Dissertation Project

On

“TOURISM MARKETING PRACTICES IN

BIHAR; CASES OF BIHAR TOURISM”

Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement

for two year (F/T)
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
Programme (2018-20) of Gopal Narayan Singh University

Under the Guidance of submitted by

Mr. Rajesh Ranjan Pankaj Kumar Gupta
Assistant Professor Roll No-18MBA043

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NARAYAN ACADEMY OF MANAGERIAL EXCELLENCE,
GOPAL NARAYAN SINGH UNIVERSITY,
ROHTAS

JULY 2020

1
2
 Declaration

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “TOURISM MARKETING

PRACTICES IN BIHAR; CASES OF BIHAR TOURISM” is a piece of original bona-
fide research done by me, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
the degree of master of business administration 2018-20 at narayan academy of
managerial excellence, gopal narayan singh university, jamuhar (sasaram). This work
has not been submitted in part or full to any other Institute or University, in India or
abroad, for any degree or diploma. My indebtedness to other works has been duly
acknowledged at the relevant places.

(Pankaj Kumar Gupta)

3
 Preface

This dissertation has been a very good experience for me in the way that it has given
me a chance to understand the real world outside the classroom. I have learnt a lot
about the office environment and my interpersonal skills as well as self-confidence
have improved significantly.
Firstly, I express my deep sense of gratitude to for recruit me as an intern and creating
such a wonderful environment for learning both theoretical as well as practical skills.
I am really fortunate that, I had the kind association as well as supervision of our
respected dean sir Dr. Alok pratap singh His exemplary guidance, constant
encouragement and careful monitoring throughout the internship are so great that,
even my most profound gratitude is not enough.
I would also like to thank my supervisor Mr. Rajesh ranjan sir under whom I have
learnt a lot of practical knowledge about mutual funds and actual market scenario.
I also take this opportunity to express a sincere thanks to all the employees to
presenting us such amazing experience. They all are really wonderful people, and I
will never forget these days of mine at Tourism marketing practices in Bihar.

4
 Acknowledgements

I wish to sincerely thank all those who have contributed in one way or another
to this study. Words can only inadequately express my deep gratitude to my guide,
Mr. Rajesh Ranjan (Asst. Professor), for her meticulous care, kindness and generosity.
Her fruitful comments and insightful suggestions have been a crucial formative
influence on the present study. He has supported me in every possible way since the
beginning of my research. His critical and careful reading of my writing has saved me
from a lot of errors. Without his guidance and encouragement, my research would
have never come out in the present form. I have seen in his an unpretentious and
devoted scholar. Furthermore, it has been a memorable and enjoyable experience for
me to work with him..
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Alok Kumar, the Dean of the
college, for his incessant inspiration, expert guidance, invaluable suggestions, and,
above all, his moral support.
Finally, I sincerely acknowledge the courtesy of the authorities of libraries:
GNS University’s for their cooperation needed by permitting me access data and
relevant materials while carrying out the present research

Pankaj Kumar Gupta

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Contents
Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 1
Topic Introduction ................................................................................................ 3
Research Problem Definition ................................................................................. 7
Objectives Of The Research .................................................................................. 8
Scope Of The Study .............................................................................................. 9
Literature Review ............................................................................................... 10
Research Methodology........................................................................................ 18
Research Design ............................................................................................. 18
Instrument for data collection .......................................................................... 18
Methods of data collection Primary data collction............................................. 18
Sample Size .................................................................................................... 19
Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 21
Occupation of traveller .................................................................................... 23
Travelling partners. ......................................................................................... 24
Purpose of travelling ....................................................................................... 25
Facilities rating by customers........................................................................... 26
Experience of holiday...................................................................................... 27
Pperceptioon towards policies.......................................................................... 29
Rate by customers towards policy .................................................................... 30
Potential of government policy ........................................................................ 31
Rating of marketing effort by government ........................................................ 32
Areas require more emphasis ........................................................................... 33
Findings ............................................................................................................. 39
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 41
Recommendations............................................................................................... 42
Appendix............................................................................................................ 44
\References ......................................................................................................... 47

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 Executive Summary

Bihar is famous for religious and cultural heritage sites. Bihar draws its name from
the word „vihara‟ or monastery, and was the early home of Buddhism. Steeped in
history and religion, Bihar is the birthplace of the great Emperor Ashoka and Lord
Mahavir. All major religions of India have left their mark here and this has made
Bihar a great religious melting pot. It is that great land where once Buddha attained
enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under the sacred Bodhi tree. Bodh Gaya is now a World
Heritage Site and is attracting the Buddhist tourists from across the world. Pawapuri
being the Nirwan Sthal of Bhagwan Mahavira attracts people following the Jain
religion. Patna Sahib- birth place of Guru Govind Singh, Xth Guru of Sikhs attracts
tourists. It also has the Ashoka‟s installed pillar with Lion capital that has braved
more than two millennia raising its head in all its splendors. Historical importance
of Bihar has been established again with the discovery of „biggest ever Buddha
stupa‟ at Kesariya by the Archeological Survey of India.

The states‟ wealth of religious and historical monuments has, in one way or another,
defined tourism in the state. However, the tourism sector‟s contribution to the
state‟s development priorities and strategies has so far been relatively limited. A
review of the sector‟s competitive strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats (SWOT Analysis) indicates that it has considerable growth potential.

Bihar‟s great competitive strength from tourism point of view is its ancient and yet
living civilization that gave rise to two of world‟s great religions namely Buddhism
and Jainism. Bihar was the nerve centre of religious activities of Hindu, Buddhist,
Jain, Sikh and Islam. Endowed with a rich cultural and religious heritage, Bihar was
a seat of power of the vast and powerful Magadh Empire, whose might had checked
further onslaught of Alexander the Great. This is a land of ancient universities of
Nalanda and Vikramshila, the seat of higher learning, which spread knowledge far
and wide through its students coming from different countries of th e world. The
remnants of these two ancient universities, the antiques and artefacts are already
attracting tourists. Bihar has in fact been attracting domestic and foreign tourist
from the ancient times. The Travelogues of the Chinese travelers Huen Tsang and
Fa-Hien describe historical splendor of Bihar, which offers much to tourists
irrespective of their age and class. Bihar‟s contact with other civilizations is
reflected in the rich cultural diversity of its people, traditions, customs, religious
practices and festivals, architecture and art and craft. A trip to the state offers
revelations in history, architecture, yoga, eco-tourism, fairs and festivals, art and

1
crafts besides a unique cuisine.

