History of Art and Tourism

This study is an effort to showcase the importance of pilgrimage tourism in the Sindh Valley. The present study is based on the notion that pilgrimage tourism of late in the Valley of Kashmir has remained restricted to the annual Amarnath Yatra which is being now seen more political than religious. In order to make pilgrimage tourism a more viable and sustainable tool for the overall development of tourism in Kashmir Valley, the present study focused on Sindh Valley, which is one of the important side valleys of the region. The study conjugates with notion that pilgrimage tourism not only represents the ethos of Kashmir but also helps in the sustainable development of tourism in the Sindh Valley. The present work is based on the researcher's continuous visits to the shrine of Kheer Bhawani and interaction with the local people and shrine authorities. The present study, which was undertaken during the annual festival in the month of May 2014, consists of a random sample of 150 participants. The study uses factor analysis to find out the dimensions for the promotion of pilgrimage tourism in the Sindh Valley. The findings are conceptual in nature and reveal that pilgrimage tourism is not only important from the perspective of religious fervour but it also helps in the promotion of peace, communal harmony and improves the guest-host relation. It is concluded from the study that pilgrimage tourism, if promoted in the Sindh Valley, will not only help in the promotion of sustainable tourism but will also help in the preservation of Kashmir ethos which is the corner stone of mutual brotherhood, peace, perseverance and religious tolerance, which is simply known as Kashmiriyat.

Preservation of heritage monuments is one of the most debated topics of the current world. Heritage is the representation of the past and the invisible wealth of any nation. Due to several issues, developing countries could not pay much attention to the conservation of ancient heritage as the priorities change according to the time. This study focuses on the Islamic monuments of Delhi and its significance to India’s heritage tourism activities. In every tourist attractions, local people have an important role as the ultimate purpose of any development activities aimed at the welfare of common people. This study is an attempt to understand the perception of local people on the importance of tourism to their livelihood, explore the heritage consciousness with educational backgrounds. The study uses exploratory research design and the data have been analyzed by using quantitative techniques.

Digital marketing is an emerging concept and even a new branch of study in India. The dynamic nature of digital media is one of the most powerful tools to manage the volatile nature of tourism industry. Innovative measures adopted by smart devices also brought new opportunities to the entrepreneurs in tourism to identify new features and focus on conveying the right message to the target customers. Digital marketing is applicable in all aspects of tourism, right from the beginning of marketing planning, marketing mix and marketing communication. This paper is an attempt to identify the opportunities of digital marketing and its dimensions in tourism industry. It explores the evolution of digital marketing, understanding the youth, importance of digital marketing and identifying the new typology of tourists in the light of digital marketing.

Destination experience is a combination of experiences; tourists receive from the places of visit. It often depends on the motivation of tourists to choose a site and the purpose to spend time in the selected destination. Pilgrimage is an activity performed out of devotion in a particular faith, which often ignores other factors like facilities or tourist amenities. Every region has identified places of pilgrimage, in which lakhs of devotees throng on special occasions. In countries like Spain, Japan, Turkey there are pilgrimage circuits where pilgrims undertake their trips to fulfill their vows. In India, we have different religions and there are many places of importance for these religions. The Holy Land of  Buddhism is located in two states of India (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) which were blessed with the life of Lord Buddha. It is here, Buddhism originated and spread to the rest of the world. Buddhist pilgrims come from various countries to India, in order to complete their vows. This paper attempts to examine the components of destination experience and evaluate the expectation versus performance of the identified attributes. IPA analysis has been conducted to understand the differences. Data has been collected from Buddhist pilgrims, monks through structured questionnaires and interviews. The results of the study would benefit in destination planning and promotion.

