The Proceedings of Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference on Experiential Management and Marketing (GHTC - 2020) 9789354063213

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Conference Proceedings GLOBAL HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM CONFERENCE ON EXPERIENTIAL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING (MARCH 18 , 19 AND 20, 2021)

EDITOR: SAURABH KUMAR DIXIT ORGANISED BY Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya (India) SPONSORED BY

North‐Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India)

Department of Tourism and Hotel Management ac vi es

GLOBAL HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM CONFERENCE - 2020

 

ON EXPERIENTIAL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING

 

(GHTC - 2020)  

March 18th, 19th and 20th, 2021  

 

 

EDITED BY Saurabh Kumar Dixit  

 

 

ORGANISED BY

DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT NORTH - EASTERN HILL UNIVERSITY SHILLONG (MEGHALAYA) INDIA 

 

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

 

MINISTRY OF TOURISM GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The Proceedings of Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference on Experiential Management and Marketing (GHTC - 2020) held on March 18, 19 and 20, 2021  

Copyright © 2020 individual chapters, the contributors, selection and editorial matter, Conference Chair, GHTC - 2020, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya (India).  

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, except where permitted by law.  

eISBN: 978-93-5406-321-3  

Printed in India  

SPONSORED BY

 

 

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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ABOUT NORTH - EASTERN HILL UNIVERSITY SHILLONG (INDIA)

The North - Eastern Hill University (NEHU) was set up by an Act of Parliament of India and notified on 19th July 1973 with the primary objectives of to disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in such branches of learning as it may deem fit; to pay special attention to the improvement of the social and economic conditions and welfare of the people of the hill areas of the North-Eastern region, of India and, in particular, their intellectual, academic and cultural advancement. NEHU is headquartered in Shillong, the administrative capital of Meghalaya (India). The University has innumerable under-graduate and post-graduate departments and many colleges affiliated to it. The jurisdiction of the University extended originally to the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland and the erstwhile Union Territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. With the establishment of the Nagaland University on 6 th September 1994, the jurisdiction of NEHU ceased over Nagaland. Likewise with the establishment of the Mizoram University the jurisdiction of NEHU over Mizoram also ceased from June, 2001. Arunachal Pradesh has its own university. However the North-Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology located in Arunachal Pradesh is affiliated to NEHU. In spite of serious constraints of communication and the general lack of infrastructure facilities in the region, NEHU has established itself as an institution of higher learning and research of very high quality. It has been able to attract persons of proven academic excellence from almost all parts of the country to serve in its faculty; and its student community is drawn not only from the different parts of North-East but also from other parts of the country. In February 1996, the University set up a campus at Tura with the Departments of English, Garo and Education. Very recently Department of Agribusiness and Food Technology and Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Production have been added to the existing three departments at Tura. A number of departments of the University now receive special grants from University Grants Commission under its Special Assistance Programme. Some of the departments have also received grants under the UGC's Departmental Research Support Scheme. In addition, a huge number of research projects have been awarded to individual members of faculty notably by the CSIR, DST, DAE, UGC, ICSSR, Ford Foundation and DBT, DF & E, and MoEF. The University is also the recipient of a number endowments donated by various organisations and individuals including by Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, former President of India and Justice Krishna Iyer. NEHU was also chosen for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Chair for research into protective discrimination. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 12 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Several individual members of the faculty have been honoured with the highest academic awards in the country. Many of our teachers are also involved in collaborative research projects with Universities of Europe and Asia. One of the basic ways in which the University endeavours to fulfil its "local" responsibilities, as enshrined in its Act is by focussing its attention on the North-East in its curricular programme including research. The fulfilment of its "global" responsibilities, as a member of the global academic community, is evident from the number of research publications by its teachers in journals of high international repute and the national and international seminars and conferences which are a regular feature of the University's academic life. At present there are sixty-five colleges affiliated to the University. In a short span of about 30 years NEHU has matured into an institution with a serious academic and social and cultural agenda and a clear vision for its future growth. NEHU has contributed enormously in teaching and research thereby making groundbreaking contributions in the socio-economic fabric of the state of Meghalaya and the North East India as a whole. In particular, the university has started a number of new departments in recent years in science and social science discipline.

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ABOUT DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT

Hotel and Tourism Management is a multidisciplinary field of study with the objective of preparing people with the expertise, commitment, and skills for management, marketing and operational positions in the expanding industry that provides food, accommodations, and tourism services to people away from home. It draws upon a wide range of basic disciplines to provide the fundamental knowledge and skills that are required to fulfill the diverse demands placed upon individuals in management positions within the hospitality industry. The Department has therefore been conceptualized in the North- Eastern Hill University at Shillong Campus to conduct research and impart quality and applied education at post-graduate and doctoral levels in the disciplines of tourism and hotel management. The following is the mission statement of the Department: To impart training with state of the art knowledge, skills and aptitude so as to prepare the students to emerge as recruitable human resources and trained tourism / hospitality experts for the contemporary tourism and hotel industry and simultaneously to inculcate the entrepreneurial spirit in order to enable them to seize the business opportunities in their respective environment, create and manage enterprises in tourism / hotel industry. The above mission is accomplished through a program of teaching, research and extension, and through the provision of active learning opportunities in the areas of Travel, Tourism and Hotel Management. The guiding principles of the Department constitute sector-specific training and development to equip meeting the demands of increasing service standards through a curriculum of teaching, research and extension. The broad objectives of the Department are: (i) familiarizing with the tourism and hotel business (ii) provision of professional knowledge and skills fit to the current market demand (iii) Behavioural transformation needed for creation of new business ventures in the tourism and hotel industry with a particular emphasis on the North-East Region of India (iv) Promotion of research and extension in the area of study. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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On the above backdrop, Master of Tourism and Travel Management (MTTM) and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Tourism and Hotel Management (Ph.D. - THM) programmes are being offered by the Department. The programmes provide training from the management aspect of the tourism and hotel industry with a focus on sustainable growth and development of the region. The venture is, and will be, instrumental in grooming a cadre of youth well equipped to optimize upon the available opportunities and contribute towards provision of class services; on one hand; and socio-economic growth of the country, in whole, and North East India, in particular.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) The Department has successfully organised two international conference in year 2016 and 2018.

International Conference on Advancement in Tourism in Hospitality Marketing (ATHMCON-2016) on 17th and 18th May 2016 with the support of Indian Council of Social Science Research North Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-NERC) and The Meghalaya Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd. The conference was attended by a total of 70 delegates from across the country.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Three day International Conference on Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: Setting Agenda for Future Research (STHMCON - 2018) on March 15, 16 and 17, 2018 in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North- Eastern Hill University, Shillong with the support of Ministry of Tourism (New Delhi) ; North- Eastern Hill University, Shillong and Indian Council of Social Science Research North Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-NERC). The conference was attended by a total of 170 national and 5 International participants.

The academic collection of abstracts and selected full-length papers presented in the International Conference on Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: Setting Agenda For Future Research (STHMCON - 2018) was also published in the form of ISBN No. Proceedings in both softcover and ebook formats (Paperback: 978-93-5300-511-5, E- Book: 978-93-5300-591-7). The e conference proceedings is freely available for the download at https://sites.google.com/site/sthmcon/home/sthmcon-2018-e-proceedings

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) DEPARTMENTAL EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

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ABOUT GLOBAL HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM CONFERENCE ON EXPERIENTIAL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING (GHTC – 2020), SHILLONG (INDIA) Background: Today, marketing is not simply a business function rather it’s a philosophy, a way of thinking and way of sailing your business in the vibrant market place. The tourism and hospitality industry offers complex experiences and services to its customers in a very competitive and global marketplace. The marketers deal with issues relating to identification of target market / consumers, adopt suitable strategies to promote the product and finally to ensure customer value, satisfaction and loyalty from this consumption. Therefore, marketer must have the sense to satisfy consumer needs, contribute in developing products / services that provide superior values and distributing them effectively. The tourism and hospitality products, because of its unique intrinsic qualities are difficult to promote to the potential consumers. The planners, academicians and upcoming professionals need to develop the understanding of hospitality / tourism products for its precise marketing. There is a growing importance of experiential marketing in tourism literature and researches. Pine and Gilmore coined the concept ‘‘experience economy’’ in 1998 and reasoned that the economy was progressing from a service paradigm into an experience paradigm. Since then, the experiential paradigm has been drawing enormous attention from both the researchers and industry practitioners belonging to different disciplines such as marketing, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc. The demand for memorable experiences is a major trend in the tourism industry and that destinations now compete more and more by emphasizing their experiences. The search for novel tourism experience offerings is particularly important for destinations that are suffering from stagnant or declining tourist interest to renew curiosity among tourists. Experiential marketing roots its origin in the early 1980s, when it was suggested to shift from primarily utilitarian conceptions of consumer behavior towards an expanded experiential and phenomenological perspective where hedonic, symbolic, and aesthetic aspects of consumption are key aspects to be considered when grasping to fully understand consumption acts. Beyond offering consistently high value and satisfaction, marketing can use specific marketing tools to develop stronger bonds and creation of memorable experience for the customers. Despite the long and deep range of works devoted to understand consumer experience, there is a wide diversity and range of meanings attached to the concept of experience, causing a lack of universal consensus on its definition. Indeed, the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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word “experience” is among the most used and misused in marketing literature and a need of framing what experience is and how it can be defined still remains. There are two approaches to the study of tourism experiences; the social science approach and the marketing/management approach. The first one is characterized as the tourist experience and is understood to be something that is in sharp contrast or directly opposite to the daily experience. From the marketing/management perspectives, it is the tourist consumption experience with in various service exchange relationships and such experiences necessitate the involvement and participation of the tourist. Despite the long and deep range of works devoted to consumer experience, there is a wide diversity and range of meanings attached to the concept of experience, causing a lack of universal consensus on its definition. Indeed, the word “experience” is among the most used and misused in marketing literature and a need of framing what experience is and how it can be defined still remains. The demand for memorable experiences is a major trend in the tourism industry and that destinations now compete more and more by emphasizing their experiences. The search for novel tourism experience offerings is particularly important for destinations that are suffering from stagnant or declining tourist interest to renew curiosity among tourists. Significant changes are occurring in the nature of customer brand relationships. Many major brands are now investing in the creation of permanent brand experience. Today digital technologies, internet, artificial intelligence, and the surge in online, mobile and social media have profoundly changed the way of individuals to do business transactions. A growing form of consumer engagement marketing is consumer generated marketing, by which consumers themselves are playing a bigger role in shaping his or her own consumption experience and those of others. Therefore, the Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference - 2020 (GHTC-2020) on Experiential Management and Marketing will offer a platform for academicians, research scholars, policy makers, industry practitioners and the budding tourism / hospitality professionals to exchange views, discussion and presentation within the domain of experiential management and marketing. Conference Themes: To achieve the GHTC – 2020 goals, academic research papers and presentations, are invited to testify the intellectual vibrancy of the conference. The same will be complemented with key industry practitioners, who will highlight industry trends and research gaps from a pragmatic and applied perspective. The themes identified for the conference will divulge the global trends in experiential marketing and management of tourism / hospitality D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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products / services. Therefore, the deliberations will include, but not limited to, the following themes / topics within the domain of experiential management and marketing: Conceptualizations of tourism experience

Transformative power and value of experience consumption Managing service design, service encounters and tourism Future trends in the tourism / hospitality experiential experience marketing Cognitive, emotional, sensory, social, and transformative Case studies on successful tourism / hospitality dimensions of tourism experiences experiential marketing for destinations Open innovation, co-creation, co-destruction and customer Ethical concerns in tourism / hospitality marketing engagement approaches in experience design Gastronomic tourism experiences as a tourism product Cultural tourism, cultural heritage and social dynamics Trends in consumer behavior and experiential marketing Research and innovations in tourism / hospitality marketing Systematic Literature Reviews or state-of-the-art on Implications of above in relation to North - East India experiential marketing Tourism Sustainable destination development Consumer values types and their influence on experience memorability Memorable tourism experiences Consumer experience in multichannel decision-making Tourism / hospitality experiential marketing in sustainable way Emerging environmental, social, cultural economic impacts and technological issues

Consumer value types and customer experience management in tourism, hospitality and event Influence of ICTs, Social Media, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality on experience design and consumption

GHTC - 2020 SPONSORS The three days GHTC -2020 is being organized by the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, NorthEastern Hill University, Shillong (India) with the financial support of Ministry of Tourism, New Delhi; NorthEastern Hill University, Shillong; North Eastern Council, Shillong and Indian Council of Social Science Research North Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-NERC), Shillong.

