resort over a resort two blocks or two miles
away. You can differentiate your resort from your competitors on the basis of price,
policy and service. Offering all amenities and a 3:00 pm checkout are just a few
possibilities. While you do not want to get into a losing battle by dropping your room
rates 25 percent below your competitors rates, you can have a policy where you are
always at or near the lowest rate in town. We have to show our uniqueness over the
competitors. We have to maintain a competitive edge over the other players in the
real field. So, that the resort can occupy more and more guest. Every guest want a
special welcome from the resort if they visit the resort more than once. So, for that
reason the resort should maintain a huge database to maintain the records. The resort
should maintain a great Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to maintain a
competitive edge over the others.

3. Make your employees happy

In the resort or any service-oriented industry, it is particularly important that your

employees project a friendly and outgoing attitude toward the customer. If you make
your employees happy by paying them fairly and recognizing them for their
achievements, there is no doubt that they will want to be good ambassadors for your
resort. When your employees go above-and-beyond their official duties to help out a
guest that creates tremendous goodwill and can lead to repeat visits and
recommendations. The higher management of the resort should always motivate their
employees so that the employee doesnt lose it faith over the work. There shouldnt
be a autocratic type of leadership because this led to demoralize the employee
mentality. The Higher authority should appreciate and also give some
incentives/rewards to the employee whenever the employee achieve some milestones
for the organization and also on the other side of the coin if the employee cant do the
work in a effective manner, it is the duty of the organization to look after the matter
i.e., where actually the fault is without scolding or demoralize him. In this way the
employee will be happy doing the work as they are the backbone of any organization.
4. Make your guests feel at home

Whether your guests are just staying for one night or for two weeks, you should
always do your best to make them feel like your resort is their home away from
home. Soften the decor by adding comfortable furniture, flowers and pictures on the
wall. Having a lobby and a breakfast area with comfortable seating areas makes your
resort feel more like a home and less like a sterile hospital room or nondescript
office. The guests who are coming to the resort for spending their leisure time in the
resort if they dont find a homely environment then it will create a negative
impression to the guest. So, to feel them like home environment the resort staff
should behave well should provide all the possible amenities which are needed for the
daily life. The Resort entrance, Reception, Rooms etc should clean and also it should
create a positive environment to the guest because according to the 93% rule First
Impression is the Last Impression to anyone. So, the guest should be treated like God
because in India we always say ATITHI DEVO BHAVA.

5. Sell resort branded products

We all know that resort guests like to help themselves to the little soaps and
shampoos that come with the room and that some will accidentally pack a couple
of towels in their bags before they check-out and head back home. You can add a
new revenue stream by making available for purchase branded resort products like
towels, linens and shampoos.

6. Interact with resort guests personally

Guest will take notice when the person at the front desk calls them by their name. If
the manager takes the time to walk around the breakfast area and asks you how you
are enjoying your stay, it makes a difference. It shows that you are important and not
just another face in the crowd. It is not only that the front desk people will attend all
the problems and queries of the guest, the manager of the resort should personally
interact with them and should ask for the feedbacks and suggestions from the guest
for better improvement on the facility they provide to the guest. This will create a
positive issue or positive concern to the guest. The guest will feel very important and
for this will work as positive marketing for the resort.

7. Be creative, proactive and productive

You do not have to always go by the book. If a guest has an unusual problem, be
creative to find a good solution. If you see something not quite right, be proactive and
fix it before it leads to a complaint. Whether it is engaging a customer or sweeping
the floor, a productive employee will help the resort function more efficiently.

8. Switch from incandescent to LED lighting

Switching to LED lighting, which is almost 10 times more efficient than incandescent
lighting can, in the long-run, save your resort thousands and thousands of rupees in
higher electric bills and the cost of buying and replacing burnt out light bulbs.
Investigate all of your lighting options and see which ones work best for you and
your resort. Switching from Incandescent to LED is a Green change in todays world.
As todays world believes in a GREEN environment.