The main competitive constraints faced by the tourism sector in Bihar have been the
poor quality of the environments surrounding many of state‟s main tourist sites, the
security scenario in the state that affects the perception of Bihar as a safe and secure
destination, the quality of facilities and services at tourist attraction places, the
quantity and quality of transportation service and related infrastructure, limited
availability of tourist information in-source markets and at destination, insufficient
marketing of Bihar in its domestic and international markets, limited and poor
facilities and services especially in rural areas and limited financing of attractive
projects by the private sector.

The key competitive opportunities before Bihar are: 1) develop its strength as a
major religious destination attracting tourists of diverse religious beliefs; 2) promote
the Buddhist circuit to attract Buddhists from a number of countries; 3) leverage its
rich cultural history to increase its share of the huge international travel market; 4)
harness the huge potential of promoting rural tourism revolving around its rich
tradition of art, craft and handloom and 5) leverage its strength in yoga to develop
well-being centres to attract a sizeable number of international and domestic
tourists.

The main internal threats to the development of the tourism sector have been the
inability to fully resolve the constraints identified above. These are security, safety,
absence of trained manpower, inadequate connectivity, accommodation and other
basic infrastructure like roads, electricity etc., and failure to market the tourist
destinations in the state. External threats are not addressing the competition from
other states like Bihar, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. The Tourism Policy 2009 proposes
to concentrate on addressing the identified threats and harnessing the opportunities
by adopting and implementing appropriate plans to handle the threats and overcome
our weaknesses with the objective of increasing the tourist inflow into the state
significantly. The study is an effort to find out whether the state has been able to tap
its full tourist potential or not. It also studies the marketing policy adopted by the
state government. Are the promotional efforts undertaken by the state supply driven
or are customer centric? It also studies the perception of the varius stakeholders to
the various government policies. The study is basically an exploratory study aimed
at exploring the inititiativs for tourism promotion. Finally, the author draws certain
conclusions based on the analysis of primary data collected by the author and gives
her suggestions.

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 Topic Introduction

A routine world where everything is predictable makes life monotonous and boring.
Human beings have always looked for ways and means to break monotony in their
life. This probably has taken man to distant places and, thus, has evolved the concept
of tourism. In general terms, tourism is defined as travel for recreational or leisure
purposes. The World Tourism Organization(WTO) defines tourists as people who
"travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of
an activity remunerated from within the place visited”. Tourism has become a popular
global leisure activity. Tourism can be considered as one of the most remarkable
socio-economic phenomena of the twentieth century. From an activity “enjoy ed by
only a small group of relatively well-off people” during the first half of the last
century, it gradually became a mass phenomenon during the post -World War II
period, particularly from the 1970s onwards. It now reaches larger and larger numbers
of people throughout the world, and is a source of employment for a significant
segment of the labour force.
Importance of Tourism
Over time, an increasing number of destinations have opened up and invested in
tourism development, turning modern tourism into a key driver for socio- economic
progress, through the creation of jobs and enterprises, infrastructure development, and
the export income earned. Tourism has become one of the major international trade
categories. The overall export income generated by international tourism including
passengers transport reached US$ 1.7 trillion in 2019, or US$ 3 billion a day. Tourism
exports account for as much as 30% of the world’s exports of commercial services
and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. Globally, as an export category,
tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and automotive products. For many
developing countries it is one of the main income sources and the number one export
category, creating much needed employment and opportunities for development. The
worldwide contribution of tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at
some 5%. Tourism’s contribution to employment tends to be slightly higher and is
estimated in the order of 6-7% of the overall number of jobs (direct and indirect). For
advanced, diversified economies, the contribution of tourism to the GDP ranges from
approximately 2% for countries where tourism is a comparatively small sector, to over
10% for countries where tourism is an important pillar of the economy. For small

3
islands and developing countries, or specific regional and local destinations where
tourism is a key economic sector, the importance of tourism tends to be even higher.
Incredible India
India has a huge potential for tourism and has been marketing its tou rism potential
aggressively during the last one decade. Prior to this, we were following a policy of
tourism (1982) in an environment of closed economy with strict licensing procedures.
The then policy did not emphasize any role for the private sector and foreign
investment was also not envisaged. As a result, there was not much development of
the sector. The National Action Plan for tourism announced in May 1992 had thus set
the target to increase India's share in the world tourism market to 1% by 2000 AD but
unfortunately this is yet to be achieved.