Wayanad is a beautiful hillstation nestled in the lap of Western Ghats. Once branded as the most backward district in Kerala, it has emerged as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the recent years. Scenic beauty, biodiversity , cool weather, tribal heritage motivate tourists to visit Wayanad. The District Tourism Promotion Council DTPC Wayanad plays a key role in managing the tourist movements and visitor amenities at various sites. Edakkal Caves, located on the crest of a prominent hill is one of the best examples of heritage preservation in Kerala. The walls of the caves contain several carvings, designs and some scripts all made on the rough surface of the caves. These prehistoric rock engravings were studied by several historians to assess the time it was created and decipher meaning of the engravings. An early description of the rock engravings were mentioned by William Logan mentioned the presence of the engravings in Malabar Mannual (1886). F.Fawcett& R C Temple conducted a study on the engravings in detail in 1901. Several studies were conducted post independence about the historicity of this place and trace the inhabitants who were instrumental in leaving the footprints of history to the future generation. At present Edakkal is not just a historical place, but it is developed as an important tourist attraction of the state of Kerala. Entry of tourism changed the heritage value of this place and the consistent effort of the administration to protect the heritage resources also resulted in further identification of several sites connected to the caves in many ways. The present study explores the coexistence of tourism and heritage preservation in Edakkal Caves and attempts to explain the interactions of tourism, heritage and governance in protecting our heritage resources, which is a real challenge in the present time. Telephonic interviews have been instrumental to collect required information for the study. The findings are based on phenomenological research. The findings of the study suggest the framework of heritage tourism opportunity spectrum (HTOS).

Wayanad is a beautiful hillstation nestled in the lap of Western Ghats. Once branded as the most backward district in Kerala, it has emerged as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the recent years. Scenic beauty, bio-diversity, cool weather, tribal heritage motivate tourists to visit Wayanad. The District Tourism Promotion Council DTPC Wayanad play a key role in managing the tourist movements and visitor amenities at various sites.
Edakkal Caves, located on the crest of a prominent hill is one of the best examples of heritage preservation in Kerala. The walls of the caves contain several carvings, designs and some scripts all made on the rough surface of the caves. These prehistoric rock engravings were studied by several historians to assess the time it was created and decipher meaning of the engravings. An early description of the rock engravings were mentioned by William Logan mentioned the presence of the engravings in Malabar Mannual (1886). F.Fawcett& R C Temple conducted a study on the engravings in detail in 1901. Several studies were conducted post independence about the historicity of this place and trace the inhabitants who were instrumental in leaving the footprints of history to the future generation.
At present Edakkal is not just a historical place, but it is developed as an important tourist attraction of the state of Kerala. Entry of tourism changed the heritage value of this place and the consistent effort of the administration to protect the heritage resources also resulted in further identification of several sites connected to the caves in many ways. The present study explores the coexistence of tourism and heritage preservation in Edakkal Caves and attempts to explain the interactions of tourism, heritage and governance in protecting our heritage resources, which is a real challenge in the present time. Telephonic interviews have been instrumental to collect required information for the study. The findings are based on phenomenological research. The findings of the study suggests the framework of heritage tourism opportunity spectrum (HTOS).
(key words: Tourism, historicity, heritage value, preservation)

Domestic tourism is an important segment of tourism business of any nation. It is grossly underestimated in developing nations because of absence of a proper information management system on tourist movements. Indian tourism market show an upward trend of domestic tourism in the past couple of years. This paper is an attempt to understand the main segment of domestic tourism in India, i.e. pilgrimages and religious tourism. The rich cultural heritage woven with religious beliefs, pilgrimages are treated as an integral part of part of the life in every section of society. This paper discusses the coexistence of religion with tourism, its impacts (positive) at various levels and its coexistence in a plural society of Varanasi.