9. Offer guests an in-room holiday tree

During the holidays, many guests would love to have a small holiday tree in their
guest room. You can charge extra for special holiday rooms with fully decorated trees
or you might offer guests a chance to buy ornaments to decorate their tree. When
guests leave, they can take home the ornaments as mementos of their stay.

10. Market directly to the resort guest

The personal touch is always a good way to reach out to past guests and encourage
them to stay with you again. Today, social media sites, smart phones and many other
types of technology, make it easy to talk to your past and future guests.
11. Take advantage of point-of-sale(POS) opportunities

Use your front desk or other designated area to take advantage of point-of-sale (POS)
opportunities. You can do things like sell tickets to attractions, rent cars or even sell
key chains and letter openers.

12. Focus on perceived value

Guests are usually willing to pay more if they feel like they are getting more value.
Actual value is not as important as perceived value.

13. Focus on customer satisfaction

The customer is always right is not just a catchy phrase, but also, one of the most
fundamental rules of the resort business. If your guests are satisfied, it will pay
positive dividends. On the other hand, if you upset a guest, that will come back to
haunt you with negative posts on resort review sites and the loss of a paying
customer.

14. Do an OTA audit

It is easy to get caught up in the OTA trap. Online travel agencies can send business
your way, but they also charge a commission and you usually have to sell those
rooms at a discount to the customer. In certain situations, using an OTA to increase
occupancy works well, but to know how much, or little, it is adding to your bottom
line, you should regularly audit your OTA sales and expenses.

15. Do an energy audit

In a similar vein, doing an energy audit can identify areas where you are
overspending. Check everything that uses electricity, gas or other fuel. You will see
where you are spending the most money and can make adjustments to lower your
overall expenses.
16. Host business and private functions

If you have the space, put more emphasis on using it to host business gatherings,
reunions or other social events. You can do everything from holding a training
session in a conference room to being the venue for a wedding on the grounds of your
resort.

17. Focus your marketing on your most important customers

Statistics show that 20 percent of a resorts customers account for 80 percent of their
revenues. If you have large corporate customers or do a lot of business with a travel
agency, it makes sense to give more direct attention in your marketing campaign to
those very important customers. The resort should always focus first on the most
important customers who are visiting regularly the resorts and should inform or
should give first preference for the offers if there is any and they should inform
regularly about the offers and discount provided by the resort in this way we can
retain them for long run.

18. Encourage guests to refer new customers

When you have satisfied guests, they can be a great source for new customers.
Encourage them to refer friends and family to stay at your resort by giving them
various incentives like a room discount on a future stay, free dinner, or perhaps, a gift
card. Perhaps organization can ask for referring some new customer for them as they
are providing their service for those loyal customers for a long period of time.

19. Make a few rooms pet friendly

Many travelers would love to take their pet along with them when they travel. If you
make your resort pet-friendly, you not only can attract a different segment of traveler,
but you can also charge more for your rooms. This is a new thing to attract a great
segment of people who loves pet a lot. So, to project these segment the resort should
capable of providing a special room for the pets which are carried by the guest on the
resort. This will create a great impression to the guest and also promote a positive
marketing strategy for the resort.

20. Offer discounts for extended stays

Some people are flexible with their travel schedule and might want to stay an extra
night. If you offer them 50 percent off on the third night when they pay the regular
rate for the first two nights, many will take the offer and you will generate
incremental revenue.

21. Network with other nearby businesses

Networking with other area businesses that tend to attract travelers and tourists
(amusement parks, museums, restaurants) increases revenue for the resort and the
business partner, and at the same time, benefits the customer. A resort could offer
discounted tickets to local attractions that benefit current resort guests. Business can
be driven to the resort if the resort offers a special rate for anyone who books a room
and shows a ticket or receipt from the resorts networking partner.