To be a part of the tourism revolution taking place across the world, India came out
with its National Tourism Policy in 2002. The policy recognized the need to change
its strategies and tools of its machinery of implementation to partake in the global
tourism revolution as with the existing policies India’s share of world tourist traffic
had remained static through out the decade at 0.38%. The policy of the Centre and the
sustained efforts of the various tourism rich states borne some result as by 2008 India’s
share in the world tourist arrivals increased to 0.58% and its ranking increased to 41.
As far as the world tourism receipts are concerned, India’s ranking rose to 23 and its
share to1.28%(India Tourism Statistics, 2008).
BIHAR
Bihar is a land purified with a magnificence which brought forth Buddhism, Jainism
and aided in the development of Sikhism and Hinduism. Historical literature
acknowledgesthat it was the focal point of the first republic on the wor ld at Vaishali
and the city of Pataliputra was biggest and most terrific on the planet at the stature of
its wonderfulness. It got its emanation of sacredness with the introduction of Lord
Mahavira here. This was likewise the most loved resting spot of Lord Buddha, and he
lectured his last sermon here, which was later recognized by a lion capital raised by
King Ashoka. Apart from its rich history, the state is blessed with huge Gangetic
planes, bolstered by a portion of the nation's most vital waterway. The point of fact, it
bears the significant weight of history yet bears it with much warmth and mindfulness.
In this way, this state has composite culture, i.e. an amicable mix of craftsmanship,
religion, and doctrine. Apart from it, this state holds animportant position in early
4
India history, as Mahatma Gandhi launched his Satyagraha movement in opposition
to the British rule. Apart from it, it was in Bihar that Mahatma Gandhi launched his
Satyagraha movement in opposition to the British rule. Bihar has the colossal
potential for different tourism exercises, as a matter of first importance being religious
tourism. The historical backdrop of Bihar shows a rich legacy acquired from a
different era and incredible identities. The archaeological and historical significance
of this legacy still studded with landmarks of its past magnificence. The untamed life,
fowls and asylums hold limitless potential for nature-based ecotourism. The stream
Ganga, up and down it’s extend offers the potential for water -based sports and
riverfront exercises. As tourism industry is fragmented in nature, these sites are not
situated within a district or locality thus government is promoting the tourism and
tourists to travel to one sacred site is pooled with another sacred site which is variously
acknowledged as circuit tourism and multi- destination wise tourism (Figure-1). Major
tourist circuits in this state are:
Buddhist Circuit: Bodhgaya – Rajgir – Nalanda – Patna – Vaishali – Lauriya
Nandangarh –Lauriya Areraj - Kesariya – Vikramsila (Refer Map).
Jain Circuit: Vaishali – Patna – Rajgir – Pawapuri – Nathnagar – Mandar Hill –
Bisram – Masadh – Champanagar – Nalanda.
Ramayan Circuit: Valmikinagar – Pretshila Hill – Ahilya Asthan- Sitamarhi - Kako
– Sitakund – Tar – Singheshwar – Chankigarh– Buxar.
Islamic/Sufi Circuit: Maner Sharif – Fulwari Sharif – Khankah Emadia – Dargah
Sharif – Bihar sharif – Hazrat Jandaha – Hajipur – Serukahi – Kanti – Saran Khas –
Hasanpura – Lakri Dargah – Goraul Sharif – Masurhi –– Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa – Pir
Pahar – Siris – Tomb of Chandan Shahid – Tomb of Hasan Khan Sur.
Nature and Wildlife Circuit: Rajgir Sanctuary – Bhimbandh Sanctuary – Vikramsila
Sanctuary – Udaipur Sanctuary – Kaimur Sanctuary– Gautam Buddha Sanctuary –
Nakti Dam Sanctuary – Gogabill Sanctuary – Valmiki National Park and Sanctuary –
Kanwar Jheel Sanctuary.
Gandhi Circuit: Motihari – Betia - Bhitharwa – Brindaban – Sadaquat Ashram.
Thus this state is witnessing significant growth and increase of tourists foot falls. As
per Ministry of Tourism, 2015 report [(ON367), (ON566) and (17172)], Bihar
positioned seventh among top ten states of India in terms of foreign tourist footfall.
Hence one out of six visitors in India is heading towards Bihar. As a result, the state
has turned into a favorite tourist destination for overseas tourists. As demonstrated by
5
these reports, Bihar is receiving a greater number of voyagers from abroad than Goa
which is a hotspot for untouchables on account of its shorelines.
For the promotion of tourism Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation
(BSTDC) was established in 1981. In the 30 years BSTDC has performed well. But
in the last 10 years the tourism scenario has changed drastically, resulted in the
exponential growth of tourism. State Tourism Policy 2002 and Marketing Strategy
worked well to diversify the image of the state from pilgrimage to leisure destination.
Marketing of white-sand beach of the river Ganga, surface water activities, Dolphin
watch, visiting historical sites, bird watching distinguished the state. Present study
focuses on the trend of tourism development and marketing strategy of BSTDC.
Analysis of tourism growth in 10 years 2001-2010 is done to show the trend and
effectiveness of marketing strategy after implementation of tourism policy in 2002.
Tourism Policy of Bihar was formed in 2002 and revised in 2008.
To propel the growth of the tourism sector, the state government has realized the need
for a strong infrastructure in the form of roads, airports, urban infrastructure. Due to
the significant nature of the investment required and paucity of funds available with
the State Government, private sector participation in infrastructure projects is essential
to fructify the investments. To facilitate the development, the state gover nment has
invited private sector investment in Roads, Power, Tourism, Urban Infrastructure, and
Industrial Infrastructure etc.

6
 Research Problem Definition

The Bihar government, tourism planners, and the general public are in a state of
confusion about the direction of increase tourism awareness in Bihar.. Tourism is cited
as the area that will have the most impact from tourism policy and local planner.. Is it
really so? Parties concerned, whether it be the government, private investors or
tourism developers do not have sufficient information to know what really attracts
tourists to Bihar, and whether tourists who are attracted to Bihar culture might choose
The potential market of casino gambling has not been sufficiently studied.

7
 Objectives of the Research

• To study of the state of Tourism in Bihar and to study the impact of the
various Tourism Policies on the growth of the sector and to give suggestions
on the way ahead.
• To study the perception, understanding and concerns of the various
stakeholders.
• To understand the marketing strategy adopted in the state to promote
tourism and to understand and find out whether the strategy is in line with
the need of the hour. It will also find out whether, promotion and branding
issues are properly taken care of.

8
 Scope Of The Study

It is expected that the research would help in better understanding of the growth of the
tourism sector of Bihar. It would help in identifying the gaps in the implementation of
the Government’s policies and also bring out the requirements as felt by the various
stakeholders. It may provide a sound board to the authorities. The marketing potential
of the state as a tourist destination was explored and the study would provide an
analysis of the marketing strategy. This would make it possible to understand what
appeals and is favorable to the growth of the sector. As part of the study, an effort has
been made to find out how tangibles and intangibles have to be marketed and how the
promotional and branding strategies can make a difference. The author has also
attempted to give suggestions to bridge the various gaps in implementation.

9
 Literature Review
Tourism
Various authors have defined tourism. While Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a
good working definition of tourism as "the temporary movement of people to
destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities
undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to
their needs." Macintosh and Goeldner (1986) have defined tourism is "the sum of the
phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business
suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and
hosting these tourists and other visitors." But the widely used definition is the one
given by the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is defined by the World Tourism
Organisation (WTO) as comprising the activities of persons travelling to and staying
in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for
leisure, business and other purposes. The WTO further explains that “Tourism” refers
to all activities of visitors including both “tourists (overnight visitors)” and “same-
day visitors”.

Tourist Destination
Many new destinations have emerged alongside the traditional ones of Western
Europe and North America. A tourist destination is an amalgam of tourist products,
services and public goods consumed under the same brand name, thus offering the
consumer an integrated experience (Buhalis, 2000; Leiper, 1995). Rather than
describing it in terms of a well-defined geographical area such as a country, island
or town (Davison and Maitland, 1997; Hall, 2000), contemporary definitions view a
destination as a blend of consumers’ space and tourism products providing a holistic
experience which is subjectively interpreted according to the consumer’s t ravel i
inerary, cultural background, purpose of visit, past experience, etc. (Fuchs and
Weiermair, 2003).

10
Tourism in India
Tourism in India is important for the country's economy and is growing
rapidly. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated
₹16.91 lakh crore (US$240 billion) or 9.2% of India's GDP in 2018 and supported
42.673 million jobs, 8.1% of its total employment.The sector is predicted to grow at
an annual rate of 6.9% to ₹32.05 lakh crore (US$450 billion) by 2028 (9.9% of
GDP). In October 2015, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth
US$3 billion, and it is projected to grow to US$7–8 billion by 2020. In 2014, 184,298
foreign patients traveled to India to seek medical treatment.

