Sources of Information

Word of mouth or oral communication has been the most common source of information. When a tourist comes
back or a first time traveller pose a variety of questions like where can you stay? Which airlines to fly with? What
makes it better than the others? etc. But here one must remember that the answers coming back are that of an
individual’s experiences. It is possible that this individual was not aware of the options available or in other words
had access to only limited information. Yet oral communication remains the initial information-seeking channel.
However, tourism services and operations involve specialised skills. It is, therefore, imperative for a professional
working in the tourism industry to acquire up-to-date knowledge and information in as many diverse forms as is
possible. It is no doubt a sure ingredient of success in tourism industry.
Specialised information is generated by individual participant in the industry. For instance, World Tourism
Organisation, World Travel and Tourism Council, Hotels and Restaurants Associations, Tour Operation
Associations, Airline Operation groups, Tourism Marketing Associations, players of ICE segment (information
technology, communication and entertainment) as well as MICE segments (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and
Exhibitions), etc. all generate and seek information.
IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION
There may be ample illustrations to suggest that collecting and possessing information is vital for a successful
career in tourism. However, some of the priority areas can be listed as:
1) Planning - Planning is the backbone of tourism services and operations. Even when you have to repeat
the operations year after year, there has to be fresh input of planning each year. In fact a four-pronged strategy for
planning in tourism services seems to work well. The elements of this strategy are:
 retrospective analysis,
 current perceptions,
 introspective analysis, and
 futuristic vision.
In each case a sufficient information base becomes inevitability. Because, if we plan well, we act well; if we act
well we get the desired results. It cannot be refuted that scientific and technological developments have made it
essential for the tourism organisations to act on the basis of a scientific and intelligent plan and this calls for not
only a thorough overhaul of information collected at periodic intervals but also for a specific consideration to
information collection from as varied sources as you can actually tap.
2) Managing - Managing to satisfy the customer is the life of tourism industry. It is at this level that a tour
can make or break. “Admirable management” is the most common accolades for making a tour memorable
experience. Besides training, therefore, it is the different kind of information input that tourism professionals
require in managing his/her tour as an important component. Some major areas under which information is
generally needed while managing tours are:
 tourist profiles,
 kinds of tour packages available,
 different modes of travel that can be arranged,
 types of accommodation,
 knowledge of the destination area, and
 kinds of ancillary services that can be procured.
It is desirable that a variety of information on these subjects is collected by you to be a professional. A successful
management of the tours hinges, rather heavily, on the availability of this information.
3) Promotion - Promotion is what facilitates the selling of tours. The central objective of all promotional
efforts is to inform, generate interest and involve. Here again, interest and involvement may be generated by
providing the tourist with interesting, attractive and useful information as much as to convert need in to a
purchase.Some of the more common and often repeated methods of promotion are:
 Presentation– introductory in nature and essentially aimed at providing information.
 Publicity – a more vigorous promotion and exercise, with the help of detailed information, and
 Advertising – is a tool providing specialised information with promotional mix.
4) Future Orientation - Future orientation is possible. How do we manage our future is an important
consideration. Specially for getting the desired results at present, future orientation becomes an integral part of
development and expansion of your operations. Analysing forecasts about tourist movements, emerging trends,
nature of competition etc. all depend on information. By knowing your past you can predict the developments in
future. With the help of scientifically and technically generated information your organisation finds it easy to
adopt even an over ambitious plan. The promotional efforts may be innovated, product mix can be restructured,
the tourist guides and hotel personnel can be properly trained; provided that the requirements are known that too
well in advance, i.e., through information generation.
5) Image Projection - The magnitude of image problem influences the intensity of success. It is difficult for
any organisation to exist if the image problem continues. The projection of a fair image thus becomes the integral
part of our marketing strategy. Since in tourism purchasing decision of buyer works on impulses, i.e., if anything
wrong with the image of the destination comes to the knowledge of the buyer this negative image will gain
ground as fast as fire spreads in the forest. Information generated, with the support of graphic presentation of
development trends, makes it is easy to convince the target users of services about the standard and quality of
facilities and services at the destination. Besides, as a result of quality of information generated communicative
abilities are improved which simplifies the task of advertiser in composing the sensitive organs to produce a
positive image. Since this is the process of influencing the impulse using the tourist services which become easier
when we succeed in persuading them. You also need information about the methods used by your competitors in
tourism markets for image projection.