22. Try to rise on the resort rating scale

You might be surprised how big a difference it can make if your resort goes from a 2-
star rating to a 3-star rating in a popular resort rating service. If you achieve a higher
star level, more people will want to stay at your resort and you probably can raise
your daily room rates based on your higher ranking. Better the service the resort
provides to the guest and also better the feedback the guest gives to the resort higher
will be the rating of the resort and this will create a good impression on the mindset
of the guest and more and more occupancy of the rooms will be there and as a result
more revenue is income by the resort.
23. Start a Honeymoon Bridal Registry

A unique way to increase your revenue is to make it possible for honeymoon couples
to enhance their stay at your resort. Proper marketing can make this another solid
revenue source that will differentiate your resort from others and create a whole new
way to book a honeymoon. Providing a special room or suite for the newly married
couple so that their honeymoon should be a special one and also they can recommend
other couples for the resort. The resort room should be very much sensational so that
the couple can pleased with the service they get.

24. Encourage all employees to be salesmen

If your employees are happy, they will be happy to talk positively about your resort.
In addition to relating positively to resort guests they encounter, you never know
when they will encourage a friend or family member to stay at your resort. Dont
ignore your employees. They are your most valuable asset.

25. Add some entertainment

Give your guests a little something extra to look forward to with some free or
inexpensive entertainment. You could have a local musician play his guitar out by the
pool or have concerts at the evening in the resorts. The new generation of todays
world wants many things so for that that reason there should a special arrangement of
dance floor on the resort also for the old generation there should be Bhajan kirtan on
the basis of the population residing on the resort that time. But, Most importantly
there should be a great arrangement of entertainment in the resort so that the guest
cant feel boredom on the resort and the life in the resort should LIVE.

26. Provide outstanding service

Always meet or exceed expectations and you will have happy resort guests. Every
human being expects an outstanding and special service for themselves. The resort
staff should provide an outstanding service before the guest arrive to the resort by
picking up facility from the Airports, Railway stations etc if the guest acquire those
facility, the bell boy should reach to the guest and pick up the luggages of the guest
and also there should be a great welcome for the guest so that the guest get pleased
with the service and also there should be an service when the guest is leaving or
checking out of the resort, the guest should be ask for a dropping facility to the
Airport, Railways, etc. The bell boy should pick the baggages to the car and lastly
there should be a farewell ceremony for the guest to create a competitive edge on the
thinking of the guest. So they can again visit to that resort only.

The resort can do something beyond this also they can wish the guest on their
birthdays, anniversary, or any other auspicious day so that the guest find himself very
special and this will increase the goodwill of the organization.

27. Have a smart discount room rate policy

One of the worlds biggest resort operators refuses to sell empty rooms to last-minute
arrivals at a discount to that days regular room rates. It is not that they will not make
money on the room, but rather, they do not want to train customers to arrive at 5:00
pm and expect to pay half-price for a room. All resorts adjust their prices regularly,
depending on supply and demand, but they do not single out individuals for lower
rates unless there are special circumstances involved. The management should
provide or implement such a discount so that both the parties i.e. the guest and the
management both shouldnt incurs any lose. The policy should be like this if there is
a booking of three rooms by a particular guest for more than a week then the total rate
of the room should be discounted for 40% of the total rate. In this way the
organization can retain the guest for a long run.

28. Reward employees for good suggestions

If an employee comes up with a good idea that will help generate more revenue or
lower expenses for your resort, recognize and reward that employee. When
employees know that they are appreciated, they will continue to work hard and look
for ways to improve the resort. There higher organization should increase or should
give a hike or promote the employee if they give a suitable idea for the organization,
which will help to increase the revenue for the organization.

29. Publish a resort newsletter/magazine

Last, but certainly not least, you can give a boost to your resort by publishing an
effective newsletter/magazine. Guests can opt-in to receive an email subscription to
the newsletter/magazine and it is a great way to stay in touch with current and future
visitors to your resort. Always add great current content and offer incentives that are
only available by subscribing (for free) to the newsletter/magazine. This
newsletter/magazine should contain each and every possible information about the
resort. So, that the guest cant face any problem regarding anything on the resort.
This magazine /newsletter should print and should be available in both physical and
virtual forms. So, that guest can access it in a convenient way in which they will free
to read this.