Over 10 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2017 compared to 8.89

million in 2016, representing a growth of 15.6%. Domestic tourist visits to all states
and union territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from
2011. In 2014, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most popular
states for tourists. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Agra and Jaipur were the five most
visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2015. Worldwide, Delhi is
ranked 28th by the number of foreign tourist arrivals, while Mumbai is ranked 30th,
Chennai 43rd, Agra 45th, Jaipur 52nd and Kolkata 90th.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 ranked India 34th out
of 140 countries overall. India improved its ranking by 6 places over the 2017 report
which was the greatest improvement among the top 25% of countries ranked. The
report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 13th out of 140
countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport infrastructure (ranked
33rd), particularly given the country's stage of development, and reasonable ground
and port infrastructure (ranked 28th). The country also scores high on natural
resources (ranked 14th), and cultural resources and business travel (ranked
8th).However, some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat
underdeveloped.The nation has many hotel rooms per capita by international
comparison and low ATM penetration.The World Tourism Organization reported
that India's receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th
among Asian and Pacific countries.

The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and
promotion of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with
other stakeholders in the sector including various central ministries/agencies, state
governments, union territories and private sector representatives. Concerted efforts
11
 are being made to promote niche tourism products such as rural, cruise, medical and
eco-tourism.The Ministry of Tourism maintains the Incredible India campaign
focused on promoting the tourism in India.

Foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings

Foreign tourist arrivals in Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India
India (1997–2018
(1997–2018) Earnings (US$ % Earnings (₹ %
Year
Arrivals % million) change crores) change
Year
(millions) change 1997 2,889 2.0 10,511 4.6
1997 2.37 3.8 1998 2,948 2.0 12,150 15.6
1998 2.36 −0.7 1999 3,009 2.1 12,951 6.6
1999 2.48 5.2 2000 3,460 15 15,626 20.7
2000 2.65 6.7 2001 3,198 −7.6 15,083 −3.5
2001 2.54 −4.2 2002 3,103 −3.0 15,064 −0.1
2002 2.38 −6.0 2003 4,463 43.8 20,729 37.6
2003 2.73 14.3 2004 6,170 38.2 27,944 34.8
2004 3.46 26.8 2005 7,493 21.4 33,123 18.5
2005 3.92 13.3 2006 8,634 15.2 39,025 17.8
2006 4.45 13.5 2007 10,729 24.3 44,360 13.7
2007 5.08 14.3 2008 11,832 10.3 51,294 15.6
2008 5.28 4.0 2009 11,136 −5.9 53,700 4.7
2009 5.17 −2.2 2010 14,193 27.5 64,889 20.8
2010 5.78 11.8 2011 16,564 16.7 77,591 19.6
2011 6.31 9.2 2012 17,737 7.1 94,487 21.8
2012 6.58 4.3 2013 18,445 4.0 107,671 14
2013 6.97 5.9 2014 20,236 9.7 123,320 14.5
2014 7.68 10.2 2015 21,071 4.1 135,193 8.8
2015 8.03 4.5 2016 22,923 9.1 154,146 14.3
2016 8.80 9.7 2017 27,310 19.1 177,874 15.4
2017 10.04 14.0 2018 28,585 4.7 194,882 9.6
2018 10.56 5.2

Foreign tourist arrivals by source country

12
Source countries for foreign tourist
arrivals in India in

Rank Country Number Share in %

1 Bangladesh 2,256,675 21.37
2 United States 1,456,678 13.80
3 United Kingdom 1,029,758 9.75
4 Sri Lanka 353,684 3.35
5 Canada 351,040 3.32
6 Australia 346,486 3.28
7 Malaysia 319,172 3.02
8 China 281,768 2.67
9 Germany 274,087 2.60
10 Russia 262,309 2.48
Total of top 10 6,931,657 65.65
Other countries 3,626,272 34.35
Grand total 10,557,929 100

Foreign and domestic tourist visits by State

Share of top 10 states of India in number of

foreign tourist visits in 2017
Share
Rank State/Union Territory Number
in %
1 Maharashtra 5,078,514 18.9
2 Tamil Nadu 4,860,455 18.1
3 Uttar Pradesh 3,104,062 13.3
4 Delhi 2,379,169 10.2
5 Bihar 1,489,500 6.4
6 West Bengal 1,475,311 6.3
7 Kerala 977,479 4.2
8 Bihar 923,737 4.0

13
9 Karnataka 636,502 2.7
10 Goa 541,480 2.3
Total of top 10 states 20,620,863 88.4
Others 2,705,300 11.6
Total 23,326,163 100

Share of top 10 states of India in number of domestic tourist visits in 2017

Rank State/Union Territory Number Share in %
1 Tamil Nadu 345,061,140 20.9
2 Uttar Pradesh 233,977,619 14.2
3 Karnataka 179,980,191 10.9
4 Andhra Pradesh 165,433,898 10.0
5 Maharashtra 119,191,539 7.2
6 Telangana 85,266,596 5.2
7 Madhya Pradesh 78,038,522 4.7
8 West Bengal 79,687,645 4.8
9 Gujarat 48,343,121 2.9
10 Bihar 45,916,573 2.8
Total of top 10 states 1,380,896,844 83.6
Others 271,588,513 16.4
Total 1,652,485,357 100

Tourism In Bihar

STATISTICS OF DISTRICT WISE TOURIST VISIT TO THE STATE OF

BIHAR PROVISIONAL,2019

SL.
PLACE TOURIST TOTAL
NO.
DOMESTIC 5813897
1 PATNA
FOREIGN 11468
DOMESTIC 3741250
2 GAYA
FOREIGN 344934
DOMESTIC 1370709
3 BODHGAYA
FOREIGN 253788

14
 DOMESTIC 1782277
4 RAJGIR
FOREIGN 177643
DOMESTIC 1069913
5 NALANDA
FOREIGN 170778
DOMESTIC 549706
6 RAXAUL
FOREIGN 573
DOMESTIC 261998
7 MUNGER
FOREIGN 322
DOMESTIC 888301
8 VAISHALI
FOREIGN 92740
DOMESTIC 1125904
9 MUZAFFARPUR
FOREIGN 98
DOMESTIC 558114
10 BHAGALPUR
FOREIGN 411
DOMESTIC 314046
11 BANKA DIST.
FOREIGN 0
SONEPUR DOMESTIC 4038613
12
MELA FOREIGN 327
SHRAWANI DOMESTIC 4443319
13 MELA (17 July-15
FOREIGN 0
Aug,2019)
PITRAPAKSHA DOMESTIC 33463
MELA (PUNPUN)
14
(12 Sept- 28 Sept, FOREIGN 17000
2019)
PITRAPAKSHA MELA DOMESTIC 611113
15
(GAYA) FOREIGN 2982
DOMESTIC 7387415
16 OTHER
FOREIGN 20077
DOMESTIC 33990038
TOTAL
FOREIGN 1093141
GRAND TOTAL 35083179