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DISTINGUSHED INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS Professor Geoffrey Wall is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management and for 11 years was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Waterloo (Ontario Canada N2L 3G1). He was educated at Leeds University (B.A., 1966), Cambridge University (Cert. Ed., 1967), University of Toronto (M.A., 1968), and Hull University (Ph.D., 1970). He taught at Sheffield University and the University of Kentucky before moving to Waterloo in 1974. He is the the author (with L. Yang) of Planning for Ethnic Tourism (Ashgate, 2014), (with A. Mathieson) of Tourism: Change, Impacts and Opportunities (Pearson / Prentice Hall, 2006); (with E. Heath) of Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach (Wiley, 1992); (with A. Mathieson) Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts (Longman, 1982); (with C. Wright) The Environmental Impact of Outdoor Recreation (University of Waterloo, 1977); and editor of Approaching Tourism (Department of Geography Occasional Publication 21, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, 2007): Tourism: People, Places and Products, (Department of Geography Occasional Publication 19, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, 2003): Contemporary Perspectives on Tourism (Department of Geography Occasional Publication 17, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, 2001); (with J.G. Nelson and R. Butler) Tourism and Sustainable Development (University of Waterloo, 1993, second edition 1999); Recreational Land Use in Southern Ontario (University of Waterloo, 1978); (with J. Marsh) Recreational Land Use; Perspectives on its Evolution in Canada; Outdoor Recreation in Canada (Wiley, 1989) and (with L. Briguglio, B. Archer and J. Jafari, Sustainable Tourism in Islands and Small States: Issues and Policies (Pinter, 1996). He has published over 250 papers in refereed academic journals, more than 100 book chapters, in excess of 100 book reviews, and has edited a number of volumes on the implications of global climate change. He has acted as a consultant for such agencies as the Asia Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency, the International Joint Commission, Office of Technology Assessment (US), Environment Canada, the Federal Department of Communications, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Ministries of Culture and Recreation, Citizenship and Culture, Treasury and Economics, and Natural Resources, and other such organizations as the Ontario Science Centre, the Council for Business and the Arts of Canada, the Association of Canadian Orchestras, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and the City of Waterloo. He has directed multi-year projects on coastal zone management in Hainan, China, and on eco-planning and environmental management strategies for coastal cities in China. He has participated in tourism planning initiatives in Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces and the city of Dalian and has provided inputs on ecotourism into a biodiversity strategy for Inner Mongolia and a tourism strategy for Hainan. He holds a President’s Fellowship with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Wall was awarded the Roy Wolfe and Rooney Awards of the Association of American Geographers in 1991 and 2000 respectively for his contributions to the understanding of tourism and recreation, and the Award for Scholarly Distinction in Geography of the Canadian Association of Geographers in 2011. He is an Honorary Professor of Nanjing University and Dalian University of Technology and was given a Friendship Award by the Province of Hainan, China, the Taishan Award by the Government of Xinjiang, China, and A Friendship Award (‘China’s's highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress’) by the People’s Republic of China in 2014. In 2015 he was given the title Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo, ‘to recognize your important research contributions as a tourism scholar of international repute and your considerable impact as a mentor of many prominent acholars and as a consultant to national and international agencies’. In 2017 he was awarded the Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). He is a founder member and past President of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Geoff’s research interests can be summarized succinctly as follows: exploring the implications of tourism of different types for destination areas with different characteristics and the implications of the resulting insights for tourism planning. Professor Metin Kozak holds Ph.D. degree from Sheffield Hallam University, UK. As a Research Fellow, Metin was affiliated with the University of Namur (Belgium) and as Visiting Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (SAR China), and Bournemouth University (UK). He serves an editorial board member and ad hoc reviewer of over 20 journals in tourism and hospitality. He is elected as the Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, and Tourist Research Centre. His research interests entail consumer behavior, competitiveness, and branding. His current affiliation is with Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey and acting as the coeditor of the journal Anatolia. Professor Antonia Correia holds Ph.D. from University of Algarve, Portugal. She has published a wider range of articles in top-tier journals. She is involved in several tourismbased national and international research projects, particularly with her partners based in Europe. Antonia has also organized conferences or acted as a part of the scientific committee worldwide. Her research interests entail tourism consumer behavior, marketing, and image measurement. Currently, She is affiliated to Universidade Europeia and Universidade do Algarve, Portugal. She is also affiliated at CEFAGE, Research Center award by national science foundation in Portugal. Dr. Azilah Kasim is a full professor at the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia. She received her PhD in Tourism from University of East Anglia, United Kingdom; her MSc. from Michigan State University, USA; and her BSc. from Brock University, Canada. She was the Deputy Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies for her school and now she heads the Langkawi International Tourism and Hospitality (LITH) Research Center – her school’s center of excellence in UUM. Azilah is a quality accreditation panelist for Malaysia Qualifications Agency (MQA) and a member of the Malaysian Geopark Implementation Technical Committee as well as Tourism Educator Association Malaysia (TEAM). She is a member of several Board of Studies in Malaysian universities and is a well-recognized PhD thesis external examiner. On international platforms Azilah has been invited by many universities in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India and Bangladesh to play the role of either a keynote speaker, a plenary speaker, a workshop facilitator or a trainer. She is also a national/regional representative and board member for Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) and IEREK. In addition, Azilah also contributes as an editorial board member of many international journals such as Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Insights, Tourism and Spirituality, and On Sustainability. She is a well-cited author in her field (current Scopus Index: 11, H-Index: 16) and a reviewer for many reputable international academic journals aside from sitting as an advisory board member in some of those journals. Azilah is also a certified member of the Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) and American Hotels and Lodging Education Institute (AHLEI). Currently Azilah is actively pursuing her research interests and publishing in the area of corporate social responsibility, corporate environmentalism, environmental management, hotel management and tourism marketing. Dr. Amitabh Upadhya carries a cumulative experience of over thirty-five years in industry and academia. His academic area of specialization is marketing and tourism management wherein his recent focus of research has been tourist destination marketing, management and governance. Amitabh has published over fifty peer reviewed research papers, book chapters and articles and sits on the editorial boards of several prestigious academic journals. He is also associated, as a visiting professor, with several institutions around the world. As an administrator Amitabh has been involved in design and development of higher educational programs and processes including D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) skills, competencies and attitude for careers of the future, millennial student engagement and measurement of higher education program learning outcomes. He was awarded the ‘Academic Leadership Award’ by Skyline University College in the year 2008 and the ‘Education Leadership Award’ by the World Sustainability Congress in the year 2017. Currently he is Professor and Director Outreach at Skyline University College in the UAE. Dr. Marcus L. Stephenson is Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Dean of the School of Hospitality at Sunway University (Malaysia). Prior to his appointment in October 2017, he was Professor and Head of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji. He also worked at Middlesex University Dubai, United Arab Emirates as Chair of Research and Associate Professor from 2005 to 2014. Professor Stephenson is the co-author of Tourism and Citizenship: Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities in the Global Order (2014, Routledge) and co-editor of International Tourism Development and the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Challenges and Opportunities (2017, Routledge). He is a member of the editorial board for several journals and has consulted significantly in the educational and tourism & hospitality sectors. He has published extensively on the sociology of tourism, especially concerning nationality, race, ethnicity, culture and religion. His current research focuses on tourism development in the South Pacific and the Middle East. Dr. Alexandra Coghlan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at Griffith Business School, Gold Coast Campus, Australia. Her research focus is consumer behaviour and pro-environmental outcomes of tourism. Dr Coghlan also has a BSc (hons.) in marine biology and is a PADI-certified dive master. She has a 20-year career of working in national parks, especially the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Her current research using virtual reality games as a way of informing tourists of the complexity of the Reef as an ecosystem. She has over 20 top-tier publications on tourism in the reef, and over 60 publications more broadly, including a textbook - Introduction to Sustainable Tourism (published by Goodfellows). Her teaching inerest include Sustainable Tourism Management, Community-based ecotourism fieldstudies course. Professor M.S.M Aslam is a Professor in Tourism Management attached to the Department of Tourism and Management at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL) also he was the Chairman, Board of Postgraduate Studies at Faculty of Management Studies and Chairman, Board of Management Open Distance Learning Faculty of Management Studies. He took his primary and secondary education at his village school and obtained his bachelor degree B.Sc. Business Studies (Specialization in Tourism Management) from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in 1998. He has completed M.Sc. in Management at University of Sri Jayawardenapura in Sri Lanka and obtained his Doctoral of Philosophy (PhD) in tourism from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Prof. Aslam has been teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels a number of subjects in management discipline and in the field of tourism. He has carried out a number of researches and publication in different areas of tourism and in general. He has contributed for a number of popular international and national tourism conferences as the chair, co-chair, keynote speaker, member of scientific committee, chief-editor and member of editorial board. Prof. Aslam also has published his researches individually and jointly in reputed international journals, such as Journal of Heritage Tourism, Journal of Tourism Policy, International Journal of Economic and Financial Issues etc. In addition, he is a chief editor/editor and contributor for a number of edited books such Spice Tourism, Uncovering the Truths, Motoring Heritage Tourism, and Sustainable Tourism in Global South and Managerial Dilemmas in Developing Countries. Prof. Aslam also serves as a resource person/advisor/consultant for national, provincial, local and community level tourism planning and development in Sri Lanka. He also has contacted a number skill/capacity building workshops and leadership/professional development training for D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) public, private and community stakeholders. He has completed a number of assignments from World Bank/IMF, UNDP, ILO, WUSC, ICEI/OVERSEAS, Skill for Inclusive Growth (S4IG) Ausaid. Dr. Trishna G. Mistry is an Assistant Professor in the College of Hospitality and Tourism Leadership at the University of South Florida, USA. Dr. Mistry received her Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Central Florida in Hospitality and Tourism Management. She received her B.S. from the University of Florida in Broadcast Journalism. Dr. Mistry’s research interests include diversity management, human resources management, organizational behavior, and strategic management. Her doctoral dissertation focused on scale development and model testing of diversity management in the hospitality and tourism field. Her research has been published in internationally refereed journals including International Journal of Hospitality Management and Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management. She has presented her research at various international conferences including ICHRIE, Euro CHRIE, and Elsevier World Research Summit for Tourism and Hospitality. Dr. Mistry holds several professional memberships, including Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Her teaching interests include human resources management, strategic management, leadership, lodging management, and diversity management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Dr. Mistry joins the faculty at USFSM with several years of lodging industry and management experience with companies like BlueGreen Vacations and Wyndham Destinations. Dr. Amnaj Khaokhrueamuang is an Associate Professor in tourism at the School of Management and Information, University of Shizuoka, Japan. He obtained a Master’s degree in Ecotourism Planning and Management from Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand, and the PhD. in Tourism Sciences from Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan. His research interest is a focus on rural tourism-related issues associated with community development, agricultural extension, culture and heritage, and sustainability. He intends to make projects and academic collaboration networks with Thailand’s universities and organizations to promote the strong relationships between Japanese and Thai. He is currently researching tea tourism in Japan and Thailand and planning to extend the collaboration to tea-related tourism destinations in Asia, particularly India and Sri Lanka. Dr. Mayukh Dewan, Module Leader, Food & Beverage Management & Beverage Management. School Of Hospitality, Tourism And Events (Shte). Taylor's University, Lakeside Campus. Malaysia. Dr. Mayukh’s vast experience and knowledge in the hospitality industry are attributed to his travels across the different continents. He obtained his 3 year Hotel & Catering Management diploma from his homeland India, specializing in Chinese cuisine and Banquet Sales. His BA (Honors) International Hospitality Management was later awarded by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland,UK. This was where he conducted a research on the changing balance between the old world wine and new world wine sales in Edinburgh hotels and restaurants. He then went on to attain his Professional Masters in International Tourism and Hospitality Management from University of Toulouse in 2011. His Post Graduate research focused in the area of sociology of food. He completed his doctorate studies in Hospitality and Tourism from Taylor's University, Malaysia.

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LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE (GHTC - 2020) CHIEF PATRON Prof. S. K. Srivastava, Vice - Chancellor, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India) PATRON Prof. B. Panda, Dean, School of Economics, Management and Information Sciences, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India) CONFERENCE CHAIR AND CONVENER Dr. Saurabh Kumar Dixit, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India) CO - CONVENER Dr. Punit Gautam, Associate Professor, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India) Organising Secretary Dr. S.K. Kulshreshtha, Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India) Joint Secretary Dr. B. F. Lyngdoh, Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (India)

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CONFERENCE COORDINATORS RESEARCH SCHOLARS OF DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT, NORTH-EASTERN HILL UNIVERSITY, SHILLONG (INDIA)

MR. RASHMI RANJAN CHOUDHURY

MS. HAKAMELAMPHYLLA MAWROH

MR. ASHOK KUMAR

MS. SABRINA LYNGDOH

MR. IADONLANG TYNSONG

MS. ZEPPHORA LYNGDOH

MR. LONDONER MURPHY SOHTUN

MR. SACHIN KUMAR BEHERA

MR. ABIJITH ABRAHAM

MR. FIRSTERSON LAWRINIANG

MS. EVARISA MARY NENGNONG

MS. MONIKA BHATIA

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MR. CARLNEGIE L. NONGRIM

MR. SANGAM RAI

MR. KULAR SKHEM MUKHIM

MS. ANGSHUMI GOSWAMI

MR. NIHAL JAISWAL

MS. DIMPY SONOWAL

MS. KIMBERLY CAMELIA S. LANGSTIEH

NON TEACHING STAFF OF DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT, NORTH-EASTERN HILL UNIVERSITY, SHILLONG (INDIA)

MS. VIGEENIA SUN

MR. BADAP KUPAR KHARSYNTIEW

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INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE (GHTC - 2020)  Prof. Arch G. Woodside, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.  Prof. Metin Kozak, Professor of Marketing, School of Tourism, Dokuz Eylul University,Turkey  Prof. Tej Vir Singh, Centre for Tourism Research & Development (CTRD), Lucknow, India  Prof. Mahmood A Khan, Virginia Tech University, USA  Prof. Antonia Correia, Universidade Europeia and Universidade do Algarve, Portugal  Dr. Roy C Wood, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK  Prof. Jay Kandampully, Professor of Service Management, The Ohio State University, USA  Prof. Stanislav Ivanov, Vice Rector (Research), Varna University of Management, Bulgaria  Prof. Roberta Garibaldi, Professor, University of Bergamo, Italy  Prof. Frans Melissen, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands  Dr. Ian Yeoman, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand  Prof. Jon Sundbo, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark  Prof. Brian King, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong  Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, U.K  Prof. Bruce Prideaux, School of Business and Law, C Q University, Australia  Prof. Jennifer Kim Lian Chan, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia  Prof. Willy Legrand, Professor, IUBH School of Business and Management, Bad Honnef-Bonn, Germany  Prof. Noel Scott, Professor of Tourism Management, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia  Prof. Ulrike Gretzel, USC Center for Public Relations, University of Southern California, USA  Prof. S.P. Bansal, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh Technical University, Hamirpur, India  Prof. Sandeep Kulshrestha, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), Gwalior, India  Prof. Manoj Dixit, Vice-Chancellor, Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University Faizabad , India  Prof. G. Anjaneya Swamy, Dean, School of Management, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India  Prof. S. C. Bagri, Director, CMTHS, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal, India  Prof. Deepak Raj Gupta, SHTM, University of Jammu, Jammu , India  Prof. Aparna Raj, Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, India  Prof. S. K. Kabia, Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, India  Prof. Sitikantha Mishra, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar, India  Prof. Mohinder Chand, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India  Prof. Sampada Kumar Swain, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India  Prof. Manjula Chaudhary, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India  Dr. Rajesh N. Ragde, Director, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India  Prof. Yedla Venkata Rao, Department of Tourism Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India  Prof. S. K. Lenka, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), Gwalior, India

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page S. N.

SECTION A : ABSTRACTS

1.

An ethnographic enquiry on the influences and behaviour on food choices of foreign students in urban Malaysia Cognitive dissonance of tourists visiting Meghalaya

36

Destination image and the prominence of organic image in tourist destinations The concept of experiential marketing: a systematic review and classification Behavioral ecology of epicurean, special reference to online food ordering trends in Bangalore: a descriptive study Tourist satisfaction and its attributes

37

40

10.

Transformative role of responsible tourism through ‘Village Life Experience’ (VLE): a case study of Kerala Understanding the stress experienced by transgenders in an experiantial marketing setting with reference to tourism industry Co-creation of new hotel services on social networking sites via smart phone apps A study on influence of facebook in travel decision making

11.

Heritage temple tourism: an experience economy framework

43

12.

44

16.

A study on motivation, experience, promotion and innovation for gastronomy tourism in Bangkok Travelers’ value perspective in the adoption of virtual reality technology: a conceptual framework Impact of word of mouth (WOM) on consumer loyalty in fine dining restaurant: an investigation in Jaipur Understanding service quality attributes that drive user ratings: a text mining approach Online travel review posting intentions: exploring motivators and barriers

17.

International tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty to Bhutan

47

18.

Promotion of tea tourism in north east india: special reference of Meghalaya Promotion of local food and beverage products of Meghalaya as important tourist souvenirs Understanding souvenir buying behavior of tourists - a tool for marketing of souvenirs in Raghurajpur and Pipli village of Odisha Food driven content and tourist information sources: a study of food tourists in New York Ethical issues in tourism marketing

48

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

13. 14. 15.

19. 20. 21. 22.

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No.

37

38 39 40

41 41 42

45 45 46 46

49 50 50 51

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) 23.

Practice of ethics in hospitality industry – a reality check

52

24.

Positioning of destinations for honeymoons: Indian consumers’ perspective

53

25.

Understanding the Indian domestic tourists: a segmentation approach

54

26.

Tea tourism in Meghalaya: status, prospects and challenges

55

27.

Sustainable livelihood through value addition of ‘geographical indicators' using tourism as tool for transformation - a social entrepreneurship approach Building sustainability into tourism supply chain management in Kerala

56

Homestay programme as catalyst to local businesses: a case study on homestay, Uttarakhand Tourism - agriculture linkage: practices, challenges and opportunities in the state of Meghalaya Ganeshotsav- a tourist attraction in Pune city

58

Tourism interpretation of japanese green tea product: attracting Thai tourists to Shizuoka, Japan Promoting culinary heritages as a destination attraction: a case study of ancient temple food ‘Mahaaprasaada’ Green hotel: an emerging concern in the hotel industry

60

Nomadic tourism: preserving transhumance and promoting tourism in Jammu and Kashmir Prospect & challenges of indigenous food delicacies of the North East as a holistic tourism product Indian medical tourism index (IMTI)

62

Indigenous foods of the North Eastern tribes and legal regime: need of the hour Rural tourism in India as a catalyst for sustainable development: a case of Punjab Problems of tourism entrepreneurship in Assam, with special reference to accommodation industry: an analysis Ethical production and consumption approaches for responsible tourism in West Sikkim: a case study of Pelling Web 4.0 and tourism industry: addressing challenges and opportunities

64

67

45.

Harnessing cultural resources for tourism development in Donga local government area, Taraba State, Nigeria Role of architecture and spatial planning in development of contextually relevant tourism plans Impact of tourism industry on economic growth in India

46.

Green management practices in hotels: a way to sustainability

69

47.