You would notice that all aforesaid facts testify the significance of information generation in making sensitive
marketing decisions. It is against this background that almost all organisations either producing goods or
generating services attempt to institute and develop sources of information generation. As you know that the
entire drama of marketing is promoted by potential users of goods or services, information generated pave the
way for their transformation in to the actual users. The tourist organisations are also required to manage the
marketing information since the image problem in tourism has been questioning their existence. Hence,
information generation shall be seen as an integral part of modern marketing management. In subsequent sections
of this Unit you will learn various areas for which specialised sources of information exist and which supplies
information related to statistics, plans, rules, regulation and laws covering different segments of tourism business.
AREAS FOR INFORMATION GENERATION
SOURCES OF INFORMATION – I
The tourism related information is being largely generated by governments, both at centre and at state levels, at
Centre, Department of Tourism has a Statistical and Implementation Division to collect, compute, administer and
manage the information collected. This information generated is used by the Department in planning, production
and development of tourism goods and services both at national and international level. The information
generated by Department of Tourism broadly focuses upon:
i. Destination Information,
ii. Booklets on availability of hotels, restaurants and other services both primary and ancillary available at
destination.
iii. Tourist guides and
maps showing sites and
their accessibility.
iv. Procedural formalities
for international
tourists, permits for
entry in restricted areas,
etc.
v. Specially developed
tourism products like
heritage properties,
vi. Tourist profiles and
other related data, etc.
Department of Tourism
provides this information free of cost. This enables you to select and pick up information material of your interest
and use the relevant information. In fact, for most of the countries such information is available on their websites.
Besides, Department of Tourism at Centre, State Tourism Development Corporations have started collecting and
disseminating information on areas of tourist interest, available facilities and services, government plans for the
development of tourism in these areas, etc. For instance, state departments of Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal,
Orissa and U.P. have geared up to generate and use information scientifically and technically. Information
generated by these states on areas mentioned in Table 2, is useful for the industry. The tourism industry is a multi-
segment industry in which different categories of users come to the attraction. If the information is well generated
and managed the marketing activities can be managed well. Spotting the opportunity, however, is a difficult task
but sources of information generation is instituted properly, removes complexities and the marketer can succeed
in reaching to the right target users.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION – II
Private agencies have, over the years, acquired a greater share in tourism development and promotion. Following
are the sources of information from private sector:
Travel Agency and Tour Operators
Tour operators are intended at basically packaging or managing a tour. The promotional activities were, in the
beginning ancillary in nature. However, of late, the tour operators have become promoters and managers together.
In the process of operating a tour they generate information which would help and benefit their clients. The main
categories of such information are given below:
 Tourist Attractions: The Tour operators, just like the Department of Tourism and State
Tourism Department issue brochures on main tourist attractions in India. However, each one of
them confines to the area or interest on which he/she is doing business. The popularity of the
Golden Triangle (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur) or Emerald Triangle (Bangalore-Mysore-Ooty) is the
direct result of this kind of promotion.
 Boarding and Lodging: Accommodation and catering is the next main concern. You will, therefore, find
an equally large number of books/brochures, serving the purpose of a hotel and restaurant guide, flooding
the book mart. The FHRAI in collaboration with DOT publishes every year the Hotel and Restaurant
Guide of India. This is the most informative source in the area. Covering type of property, its location,
services and above all at what price.
 Shopping: Tour operators also promote the crafts of India in a big way. You will thus find a large number
of boo ks describing the craft traditions of India. Additionally you may also come across guides describing
the Central/State Government Emporia as the shops for purchasing the craft goods of India.