30. Activities, Entertainments and Engagement in the Resorts:-

MTDC specially have Wild life resorts, Beach resorts, Hill resorts, Pilgrimage resort
and lastly World heritage resort. So, people visiting to the resort are not restricting
them to the resort only they want or they will wish to roam whole area or
surroundings near the resort. Each and Every human being is different in nature some
will like Trekking, Some will love for DJ nights, some will love adventure sports like
Boating, Bunging Jumping etc. So, MTDC should be preparing for all this
challenges, the organization should also provide some indoor games like Chess,
Badminton, etc. inside the resort. So, that the kids who come for the vacation in the
resort should enjoy a lot.
Following are some key suggested points which will increase the occupancy rate of
the resorts:-

If there is a River or a Lake near the resort, there should be an

arrangement of Boating, The organization can take a minimal charges
and it will income an amount of revenue for the organization.
If the resort is a hill station one and the resort is situated between two
valleys then some tourist can have a wish of viewing the hills through
ropeways. So, Organization should have tie-ups with all those
organization who are arranging these activities and they can take a
commission from that organization.
There should be a multi Gym facility in every resort as maximum people
are health conscious and these will create a good marketing strategy
also.
If the resort is booked by a group of 25 people and all are of a age group
between 25-35 years then there should be an arrangement of DJ Night.
So, that they can enjoy the vacation and can do a positive no paid
marketing of the organization.
If 30% of the total occupancy of the resort is booked by a particular
party then they should be given a complimentary incentive. So, that this
will great a fabulous goodwill to the mindset of the guest.
All the resort room should posses a free Wi-Fi facility because
maximum people are attached with the social media and they should
share the experience of the stay in the resort with their family, friends
etc.
If the resort is in a Wild life region then there should be a facility of
Jungle Safari for the Tourist. If there is no such facility then the
organization should tie-up with such type of organization who are
arranging such type of rides.
 Special tariff should be for Pilgrimage Resort as most of the visitors will
be belonging to the senior citizen age group so they should get a special
tariff for visiting the respective place.
The Person sitting in the reception should be a charming one.
Form a separate panel comprising of representatives of Ministry of
Tourism, State Tourism Department, Head of Civic bodies of the
location
Brainstorming amongst the panel members to develop special
promotional events to attract foreign tourists and boost revenues
significantly from the recommended products
Preparation of presentations/ short films showcasing the location, its
USP / Theme, available hospitality amenities
Motivating the airlines to incorporate features about the destinations in
their in-flight magazines, beaming films as a part of their in-flight
entertainment in their international flights
Motivating the Travel writers / journalists to write features about the
location
Develop incentive based programs for the Travel Agents/ Tour
Operators for promoting the destinations and motivating to the foreign
tourists to visit the same
Participation of elected panel members in overseas travel shows/ travel
marts and conventions about these locations
Utilizing India tourism offices overseas to proactively participate in
awareness campaigns involving the destinations with its new theme

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 10.
OCCUPANCY STATUS OF MTDC :-
1. Statement of Total (Rooms & Dormitory) available and Occupied percentage
of MTDC's Resort for the period from April'12 to Mar'13.

Rooms Rooms Tourist Stayed

Sr. Average
Name of the Resort /Dormitory /Dormitory
No. Percentage
Available Occupied
Indian Foreigners
1. Titwala 1452 670 46 1430 0
2. Matheran 10963 3514 32 7587 12
3. Elephanta Under Renovation and Upgradation
4. Bordi Under Renovation and Upgradation
5. Mahabaleshwar 42861 20155 47 30537 0
6. Karla 27857 12062 43 27539 0
7. Harihareshwar 2920 1585 54 3637 0
8. Fardapur 10585 2173 21 2881 544
9. Ajanta T Junction 1825 505 28 943 86
10. Bhandardara 11384 6362 56 14467 67
11. Shirdi 16600 12636 76 33230 0
12. Malshej ghat 12775 3774 30 12260 4
13. Chikhaldara 4015 1713 43 7525 0
14. Tadoba 5152 2447 47 3097 2
15. Ganpatipule 39023 23141 59 34379 169
16. Tarkarli 10138 7124 70 10218 79
17. Tarkarli House Boat 830 274 33 590 4
Arounda House Boat
18. ( Not in operation 122 5 4 10 0
from June 2012)
19. Panshet 3223 657 20 1423 0
20. Veleneshwar 5475 1219 22 1950 3
21. T.R.C Nagpur 2432 819 34 780 0
22. Tuljapur 1638 240 15 686 0
Total 211270 101075 48 195169 970