In a sudden and shocking way, the Government of India decided to cancel the legal tender of the high denomination currency notes of Rupees 500 and Rupees 1000 from circulation and usage with effect from 08 November 2016. This declaration of demonetisation of high value currency notes came as a real surprise as there was no prior information to the public or the industry to meet out the challenges of transacting everyday life as well as business without money for the ensuing days. As a measure to handle the temporary crisis, government introduced a new currency with a denomination of Rupees 2000 (approximately equal to 28 euros). After a couple of days several other important economic decisions followed on the operations of financial institutions followed by the currency demonetisation decisions. It resulted in long serpentine ques in banks, several thousands of ATM machines went out of money or not functional for months. This decision to take ban high value currency came up in in peak tourist season of India, several foreign tourists faced tough times at airports, hotels and public places as the only alternative option of digital transactions were not common at many places due to many issues. This paper is an attempt to study the feedback of tourism industry mainly tour operators of India on demonetization of high value currency and its results. An online survey was conducted to the members of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) to collect the primary data. Main objectives of the study include the understanding the mechanism of accepting payments during demonetization period, measures taken up by the tourism industry to manage the situation, and the overall impact of demonetisation in November and December 2016. The study also analyses the feedback of the respondents on the effect of demonetisation on tourism industry. The expected outcome of the study shows the way tourism industry in India looked in to the challenging policy decisions of government that affect the business in the long run.

Study on the Effect of Demonetisation on Indian Tourism Industry

The Government of India decided to cancel the legal tender of the high denomination currency notes of Rupees 500 and Rupees 1000 from circulation and usage with effect from 08 November 2016. This declaration of demonetisation of high value currency notes came as a real surprise as there was no prior information to the public or the industry to meet out the challenges of transacting everyday life as well as business without money for the ensuing days. As a measure to handle the temporary crisis, government introduced a new currency with a denomination of Rupees 2000 (approximately equal to 28 euros). After a couple of days several other important economic decisions followed on the operations of financial institutions followed by the currency demonetisation decisions. It resulted in long serpentine ques in banks, several thousands of ATM machines went out of money or not functional for months. This decision to take ban high value currency came up in in peak tourist season of India, several foreign tourists faced tough times at airports, hotels and public places as the only alternative option of digital transactions were not common at many places due to many issues. This paper is an attempt to study the feedback of tourism industry mainly tour operators of India on demonetization of high value currency and its results. An online survey was conducted to the members of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) to collect the primary data. Main objectives of the study include the understanding the mechanism of accepting payments during demonetization period, measures taken up by the tourism industry to manage the situation, and the overall impact of demonetisation in November and December 2016. The study also analyses the feedback of the respondents on the effect of demonetisation on tourism industry. The expected outcome of the study shows the way tourism industry in India looked in to the challenging policy decisions of government that affect the business in the long run.

(Key words: economic policy, demonetisation, digitalisation of payments, crisis management)

Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world. Considered as a holy city, it has been the most visited pilgrimage sites in India from the early development of civilization. The history of the city exhibits its multifaceted role in bolstering a unique coexistence of diverse cultures. The statistical data of the government of Uttar Pradesh shows that Varanasi attracted more domestic tourists in the year 2016 than Agra, while the foreign tourists' inflow records a steady increase. The heritage importance of this place is mostly centered on religious features and the tourists get a glimpse of it during their visit. There are several ways the religious heritage of Varanasi is being looked at, interpreted or translated to tourists. The present study is an assessment of foreign tourist experience in terms of their knowledge on the city, involvement and experience in the visitation period.

Tourism and travel management programmes have been taught at different levels in Universities and colleges in India as a vocational course. The main purpose of introducing a curriculum in tourism was to educate and train students about tourism, travel and hospitality industry. These courses aimed at providing suitable employment opportunities to the graduates at the end of the course period. The ratio of students entering in tourism profession, or placement of students in tourism and hospitality institutions are determined by the course curriculum, assistance of the institution in proving campus recruitment and preparedness of the students to join the industry. This research paper attempts to study and analyse the employability of tourism graduates through the experiences of employers with reference to Varanasi. The study would be useful to the researchers and academia to understand the main attributes of employability which are expected from the tourism trade.