15
National Tourism Policy, 2002
A NationaI Policy on Tourism highlighting the importance of the sector and the
objectives of tourism development in the country was presented in the Parliament in
1982. The policy did not emphasize the role of private sector, and foreign investment
was not envisaged. The policyaIso did not lay adequate emphasis on domestic
tourism and the need for product development. As such, the Ministry of Tourism had
prepared a draft National Tourism Development Policy,2002with the objective of
positioning tourism as a major engine of economic growth and to harness its direct
and multiplier effects for employment and poverty eradication in an environmentally
sustainable manner. It was felt that at the institutional level, a framework would have
to· be evolved that is Government-led, private sector driven and community-welfare
oriented. Sustainability was envisaged to serve as the guiding star for the new Policy.
The development and management strategies was to be so worked out as to ensure
that tourism largely acts as a smokeless industry and its ecological footprints remain
as soft as possible. No one engaged, directly or indirectly, in the tourism industry,
is to be allowed to secure short-term gains by resorting to what has been called the
darker side of tourism. Neither over-exploitation of natural resources should be
permitted nor the carrying capacity of the tourist- sites ignored. Special thrust was
to be imparted to rural tourism and tourism in small settlements, where sizeable
assets of our cultural and natural wealth exist. It was also envisaged in the policy
that a section of the State police should be earmarked to act as tourrist police and
special training should be imparted to it. Broadly the policy attempted to: -

• Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth;

• Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism for employment

generation, economic development and providing impetus to rural

16
 tourism;
• Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth.
• Position India as a global brand to take advantage of the burgeoning

global travel trade and the vast untapped potential of India as a

destination;
• Acknowledges the critical role of private sector with government
working
as a pro-active facilitator and catalyst;
• Create and develop integrated tourism circuits based on India's

unique civilization, heritage, and culture in partnership with states,

private sector and other agencies;

• Ensure that the tourist to India gets physically invigorated, mentally
rejuvenated, culturally enriched, spiritually elevated and "feel India
from within".
BIHAR TOURISM POLICY-2009
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES Key
Objectives
• Position tourism as state priority
• Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth.
• Promote Bihar for cultural, religious and „wellness‟ tourism
• Improve the efficiency of the industry, for enhanced social and
economic benefit, and consequential increased economic
benefits, including increased employment generation.
• Ensure the participation of all the stake holders in society, including the
travel trade and tourism industry.
• Create world class infrastructure
• Provide quality services to all domestic & international consumers
and stake holders.
• Improving connectivity of important tourist sites.

17
 Research Methodology

Research Design

A research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigtion so conceived

as to obtain answers to research questions or problems. The plan is the complete
scheme or program of the research. It includes an outline of what the investigator
will do from writing their hypothesis and their operational imlications to the final
analysis of data (Kerlinger, 1986). A research design is a procedural plan that is
adopted by the researcher to answer questions validly, objectively, accurately
and economically (Sellitz).

Based on the objective of the research, an exploratory qualitative research has

been conducted by the researcher. An exploratory research is one in which the
research is done with the objective to explore a particular area. It is also termed as
formulative research studies. Major emphasis is on the discovery of ideas and
insights. The research design has to be flexible enough to provide opportunity for
considering different aspects of a problem under study. Qualitative research, is
concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving
quality or kind. Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon
involving quality. It is non-numerical, descriptive, applies reasoning and uses words.
Its aim is to get the meaning, feeling and describe the situation.

Instrument for data collection

While designing data collection procedure, adequate safeguards against bias and
unreliability were
ensured. Questions were well examined and were unambiguous.

Methods of data collection Primary data collction

As part of the primary data collection, the author conducted stratified random
sampling. The author visited Gaya and Nalamda and also collected information and
responses from Patna.

18
 Sample Size

The following is the size of the sample undertaken for the research:
The response rate was 62.5 %(125) in terms of the tourists and 60%(36) in terms of
the resort owners etc. Of the 125 tourist’ respondents, 62.4%were male and
37.6%female. Of the responsents, 56.8% were domestic and 43.2% wer foreigners.
The highest number of respondents were in the group 26-30. 35(39.2%) followed by
36-50 age group(37.6%) and then by 18-25 age group (17.6%), above 50 (4.8%)
and below 18(.8%). The second category consisiting of the private players had 25 %
respondents as tour operators, 50 % hotel owners, 19,5% travel agents and 2.7%
were resort owners and rest house owners each.
6TOURIST DESTINATION TOURISTS RESORT OWNERS/ TOUR
OPERATORS/HOTEL
OWNERS
/TRAVELOPERATOTS
GAYA 100 40
NALANDA 50 10
PATNA 50 10
200 60
TOTAL

Besides this, some 50 officials were contacted by the reseracher with questionnaires
out of which only 15 respnded by replying to the questionnaire or through
interviews. The interviews were conducted either by phone or in perosn mostly at
Gaya and Patna.

19
Secondary Data
The secondary data was collected from the websites, databanks, from the published
and unpublished reports and data sources. Websites of the Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India; Department of Tourism, Government of Bihar and Database
such as Indiastat, magportal etc aided in data collection .

20
.