Source:- MTDC Database

2. Statement of Total (Rooms & Dormitory) available and Occupied percentage
of MTDC's Resort for the period from April'13 to Mar'14.

Rooms Rooms Tourist Stayed

Sr. Name of the Average
/Dormitory /Dormitory
No. Resort Percentage
Available Occupied
Indian Foreigners

1. Titwala 1190 458 38 1103 0

2. Matheran 12616 4368 35 9084 7

3. Elephanta Under Renovation and Upgradation

4. Bordi Under Renovation and Upgradation

5. Mahabaleshwar 37695 14159 38 30260 4

6. Karla 26168 10568 40 28099 4

7. Harihareshwar 2920 1031 35 2083 0

8. Ajanta 9089 2401 26 3566 460

10. Bhandardara 8294 4297 52 9655 25

11. Shirdi 18886 11577 61 25938 0

12. Malshej ghat 14127 3016 21 9602 14

13. Chikhaldara 3520 1057 30 4004 4

14. Tadoba 5042 2743 54 5390 5

15. Ganpatipule 34244 18603 54 35024 231

16. Tarkarli 10950 6795 62 10609 34

Tarkarli House
17. 1090 348 32 774 0
Boat
18. Panshet 3276 740 23 1716 1

19. Veleneshwar 5413 1320 24 2570 4

20. T.R.C Nagpur 2928 843 29 2004 60

21. Tuljapur 3285 809 25 2145 0

Total 17732 7489 42 16522 206

Source: - MTDC Database

3. Statement of Total (Rooms & Dormitory) available and Occupied percentage
of MTDC's Resort for the period from April'14 to Mar'15.

Rooms Rooms Average Tourist Stayed

Sr. Name of the
/Dormitory /Dormitory Percentag
No. Resort
Available Occupied e Foreigner
Indian
s
1. Titwala Closed From 16th April 2014

2. Matheran 10693 4173 39 8796 17

3. Mahabaleshwar 44446 15510 35 39996 16

4. Karla 26493 11270 43 31684 0

5. Harihareshwar 2616 1193 46 2683 0

6. Ajanta T Junction 1825 544 30 1096 55

7. Bhandardara 10727 4649 43 10079 11

8. Shirdi 17324 11164 64 23698 0

9. Malshej ghat 15671 4408 28 15068 17

10. Chikhaldara 3562 1452 41 4625 14

11. Tadoba 5080 2845 56 6213 128

12. Ganpatipule 27454 16216 59 24322 67

13. Tarkarli 10950 7007 64 10844 27

Tarkarli House
14. 1392 349 25 802 0
Boat
15. Panshet 9072 1891 21 4543 6

16. Veleneshwar 5149 1477 29 3486 0

17. Tuljapur 3285 1037 32 2829 0

18. Ajanta 7424 1558 21 2444 525

Total 203109 86743 43 193208 85

Source:- MTDC Database

4. Statement of Total (Rooms & Dormitory) available and Occupied percentage
of MTDC's Resort for the period from April'15 to Mar'16.