Challenges of homestay businesses in Meghalaya “a marketing perspective”

70

28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

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58 59

61 62

63 64

65 66 66 67

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48.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Exploring tourism infrastructure role for Nigerian beach tourists

71

49.

Employee's perceptions of ethical issues in travel and tourism business

72

50.

Backpacker tourism in Bangkok

72

51.

Promoting tourism through fairs and festivals: a case study of Sikkim

72

52.

74

53.

Events, a game changer for tourism business in Meghalaya: a case on NH7 weekender Bollywood inspired tourism in Thailand

54.

Ecotourism and its role in sustainable development of Sikkim

75

55.

Impact of tourism and sustainable community development in the “Scotland of the East”- Meghalaya Role of sustainable tourism development “with relevance to the current conceptualisation in different sectors” Senior tourism in Bangkok

76

77

59.

Holistic development of tribal communities in Assam through community based tourism: prospects and challenges Tourism education in India: past, present and future

60.

Tranformative power and value of experience consumption

79

61.

Role of tribal art and craft in Madhya Pradesh tourism with special reference to Gond Art The world's first rail coach restaurant - Bhopal express: an amazing experience for tourists Stakeholders’ perspective on innovations in tourism and hospitality sector

79

82

65.

Marketing practices of tourism smes: a channel for promoting tourism activities of West and South-West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya Impact of employee satisfaction for growth of tourism industry in Shillong

66.

Geotourism- a conceptual note

83

67.

Growing tourism through community tourism education

84

68.

Why sustained tourism fails: identifying the drivers of unsustainability

85

69.

Experiencing wines tourism and wineries in India: a precious gift of nature to the tourists Envisioning, skilling, entrepreneurship and employability in hospitality sector- beyond studies, passion is required for this industry Understanding tourist perspective on the regulation of tourism at destinations and exploring proactive approaches towards tourism regulation Human resource development in tourism: a study with special reference to tourism sensitization and skill development training programmes of IITTM Identifying the influencing factors of job satisfaction among non-executive employees in hotels of Manipur

86

56. 57. 58.

62. 63. 64.

70. 71.

72. 73.

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80 81

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74.

75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81.

82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) 89 An examination of shopping behavior of tourists - a study on tourists visiting Medaram Jatara (Warangal) and the Kumbh Mela (Allahabad) in India 90 Tourism marketing: evidence from North East India 91 Gastronomic experiences of foreign tourist in India: case study of Uttarakhand 91 Memorable tourism experiences - a study of Umananda Temple in Guwahati 92 Gastronomy as a marketing tool in tourist destination: a case study in Chennai 92 Impact of festival branding in creating a tourist destination: a case study of the Vallam Kali 93 Exploratory study on branding of Ayurveda as a soft power of India 94 Comprehending behavioural change through design thinking approach: a case of social innovation at the world’s biggest religious human congregation 94 Impact of gastronomic experience on satisfaction and revisit intention of tourists: the case of Lucknow 95 A study on the effectiveness of digital marketing in star hotels of India 95 Analyzing the effect of co-creation on life satisfaction of tourist 96 An empirical study of film induced tourism with special reference to Karnataka 97 The ‘Jadoh’ tourism experience: a case of Khasi Food 97 Whose job is it anyway? - a perspective of tourists vs locals 98 Ecotourism in Odisha – exploration of destinations and sharing of personal experiences 99 The impact of experiential marketing on customer perceived value in selected restaurants of Guwahati city 100 Medicinal plants based food tourism as an experiential tourism in Manipur, India 100 Gastronomy as a newly developed tourism product 101 An exploration study on taiwanese travelers’ experience in using online hotel booking websites 102 Understanding the relationship between experiential tourism and self concept building: theoretical perspectives 102 Hospitality player’s understanding towards present situation of tourism in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu state 103 Promotion of ecotourism in Pachamalai Hills of Tamil Nadu for community empowerment 104 Promotion and outcomes: a case study of Punjab tourism 104 Do xenophobia impact tourist decision-making process? 105 Wine tourism in India: tourist motivation perspective 106 Virtual reality rising affect on consumer experiences - a case study of Indian hospitality & tourism industry D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 33 | P a g e

100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Cultural heritage tourism in Kathmandu valley - a case study on Guthi system Emerging trends of mice in context of Indian tourism industry A study of adventure tourism as a recreational activity in Kullu Valley A study of palaces of Gwalior in tourism perspective Role of social media for the development of tourism with special reference to Kaziranga National Park The role of tourism destination competitiveness in experience building ICT as a synchronizing tool for community based tourism development in India? An evaluative study Promoting Umswai valley as a sustainable tourism destination by inducing rural tourism models and community indulgence Exploring the potential and challenges of rural tourism in East Jaintia Hills

107 107 108 108 109 109 110 110 111

SECTION B : FULL LENGTH PAPERS 109. A descriptive study on a destination’s gastronomical contributions to the overall experience of a tourist 110. Role of food/prasadam served at religious places to attract tourist/pilgrims: a case study of Tirumala 111. Sustainable tourism and hospitality marketing through adventure tourism in Meghalaya 112. Evaluating promotional tools for sustainable tourism development in Idanre Hills, Ondo State, Nigeria 113. Meauring the impact and benifits of the global demographic changes on the tourism industry “with application on India” 114. An empirical study on the impact of sales forces on the food and beverage revenue of hotels of Delhi NCR 115. The Himalayas as a tourist destination: adventure and spiritual 116. Socio-cultural and economic development of the Himalayan region of East Sikkim through community based tourism (CBT) 117. Assessing the motivation of youths for adventure tourism 118. Opening Uttarakhand Himalaya for ecotourism

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113 125 139 148 161 172 186 201 214 221

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ENQUIRY ON THE INFLUENCES AND BEHAVIOUR ON FOOD CHOICES OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN URBAN MALAYSIA Mayukh Dewan Taylor’s University, Lakeside Campus (Malaysia) We have always travelled for various reasons such as tourism, health, physical and psychological needs. Lately an increasingly prominent reason in this tourist landscape is international students travelling for academic growth. Academic tourism is, in some ways, different from other kinds of tourism, because it invariably involves long periods of stay in non-native locations. Extended stay in a foreign location and extended contact with a foreign culture has its implications on language, behavior, and personality, of the tourist. Some of these influences have been extensively studied before but the effect of extended stay on food habits of international students’ needs to be explored. Food is not only important for subsistence, but is also an important vehicle of identity. The number of influences involved in the decision-making process of food consumption has been known to be complicated (Vabo & Hansen, 2014). Our food habits correspond with our personal influences like socio-economic background, belief system, and health condition. Ecological influences governing the availability and sustainability of types of food items also affect our behaviour. Other influences like price, mood, health, convenience, sensory appeal, body mass index and foods natural content also affect our food choices (Steptoe, Pollard & Wardle, 1995). Food choice tends to converge when people eat in a group, especially when the group consists of familiar people (Teng & Wang, 2015). According to Rozin (1996), the consumption of food can only be accepted in a social context. As the background of international students may differ, we can see various differences in their food traditions and cuisines (Montanari, 2006; Drewnowski, 1997). Despite its importance, the aspect of food habits of an individual in a foreign location has not received adequate attention in Asian research. Most of the previous studies were based in the US and Europe and focused on the students from a specific discipline (Greaney et al. 2009, LaCaille et al. 2011) or specific backgrounds (Nelson et al. 2009, Cluskey & Grobe 2009). In this chapter, I aim to fill this knowledge gap. Accordingly, the objective of this research is to ethnographically explore and appreciate the food choice behaviour and influences of international students in private universities around Subang Jaya, Malaysia. Since the host culture is an important determinant of food consumption behaviour, an ethnographic study will provide a unique, Malaysian, perspective which can be compared and contrasted to international students across the world. This in turn can help policymakers make informed choices regarding sustainable developmental and tourism marketing for such tourists. Keywords: Food Consumption Behavior; International Students; Qualitative Research, Ethnography.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) COGNITIVE DISSONANCE OF TOURISTS VISITING MEGHALAYA Zepphora Lyngdoh Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, NEHU, Shillong (Meghalaya) Tourism is considered as one of the largest and fastest developing sectors of the world. It’s high growth and development rates bring considerable volumes of foreign currency inflows, infrastructure development, employment generation, regional development, economic multiplier effects and introduction of new management and educational experience actively affect various sectors of economy, which will positively affect the social and economic development of the country. However the industry also generates a number of other negative socio- economic and cultural impacts on local communities and tourists. As we can analyze that from most of allinclusive package tours, more than 80% of travelers’ fees go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies, not to local businessmen and workers. On the other hand large hotel chain restaurants often import food to satisfy foreign visitors and rarely employ local staff for senior management positions. As with other impacts, this massive economic development brings along both positive and negative consequences. The socio-cultural impacts of tourism described here are the effects on host communities of direct and indirect relations with tourists, and of interaction with the tourism industry. For a variety of reasons, host communities often are the weaker party in interactions with their guests and service providers, leveraging any influence they might have. The impacts arise when tourism brings about changes in value systems and behavior and which thereby threatens indigenous identity. Although tourism has been discussed a lot from the viewpoints by communities and residents (Beeton, 2006; Jamal and Stronza, 2009; Ryan, 2002), the relationships among perception of tourism, interpretation needs and satisfaction from the perspective of tourists’ remained unclear. While buying a tourism product, the buyers see themselves and the products they buy in terms of images. These images are the formalized impressions residing in the minds of individuals with regard to given subjects. The tourists’ perception of a destination’s tourism product influences memorable tourism experiences and the basic differences influence tourist buying behavior. Tourists do not actually behave in a given manner based on the way their external environment appears, rather on what they see or believe it to be. Individuals differ in their perceptions with regard to people, places and inanimate objects. Hence, tourists draw inferences about the destination and the people residing there differently based on their beliefs, motives, or intentions. Keywords: Tourism, tourists’, perception, impacts, communities DESTINATION IMAGE AND THE PROMINENCE OF ORGANIC IMAGE IN TOURIST DESTINATIONS Jeet Dogra1 and Karri Venkata Rohan Sharma2 1,2Indian

Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Gwalior (M.P.)

With the promising future that the tourism industry offers, it becomes important for tourism professionals to understand the consumers of their products. The process of understanding the consumer begins with the evaluation of tourist’s perceptions of a destination. While there are many D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) factors that contribute in the formation of perceptions of destination images, perceptions that are formed as a means of information gathered through reading books, newspapers, magazines, Internet, social media, radio, watching television, movies, periodicals and attending classes of geography and history etc. are called Organic images (Gunn, 1997). Though there has been a significant amount of research on destination image and its implications (Chon, 1990; Baloglu and McClearly, 1999; Hosany et al., 2007), little importance has been given to the Organic image component despite its significance in formation of destination image. This study tries to put the existing destination image literature by comparing and organizing it in a clearer context. Just as different people have different perceptions of a place, different people have different motivations to travel. Studies have found that history, heritage and culture are not only attractions but also important indicators of tourism competitiveness. Hankinson (2004) found that destination marketers consider organic image attributes associated with history, heritage and culture as important discriminators between competing destinations. One of the proposed extensions of that study was to replicate it across different stakeholder groups especially leisure tourists as consumers of the destination product. This study made use of the repertory grid technique developed by George A. Kelly (as cited in Hankinson, 2004) in the context of personal construct theory. Questionnaires were used to collect the data related to images of 25 destinations in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The elicited constructs were further grouped for frequency analysis. The study determined the prominence of organic image attributes associated with history, heritage and culture in tourist’s decision making process. This study differs from other organic image studies as it attempts to evaluate the prominence of Organic image in the context of leisure tourist. Keywords: Organic Image; Destination Image; Tourist Perception; Tourism competitiveness; Repertory grid technique; Destination Choice THE CONCEPT OF EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND CLASSIFICATION Mohita Maggon National Institute of Construction Management and Research, Delhi Experiential marketing has been gaining increased importance in marketing literature, as marketers consider it a vital strategy in building loyalty and satisfaction. This study attempts to do a comprehensive assessment and synthesis of academic literature on experiential marketing published in top ranked hospitality and tourism journals. To do this, author takes up a systematic review, identifies and analyses relevant articles from top journals as suggested by Gursoy and Sandstorm (2016). This study reviews research articles published in the area of experiential marketing in the hospitality industry in particular. For this systematic literature review, sixteen journals ranked as top hospitality and tourism journals were analyzed to identify the experiential marketing research work published during 2010-2019. The analysis provides significant information about–empirical versus conceptual studies, industry focus, country of research, research design, data analysis D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) techniques and nature of sampling methods and respondents. The gaps and trends were also identified to suggest further scope of research. Keywords: Experience, loyalty, satisfaction, marketing BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF EPICUREAN, SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ONLINE FOOD ORDERING TRENDS IN BANGALORE: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY Venkatadri V. R1 and D. S. Duke Thavamin2 1, 2IHM

Bangalore, Bangalore (Karnataka)

Purpose –This effective study aims to focus on the behavioral changes of epicurean when He/she happened to be a consumer of food outlets, especially in Bangalore city. As hospitality facilitators, we made efforts to identify the reasons behind the new era epicurean’s behavior change towards buying habits of food also we extended our research on why the culture of visiting eat-outs is slowly getting away from society. As smartphones, internet and food apps have conquered most of the food marketing segments; this study dauntlessly speaks about the relation between epicurean’s behavior change and the imposition of technology in day to day life. In addition to that, this study tries to throw light on; food ordering online is dependent on different age groups. Design/methodology/approach – The sample was gathered through a simple random sampling technique. The study utilizes in-depth semi-structured questionnaires of 200 participants. The data will be subject to prove with the chi-square hypothesis test analysis and one-way ANOVA test analysis. Findings – The results expose the relationship between population and sample variances. Moreover, it helps to compare more than two population variances and helps to understand, is there any difference between at least two population means? Research limitation– The sample was limited to hospitality students those who are pursuing Hotel management degree program from IHM Bangalore and urban residents of Bangalore city. Practical implications – This paper offers awareness to restaurateurs and food outlet owners about the behavior change of new era food consumers. It unfurls our knowledge of how technology took over the food industry and the new era epicurean. Eventually, this study suggests how to woo generation Z tech-savvy epicurean towards visiting food outlets. Keywords: Epicurean, Millennial, Gen Z, Tech-savvy, Food app.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) TOURIST SATISFACTION AND ITS ATTRIBUTES Ritu Rani Sikkim University (Sikkim) The behavior of tourist influences travel-making decisions. Tourism suppliers are diligently working to enhance the experience of a tourist. So it is very important to understand their behavior and those factors which influence tourist satisfaction. The motives of tourists differ from one another and depend on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The study focuses on tourist satisfaction which is influenced by the process of buying behavior that further transforms into the intention of repurchase behavior. Repurchase intention is the next succeeding level of satisfaction. The study also explores the attributes of the customer satisfaction on literature reviews and examines their significance. The qualitative approach is adopted and 20 research papers is considered. The findings of the study will provide tools for tourism stakeholders to further develop better strategy for overall satisfaction. Keywords: Behavior, Motive, Tourist satisfaction, Re-purchase intention, Attributes. TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF RESPONSIBLE TOURISM THROUGH ‘VILLAGE LIFE EXPERIENCE’ (VLE): A CASE STUDY OF KERALA Jishnu P Thampy School of Tourism Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University Kottaya (Kerala) Responsible tourism emerged as a concept, which explains how tourism can be consumed in more responsible way. The main purpose of responsible tourism is to minimize negative social, economic and environmental impacts. It enhances the well-being of host communities by generating greater economic benefits. The state of Kerala is one of the most favorite places of international and domestic tourists. The state’s vibrant tourism industry is famous for its abundant natural and cultural wealth along with its educated and hospitable people. The responsible tourism initiatives were started in Kerala in the year of 2007 with the involvement of elected representatives, NGOs, policymakers, industry practitioners, community leaders, social activists, environmentalists, media persons, academicians and other tourism stake holders. In 2008, Responsible Tourism activities were spread to four destinations namely Kovalam (beach), Kumarakom (Backwaters), Thekkady (Wildlife) and Wayanad (Hill station) as a pilot study. After the success of RT mission activities the department of tourism has planned to implement responsible tourism activities in more villages of Kerala, as a result it became one of the most successful tourism products of Kerala. Village Life Experience' (VLE) is a half day conducted tour by the responsible tourism mission which will provide an opportunity to the guest to interact with local people Kerala villages and their culture, art forms, traditional jobs etc. it is an example of community based tourist itinerary . In many ways the Responsible tourism programs helps the villagers to reap the maximum benefits of tourism. This study investigates the role of VLE as product of RT mission in the tourism industry of Kerala and its contribution towards the economic growth, employment opportunities, women empowerment and innovative ideas in tourism. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Responsible tourism, Village Life Experience, Tourism and Economy, employment generation, community based tourism UNDERSTANDING THE STRESS EXPERIENCED BY TRANSGENDERS IN AN EXPERIANTIAL MARKETING SETTING WITH REFERENCE TO TOURISM INDUSTRY Himangini Singh University Institute of Management, RDVV Jabalpur (M.P.) The aim of the Experiential Marketing is to immerse the consumers a memorable experience that it could portray a sense of attachment and close relationship with the product or service. The transgender usually face the stigma and discrimination even after many awareness programs, inclusion in many advertisements, campaigns and fashion shows which leads to the rise of psychological stress amongst them. The paper will examine: (1) the behavioral differences of the marketers for the transgender in an experiential marketing setting and how it leads to stress and (2) explore how they deal with the difference of treatment and sense of rejection. The research will demonstrate the relationship between the discrimination and stress. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 participants from January-March 2019 and data analysis was done by using qualitative research method and suggestions have been given to minimize the emotional, cognitive and psychological stress and gender biasness by using models and interventions. Findings illustrate the effect of previous experience of stigmization and the current response towards it. The effect of occupational designation and societal status of transperson also affected the level of the stress. Researcher also suggested the experiential innovation strategies to minimize the level of the discrimination for the marketers and other strategies to cope up with the stressors. Keywords: Transgender, Experiential Marketing, Stress, Emotion, Cognition CO-CREATION OF NEW HOTEL SERVICES ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES VIA SMART PHONE APPS Bijoylaxmi Sarmah1, Yupal Shukla2 and Dahlia El-Manstrly3 1C.M.S,