Data Analysis

The next step is the analysis of data and the observations that flow from it. The researcher has collected
data from three sets of stakeholders. They are

1. The govt officials implementing the policy

2. The Private sector (including resort owners, hotel owners, tour operators, travel
agents and others associated with the trade) – the stakeholders who are working
in the field and benefitting/ otherwise from the policy
3. Tourists – the ultimate users of the p roduct
The size of the sample for the category 2 & 3 is and thirty six and one twenty five
respectively.
Besides this, the secondary data availble from other sources such as the wbsites of
Govt. of India, Bihar government was also used for getting inferences by the author.
The primary data collected by the author was aimed at getting the perception of the
various stakeholders about the effect of the government’s policy on the growth of
tourism in the state. The perception of the stakeholders is very important as it gives
an overview of what the policies aims at and what the final users feel about it and
the actual situation on the ground. The intention behind any policy initiative is noble
but there might be a gap in what is intended and what happens on the ground. To
take the argument further, the objective of the tourism policy is the promotion of
tourism in the state which will have its multiplier effect on employment generation
and poverty eradication.
To see whether the government has really achieved its prime objective, we need to
know from the two stakeholders directly involved with the policy –its implementers
and its beneficiaries i.e the govt. officials and the private sector.
Also, we need to know from the ultimate beneficiaries whether the objectives have
been achieved and this can be assessed from the level of satisfaction of the tourists
and whether they would like to visit the state again or not. This will impact the
further growth of the sector as mouth to mouth publicity is one of the most important
sources of getting more tourists to any destination. To get to this, the researcher
administered a questionnaire to the tourists asking them various questions. These
questions can be broadly grouped into the following categories:
21
• Demographic Profile related
• Travel & Infrastructure related
• Experience of Bihar

22
A)Analysis of data related to tourists - Their perception

The primary data collected from the tourists showed the following:

Occupation of traveller

Interpretation
The occupational status of the people visiting the state as collected frm the primary
data suggests that the maximm number of people surveyed are professionals
followed by people in government service, private service, businessmen etc. The pie
diagram given below gives a percentage wise break-up.

23
Travelling partners.

Interpreation
Most of the respondents were either travelling with family or friends. The pie chart
given below shows that 21.6 % respondents were travelling alone rest with either
family or friends. The size of the travelling family was mostly in between 35(with
more than 51 % response) meaning people feel like travelling in a family as said
earlier

24
Purpose of travelling

The major purpose of the respondents’ visit was leisure, recreation and
holiday. The chart given below gives the percentage wise break up of
the purpose of travel.

Interpretation

The maximum number of respondents had stayed in guest house/rest house visitors
bunglow (42.4%) followed by starred hotel (31.2%) and then unstarred(16.8%)
followed by friends & relatives(10.4%) and balance others. The number of night stay
i.e the duration of the stay is found on an average to be 2- 5 days with 78.4 %% of
those surveyed belonging to this category.Coming to the most satisfying and
dissatisfying aspect of their stay, maximum number of tourists put touts(25.6%), lack
of good transport facilities(24%)information about tourits places(18.4%), traffic ,
hygiene and sanitation, filth as the major irritants while the experience-cultural
&heritage topped with 65.6% terming it as the most satisfying

25
Facilities rating by customers

Interpretation
The respondents were also asked to rate the individual attributes such as transport
within the centre, accomodation, and reasonablness of accomodation tariff, food
quality, entertainment and shopping facility. The same is given below in the chart.
The majority of the respondents found the food quality excellent (62.4%), room
tariffs reasonable (64%), visitor’s attraction interesting (60.8 %) and shopping
facility adequate (68%).

26
Experience of holiday

Interpretation
When asked to rate their over all experience at the tourist centre, about 38.4% rated
their experience between three to four. Asked whether they would like to come back
for a visit to the state 92.8 % said yes, 4.8% no whle 4% said yes provided certain
things such as traffic, transportation, sanitation and hygiene improve. Given below
is the rating:

27
A) Analysis of data related to the private sector -Their perception

The perception of the private sector comprising of the hotel owners,resort owners,
travel and tour operators is very important as they are the ones who are the
benefciaries of the business environment created by the policy. This group was also
administered questionnaires by the researcher. Of the 60 people who were sent the
questionnaire, 36 responded. Again the questions asked can be divided into the
following categories:

• Professional Profile related

• Perception of the policy related to toursim
• Areas needing more attention & suggestion

Of the responses received, 19.44 % were from travel agent, 52.78%from hotel
owners/ resort owners and 25% tour operators. 47.22% of respondents rated thier
business as good in profit folowed by30.56 % as average, 11.11% as very good,
5.56% as booming and 2.78& in loss.

Based on the responses received, the following can be deduced:

1. The awareness about the National Tourism Policy and the Bihar Tourism
Policy was 61.11 % and 69.44 %respectively.
.

28
Pperceptioon towards policies

Interpretation
The percetion of the respondents about the policy varied from 27.78% of them
feeeling it to be clear and giving general directions to 19.44% feeling that it is
comprehensive and stakeholder’s interests are clearly part of the policy . However,
22.22% of respondents felt hat it is inadequate and unclear and 11.1%thought that
it’s just another policy document

29
Rate by customers towards policy

Interpretation
As far as rating of the policy is concerned, it was rated by the maximum number of
people (52.78%) as average followed by 22.78% respondents as good. Majority of
the respondnts (about 69.44%)felt that the government should play a more active
role while 19.44 % felt that it should act as facilitator and 5.56% felt that it should
continue to play the same role as present

30
Potential of government policy

Interpretation
As far as the private sector’s percception about whether the full potential of the
state has been relaized or not, 36.11 % feel still a lot remains to be tapped.25% of
the respondents feel that only partly it has been realized and 16.67 % feel that it has
not been realized at all.Only a small (8.33%) feel that it has been fully utilized.

31
Rating of marketing effort by government

Interpretation
On the rating of the marketing efforts on a scale of five, none of the respondents
rated it as excellent or very good, 22.22% rated it as good, majority of them (61.11)
rated it as average and 8.33% as poor.

32
.
Areas require more emphasis

Interpretation
On the areas, which requires greater attention, 19.44%feel infrastructure needs
priority, 8.33% feel marketing efforts for promotion requires greater attention,
.22.22% feel greater involvement of local population is required while13.89%feel
new forms of tourism should be developed. However, the maximm number of
respondents ((30.56%) felt that better support to the private sector is required

33
Infrastructure rating by tourists and private

Interpretation
When the respondents were asked which other form of tourism should be developed
in the state, 25% feel that convetion tourism can be developed, while the majority
(63.89%) felt adventure tourism could be developed. There was no sugges tion on any
other forms of tourism that can be developed as requested from the respondents. On
another question, whether the locals are getting benefitted from the tourism activities,
75% replied in affirmative.
On the rating of the infrastructure, while 92 % of the private sector respondents feel
that it is inadeqaute and needs improvement. As compared to this, 63.2% of the
tourists felt it needs improvement, 8.8% finds it to be inadeqaute, and 26.4% think
that it is adequate to make their stay comfortable

34
B) Analysis of data related to the govt officers -Their perception

The response rate as far as the interview request, filling of questionnaire from the
government officers and staff was not very encouraging with only 15 of them
responding to the questionniare or to interview request. Amongst those responded
included police official, RTDC officials, Information officer, DoT officials, former
secretary of Department of Tourism, Govt. of Bihar, district collector of a prominent
tourist spot in Bihar, forest official etc.