Rooms Rooms Tourist Stayed

Sr. Name of the Average
/Dormitory /Dormitory
No. Resort Percentage
Available Occupied
Indian Foreigners
1. Matheran 14068 5200 37 11613 34
2. Mahabaleshwar 34319 14265 42 36270 5
3. Karla 26718 10034 38 28880 2
4. Harihareshwar 5107 2310 45 5264 0
Ajanta T
5. 1830 537 29 1076 34
Junction
6. Bhandardara 13196 5006 38 13710 14
7. Shirdi 10826 8737 81 18932 0
8. Malshej ghat 17055 5595 33 17749 32
9. Chikhaldara 4753 2301 48 8327 0
10. Tadoba 13298 5854 44 14943 118
11. Ganpatipule 27298 16723 61 33686 102
12. Tarkarli 10980 7048 64 14639 11
Tarkarli House
13. 1336 306 23 699 0
Boat
14. Panshet 11145 3004 27 8120 3
15. Veleneshwar 5490 2108 38 4585 3
16. Tuljapur 3294 1904 58 5302 0
17. Nagpur City 4095 520 13 918 2
18. Elephanta 672 44 7 88 0
19. Mozari Point 4862 1990 41 3407 0
20. Ajanta 10614 1953 18 3912 442
Total 220956 95439 43 232120 799

Source:- MTDC Database

5. Graphical analysis of MTDC Occupancy rate:-

MTDC RESORTS MTDC RESORTS

49

48

47

46

45

44

43

42

41

40

39
2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

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10. EXPECTED OCCUPANCY GROWTH RATE OF MTDC :-

Rooms Rooms Tourist Stayed

Name of the Average
Sr. /Dormitory /Dormitory
Resort Percentage
No. Available Occupied
Indian Foreigners
1. Matheran 14068 7800 55.44 11613 34
2. Mahabaleshwar 34319 22500 65.56 36270 5
3. Karla 26718 15000 56.14 28880 2
4. Harihareshwar 5107 3500 68.53 5264 0
Ajanta T
5. 1830 900 49.18 1076 34
Junction
6. Bhandardara 13196 9000 68.20 13710 14
7. Shirdi 10826 9000 83.13 18932 0
8. Malshej ghat 17055 10500 61.57 17749 32
9. Chikhaldara 4753 3000 63.31 8327 0
10. Tadoba 13298 8000 60.15 14943 118
11. Ganpatipule 27298 20000 73.27 33686 102
12. Tarkarli 10980 8200 74.68 14639 11
Tarkarli House
13. 1336 700 52.39 699 0
Boat
14. Panshet 11145 5500 50 8120 3
15. Veleneshwar 5490 3500 63.75 4585 3
16. Tuljapur 3294 2500 75.89 5302 0
17. Nagpur City 4095 1800 43.96 918 2
18. Elephanta 672 300 44.64 88 0
19. Mozari Point 4862 3500 71.98 3407 0
20. Ajanta 10614 4500 42.39 3912 442
Total 220956 138800 62.81 232120 799

Figures mentioned in above chart are indicative and approximate, If

MTDC applies all the applications and recommendations described earlier.
 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CURRENT AND
EXPECTED OCCUPANCY STATUS OF MTDC RESORTS

CURRENT EXPECTED
OCCUPANCY OCCUPANCY
Sr. Name of the
AVERAGE AVERAGE
No. Resort Rooms Rooms Rooms Rooms
/Dormitory /Dormitory /Dormitory /Dormitory
Available Occupied Available Occupied

1. Matheran 14068 5200 37 14068 7800 55.44

2. Mahabaleshwar 34319 14265 42 34319 22500 65.56
3. Karla 26718 10034 38 26718 15000 56.14
4. Harihareshwar 5107 2310 45 5107 3500 68.53
5. Ajanta T Junction 1830 537 29 1830 900 49.18
6. Bhandardara 13196 5006 38 13196 9000 68.20
7. Shirdi 10826 8737 81 10826 9000 83.13
8. Malshej ghat 17055 5595 33 17055 10500 61.57
9. Chikhaldara 4753 2301 48 4753 3000 63.31
10. Tadoba 13298 5854 44 13298 8000 60.15
11. Ganpatipule 27298 16723 61 27298 20000 73.27
12. Tarkarli 10980 7048 64 10980 8200 74.68
13. Tarkarli House Boat 1336 306 23 1336 700 52.39
14. Panshet 11145 3004 27 11145 5500 50
15. Veleneshwar 5490 2108 38 5490 3500 63.75
16. Tuljapur 3294 1904 58 3294 2500 75.89
17. Nagpur City 4095 520 13 4095 1800 43.96
18. Elephanta 672 44 7 672 300 44.64
19. Mozari Point 4862 1990 41 4862 3500 71.98
20. Ajanta 10614 1953 18 10614 4500 42.39
Total 220956 95439 43 220956 138800 62.81