Hotel Industry
There are many hotels in the country which sell package tours to both the domestic as well as international
tourists. The information generated thus includes the following details of the area:
 Historical attractions,
 Craft attractions,
 Exotica,
 Cuisine,
 Room tariffs and services available, etc.
In many cases the information would appear to be just duplication of the one available in the brochures issued by
the Department of Tourism or by tour operators but they have specific focus on features of hotel properties
available in areas of tourist interest, e.g., closer to airport, on railway station, road or facing the lake, etc. We,
therefore, advice that for your area, try to scan through the information available from the hotel industry and keep
safely the new, valuable information. Private businesses also hire consultants or marketing research firms to
generate information about tourism markets.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION: MEDIA
As a source of information the print/other media generally serves the purpose of addendum. The main categories
of print media information of your interest would be:
Newspapers, Magazines and Advertisements
The newspapers and magazines have today started publishing tourism related information in a big way. In almost
all the national dailies important magazines and in th e regional language newspapers
there is periodic reporting of special supplements on tourism. They contain information on the general
and specific destinations under the following heads:
 History,
  Geography and topography,
 Craft traditions,
 Accessibility and accommodation,
 Cuisine and catering,
 Shopping,
 Higher education opportunity, etc.
Most of these write ups are today done by reputed travellers/tourism experts and should, therefore, be preserved
by you. Advertisements are an important source of information on tourism. They tell you about tariffs, off season
discounts, tour packages, types of accommodation, view resorts, airline schedules and fares and above all in
present scenario of ethical or unethical competition, competitive advantages like hidden cos ts, etc. of each
products over the others.
Specialised Publications
With the promotion of tourism as an important industry there have begun appearing specialized monographs on
various aspects of tourism. These can be categorised as under:
 Travel and Tourism Definitions,
 Tourism Management,
 Tourism Guiding,
 Cultural Tourism,
 Wildlife Tourism Studies,
 Island and Beach Tourism,
 Desert Safaris,
 Hill Resorts,
 Adventure Tourism,
 Convention Tourism, etc.
Some of these publications are a hotch-potch of information gathered from random sources. They should be
discarded. But the other books are a good source of information, as is evident from the categories mentioned
above, on specialised themes pertaining to the tourism studies. You must select, from among several titles, the
books you find as easy and intelligible reading. This will update your knowledge and help you in evolving new
skills pertaining to your profession.
Non-Print Media
Today TV serials, sponsored programmes, films, commercials, documentaries, prom otional films, etc. are
important sources of information on tourism. With the help of video films and CD ROMs one can show the
tourists the type of services available or one can have a look at the quality and size of rooms in a hotel before
packaging them in the tour and so on. In fact non-print media is fast picking up. It is a reported fact that ever -
since our filmwalas have started marketing destinations like London, Mauritius, Switzerland and many more
outbound travel movements have increased manifold in these destinations.
Internet as a source of information: The fact that internet is growing in usefulness and importance is
compounding. What started as a research project has rapidly become an important information source for many
people in both their personal and professional lives. Some people now use internet many times each day in their
work and then go home and continue to use it for private communication and information generation for pleasure
purposes. The same internet can give you travel information for your next big or holiday trip to London or
Singapore. At present there are hundreds of sites of travel companies providing information on wide areas of tour
operations, besides getting information of general nature you can also book your self an airline ticket or hotel
room in any part of the world after going through the details and dimensions of airlines and properties that you
are going to use at destination.
The internet is replacing many other entities the way it is used. People now turn to int ernet in the way they turn
to libraries, encyclopaedias, newspapers, magazines, catalogues, brochures, travel agents, maps with weather
conditions at different times, governmental pamphlets or even physical locations for advises. Inbound and
outbound data, new trends, etc. can also be found on websites.
Today availability of statistics both national and international is not difficult. The statistical analysis of satellite
account and tourist arrivals and their receipts worked out by World Travel and Tourism Council as well as World
Tourism Organisation are now readily available on the internet for the use by researchers as well as enterprises.
Many marketing agencies put their findings also on the websites and charge a fee for accessing them.