There was a unawreness about the policy document as such amongst the senior
officers implemting the policy but not amongst the junior sraff implemting the policy
and officials of other departments such as police etc. While those implemting the
policy at the senior level find it quite comrehensive, there were voices in the
government who think that it is inadequate. However, most of the respondents
agreed that the objectives as laid down in the policy are partly fulfilled. They also
were of the view that the government should act as a facilitator in creating an
enabbling environment for the private sector to grow.

There was also a realization that the political support can really help in giving a great
impetus but as Shri Vinod Zutshi says that it is for the bureucracy to convince the
political leadership about the importance of the issue and this requires passion in the
officers for the cause. Shri Amitabh Kant, the former Joint Secretary in the Ministry
of Tourism, Government of India, and the man behind the “Incredible India”
campaign in his intercations with the researcher said that tourism officials needs to
be passionate and should be the brand ambassadors of their product. He also said
that “ you need to convince your political bosses of the potential and for this you
need to be passionate”.

Since, tourism is a multi- sectoral activity, it is difficult to get all the departments on
the same page and this sometimes lead to delay in the projects. This view was also
expressed by another officer who said many times it takes so much of time in
finalizing the projects that in the meantime other states or countries (very
35
competetive sector various actors vying for the attention of tourists.) surge ahead.
Shri Devesh Chaturvedi, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India also takes the multi sectoral argument by saying that this gets
complicated with the federal structure existent in India as the schmes takes time in
approval at the central level and then the state governments who have to implement
the schemes take their own time as it requires co-ordination from several deprtments.

Mr. Vinod Zutshi spoke to the researcher on how new areas and experiences need to
be created to make the state a 365 days destination. He talked abo ut the various
initiatives taken during his tenure such as Night Tourism(opening of Amer fort at
Night,Night Bazars,) organizing of Summer Festival, Monsoon Festival, Jhalawar,
Bundi, Kama (Bharatpur)and Tribal Festival(Doongarpur),making tourism an
integral part of the Bihar Day celebrations by organizing ten day events showcasing
the various facets of Bihar. But he also said that there should be continuity in the
policies as then and then only these new festivals can be recognized and put on the
tourism calendar of the state.

On the infrastructure front, there was again unanimity amongst the various
responents that it needs improvement. As per the officals the areas which require
more emphasis from the government are :better connectivity including air
conncetivity with imprortant tourist destinations,development of tourism circuits,
increasing the strength of tourist police and their sensitization to the cause, trained
and skilled manpower to handle diverse situations, marketing efforts etc.The private
sector needs to be assured of a good return by creating a business friendly
environment.

On the branding and marketing efforts of the Bihar governmnet, when the reseracher
spoke to Mr. Amitabh Kant, he said that the Bihar government has not been able to
leverage the India Incredible campaign and carry it forward. He said that branding
is not mere advertising. It requires concerted efforts and a
whole lot of marketing research goes into it. Products have to be tailor made to the
consumer’s requirements. You need to have insights into the customer’s mind –
what products he require and how to create an experince around it. This will require

36
both tangibles and intangibles such as the welcome experiences say at the emigration
or the way the auto/taxi drivers talk or the clenaliness, hygiene around the places.
Mr. Kant says that Bihar is such a unique product and it has the flavour which Europe
is looking for. A marketing strategy based on continous and sound research, based
on which a professional agency can build upon a 360-degree campaign based on
consistent strategy and a host of other activities is what is required for establishing
Brand Bihar. Another RTDC official who is promoting the luxury trains , RRW and
POW says that the government doesn’t have a proper marketing wing, there are 2-3
officials at Jaipur doing the job. According to him, professionals who are from the
field should manage organizations like RTDC. There should be continuity at the top
and the top officails should have at least 3 years term. The hotels of RTDC should
be professionally run and free from political interferences. Marketing has to move
beyond printing of brochures and literature. Kerala Tourism is one model which
some of the officals interviwed thought is a good model to look at .

On the benefits reaching the locals, some of the officials felt that their greater
involvement could be sought through village tourism and nature tourism.

As government officials implemting the policy, the following were the problems
identified by them in implementation :

• Multiple departmental clearances

• Procedural delays
• Time and cost over runs due to sluggish tendering process

• Time in land acquistion

• Lack of skilled manpower

• Funds Constraints

37
 The following were the reforms suggested by the governmnet officials to tap the full
tourism potential in the state :

• Connectivity (road, air and rail) should be given adequate importance.

• Development of mini airports in areas where influx of foreign tourits is high
• Private participation for building infrastructure
• Civilized and courteus staff
• Ensuring safety and security of tourists
• Giving Tourism a priority status – pro active policy to promote tourism
• Making Bihar a 365 days tourist destination through development of organized
entertianment events in the off peak season.

38
 Findings

Based on the literature review and the primary data collected from various
stakeholders, the reseracher has reached to the following conclusions :
1. The potential of Bihar is yet to be tapped fully. This requires, as mentioned above, a
combination of efforts on both policy and marketing side. The basic infrastructure
road, rail and air connectivity needs to be strengthed. There are still destinations
which have a high influx of foreign tourits but air connectivity is still not established.
This leads to a higher travel time and thus reduces period of stay as we found out
that the people staying in Bihar for more than five days was just 16% .
2. Development of organized entertainment facility and niche products that could
attract young population as well as family is another area, which deserves at tention.
As majority of the people visiting the state are young professionals in the age group
of 26-35 , we need to cater to their tastes. A thorough research work needs to be done
so as to find out which products can be develeoped . Also emphasis needs t o be
placed to create experiences wonderful enough to make them remember their stay in
Bihar for a life time. As could be seen from the primary data collected, the most
satisfying experience for the majority of the people was the experience
(cultural/heritage) they had. We need to leverage this further and the irritants
pinpointed by the tourits (lack of good transportation, hygiene and sanitation, lack
of information, cleanliness, air connectivity, better infrastructure at the tourist
centres) needs to be addresed. As family and friends were the main source of
information about the tourist centres, this again emphasizes the need for creating
experiences.
3. The demographic profile of the country with young population with greater
disposable income, growing middle class , better road infrastructure wishing to
experiment has given an oppurtunity to the state to take the advantage and promote
Tourism in the domestic sector. New p roducts and experiences developed around
this could unlock the doors to this clientele. Bihar’s proximity to Gujarat, Haryana,
Delhi gives lots of scope for development of weekend tourism. Internet marketing is
another area which needs to be the focus of marketers as this was the second
important source of information for the tourists and also younger population are
increasingly using internet as source of information.