NERIST (Arunachal Pradesh) of Management, University of Bologna, Bologna (Italy) 3 Centre for Service Excellence, University of Edinburgh Business School (U. K.) 2Department

The present study aims to examine the relationships between the key drivers of adoption intention in smartphone social networking sites (SNS) apps context. It will be valuable to advance the current knowledge about co-creation in service innovation on SNS sites by studying the relationships between key drivers of customers’ adoption intention in m-tourism context. The key drivers D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 41 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) examined in this study are: customer innovativeness; perceived trust in the service provider; customer participative service innovation behavior; and adoption intention. This study will be of considerable value for its practical application in the tourism industry. Data were collected from 348 SNS users via smartphone apps with the help of a survey method. Structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping estimation was used to analyze the data. The results show that personal innovativeness, perceived trust in the service provider, and customer participative service innovation behavior positively influence adoption intention in smartphone SNS apps context. The findings provide both theoretical and practical implications for tourism and hospitality discipline. The study offers various strategies that tourism and hospitality firms can use to co-create service innovation through the effective use of smartphone SNSs. The associations established in this study among the factors form an important, contribution to the existing body of knowledge in tourism and hospitality related research. Keywords: Co-creation; Service innovation; Hotels; SNS; Smartphone; SEM. A STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK IN TRAVEL DECISION MAKING Sohna Bairagi Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Assumption University, Bangkok (Thailand) Purpose: This study focuses on one of the most used social networking sites that is Facebook which is now a days playing a vital role regarding collection of travel related information by international tourists. The main purpose of this study is to find how international tourists are influenced by the posts like photos, videos, travel content etc., on Facebook to make decision to travel to Bangkok and how these posts are helping to create a destination image of Bangkok in the eyes of potential travelers and also to find what are the reasons behind international tourists posting their experience on Facebook and at which stage of their travel that is whether it is pre-trip, during the trip or post-trip. The study also focuses on how Bangkok based tourism marketers find it important to have an online presence of their business and promote their products on Facebook and what all are their challenges to deal with this repeatedly growing trend of international tourists using Facebook as a medium of gathering travel related information and then making their travel decisions. Research Design/ Methodology: In order to fulfil the requirements of research objectives, this research was conducted in Bangkok and the key respondents of the study were 2 Destination Management Companies (DMC), 2 Travel Agencies and 1 Transportation Services providing Company and 15 international tourists who came to Bangkok for their holidays. There were many literatures related to social media in tourism, influence of social media like Facebook on people’s travel choices, were taken into consideration for deriving the objective of this study. The methods used were semi-structured in-depth interviews within Qualitative research method approach. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Findings: The results derived in the study tells that Facebook is increasingly used among international Tourists who are influenced by the photos and videos posted on Facebook by various travel pages and Facebook friends who have shared their experience of traveling to Bangkok. This ultimately made a positive destination image of Bangkok and also made international tourists to visit and post their experience on Facebook during and after their trip. Facebook also helped tourism related marketers to keep themselves updated with latest trends and connecting with masses to promote Bangkok. Values: This research will be beneficial for the tourism related marketers to deal with international tourists’ changing attitudes towards making their travel decisions with the help of Facebook. It also helps the tourists who want to know about the trends on Facebook related to travel and know about the tourism marketers based in Bangkok who are helping to maintain Bangkok’s varied culture by portraying it on Facebook according to latest trends among tourists. Keywords: Social Media, Facebook, Travel Decisions, Destination image, perception, Online Presence HERITAGE TEMPLE TOURISM: AN EXPERIENCE ECONOMY FRAMEWORK Sangeetha Gunasekar1 and Sooriya Sudhakhar2 1,2Amrita

School of Business, Amrita Viswavidhyapeetham Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)

Temples are multifaceted tourism destinations that meet the needs of religious tourists and cultural heritage tourists. India is known for its temples which form an integral part of Indian’s cultural heritage and symbolises religious ties. One such world heritage site is Mahabalipuram Seashore temple and group of monuments surrounding it. It is situated in the state of Tamil Nadu, a state known for its temple heritage. These works by the Pallava kings are from 7th and 8th centuries. Mahabalipuram has approximately forty monuments and is inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1984 as a cultural heritage. UNESCO includes cultural, natural, and mixed sites in the World Heritage List across the globe with over 77.4% of the properties in the list being cultural (UNESCO, 2012) Using online user generated reviews, the present study attempts to understand the tourist’s experience through the experience economy framework. The data is sourced from TripAdvisor, a travel website that is considered credible and trustworthy by consumers. As of Nov 2019, there are over 3337 online reviews were scraped using a python program. Using text analytics, the study attempted to analyse the experience of the tourists using the pine and gilmore’s 4E experience economy frame work. The results show that esthetic and education dimensions are found to be predominant among the experiences. Also around 7% of the tourists experienced the sweet spot which is characterized by the presence of all the four dimensions in the same review. In doing so the study distinguishes travelers based on their nationality. As shown in several studies, nationality and culture of tourists impact the way they perceive, experience and evaluate tourist destinations. Keywords: Temple tourism, cultural-heritage, text analytics, user generated content

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) References:  Ali, F. (2015). Heritage tourist experience, nostalgia, and behavioural intentions. Anatolia, 26(3), 472-475.  Apostolakis, A., & Jaffry, S. (2005). A choice modeling application for Greek heritage attractions. Journal of travel research, 43(3), 309-318.  Bec, A., Moyle, B., Timms, K., Schaffer, V., Skavronskaya, L., & Little, C. (2019). Management of immersive heritage tourism experiences: A conceptual model. Tourism Management, 72, 117-120.  Black, R., Weiler, B., & Chen, H. (2019). Exploring theoretical engagement in empirical tour guiding research and scholarship 1980–2016: a critical review. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 19(1), 95-113.  Mehmetoglu, M., & Engen, M. (2011). Pine and Gilmore's concept of experience economy and its dimensions: An empirical examination in tourism. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 12(4), 237-255.  Oh, H., Fiore, A. M., & Jeoung, M. (2007). Measuring experience economy concepts: Tourism applications. Journal of travel research, 46(2), 119-132.  Thanh, T. V., & Kirova, V. (2018). Wine tourism experience: A netnography study. Journal of Business Research, 83, 30-37. A STUDY ON MOTIVATION, EXPERIENCE, PROMOTION AND INNOVATION FOR GASTRONOMY TOURISM IN BANGKOK Melbin Babu Varghese Assumption University Thailand, Bangkok (Thailand) Purpose: This study focuses on one of the most trending type of Creative tourism that is Gastronomy tourism. The main purposes are to find out how Gastronomy tourism motivates tourists to travel to Bangkok, to know the Tourist's experiences after taking part in such kind of activities and to find out the innovation and promotional activities in order to promote Gastronomy Tourism in Bangkok with unique techniques by the Food Tour Companies and DMCs in order to allure the Tourists in Bangkok. Research Design / Methodology: This research was conducted in Bangkok, the key respondents used to study main objectives of the research were 2 Food Tour Companies and 3 major Destination Management Companies based in Bangkok and few Tourist's who took part in Gastronomic tour in Bangkok. The objectives were derived on the basis of various literatures on Motivation, Experience, Promotion and Innovation for Gastronomy tourism. The methods used in this research were semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as observation method. Findings: The result shows that many Tourists visit Bangkok because of their love for food, authenticity and different flavors of food in Bangkok also with some different reasons for motivation but with a good and healthy experience. This result shows Bangkok as one of the major destination for food and social media as one of the key promoter of Gastronomy tourism in Bangkok. This study also shows innovative techniques used by companies to promote Gastronomy tourism in Bangkok. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 44 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Values: This research will be beneficial for the tourists who are willing to explore on Gastronomy Tourism in Bangkok also for the Travel Agencies and the Food tour companies to upgrade themselves in this competitive world. Keywords: Gastronomy Tourism, Motivation, Experience, Promotion, Innovation TRAVELERS’ VALUE PERSPECTIVE IN THE ADOPTION OF VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Pankaj Vishwakarma1, Srabanti Mukherjee2 1, 2Vinod

Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (West Bengal)

Emerged as one of the most appreciated technological innovation, Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to have a significant impact on the tourism industry. The study investigates the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology from the consumers’ value perspective rather than the technology user’s viewpoint. The study considered the extensive literature in the context of VR and looked at the elements, which can influence travelers’ intention to use VR based on their value-based perception. The study will also consider the elements from the other technology adoption as found relevant to the current context. The study will explore the factors affecting travelers’ value-based adoption which are critical in adoption of VR and will propose a conceptual framework. The present study will help VR marketers and tourism organizations to develop strategies by considering these elements of value to promote tourism destination. Keywords: Virtual Reality, Value-based adoption, Perceived value, Consumer behavior IMPACT OF WORD OF MOUTH (WOM) ON CONSUMER LOYALTY IN FINE DINING RESTAURANT: AN INVESTIGATION IN JAIPUR Aravind Kumar Rai1, C. Anirvinna2 and Shweta Upamanyu3 1, 3School

of Hotel Management, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur (Rajasthan) School of Business, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur (Rajasthan)

2TAPMI

The restaurant industry is expanding at an exponential speed and hence to meet the expectations of the rise in this industry, the restaurant industry professionals need to understand every aspect of consumer satisfaction which can be based on various factors such as cuisines, cultural variations, ambience and service as the consumers have high expectations especially from fine dining restaurants. Quality and taste of food is not the only deciding factors these days; many more factors decide the standards of the restaurant, as the consumer satisfaction is influenced by various factors. With the rise in the restaurant industry, the Buffet system is also becoming increasingly prevalent. Since food and restaurant industry is greatly influenced by the surrounding environment, hence all the services must concentrate around this factor, to provide utmost satisfaction to the consumer and to stand apart in the business.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) The purpose of this research is to establish the relationship between Word of mouth and consumer Loyalty. The aim is to identify and analyses various levels of informal exchange (world of mouth) that are directly or indirectly related to consumer Loyalty (Buyer devotion). Many major restaurants from various cities of our country are selected to carry out this analysis. We also aim to understand the effects of positive mouth publicity of the consumers in this respect. Keywords: Restaurants, Industry, Consumer, Buffet systems, Servicescape UNDERSTANDING SERVICE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES THAT DRIVE USER RATINGS: A TEXT MINING APPROACH Sangeetha Gunasekar1, Deepak S Kumar2, Keyoor Purani2, Sooriya Sudhakhar1 and Dileep Menon1 1Amrita

School of Business, Amrita Viswavidhyapeetham Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) 2Indian

Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kozhikode (Kerala)

Using text mining of TripAdvisor reviews and mapping it to hard and soft attributes of SERVQUAL dimensions, this research attempts to identify service quality characteristics that contribute to the online customers' ratings of hotels. Further, the moderating effects of the reviewer types, namely a) domestic vs foreign b) novice vs experienced, c) less vs more popular and d) brief vs elaborate reviewer on the influence of quality attributes on hotel ratings are also analyzed. The results imply that in general, reviewers tend to provide more emphasis on hard attributes of service quality, which are tangibles, reliability and responsiveness while providing online ratings to hotels. Finally, along with the theoretical contributions, managerial contributions, such as the usefulness of the outcomes for service planning are also discussed. Keywords: SERVQUAL; hotel ratings; online reviews; text mining; hard and soft attributes ONLINE TRAVEL REVIEW POSTING INTENTIONS: EXPLORING MOTIVATORS AND BARRIERS Shuchita Bakshi1, Deepak Raj Gupta2 and Anil Gupta3 1, 2 ,3School

of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir)

The advent of internet has given rise to the concept of interactive marketing which further has introduced electronic word of mouth marketing (Zeng, Lusch and Li, 2010). Electronic word of Mouth (eWOM) refers to “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or service, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet” (Reimer and Benkenstein, 2016). Online reviews are considered as the most important form of eWOM as it has referral, knowledge and influential values (Yan and Wang, 2018). Although importance of online reviews cannot be restricted to a particular industry, but online travel reviews have received extensive attention from academician and researchers as they play substantial roles in tourism and hospitality marketspace (Yuan, Lin and Zhuo, 2016). The present study aims to investigate factors, which motivate and inhibit individuals’ intentions to post D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) travel reviews online. Based on email survey of 367 Indian tourists, this study applies partial least square method using smartPLS3 software. The results revealed that altruism, reputation, economic rewards and venting negative feelings positively influences review posting intentions while, cognitive and executional costs negatively influences review posting intentions. The findings of the study provide valuable suggestions to the service providers and marketers. They must focus on instant feedback mechanism and user- friendly webpages/ technology to enhance benefits and to reduce costs. Keywords: Travel reviews, Motivations, Barriers. INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY TO BHUTAN Karma Lhendup Department of Economics, NEHU, Shillong (Meghalaya) and Lead Consultant/Proprietor, M/S Bhutan A2Z Statistics, Economics & Environmental Consultancy, Thimphu (Bhutan) This study aimed at exploring the antecedents to international tourists’ loyalty to Bhutan, taking notorious advantage of primary data of the Tourism Council of Bhutan generated through ‘Visitors’ Exit Survey 2017,’ employing a modified integrated model posited by Chi and Qu (2008) [Chi, C. G. Q., & Qu, H. (2008). Examining the structural relationships of destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty: An integrated approach. Tourism management, 29(4), 624636]. According to the Tourism Council of Bhutan, the inbound international tourists to Bhutan for the past one decade had been skyrocketing with steady annual growth. However, there is dearth of study conducted whether this trend would continue in the years to come. A cross-sectional survey was carried out at the four tourist exit points in Bhutan covering different seasons. A sum of 1,528 international tourists departing from these aforementioned exit points was surveyed with a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM) approach. Findings of this study revealed that GNH and destination image influenced overall satisfaction of the international tourists visiting Bhutan. However, overall satisfaction did not significantly affect the destination loyalty. This paper also discussed implications for Bhutanese destination marketers and managers. Keywords: Tourism, International tourist, Destination image, Attribute satisfaction, Destination loyalty, Revisit intention.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) PROMOTION OF TEA TOURISM IN NORTH EAST INDIA: SPECIAL REFERENCE OF MEGHALAYA Evarisa M Nengnong1 and Kimberley Camelia S. Langstieh2 1, 2 Department

of Tourism & Hotel Management, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