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 11.
APPLICATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:-
In todays marketing scenario it is important to focus on retention strategy rather than
acquiring strategy. New and feasible innovative ideas should be put forth to gain
competitive advantage. However the base for innovation today is not creativity but
curiosity. Today, economy is very uncertain hence under such a situation that the
Resorts should rethink and re-evaluate their marketing strategies since they cannot
afford wasting their funds allocated for marketing. Thus a well planned and well
implemented marketing strategies will be the key success factor for all the small and
standalone Resorts. These marketing programs should be measurable over a time
period, some are long term and some short term. However the results of these
programs must be measured against certain milestones to see whether the programs
are moving on the right path. The short term programs can be measured immediately
and see if they can be improved for the next time. Before implementing the marketing
plan it is important for setting the marketing goals and objectives as to where you are
now and where you want to be. You should be clear as to what you want to achieve.
One should also figure the marketing budget and revenue projection over a period of
time. First you need to analyze the trends in the Resorts industry that is what new
things are happening in the Resorts services, the changing tastes and preferences of
the customers, what new can be provided in rooms, food and beverage etc. and what
are the future trends. The customers should be grouped into specific market segments
like leisure travelers, business travelers etc. These customers belong to different
groups and hence they differ in their tastes and preferences. These groups must me
approached differently with different value proposition in order to increase the
Resorts revenue and this can be done only by understanding the customers in each
segment, their likes, dislikes and biases. Analyze local Resorts sales competition and
try to find out where the unique opportunities exist in your market that can be
exploited. By utilizing in-depth knowledge of local market conditions one can devise
marketing strategies for all the different groups of customers and offer best of the
best services to differentiate oneself in the market.
 i. Good hospitality newsletter must be created for your Resorts website.
ii. Resorts newsletters must be posted on all the channels of online marketing.
iii. Offer discounts and packages to newsletter subscribers.
iv. Include all the information pertaining to your Resorts in the newsletter.
v. Include Resorts newsletter archive on the web.
vi. Newsletter subscribers email address must not be shared or sell with the
third parties.
vii. Resorts advertisements must be posted on different online classifieds. viii.
Submit to niche classifieds for your Resorts many of them are free to use.
Create a mobile-friendly website, 81% of the people use mobile apps and
internet to search products and prices (eMarketer 2010 survey), Slowly step
by step one can develop a mobile internet service from getting details of the
Resorts to booking of the Resorts rooms.
Loyal customers must be identified and rewarded in the form of giving bonuses,
discounts in the room rate, provide special rooms, chocolates, free beverages, etc.
This makes the customers feel special about the Resorts. Always update the staff
about the marketing actions and the objectives so that they are well aware of their
role. Conducting social gathering in the form of child art competitions, celebrating
festivals like Holi, Navratri, Diwali, Christmas and New Year Bash will increase the
awareness of the Resorts services in the near vicinity of the Resorts. Catering the end
to end event management programs for corporate and non corporate like organizing
the management training program, product launches, marriage parties, birthday party
etc. gives wide publicity to your Resorts. Organize local food cuisine festivals.
Display banners at citys prominent place and entry points. Sponsor mega events of
the city, Something unique, refreshing or innovative must be provided to the
customers which can be shared with their friends. This promotes the mouth to mouth
publicity, During the summer offer a free cold drink, juice or an ice cream at the
arrival of the guests, Establish good rapport with the local people including the
journalists who may write about your Resorts in the newspapers, Use of billboards,
displays at various suitable places and suitable ads in newspapers, magazines, yellow
pages and TV ads will increase your guests, In todays cut throat competition one can
adopt cooperation as the right strategy that is the Resorts service providers should
work together with the peers. They may be tourist agents or offices, local gatherings,
and other partners who are related to the travel and tourism industry like the airlines,
rent a car companies or credit card companies and develop joint e-mail marketing
campaigns, Participate in joint advertising, national and international promotional
campaigns, Get feedback from the guests and engage in continuous quality
improvement with rapid corrective actions, Differentiation strategy is an important
strategy which provides price inelasticity and customer loyalty, Cost-leadership
strategy generates the competitive advantage; this could be achieved by having cost-
saving Resorts designs and operational cost reduction, Spend less on papers as we
can now make use of electronics which will be more cheaper than the papers.
Today present world beliefs in a Eco-friendly environment and also Green
environment MTDC resorts should buy good quality Eco-friendly goods like Air
condition, Fans, Geysers and all other electrical equipments should be eco-friendly
and it should consume less energy. The resorts of MTDC should use some USP to
increase the occupancy rate of their resorts with respect to their competitors in respect
to Tariff, Services, Offers, Customer database etc. MTDC should take care of their
staffs/employees very well, they have to make them happy by giving them satisfied
monetary value, appreciate their work if the work is appreciable, and should take
concern of the employee if they are in some problem. As employees are the main face
of an organization and also they are the backbone of any organization. So, MTDC
should make their employee happy. Now the resorts should feel like home to the
tourist come over their so that the tourist can feel like home as in India we say that
ATITHI DEVO BHAVA and there is an old say that the first impression is the last
impression. So, the guest should get an awesome welcome to the guest house of
MTDC. So, that they can retain that memory for long time and in the near future if
they want to visit that place they can come and stay in MTDC resorts only. The
MTDC resorts Manager should be very Creative, Active for any tough situation like
any unusual problem faced by the guest etc, and the Manager should be Productive
also for the organization. If the guest is a regular visitor then the resort manger can
ask or request them for referring new customers for them. One new USP for the
resorts of MTDC can be make special rooms for pets as many tourist carry their pets
with them so, it will be a great idea for MTDC to target those tourists. MTDC resorts
can give a discount if the tourist stays for an extended period. Another USP for
MTDC will be introducing special rooms for the Honeymoon bridals. So, that they
can get a pleasant stay over there. The resorts should provide some outstanding
services like publishing Newsletter, Magazines in a weekly or monthly or annual
subscription for the tourist. So, that they can know about all the features and offers
providing by the MTDC resorts.

