A passage to the south: Developing package tours of south India; Choice Tours and Travels

Abstract

The market for package tours in South India is dominated by the large State Tourism Development Corporations though there are several private operators - large and small. The more successful of these operators concentrate on the lucrative European market leaving the domestic market to the STDCs and the smaller private operators. All of the existing operators - private and public seem to place their faith on putting their offer on the marketplace and letting the customer come to them. Though there is a growing trend towards applying the precepts of marketing to this large and rapidly growing industry, the unprofessionalism of the existing operators and the inadequate market coverage offer a fertile ground for a new operator to enter the arena.