North East India is land of enchanting natural beauties. The hills, rivers, forests, waterfalls and the wildlife offer reasons for tourists to visit this part of India. The North East India is also famous for tea gardens. Tea was discovered in Assam for the first time in the year 1828 by two British travellers Robert and Charles Bruce. Since then tea has become an integral part of the economy of North Eastern States. Tea belt in North East India starts from Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai stretching to Assam and beyond. Tea Tourism is a contemporary concept researched and talked about since the beginning of the 21st century. It is a wonderful tourism concept associated with tea gardens. The tea gardens, the process of tea plucking, tea producing, cultural festivals of the tea tribes and staying at the tea bungalows are part this tea tourism. This is a kind of unique tour experience connected to nature. Tea tourism has become the buzz word in promoting the tourism for North East India. Tea estates as well as the government are planning to develop additional facilities inside the tea garden to attract tourists, which can help in generating additional revenue. Tourism is considered as one of the fast-growing industries in the world. It generates employment and enhances the standard of living of the local people. Meghalaya covers several attractive tourism resources and attractions ranging from streams and rivers, hillocks and mountains, cultures and indigenous festivals and so forth. The inflow of tourists increasing every year in Meghalaya.However, tea tourism has yet to be developing and suffers from the state of ignorance. Tea-Tourism is new concept in the arena of tea and tourism. Tea tourism is wonderful and recreational experience that can satisfy the tourist’s interest. Tea tourism provides opportunity to avail all information and experience related to tea. Meghalaya has the potential to enhance the brand image and marketing of tea-producing destinations as contemporary tourists seek out authentic and unique experiences related to the appreciation and consumption of the beverage and tea encourages both consumption and the development of relationships. Tea drinking is a culture of the people and local tea gardens have been established for the purpose of business. Tea tourism has yet to be explored in the state of Meghalaya. This paper highlighted the potential of tea gardens as tourist destination and underlined the importance of best practices in terms of business to market the tea product. Keywords: Tea tourism, Marketing, Potential, Destination image, Meghalaya.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) PROMOTION OF LOCAL FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTS OF MEGHALAYA AS IMPORTANT TOURIST SOUVENIRS Sharad Kumar Kulshreshtha1, Ashok Kumar2 1, 2 Department

of Tourism & Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

Tourist souvenirs are an indispensable element of travelling for most people, especially cultural tourists. To experience food and beverages of the country, region or area is now considered a vital component of the tourism experience. Majority of the tourists prefers dining out as food and beverages are believed to rank next to climate, accommodation, and scenery of a tourist destination. Gastronomy tourism has gained an enormous potential in recent years. A high percentage of travellers, consider dining and food as relevant activities during their travels. One of the major travel motives for the tourists is to get the knowledge and experience about other culture’s food and it is much more than just eating. In order to acquire them, they love visiting various gastronomic facilities, meeting chefs and sightseeing places where local food and beverages are produced. The tourists visiting different places usually want to buy or get something ‘characteristic’ or ‘typical’, and it is pretty obvious that culinary souvenirs are their frequent choices. Moreover, an important element of the trip for them is also bringing home the local food and beverage products, kitchen utensils, photos or recipes as tourist souvenirs. As Banaszkiewicz, M. (2011) claims “a souvenir, no less than a photo, completes the trip, it is a kind of a trophy, a justification of being ‘there’. It encompasses the whole trip which begins with planning and packing of bags. Unpacking and placing the brought souvenirs on ‘the mantelpiece’ closes up the experience, proving in a tangible way that the trip has taken place, and even though the memories of the trip may fade away, the dust-covered souvenirs will keep the memory of the past.” Meghalaya is home to three ethnic tribes of North -East India who has their own distinct culture and traditions. Tourism souvenirs are produced and marketed by the local tourism societies which are managed by the local youths. Hence, it includes local entrepreneurship. The main focus of this study is to discuss the role and meaning of the tourism souvenirs and to classify them, with a special consideration of culinary souvenirs into the following categories: local food and beverage products, kitchen utensils (gadgets), recipes, culinary guidebooks and menus, as well as photographs of the dishes, food markets, restaurants etc. This paper also includes the tourist preferences in selecting and purchasing of souvenirs. The research paper concludes with the remark that creating and promoting the right tourist souvenirs based on local food and beverage is essential and it is of great importance for the destination marketing and tourism development. Keywords: Tourism, Culinary tourism, Tourist Souvenir, Meghalaya.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) UNDERSTANDING SOUVENIR BUYING BEHAVIOR OF TOURISTS- A TOOL FOR MARKETING OF SOUVENIRS IN RAGHURAJPUR AND PIPLI VILLAGE OF ODISHA Sachin Kumar Behera1, Sarat Kumar Lenka 2 and Punit Gautam3 1, 3Department

of Tourism and Hotel Management, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) 2Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Bhubaneswar (Odisha)

The human nature is to return from traveling with a souvenir or memento of the experience. The desire to visit and collect a souvenir from a strange or unfamiliar place has always been an unquashable yearning in the human soul. Souvenirs include arts and crafts, jewellery, antiques, collectibles, clothing, food etc. The objective is to examine the importance of souvenirs in tourism development with special reference to the study areas as this particular trend is getting enhanced attention within the tourism researches and literature, as well. This constant issue is getting tourism practitioners and academicians all the more aware. Although there is huge potential in souvenirs attracting more tourists to destination, poor promotional strategies and proper positioning still lacks in most of the destinations, and the places chosen for are not an exception. To understand the role of souvenirs in holistic tourism development of a destination, it is important to examine the shopping patterns of tourists, perception about the local handicrafts, tourist motivation for souvenir purchase etc. A very few similar studies have been done so far in the research area, therefore this study is planned to be carried out to fill in the existing research gaps and augment the overall tourismagnetism of these villages. Keywords: Souvenir, Buying Behavior, Tourists, Destination, Holistic, Tourismagnetism. FOOD DRIVEN CONTENT AND TOURIST INFORMATION SOURCES: A STUDY OF FOOD TOURISTS IN NEW YORK Sandeep Chatterjee Food & Beverage Consultant, New Jersey (USA) Information search strategies and its relation to purchase behavior is a well-documented subject for management research. In terms of general tourism as well, there is extensive literature on tourist information sources. There is however, a definite gap in the study of information sources in food tourism (Fodness & Murray, 2007). More specifically, on the role of food related content in tourist information sources. This research empirically examines the tourist behavior of consuming information sources and also studies the prominence of food related content in destination promotion channels. The primary aim of the study is to find a causal relation between information sources and promotion of local cuisine. The research relies upon adequate, first-hand, primary survey data from global tourists visiting New York and engaging in culinary tourism. The study has selected New York, as it is one of the most visited global destination, which has developed an image of being a multi-cultural and vibrant society (DHS, 2018). The city is described as an amalgamation of cultures that has been brought together by a diverse migrant community. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) The aim of the study is to explore any link between tourist information sources and promotion of local cuisine. The study is largely based on survey data collected from 410 tourists vising New York in Spring of 2019. The survey instrument was self-administered by the researcher at select sites that are considered food hubs of New York. The analysis of the data was done in three stages. The first stage of data analysis used descriptive statistics to explore tourist information sources and promotion of local cuisine. The second stage used exploratory factor analysis to cluster various food information sources for New York. In the final stage, stepwise regression model was applied to confirm the link between tourist information sources and promotion of local cuisine. Keywords: Food Tourism, Tourist Information sources, Destination Promotion, Culinary Information, and Local cuisine knowledge. ETHICAL ISSUES IN TOURISM MARKETING Punam Gupta1 and Dinesh Kumar2 1Career 2Jagran

College, Bhopal (M.P.) Lakecity University, Bhopal (M.P.)

Tourism is a double edged sword. While on the one hand it helps in attracting visitors to the area, generating jobs and development, it also results in destroying local ecosystems, generating mounds of waste and even destroying local cultures. It also puts pressure on local resources such as water and electricity, often creating problems for local residents. For instance, residents of Simla in Himachal Pradesh greeted incoming tourists with “Please go back” signs in the summer months as the town faced tremendous water shortages. A number of hill stations have lost or are losing their traditional heritage and are instead developing into concrete jungles as hotels sprout up to meet the demand of increasing numbers of tourists. A number of tourist towns in India and abroad face similar problems. Towns designed for a certain number of residents are ill equipped to meet the demands of swelling tourist populations or to deal with the garbage and waste generated. Despite this, governments encourage tourism with an eye on economic benefits – even India’s Prime Minister exhorted people to visit at least 15 tourist destinations by 2022. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the harmful effects of mass tourism and also critically examine the belief that local populations gain from it. Drawing from personal experiences, we describe the extent of degradation that some towns suffer from. As India faces the onslaught of unbridled tourism, we examine whether an ethical code is needed to market tourist destinations. We compare the best practices in international tourism and develop a plan for sustainable tourism for the country so that the ill effects of tourism can be avoided. Summary of the research aims: The paper aims to develop a framework for sustainable tourism in India. It will document damages to some tourist places to show that sustainable tourism is need of the hour. It will also suggest ways in which service providers can introduce ethical issues in their marketing and operations to avoid the ills of uncontrolled tourism.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Approach: We intend to take a qualitative approach and describe how tourism affects towns, populations and ecosystems. We also ground the paper with a theoretical base and use it to develop a plan for sustainable tourism in India. Key arguments/findings: Our key approach is to help the tourism service providers to introduce sustainable tourism practices in their approach. We develop a plan that the government of India can include its plan for sustainable development of tourism into their policy to encourage responsible tourism in the country. Keywords: Mass tourism, tourism marketing, tourism policy, tourism development, slow tourism. PRACTICE OF ETHICS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – A REALITY CHECK Soumitra Sen Department of Hotel Management and Travel & Tourism Management, Assam Royal Global University, Guwahati (Assam) Ethic is basically the expression of one’s behavior depending upon the society’s perception of right and wrong vis-à-vis in a given situation. The parameters of this righteousness and wrongness in term of a society depends upon the culture, religion and moral values to name a few that are being practiced in the societal set up. Ethical practices and beliefs in hospitality sector are not very different. But problem arises when hotel managers are faced with ethical dilemmas as sometimes it gets compounded by the very challenging nature of its operation. To cite an example; the predominance of cash in the transaction mode often creates tempting situation prompting sector’s vulnerability to dishonesty. The interviews and interactions with hotel/hospitality professionals reveal that they faced a challenging task as increased diversity and multicultural backgrounds of all the stakeholders of the industry (staff vs guests, staff vs staff) make it more complicate and delicate issue to deal with as many a time what is ethically correct leads to controversial ends. The matter gets more compounded with high attrition rate being prevalent in the industry along with high percentage of workforce engaged being part time employees. Their credentials are sometimes remains questionable in absence of proper background check due to the need of immediate requirement of manpower. In the backdrop of the above; lots of the people in this sector deems unethical practices are imperative to progress and consider others as dishonest and thereby as morally correct. As per available statistics, these all unethical practices leads to higher level of lawsuits on the basis of discriminations in age, gender, criminal acts of cheating, harassment etc. On the contrary, the research shows that those organizations where priority is given on strict adherence of ethical values the attrition rates are low; hence, staff ethical values are easy to uphold. Also, it is being realized that unethical price cuts leads to erratic market share and uneven profit share of the market leading to tarnishing of the brand name of the hotel. This in turn safeguards the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 52 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) goodwill and reputation of the hotel and thereby ensuring the brand loyalty on the part of the repeat guests. Theoretically, there are two ways ethical decisions are taken and they are (i) Deontology, (ii) Teleology. The first one deal with the notion of universal truth and principles which is to be upheld at all cost irrespective of the situation and consequences; whereas, the second one is more depended on consequences rather than principles. Thereby, the adage “the end justifies the means” is applicable for teleology and deontology signifies more on means than the end. In the hospitality industry; it is being observed that the manager’s and decision makers gives more emphasis on the consequences of not abiding by the rules and evaluate the advantages of breaching the law thus proving themselves more of a teleologists rather than deontologists. Conclusion: Practice of ethics in hospitality industry is a matter of concern. The primary reasons being the very characteristics of its operation being intangible and inseparable which make it different from other industries. Quality is the most important component in hospitality industry and is directly related with ethics and to ensure the same the employees not only have to maintain morale and ethics in workplace but also in their personal life to make it their second habit. In this context, the hospitality training which previously give emphasis only on skill, knowledge and profit components of the operation have to change and adopt training on “Ethics” as a fundamental component. Ethical traits like trustworthiness, honesty, respect for others along with personal competency of leadership and skill must get equal importance in the course curriculum of hospitality training. It is being proved beyond doubt that “Ethics” is having a positive relationship with profit and overall success of an organization. Keywords: Attrition Rate, Deontology, Ethic, Ethical Dilemmas, Inseparable, Intangible, Multicultural, Quality, Righteousness, Teleology, Wrongness POSITIONING OF DESTINATIONS FOR HONEYMOONS: INDIAN CONSUMERS’ PERSPECTIVE Rajendra Nargundkar Indian Institute of Management Indore (M.P.) Destinations are chosen for various types of travel by tourists based on the purpose of the trip. A niche area that has not been explored much is the perceptions about destinations that honeymooning couples may choose. This study fills the gap by exploring perceptions of young Indians, both male and female, about potential destinations for a honeymoon. The sample consists of young Indians of age between 21 and 25, who are likely to marry in the near future, and therefore, potential honeymoon tourists. Though speculative because it measures perceptions about possible destinations and not actual behavior, the study has many pointers for Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) who wish to be seen favourably as honeymoon destinations. We included D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) some Indian and some foreign locations, because depending on the spending capacity of the couple, Indians have been known to choose both domestic and foreign locations. The methodology used was mixed, including an initial shortlisting of destinations done through a focus group, and a survey analysed through Multidimensional scaling, to distinguish perceptions about the destinations chosen. To keep the second part manageable, the list of potential destinations was restricted to the top twelve mentioned in stage 1. Keywords: Destinations, Honeymoon, Tourism, Foreign, Domestic, India UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN DOMESTIC TOURISTS: A SEGMENTATION APPROACH Bikramjit Rishi1 and Tapas Kumar Chatterjee2 1Institute 2Institute

of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad (U.P.) of Management Technology (IMT), Nagpur (Maharashtra)