MTDC Wild life resorts, Beach resorts, Hill resorts, Pilgrimage resort and lastly
World heritage resort. So, the resorts should provide some extra ordinary facility to
the tourist so that they can extend their stay over there.

If MTDC applies all these applications the occupancy rate of the MTDC will get
increased. Ultimately what we will be achieving after employing such marketing
strategies, they are:
i. Increase in the room bookings,
ii. Reduction in operational costs,
iii. Improvement or increase in the rate of income,
iv. Build good brand image,
v. Gain popularity in the national and international arena,
vi. Gain competitive advantage to sustain and grow amidst of hectic
competition.

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 12.
CONCLUSION:-
In a nut shell I conclude my project on Marketing Strategy for MTDC resorts in a
way that if MTDC applies my suggestions in an effective and efficient manner
then in the near future their resorts occupancy rate will increase and MTDC will
grow like anything.

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 13.
REFERENCE:-
a) Marketing Management, Millennium Edition by Philip Kotler.

b) Research Journal of Management Sciences ISSN 23191171 Vol. 2(5), 14-19,

May (2013) Res. J. Management Sci. Marketing Strategies for Standalone

Hotels: With Reference to Mayur Aaditya Resort, Dharwad, India.

c) Indian Tourism Statistics at a glance 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014.

d) MTDC occupancy rate 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2015-2016.

e) Bureau of Immigration, Govt. of India, for 1998-2014.

f) Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

g) MTDC resort Tariff sheet.