39
4. .Bihar has several varied types of experiences to cater to all tastes. So for those
preferring the heritage experience, can experience the comforts of kings and queens
in heritage hotels and havelis and for those discerning travellors looking for
something different the boutique hotels are there. Adventure tourism is also one area
that needs to be developed as suggsted by the majority of the respondents as also
MICE(Meetings Incentives Conferences and exhibitions)tourism. For this ,
convention centres with world-class facility and infrastructure will need to be
5. .The demographic profile of the country with young population with greater
disposable income, growing middle class , better road infrastructure wishing to
experiment has given an oppurtunity to the state to take the advantage and promote
Tourism in the domestic sector. New products and experiences developed around
this could unlock the doors to this clientele. Bihar’s proximity to Gujarat, Haryana,
Delhi gives lots of scope for development of weekend tourism. Internet marketing is
another area which needs to be the focus of marketers as this was the second
important source of information for the tourists and also younger population are
increasingly using internet as source of information.
6. Bihar has several varied types of experiences to cater to all tastes. So for those
preferring the heritage experience, can experience the comforts of kings and queens
in heritage hotels and havelis and for those discerning travellors looking for
something different the boutique hotels are there. Adventure tourism is also one area
that needs to be developed as suggsted by the majority of the respondents as also
MICE(Meetings Incentives Conferences and exhibitions)tourism. For this ,
convention centres with world-class facility and infrastructure will need to be
developed. Private sector participation in this endeavour may be sought .Another
possible area could be marriage tourism popularized by celebrities getting married
in the royal fashion in palacs of Udaipur and Jodhpur. The private sector can explore
this furher by offering a similar experience for budget consumers.

40
 Conclusion

Bihar is one state that has huge tourism potential. It is envisged that the
sector would contribute more than 10% to the state’s GDP(Bihar
Infrastructure Agenda,2025).Achieving the envisaged rates of growth for the
sector would require action on a number of fronts, such as improving access
to the town, developing tourism products, improving access to tourist sites
within or around the town, improving support urban infrastructure at tourist
locations, and identifying project opportunities in primary tourism
infrastructure. This would also require effective destination branding
exercise. Mere advertisement campaigns won’t help and would not lead to
building of Brand Bihar. This would require a comprehensive branding
exercise built on a clear understanding of the target market, their
requirements and tailor made products and a clear strategy to reach the
target audience with a clear and appealing message.

41
 Recommendations

1. Bihar needs to promote its food in a big way. It has potential to be a major hit
as could be gauged from the experinces of the respondents who have ranked
it as the second most satisfying experience. If Jaipur Literary Festival could
become such a super hit within 5-6 years ( big media reports appearing in
major International newspapers about the fest)of its existence so why not a
culinary festival. Bollywood and Hollywood may also be incentivized to “
hire it for location”.

2. The harrasment faced by the tourists at the hands of touts, erring auto and taxi
drivers etc should be put to an end. The local people’s involvement in the trade
has to be sought. While interacting with one of the Khadims at Ajmer Dargah,
the rsearcher came to understand how in the absence of correct information
the tourists coming at the Dargah are fleeced by the hotel owners, auto and
taxi operators and they feel harrased and cheated. The industry needs to be
truly made into a “People’s industry” as envisaged in the Bihar Tourism
Policy and by making it pople oriented and sustainable in nature by reducing
the burden on the environmnet and making it people and environment
friendly. Schemes like Athithi Devo Bhavah can be taken forward and to its
logical conclusion.

3. On the question whether the marketing of Bihar Tourism is being done on the
marketing principles, the researcher has come to mixed conclusions. The
efforts by the Bihar Government doessn’t seem to be backed by proper market
research. It is still based on the seller’s strtaegy, the consumer orientation is
not to be seen in full action. Theprivate players are developing niche products
too cater to the consumers but the state is to be more supportive in its effort.
The segmentation of the market and the positioning of the products/experien
ces have to be done accordingly.The government is still continuing with what
could be called the 4 P’s of marketing mix instead 4 Cs. Present here is the
analyis: In the light of the above,the following aresome of
suggestions/recommendations of the researcher :

4. .Tourism must be given the status of a priority sector – Though tourism

industry is the third largest after agriculture and industry in Bihar contributing
about 15 % to SGDP, the sector doesn’t seem to receive the priority it
deserves. The potential of the multiplier effect of the tourism industry is not
being realized in its true light. While the state government was one of the few
42
 states to come out with a State Tourism Policy in 2009 but there are many
gaps between its formulation and implementation that needs to be filled. The
sector , thus , needs to be given the status of priority status and incentives
provided for its development.

5. Continuity in the policies by subsequent governments- The boost and

leadership that the political leadership provides to the sector can do wonders
to the growth of this sector. The active role and support of the top political
bosses can make all the difference. But with the change in the regime,
sometimes there is a discontnuity in the focus that this sector is accorded. As
even now, some sees tourism as an elitist industry thriving on the 5 star hotels
and resorts and catering to the higher classes. Nalanda is today a success story
because of the continuity in the policies for tourism promotion carried by
successive government.. The policies needs to be incremental and progressive
and not regressive. A vision for the growth of the sector in the state for the
next 20-25 years needs to work on and the successive governments should
work towards its realization.

43
 Appendix
QUESTIONNAIRE

Question Title
1. Your age is

Less than 24

Between 24 and 39

Between 40 and 55

Over 55
Question Title
2. Are you?

Male

Female
Question Title
3. Nationality

Question Title
4. Where do you currently live (city, country)?

Question Title
5. Are you?

Student

Worker

Retired person
44
Other
Question Title
6. Facultative: skype address an email if you want to join BRIC in tour during
the following meeting in Italy (free accommodation for 5 selected participants
to the questionnaire and special prices for the others)

Question Title
7. Do you use to travel for?

Leisure

Business

Meeting friends and relatives

Other

Question Title
8. What are your main interests in selecting a destination?

Adventure

Night life

Culture

Health

Nature

Religion

Rest
45
 Sport

Visiting friends/relatives

Visiting places seen on TV, or in a movie

Other

Question Title
9. What means of transport do you use while on holiday?

Bicycle

Bus

Car

Caravan

Motorbike

Plane

Train

Limousine

Combination

Other
Question Title
13. Do you prefer to use tourist guide services or tour independently?

Yes

No

46
 \

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Kotler, P (2004). Marketing Management, Pearson Education Inc., New Delhi, p. 9
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