Segmentation is an effective tool in the hands of marketers to offer services in the tourism industry. It becomes more relevant due to the diversity of products, services and the customers in the tourism industry. As the domestic tourism in India is an emerging phenomenon so it becomes important to apply the segmentation to segment the Indian domestic tourists. As suggested in the literature benefits sought is the most important criteria to classify the tourists. The benefits sought are nothing but travel motivations of the tourists. This study uses the motives based approach to classify the Indian domestic tourists. The population of the study is all Indian domestic tourists, who have undertaken travel to domestic destinations in the last 36 months either individually (selecting their own destinations and planning their own trips) or participated in tours offered by tour operators with prepackaged destinations and itinerary. This study uses a total sample of 456 respondents (for the segmentation study) consists of both genders (female = 43%, male = 57%), is below 40 years of age (79%), mostly single (64%), from variety of educational (Post graduate = 52%, undergraduates and below = 48%) and occupational (self-employed = 21%, employed = 30%, students = 41% and unemployed = 8%) categories, with mostly below Rs.50000 monthly income (below Rs.50000 = 49%, above Rs.50000 = 26%, undisclosed = 25%) to segment the Indian domestic tourists. A questionnaire with a filter question (to apply the criteria of timings of travel) has been designed on the basis of review of literature. The data has been collected by applying convenience sampling technique. K – Mean clustering procedure was performed on all respondents’ travel motivation scores. Number of clusters identified was three and their characteristics are as following.  Self-enhancers who are motivated by the desire for self-exploration and personal enhancement are predominantly from mature adult ages; generally, travel with non-related co-travels; and travel for a duration of about week or 10 days.  Pleasure tourists as the label suggest travel for enjoyment and rejuvenation. They are generally adults, travel with spouse and children but not parents, and spend a fortnight or longer in touring.  Sensation seekers undertake tour with motive to experience sensory pleasures of enjoyment of varied adventures and amusements. They are of all age groups, and tour with family and undertake short duration tours of less than 10 days. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Marketers can use these segments for effective targeting and positioning of their services for the Indian domestic tourists and compete effectively in the Indian tourism industry. Keywords: Domestic tourism, India, segmentation, motivations, cluster analysis TEA TOURISM IN MEGHALAYA: STATUS, PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES Ashok Kumar1, Deborah Rose Shylla Passah2 and Rahul Kumar3 1Department

of Tourism & Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) 2, 3 Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong (Meghalaya)

Meghalaya is a state in North East India, well known for its salubrious climate, geographic location, music, food and culture. The economy of the state is mainly focused on agriculture where 70% of its population depending on agriculture and nearly 2/3rd of the total work force engaged in agriculture (Rymbai et. al., 2012). The Suitable climate and soil have prompted many farmers in Meghalaya, known as the ‘Scotland of the East’, to take up developing tea gardens. It was a visit in 1974 by Tea Board of India scientists that marked the beginnings of organized tea cultivation in the state (Dept. of Agriculture, Govt. of Meghalaya, 2016). The state of Meghalaya produces different varieties of Tea, many of them are organic in nature. There is a huge potential of tea tourism in the state of Meghalaya and for the development of tea-tourism in this region, we need to produce teatourism products and uniqueness which separate other region from it. Government of Meghalaya has focused on Tea Tourism in making it popular among tourists. Tea tourism has been flourished with countries like China, Srilanka and Kenya. It is now spreading in India. Tea tourism which integrates the natural environment of tea garden, tea leaves plucking, tea production, tea packaging and tea labour-culture. It is a new type of tourism which covers different types of tourist entertainment such as sightseeing viewing, roaming in tea garden, having tea in tea stall from different tea factory, watching evening tea workers, cultural performances etc. Tea tourism developments have a dual impact because it will promote regional tea to the tourist which creates a popular market of the tea and economic improvement of the tea labour. For making tea tourism strong and more popular, it would integrate with other local culture and natural beauty of the state. Tea-tourism is a Special Interest Tourism(SIT) which is being developed along with other existing tourism. Tea lovers are the main tea-tourist in tourism industry. The demographic profile of the tourist, problem faced by the tourists, and the host community, existing and expecting government support and environmental impacts of tea tourism are the important factors for development of tea tourism in the state of Meghalaya. Tea tourism helps to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the local people by improving household income of the locals. This study aims at highlighting the present status, potential, benefits, and challenges of this form of tourism to the state economy. This is mainly based on qualitative field studies of tea estates, tea factory access and tea centre operations in the tea-producing areas. This paper focuses on the tea production, reviewing the possibility of tea tourism, and how this form of tourism are transforming a unique tourism product for attracting tea tourists and also promote Meghalaya as a nascent emerging tea tourism destination. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Tea tourism, Tea lovers, Special Interest Tourism, Organic Tea SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD THROUGH VALUE ADDITION OF ‘GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATORS' USING TOURISM AS TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION - A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP APPROACH Toney K. Thomas1, Robinet Jacob2 1, 2Mahatma

Gandhi University (Kerala)

68.86% of Indian population is concentrated in rural areas and they have a high dependency on traditional occupation and farming. Since agriculture employed 50% of the Indian work force and contributed 17-18% to the country's GDP. India has the world’s second largest amount of agricultural land and the country possesses an excellent agricultural tradition. Farmers in India are also a less benefited group from their traditional occupation due to price fall, adverse weather condition, diseases and increase production cost. These issues have responded as a toll on the farm sector. Due to the agriculture sector collapse, there are 296438 farmers committed suicide since 1995, which is now accounting for 11.2% of all suicides in India. India has been recognised with 617 geographical Indicators, among these, the highest numbers of GIs are coming from agricultural sectors due to its strong legacy. After all, listing and recognition of these GIs, there is no apparent benefit visibly seen, additional value creation and commercialise these GIs through the other sectors of the economy. Hence, this paper is intended to explore value addition of Geographical Indicators which has farming related tradition to enhance the social economy of the farming community and eventually to arrest some of the issues of farmers in India. This paper adopted a mixed methodology with a base of employing social entrepreneurship approach. Keywords: Livelihood, value addition, Geographical Indicators, social entrepreneurship, tourism, India. BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY INTO TOURISM SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN KERALA Sindhu R Babu1 and Suresh Subramoniam2 1Department

of Travel and Tourism, Govinda Pai Memorial Government College, Manjeshwar (Kerala) 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Wayanad (Kerala) Modern business has entered a new era where individual organizations do no compete as sole autonomous entities but as supply chains. It has moved from one-to-one business to business relationship to multiple business relationships. It gives an opportunity for intra and intercompany integration paving a new direction for managing business relationships with other organizations. Tourism, with regard to its economic benefits is predicted to double in the next 20 years. This envisaged rapid growth can have multiple consequences. Though several studies have been done regarding Supply Chain Management and its sustainability in manufacturing industries, not many were found in tourism industry. Moreover, in addition the use of smart tourism ecosystem is considered essential for the functioning of organizations. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 56 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) In tourism, Supply Chain Management is a complex process of providing services from raw materials to distribution that is ultimately measured by customer satisfaction. Unlike manufacturing industries, stakeholders in tourism industry interact with each other that have diverse objectives and different operating scopes. This makes tourism supply chain management more complex. Thus, demand management is an important component in tourism. In addition, a desire by the tourists to experience the local flavors of places, learn and understand other cultures have added to the concept of Tourism Supply Chain Management (TSCM).Today, tourist’s awareness and demand for sustainable tourism has forced stakeholders to adopt and implement Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). Added to it, social media have empowered communities to participate in sustainable practices. Thus, SSCM adopts policies and practices to facilitate sustainable development of tourism destination. After all, the ultimate goal of all destination managers is to develop a more sustainable destination. Each destination has its uniqueness, and the paths towards sustainability vary from destination to destination and understanding the unique situation faced by each destination is a herculean task. It could be well understood that the complex reality of a tourist destination requires it to be managed as an integrated system. Hence, to ease out, the tour operators have integrated digital ecosystem with smart business tourism ecosystem as an innovation towards improving supply chain in tourism. Very few researchers have attempted to bring out collaboration between sustainability, technology and supply chain. Kerala off late has been adopting several strategies to promote tourism within the state. Out of the several initiatives certain concepts like specializes tours, customized packages, use of social media, m tourism and the like are taken by state government to promote tourism. Though mass tourism, is a reality of the current generation, it cannot be neglected while endorsing new concepts such as sustainable tourism. The paper draws attention to stakeholders that play key role in affecting changes in behaviors towards more responsible tourism. It tries to review current research on “Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM)” within the context of tourism. First of all, it tries to examine and explain the core issues in Tourism Sustainable Supply Chain Management (TSSCM). A systematic review will be done on the current tourism studies on Supply Chains from a sustainability perspective. The paper also tries to provide an insight into the customer roles in managing sustainability of a destination for the tourism firms involved in the supply chain. It reviews existing tourism supply chain in different parts of the world. It aims at examining, through literature review, the actual experiences of tour operators who adopt sustainability practices in their business from the following dimensions: 1) Identifying principal attributes determining destination competitiveness 2) Investigating good practices by the tour operating companies for making mass tourism into more of sustainable tourism. 3) Exploring the outcomes and benefits as well as the major obstacles and barriers that deter the integration of sustainability strategies. 4) Bring out the relevance of Environmental Management Systems through Green Supply Chain Management in order to enhance organizational environmental performance. This will give organizations greater propensity to expand their organizational boundaries. In addition, it will help in reducing the negative impact through tourism in a destination. It gives ecotourism operators an upper hand over other tour operators selling undifferentiated products and following price driven uncompetitive strategies. 5) Identify factors motivating customer involvement in sustainability of a tourism destination, especially, Social media that is a major force that encourages tourists to support sustainability practices. 6) Potential of a D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) tour operator in promoting sustainable tourism in a destination. 7) The paper aims to highlight the importance of Supply Chain Management and demand management on destinations in Kerala. The paper ends by giving suggestions not only for further research in emerging areas, but also to tourism and hospitality decision makers in Kerala. Keywords: Supply chain, Sustainable, Tourism, Management, Kerala HOMESTAY PROGRAMME AS CATALYST TO LOCAL BUSINESSES: A CASE STUDY ON HOMESTAY, UTTARAKHAND Anup S. Patwal IHMCT Garhi Cantt, Dehradun (Uttarakhand) The Homestay Program in Uttarakhand was first introduced by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of Uttarakhand in 2014 as an effort to diversify tourism products through the provision of an alternative accommodation for tourists but not until 2015 that it has become increasingly popular among local and foreign tourists. To date, there are a total of 1022 registered homestays spreading all over Uttarakhand and this paper is to examine its marketing aspect in the implementation of the programme with special reference to homestay in Garhwal Region. Some homestays are in a cosy hinterland and some are in the vicinity of major towns of, Uttarakhand. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the marketing strategies through community-based approach as a catalyst for local economy and businesses. The focus areas are on homestay programme and local businesses through reviewing relevant secondary sources, which highlighted community involvement in the marketing of the programme. This study discussed the several critical success factors of homestay in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand as envisaged by government incentives on the programme. The content analysis methods was used in this study to review documented sources and a qualitative approach using face to face interview with the local homestay operators. The findings of this study shows that homestay programme was a catalyst for local businesses via marketing programme on domestics and international tourists as one of government strategy to improve community-based tourism for better living standard as well as improvement of infrastructural facilities and entrepreneurship. Keywords: Homestay, Community-Based Tourism, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Tourist Destination TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGE: PRACTICES, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE STATE OF MEGHALAYA Ashok Kumar1 and Lorenea Dawn Skhemlond2 1Department

of Tourism & Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) 2 Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong (Meghalaya)

Tourism has been viewed as a powerful tool for developing countries to trade their way out of poverty as these benefits are said to trickle down to the more peripheral regions, disadvantageous communities and the poor. The potential contribution of tourism to the well-being of rural D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) communities in developing countries involves the agricultural development of economic linkages. According to Lejarraja and Walkenhorst (2007) the successful broadening and deepening of local agricultural and tourism linkages is an integral part of making tourism work for economic diversification. With the emergence of a new wave of rural and green tourism, there is a strong possibility that the position of agricultural or farm tourism may assume more prominence in consumer vacation decisions leading to the injection of a new source of ideas for tourism product development and marketing within farm-based tourism destinations. Enhancing linkages between agriculture and tourism presents significant opportunities for stimulating local production, retaining tourism earnings in the locale and improving the distribution of economic benefits of tourism to rural people. The two productive sectors, i.e., agriculture and tourism, seem to offer the best opportunities for inclusive economic growth in several countries of the world such as in Pacific island countries, and therefore, the promotion of linkages between tourism and agriculture should help create economic opportunities, build resilience in rural communities and enhance sustainable development in both sectors. However, empirical evidences show two views regarding the practicality of the linkage between tourism and local agricultural activities. According to the first evidence, tourism and local agricultural activities are not linked in most destination economy due to different factors such as the seasonality nature of tourism, low quality of local products, tourism industries’ dependence on imported supplies and absence of direct linkage between agriculture enterprises and tourism industries. Contrary to this, studies conducted in Mexico, Fiji and Gambia indicated the existence and importance of the linkage between tourism and selected local agricultural productions such as different animal production, vegetables, fruits, fishing, bee keeping, coffee, crops and dairy products. Agriculture provides not only the tourism industry resources for food consumption but also the background for attractions in rural environments. The state of Meghalaya has a rich agricultural bio-diversity in terms of agricultural produces such as fruits, vegetables, Meat and meat products, processed fruits and vegetables and other related horticultural products. A healthy Linkage of tourism with agriculture is critical for maximizing the contribution of local economic and tourism development. This study aims at highlighting the present status of Linkage of tourism with agriculture and its contribution in local economic and tourism development, and the challenges faced by the stakeholders. This is mainly based on qualitative field studies based on agricultural farms, agricultural markets, hotels and restaurants. Keywords: Linkages, Tourism, Agriculture, Local economic development. GANESHOTSAV- A TOURIST ATTRACTION IN PUNE CITY Rina Dongre1, Arati Prabhu2, Surbhi Jain3 and Kalyani Srinivas4 1AISSMS

2

College of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Pune (Maharashtra) Deptt. of Management Sciences (PUMBA), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune (Maharashtra) 3Deptt. of Management Sciences (PUMBA), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune (Maharashtra) 4MBA Department, Modern College of Engineering, Pune, (Maharashtra)

Fairs and festivals are the cultural reflection of any society. These vibrant celebrations represent culture and life of the local area. India, with her vast diversity is an attractive amalgamation and coexistence of innumerable festivals. Each region of the country has its own unique fairs and festival, D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 59 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) rightfully making India a land of festivals. These festivals not only give a form of expression to the local culture and keep it alive, but also empower communities to attract new visitors. This cultural expression of faith thereby has a tremendous commercial potential. It also helps communities to mingle and spread cheer and goodwill. Owing to this, it is important to focus attention on particular areas, encourage their festivals, help share awareness and increase tourism potential. Ganesh Utsav or Ganeshotsav is one such festival which is celebrated in many states of India. However, the vigor with which it is celebrated in Pune has succeeded in making it one of the city’s tourist attractions not only for locals, but for foreigners as well. In Pune, the festival is celebrated by majority of Hindu households. What is distinctive is that people celebrate it with a-bomb also as a public celebration, popularly called as “Sarvajanik Ganpati”. Special attraction of the ten day festival is especially the first day and the last day during which processions are carried out adding to a lot of cheer and merriment. The traditional Dhol- Tasha Pathak and Lezim is the focal point along with the decorated chariots carrying the idols. Special walks are organised to showcase Ganeshotsav to the foreign tourists. It is an experience in itself where one cannot help but be mesmerized with the enthusiasm of the participants. This paper is a review of literature pertaining to festivals in general with special emphasis on Ganesh Utsav in Pune city in attracting national and international tourists. It also lays emphasis on various popular pandals within the “peth” area. These are christened as “Manache” Ganpati, which are most respected and revered. Also are the “Navsache” Ganpati, which followers believe are wish-fulfilling. The study also entails the infrastructure and management aspect to keep up with the footfall. It also suggests ways to further develop Ganesh Utsav as a major attraction and help boost tourism in Pune, Maharashtra. Keywords: Festivals, Tourism, Ganesh Utsav, Pune, functions of festivals TOURISM INTERPRETATION OF JAPANESE GREEN TEA PRODUCT: ATTRACTING THAI TOURISTS TO SHIZUOKA, JAPAN Amnaj Khaokhrueamuang1, Yuki Tamari2, Piyaporn Chueamchaitrakun3, Warintorn Kachendecha4 and Kazuyoshi Nakakoji5 1,2School

3Tea

of Management and Information, University of Shizuoka (Japan) and Coffee Institute, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand,4Faculty Department of Hospitality and Tourism Industry, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin (Thailand) 5 International Tea Industry Association (Japan)

