Study of the Indian tourism industry with focus on factors for international and inter-state competitive advantage

Abstract

International tourists are defined as: Temporary visitors staying at least 24 hours in a country whose motive can be described as being either for: 􀂃 Leisure (pleasure, holidays, health, study, religion or sport), or 􀂃 Business, family or work assignments.1 The excursionist is a foreign visitor whose stay does not exceed 24 hours. The economic impact of an international excursionist is very important to small isolated countries which can receive cruise-ship passengers. In the Indian context, excursionists bring in tourist income in the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands. The focus of tourism is a performance rather than a physical good, which can lead to problems of standardization and control. Tourism is perishable as service production is fixed in time and space. Travel purchase decisions are an amalgam of several products, transport, accommodation and attractions, not all of which are owned by the same company. The tourist market is also volatile, as it is immediately affected by world events and the health of national economies. Finally, the tourist product is consumed at the point of production rather than being produced and then consumed.