In areas where agriculture has declined, inbound tourism has been playing a significant role as an alternative approach for rural revitalization. Like tea industrial communities in Japan, growing international interest in Japanese tea may offer some resolution to the decline of the Japanese tea industry. Marketing inbound tourists to visit Japan’s tea industrial villages is thinking about how to communicate with those tourists in supporting tea communities. Tourism interpretation of Japanese green tea products is a method used in communicating with consumers. Shizuoka green tea is an example case study. Recently, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan’s largest tea cultivating areas, joins Thailand’s Ichitan Group in launching “Shizuoka” ready – to – drink (RTD) premium tea which D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) expects to attract Thai tourists. This study, therefore, aims to examine the efficiency of tourism interpretation on the packaging of “Shizuoka” RTD premium tea product. The closed-ended questionnaire was administrated with 404 Thai consumers who used to drink the “Shizuoka” RTD premium tea between May and July 2019 in Thailand. The result revealed that the mildly sweet was the most favorite flavor (41.44%) following by the original taste without sugar (37.47%) which influenced high demands of Thai consumers in visiting tea plantation areas in Shizuoka (85.89%). Focusing on the label, the drawing picture of Mt. Fuji had a high efficiency to enhance Thai consumers visiting Shizuoka (78.41%). The Japanese characters and information had a moderate efficiency toward the tourism demand (65.84%) as well as English characters and information (65.01%). However, there should be Thai information on the label to promote tea tourism in Shizuoka (66.58%) including pictures showing the image of the sites (29.70%) and the QR code providing tourist information (74.4%). As the Tourist Destination Region (TDR), Shizuoka Prefecture should provide tea tourism information in the Thai language. Meanwhile, Ichitan Group should improve the information system on the product to facilitate Thai customers in Thailand as a Tourist Generating Region (TGR). Keywords: Japanese green tea, tourism interpretation, Shizuoka, Thai tourists PROMOTING CULINARY HERITAGES AS A DESTINATION ATTRACTION: A CASE STUDY OF ANCIENT TEMPLE FOOD ‘MAHAAPRASAADA’ Debasis Sahoo SOTTHM, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala (H.P.) The growth of culinary/food tourism segment in the last two decades has opened enormous scope for the marketing & promotion of indigenous food products that are limited to a particular region. These unique culinary products (Eno-gastronomic elements) have created special segments like food & wine tourism, oleo tourism, whiskey tourism, beer tourism, Halal food tourism, etc. Though from the above perspective the ‘Religious Culinary Heritages’ (practiced in Ancient Hindu Temples) shows a huge potential to be marketed as a Tourism attraction but there are hardly any studies over the same. Hence the present research tries to identify and analyze the heritage aspects of an ancient Hindu temple food ‘Mahaaprasaada’ & its’ potential as a destination attraction. Initially the unique Heritage aspects of Mahaaprasaada were identified & interpreted through ‘Directed Qualitative Content Analysis’. It followed the standard procedure of reviewing of literatures, developing the questionnaire, field studies, Observation (Covert, Overt & participatory), Focus group discussion & Personal Interviews (formal & informal). The data were recorded through event, time & instantaneous sampling method & interpreted under relevant categories. Later the tourists’ awareness (about Mahaprasaada) and their opinion regarding the Socioenvironmental health of the destination were recorded from 402 domestic tourists. They were analyzed through, factor analysis, Levene test, ANOVA, Post Hoc tests, and analysis of mean values. The results identified several unique heritage aspects of Mahaaprasaada & the enormous scope for its development & promotion as a culinary Heritage Attraction. Keywords: Culinary Tourism, Eno-gastronomic, Heritage Temple food, Mahaaprasaada etc.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) GREEN HOTEL: AN EMERGING CONCERN IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY Soumyajit Bandyopadhyay Institute of Hotel & Tourism Management, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak (Haryana) The sustainability and environmental concerns has created a considerable impact in today’s hotel industry. The hotel industry is growing at a rapid rate by inculcating the practices of environmental resourcefulness in order to conserve the environment and sincerely meet the longing and craving of green-minded guests. The sustainable development regarding ecotel is currently ongoing across the world. The hotels which are an intrinsic constituent of the hospitality and tourism industry are giving a considerable amount of attention to it. This paper depicts the environmental practices that hotels in India are continuing with, exposures like existing eco-friendly practices in hotels and to understand the importance of the same in the hotel organizations, if eco-friendly practices differ among the diverse hotel classifications i.e. type of hotel (chain and non-chain); certification status (Eco Certified and Non Eco Certified Hotels); Size of the hotels (no. of rooms), detailed study of the websites of hotels so as to take a note on their initiatives towards environmental sustainability and measures on improving efficient eco-friendly practices in Indian hotels are analysed vividly with the impacts as well. Keywords: Eco-Friendly, Ecotel, Green Hotel, Environmental Sustainability NOMADIC TOURISM: PRESERVING TRANSHUMANCE AND PROMOTING TOURISM IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR Tazeem Akhter Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) The Gujjar and Bakarwals –the twin communities form one of the largest ethnicity in the statetuned-Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This community has been practising transhumance since centuries, depending on livestock for its survival. In search of green pastures for their livestock which comprises of buffaloes and cows in case of Gujjars, goats and sheep in case of Bakarwals, these communities migrate from plains and lower mountain ranges to higher reaches. The Gujjars cover far less distances than the Bakarwals however their culture, their language and their traditions are completely similar. In the modern times, more of these people are giving up their nomadism and giving their way to a sedentary lifestyle and as such very few people are practising this seasonal migration. It is imminent that in coming years, this practise may go obsolete for more and more of these people are shifting their focus to more secure professions. Tourism promises some light at the end of this tunnel, for we cannot afford to lose this traditional practice. This paper throws light on opening up of nomadic tourism wherein more and more tourists can accompany the caravans of Gujjars and Bakarwals, getting first-hand information about their culture. The houses of these tribal people in the higher reaches can serve as home-stays and the locals can act as trekking guides for the higher reaches have enough of trekking-worthy places and alpine lakes, which can D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) add to the already-diminishing earnings of these people. This paper also gives ways and suggestions in which tribals can contribute in sustainable tourism. Keywords: Nomads, Migration, Transhumance, Tourism PROSPECT & CHALLENGES OF INDIGENOUS FOOD DELICACIES OF THE NORTH EAST AS A HOLISTIC TOURISM PRODUCT Indrajit Dutta Department of Hotel Management & Catering Technology & Department of Travel & Tourism Management, Royal Global University, Guwahati (Assam) A few decades ago, tourist or travelers travelling to unfamiliar places were not primarily attracted due to the gastronomy of the places visited. However, the tourism scenario of the 21st century has undergone a tremendous transformation. Today gastronomic tourism is one of the major pull factors and is considered one of the major components of the tourism industry. In the last decade or so, India’s north eastern region is in the lime light and attracting a lot of domestic as well as international tourist for not only its natural picturesque scenic landscapes and rich cultural heritage but not so much for its traditional indigenous gastronomy. The indigenous foods are acquired form the natural environment and from the social and cultural pattern of indigenous people. In recent years, gastronomy has become one of the domain features of attraction in the tourist destination circuits. Today’s tourist in general are the adventurous and curious lot who while visiting places are eager to discover and know more about the local cuisines and experiencing the indigenous local delicacies native to the region. The northeastern region of India comprising an area of 262,230 square kilometres, which engulfs about 8 percent of the total land of India. According to India Tourism Statistics, the north-east recorded 77.13 lakh domestic tourist visits during 2016, which was 0.47% of the total domestic tourist visits within India. The number of foreign tourists during the same year was 1.38 lakh, a meagre 0.55% of the total foreign tourist arrivals in the country. From the above statement it can be observed that though the total land area of the north eastern states in comparison to India is about 8 percent, total domestic and international tourist arrival in the north eastern region in comparison to India is not even one percent hence there is tremendous potential for this region if it can create a niche product comprising natural , man-made resources and its gastronomical delicacies. Though the north eastern part of India is represented by 8 states but there are hundreds of ethnic and indigenous tribal inhabitants and each of these tribal indigenous groups have their unique gastronomical characteristics which can be showcased as a holistic tourism product and can be a major pull factor to attract not only domestic and international tourist but also to attract the special interest tourism segment. Keywords: Indigenous gastronomy, Pull factor, North East, Ethnic, Niche product, Special Interest Tourism.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) INDIAN MEDICAL TOURISM INDEX (IMTI) Jayasimha K.R. Indian Institute of Management, Indore (M.P.) Within the medical tourism research, travelling overseas in search of quality healthcare has received greater attention than medical tourism within national boundaries. This is despite the fact that for decades, millions of Indians have been travelling to different cities in search of quality healthcare. For instance, Narayana Hrudayala, Bangalore for cardiac surgeries, LV Prasad Eye Hopsital, Hyderabad for ophthalmic care, AIIMS New Delhi for broad spectrum quality healthcare have been attracting millions of Indians each year. Despite the notable growth and size of the medical tourism industry, there is a lack of empirical insights into the construct of cities and states within India as medical tourism destinations. Therefore the primary purpose of this study is to construct an Indian Medical Tourism Index, a novel city specific performance measure to assess the attractiveness of the city as a domestic medical tourist destination. Such an index would allow prospective domestic medical travelers to measure meaningful differences between cities. An index of this kind would provide a useful tool for various stakeholders to measure and manage their brand. Keywords: Domestic medical tourism destination, medical facilities and services, discovery oriented approach. INDIGENOUS FOODS OF THE NORTH EASTERN TRIBES AND LEGAL REGIME: NEED OF THE HOUR Thangzakhup Tombing National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam The North Eastern part of India is slowly and gradually making unprecedented inroads into national and international global tourism via better government policies, connectivity and interaction; as well through print and media, particularly social media. Apart from the virgin flora and fauna, one of the main draw for tourism in the region is the exotic foods or curiosity for the exotic foods of the different indigenous communities. Some of the naturally grown food and vegetables are common to many of the indigenous communities but some are peculiar to tribe(s) owing to peculiar food habits. Some of the herbs maybe an ingredient for food while it may also be medicinal ingredients depending on the community usages of the herbs. Many of the exotic foods and mode of its preparation maybe prescribed to one or more communities depending on the shared food culture and habits. Again, many of the exotic food and the mode of preparation(s) maybe peculiar only to a particular indigenous community. This means that the traditional knowledge and cultural expressions on indigenous food(s) beholds great economic prospects for the region in general and the indigenous communities in particular. It also entails that tourist(s) - national or international, who throng the region needs to be safeguarded from defective, spurious or substandard food product(s). D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 64 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Thus, the paper attempts to critically analyze the food culture and habits of the indigenous communities of Naga, Mizo, Meetei, Khasi and Paite tribes from the lens of Intellectual Property Rights regime with special focus on the area pertaining to traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. It further endeavor to discuss the indigenous foods of these communities from the perspective of consumer law. Keywords: Globalisation, tourism, indigenous food culture, legal regime.

RURAL TOURISM IN INDIA AS A CATALYST FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE OF PUNJAB Sheeba Hamid1, Naseem Bano2, Sujood3, Syed Talha Jameel4, Shubhangi Bharadwaj5 and Sehar Nafees6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6Department

of Commerce, AMU, Aligarh (U.P.)

Purpose- The purpose of the present study is to develop a conceptual framework to address and assess the factors responsible for developing and transforming rural areas of Punjab into tourist destinations. Methodology-The approach entails the compilation of literature review by undertaking a number of papers for analysis to derive the practices adopted in the development of rural tourism and the contribution of rural tourism in the sustainable development of Punjab. An explanatory study was conducted to identify the existing potential for promoting sustainable rural development in Punjab. Findings- Results depicts that even the regions, which are not suitable for tourism, can function as a means of rural development. Rural tourism is particularly relevant in developing nations where farmland has become fragmented due to population growth. Rural tourism helps in spreading the consciousness and support for protecting natural and cultural heritage sites. There is a great scope for development of rural tourism in Punjab, if, necessary and immediate actions are undertaken. Further, the paper discusses; the employment opportunities for the local communities; income generation, how to reduce the migration of rural population, development of tourism-related industries and the efforts of the government in the sustainable rural development. In this context, the opportunities and threats of sustainable rural tourism in Punjab is the crux of the present study. Suggestions and Conclusion- The wealth that rural tourism can provide to poor households/local community development creates great prospects for ecological, cultural and socially viable development. A deeper insight into the study may help to initiate some new projects while considering the regional conditions for the rural development in Punjab. Finally, some issues and challenges faced by rural tourism with possible solutions have been discussed. Keywords: Tourism; Sustainable Development; Punjab; Rural Tourism

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) PROBLEMS OF TOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ASSAM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY: AN ANALYSIS Bidyut Jyoti Kalita1 and Anjan Bhuyan2 1Department

of Commerce, Assam Royal Global University, Guwahati (Assam) of Business Administration, Tezpur University (Assam)

2Department

Assam is one of the prominent states of the North Eastern India with the untapped potentialities in terms of natural beauty, cultural diversity, and unmapped mysteries. However, the share of Assam tourism in the national tourism market fluctuates between 0.30% to 0.40% in the last decade. Accommodation is one of the important segments of the greater tourism industry and plays a crucial role in the tourism development of a region. The growth of accommodation industry also has negative impacts upon the sustainable management of destination, more particularly in the ecotourism sites. This paper is an attempt to analyze the constraints of accommodation industry in Assam from the entrepreneur’s perspective. In the process of doing the same the adverse effects of the growth of accommodation units in select eco-tourism sites are also highlighted. The study is based on primary as well as secondary data. Primary data was collected through field survey from the different accommodation units spread across the 4 districts of Assam. It is observed that lack of experience, lack of experience in the hospitality industry, ownership in the form of soleproprietorship, limited carrying capacity are the some of the factors that act as constraints for the entrepreneurs of the region. Creation of congenial environment for the growth of entrepreneurship is suggestive outcome of the present study. Keywords: Tourism, tourism entrepreneurship, accommodation industry, constraints. ETHICAL PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION APPROACHES FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IN WEST SIKKIM: A CASE STUDY OF PELLING Adhiraaj Subba1 and Sonam Gyamtso Bhutia2 1, 2

Department of Tourism, Sikkim University, Gangtok (Sikkim)

Ethical production and consumption approaches play an important role in the sustainability of any destination requiring responsible tourism as an action plan for its achievement. There is a need for ethical production and consumption pattern in Pelling, West Sikkim with the surge in growth of tourism during the peak season which has resulted in a mismatch to demand and supply ratio of accommodation in the area and due to which it has created negative impacts like mass tourism, environmental issues and cultural commodification. The present study investigates the issues and challenges of the accommodation sector and the irresponsible practices occurring in the area. To explicit the result, an exploratory study has been conducted by using interview method and personal observation. The study concludes that there is a need of ethical production and consumption approach while monitoring the negative impacts of tourism in the area. The objectives can be achieved by educating tourist and local stakeholders towards implementing responsible approach to tourism. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Ethical Production and Consumption, Accommodation, Responsible Tourism. WEB 4.0 AND TOURISM INDUSTRY: ADDRESSING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Sheeba Hamid1, Mohd Azhar2, Sujood Khan3, Mohd Sadiqe4, Ruksar Ali5 and Mohd Junaid Akhtar6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6Department

of Commerce, AMU, Aligarh (U.P.)

The dawn of 21st century is witness of digital and technological revolution. Digital advancements are making the world more compact, concrete and condense than ever before. Emerging technologies are profoundly influencing businesses of the world. Tourism industry is no more an exception in this regard. On an annual basis, around 1.3 billion people are traveling around the globe. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in September 2019 were recorded 750514 and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in the same month were 16791 crore, according to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. In 2017, a 14% growth was registered in the inflow of FTAs and a growth of 19.1% in terms of FEEs as compared to 2016. (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India official website) This industry induces much potential and substantially contributing in socio-economic development of the county. World-Wide Web (WWW) is a key component in retrieving and disseminating seamless on-line tourism and travel related information available on internet and this web has been gone through many phases of its evolution from web 1.0 to web 2.0, web 3.0 and web 4.0. This web 4.0 is ultra intelligent and open linked web. It is quicker as human brain and communicates with users in the very same way as humans communicate with each other. The transformation started from web 0.0 (developing the internet) to web 1.0 (simply named as web) to web 2.0 (emergence and proliferation of social networks) to web 3.0 (semantic executing web) and finally web 4.0 (all about mobile web). This revolution in tourism industry is known as Travel 4.0 which refers to bring smart travel together. Driverless cars, chat bots, artificial intelligence, concierge robots etc. are few examples of Travel 4.0.This exploratory research study focuses on the evolution of Web 4.0 and its impact on tourism industry and assesses the current technological advanced scenario of Indian tourism market and discusses opportunities and challenges in this regard. Keywords: Web 4.0, Tourism Industry, Digital Revolution, Virtual Reality HARNESSING CULTURAL RESOURCES FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN DONGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, TARABA STATE, NIGERIA Gonap Elisha Gobin2, Nimzing Victoria Stephen1 and Sambo Dazumya Keyebga2 1Department

2

of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Jos (Nigeria) Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Federal University, Taraba State, (Nigeria)

Donga Local Government Area holds vast tourism potentials. It is rich in tradition, historical and highly diversified cultural heritage, which embodied their traditions, religion and belief systems, D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) festivals and ceremonies. The capacity of these symbolic representations of people’s values, identity, and heritage to earn the people of Donga Local Government Area substantial revenue is not in doubt. However, the inability to harness these cultural heritages and transform them into tourism assets has been a major concern. This research work is an attempt at harnessing the Cultural Resources for Tourism Development in Donga Local Government Area, Taraba State. Questionnaire and interview methods, using the Delphi Technique were used to elicit information from the respondents. Research findings revealed quite a number of cultural and heritage sites in Donga Local Government Area. The study is calling on more researches to be carried out in order to enhance the potential of cultural heritage for tourism development. The study recommended the identification and documentation of various cultural and heritage sites for tourism development and promotion. Also, it suggested laudable and implementable efforts from the government, private sector operators and host communities. Keywords: Cultural resources, Tourism, Development, Donga, Taraba state. ROLE OF ARCHITECTURE AND SPATIAL PLANNING IN DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEXTUALLY RELEVANT TOURISM PLANS Meeta Goel1 and Harsh Goel2 1, 2INI

Design Studio, Corporate Road, Satellite, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) India

Tourism and architecture have shared deep linkages through history. Globally, tourism has evolved around the architectural marvels that have also been keeper of history, culture and heritage. These monumental forms have inspired travellers, explorers and historians alike. Recently, with the surge in tourism and tourism led development, architecture and spatial planning have come to play an important role for critical parameters of tourism including place-making, cohesive planning and infrastructure. The role of architecture and spatial interventions becomes more critical for cultural and heritage tourism as the basis for these destinations is usually the rich architectural or cultural resource present in these locations. Through three project case studies, we highlight the distinct role that informed architectural and spatial design interventions can play to enhance the experientiality in cultural and heritage tourism destinations. The case studies have been selected from different contexts to understand the diversity in roles of architecture and spatial planning interventions. The first case study of Development Plan for Dholavira emphasises how careful alignment of activities, zoning, and road connections can safeguard the archaeological site and enhance the cultural character of the village. The second case study of Somnath temple area redevelopment plan highlights the importance of place-making in religious and cultural destinations. The third project discussed is for Visakhapatnam beachfront redevelopment is set in an urban context, exemplifying the contextual design interventions that can help create a spatial identity to public space for citizens and tourists alike. The case studies together stress upon the need for a comprehensive development of tourist destinations bringing all relevant disciplines together to arrive at destination plan that is contextually relevant and helps facilitate tourism-led development at the local and regional level. Keywords: Placemaking; Spatial planning; Tourism plan; Tourism Architecture D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) IMPACT OF TOURISM INDUSTRY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDIA Pardeep Gupta1, Supriya Sardana2 and Neeraj Kumar3 1, 2, 3Haryana

School of Business, GJUS&T, Hisar (Haryana)

Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the impact of various factors related to tourism industry and their impact on the economic growth in India. Design/ Methodology: The study uses descriptive research design. The study starts with analyzing the evolution of the tourism industry in India. The variables used to study the impact of tourism industry on the economic growth are contribution of tourism in gross domestic product, contribution to employment, domestic tourist visits, foreign tourist visits, foreign exchange earnings from tourism and the gross domestic product of India. Firstly, coefficient of correlation is used to identify the presence of relationship among the study variables. Thereafter, multiple regression analysis is used considering gross domestic product as dependent variable and contribution of tourism in gross domestic product, contribution to employment, domestic tourist visits, foreign tourist visits, foreign exchange earnings from tourism as independent variable. The secondary data for the year 2013-2017 on yearly basis have been used in this study. The data has been collected from Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry database. Findings: The correlation results signify the presence of significant relationship between the dependent variable and each independent variable. Further, the regression model developed is observed to be fit. The regression coefficients are found to be statistically significant indicating that there is significant impact of each independent variable on the gross domestic product of India. Research Limitations and Future Scope: The study can be undertaken with regards to different macroeconomic indicators of the country, for example role of tourism industry in poverty alleviation, comparative study with other countries etc. Contribution of the Paper: The study signifies the role of various tourism industry parameters and its impact the gross domestic product of India. It draws attention of the government and other authorities to work more in the direction and attract foreign tourists which will lead to the development of nation. Keywords: Tourism, Gross domestic product, Employment, Regression, Correlation GREEN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN HOTELS: A WAY TO SUSTAINABILITY Sheeba Hamid1, Ruksar Ali2, Mohd. Azhar3, Sujood4 and Samiha Siddiqui5 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Department

of Commerce, AMU, Aligarh (U.P.)

There are far reaching repercussions of negative human activities resulting in the environmental degradation. Whether its manufacturing or service industry both exist in the natural phenomenon and use natural resources for their personal benefit, but usage of resources in a more responsible way as to acquire sustainability is what our environment needs from us. The phrase “green is better” should not be confined to environmentalists but it should be brought in practice by each industry. Hospitality and Tourism go hand in hand and when we talk about sustainable or D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) responsible tourism then it’s not only about the responsibility of tourists who visit the country or destination but it’s a more responsible job for the creators of the tourism in the country. Indian hotel industry being a vast industry has realised this situation and implemented environment friendly management practices in many hotels and resorts to show their concern and responsibility towards the environment. Government is also providing various certifications for being green to the hotels and resorts in their operations so that visitors could choose eco-friendly hotels and resorts to stay during their vacations. Taking an eco-friendly route improves a hotel bottom line and makes the tourists feel environmentally responsible. Though going green is quite expensive for a hotel and resort as they have to spend a lot of money for installing green technologies but in long run it earns a way more profit for them, than the expenses. By going environment friendly in management practices, hotel sector is also contributing towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations, which is a blueprint to achieve a sustainable future for all. This paper attempts to show the green management practices of Indian hotels and resorts and compares them with their counterparts abroad on the basis of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which is one of the most popular green building certification program used worldwide. Moreover, it also shows how these practices are beneficial for the hotel image, customer attraction and employee benefits. Research method opted for this paper is exploratory and conceptual in nature. Keywords: Green Hotels, Green Practices, LEED, Hotel Image, Employee benefits. CHALLENGES OF HOMESTAY BUSINESSES IN MEGHALAYA “A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE” Carlnegie L Nongrum Department of Tourism & Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) After a long history of tourism businesses in the state of Meghalaya , the accommodation sector can be accentuate as one of the most important component showing signs of unprecedented growth and outburst of multipliers effects percolating to wide range of lodging markets such as hotels ,motels , guest house and homestays . However, given the actual structural attractiveness of accommodation businesses, the current practices of homestays unfolds a rather nascent approached which is highlighted with poor marketing strategies and market coverage. Moreover, although the state government introduced a variation of promotional schemes through financial assistance to local entrepreneurs, their efforts becomes futile when the marketing component of such establishments lacks finesse and effective strategy. On the threshold, there seems to be a contextual skepticism on the core preposition of homestays businesses, its service value and the level of differentiation it offers in the tourism market, which can give rise to changes in tourist perception. From this perspective, A series of pertinent questions arises that questions the core value of homestay services, its current marketing practices and the gaps holes in the segment. Hence contouring the purview of the matter, the paper attempts to investigate the actual marketing of homestays in Meghalaya as a tourism product through in-depth- interviews with tourist and homestay operators by focusing on the key components of the service marketing mix. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Homestay, tourism, marketing mix, entrepreneurs EXPLORING TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE ROLE FOR NIGERIAN BEACH TOURISTS Anunobi Helen Nwando1 and Patrick Uche Okpoko2 1, 2Department

of Archaeology and Tourism, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Nigeria)

The study examined the relationship between tourism infrastructure and tourist experience in Port Harcourt Tourist Beach, Rivers State, Nigeria. The tourism industry has witnessed a growing attention on quality from the customer’s perspective as a strategic thinking on priorities needed for countries like Nigeria seeking tourism development. Tourism researchers and developers identified several key elements that are essential to the success of a tourist destination among which are; access, accommodation, attractions, amenities and activities. But experience from travel and tourism industry has shown that many destinations are losing both business and their long-term reputation due to inadequate standards of tourism infrastructure services and facilities. Although tourism infrastructure holds much potential to attract tourists and to enhance sustainability, Nigeria’s immense tourism potentials are yet to be tapped due to absence of key infrastructures that support tourism development and growth. This study aims to ascertain the level to which tourist infrastructure elements (attraction, accessibility, accommodation and amenities), play significant role on tourist image of the tourist beach destination, determine extent of tourism infrastructure role in enhancing the quality of tourist experience, investigate the extent to which tourist expectation and demand is satisfied and enhanced through tourism infrastructure provision. Mixed method approach was applied using structured interview guide and questionnaire measured on a 4 point likert scale rating (strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, disagree). Judgmental and convenience sampling method was applied to select key informants (tourists and destination management/staff). Using Multiple and stepwise regression analysis, the findings showed that quality tourism infrastructure elements, has high significant relationship and play significant role in tourists overall experience in beach tourist destination. It was also found to enhance quality of tourist experience, satisfies tourist expectation and equally increases demand for tourism. In order to attract loyal tourists, tourist destinations need to provide tourist infrastructures to satisfy tourists needs. The paper concludes that the provision of modern tourism infrastructure will ensure effective tourism development and successful tourist destination promotion in the global market. Therefore, suggests that tourism industry and marketers, developers and policy makers should collaborate to invest massively in tourism infrastructure especially access to the tourist destination so as to create positive image for tourism to thrive. Keywords: Tourist experience, tourism infrastructure, beach tourism, destination image, choice.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) EMPLOYEE'S PERCEPTIONS OF ETHICAL ISSUES IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM BUSINESS Abhimanyu Kumar1 and G. Singaiah2 1, 2

Department of Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus, Tura (Meghalaya)

Ethical issues are the problems or a situation where moral conflict arise and must be addressed. It is generally an individual issue but it has different background while dealing with it. In this paper, the employee in tourism businesses was considered with an objective to understand their perception of the most pressing ethical issues in travel and tourism business and also to understand the perception of most likely sources of ethical choices. The data has been collected through online survey. The result shows that the employee accepted that there are many ethical issues, such as use of company services, discrimination, lobbyism, harassment, are often faced in their travel business and the moral value is the most likely ethical background in their choices. Keywords: Ethical issues, Employee's perception, Travel and tourism business. BACKPACKER TOURISM IN BANGKOK Nikhil Kumar Upadhyay Assumption University of Thailand Backpackers are a traveler or group of travelers who travel independently for a longer time than other tourists. Backpackers have been largely ignored by tourism organizations. They spend more time than other tourists in a destination. This research is a qualitative study and the overall aim is to understand the behavior and the effect of Backpacker tourism in the environmental and sociocultural sectors of Bangkok. The data was collected by face-to-face semi-structured and group interviews from 13 backpackers of different countries and 06 locals in Bangkok. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data. The study finds that the backpackers travel to Bangkok to see the culture, taste local food, and to learn the language from local people. Most of them stay at hostels and homestays. Backpackers prefer to travel Bangkok because it is cheaper than other European and American countries. The findings also show the positive and negative impact of backpackers in Bangkok. Keywords: Backpackers, Environmental sector, Socio-cultural sector, Homestays, Hostels. PROMOTING TOURISM THROUGH FAIRS AND FESTIVALS: A CASE STUDY OF SIKKIM Akhilesh Kumar Singh1, Amit Kumar Singh2 and Sanjay Karn3 1, 2, 3Department

of Tourism, Sikkim University, Gangtok (Sikkim)

Tourism has evolved in manifolds across the globe and at present it has become complex, very diverse, inter-disciplinary and dynamic in nature. Many studies reported religion and culture as the primary motivation among early travelers. India is known for its vibrant and colorful cultural, D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) religious and traditional history; this vivid diversity has induced and developed a set of various social and religious interactions at local and regional level in the form of fairs and festivals. These fairs and festivals are being celebrated on the basis of mythology, religion and history act a good source of attractions and entertainment for local people and visiting tourists (Dhondappa, G.M. and Jagtap, J.P., 2016). India is a country of diverse religion and culture. Fairs and festivals are integral part of rural and regional India. Variety of religious, social and promotional events, fairs and festivals are celebrated across the India. These events have great influence and contribution on various socio-economic phenomenon such as local economic development, regional integration, social strengthening and preservation of local values and traditions. Fairs provide a social platform for traditional and regional entertainment, business activities. A large number of local people including visitors participate in these busy seasonal activities with extreme fervour. On the other side festivals are the expressions of the celebrations of religious and community beliefs, values, and virtues (Jauhari, V. and Munjal , S.,2015).People of India exotically celebrate these yearly events with their unique regional essence and diversity. It provides an exquisite experience to participate and experience these round the year calendar activities of leisure and entertainment in every society. Sikkim, a small Himalayan state in north-eastern part of India consists basically three ethnic groups Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali. The state is well acclaimed for its enriched natural beauty, diverse and vibrant culture and traditions. As of now millions of domestic tourists visit the state every year to experience State’s wonderful culture, lifestyle and religious rituals including traditional fairs and festivals.Besdies the major religions and ethnic groups the state is a home of some very diverse and unique sub-ethnic groups like Rai, Limbu, Tamang, Gurung etc.(Sikkim Tourism Policy,2015). These multi-diverse communities of the state celebrate their around the year fairs and festivals the major of them are; Dasain, Losar, Losoong, Pang-Lhabsol, Sonam Lochar(Tamang),Tamu Lochar(Gurung) and Tendong Lho Rum Faat etc. Further state tourism department organises many events and fests to pull large number of tourists during different seasons of the year. The major popular events of the state are Flower festival, Gangtok Food and Culture Festival, Namchi Mahotsav and Red Panda Winter Carnival etc. (www.sikkimtourism.gov.in). The present study will try to envisage and propose a new tourism business model of the state based on the promotion of these potential events of the state. To find out and suggest some significant outcome of the present topic, the study will be based on in-depth analysis of useful and relevant secondary data such as published economic survey of the state, Sikkim tourism policy, Sikkim State development report and other research work related to tourism development in the state. Keywords: Cultural Tourism, Fairs and Festivals, Sikkim Tourism.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) EVENTS, A GAME CHANGER FOR TOURISM BUSINESS IN MEGHALAYA: A CASE ON NH7 WEEKENDER Iadonlang Tynsong Department of Tourism & Hotel Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences. The recent growth of festival and Events as an industry around the world it mean that the management can no longer be extemporized. Event management as an industry it is a multimillion-dollar industry, it growing rapidly, with major and minor events. Surprisingly there is no formalized research conducted to assess the growth of this industry till date, especially in the north eastern region of the country. However, the review of literature also revealed that this type of study had not previously been conducted in the study area. Through this paper the researcher tried to analysis about the growth in the study area. Meghalaya the Scotland of the east has a huge potential for the events industry. When we talk about the music Shillong is the Rock capital, and the people of Meghalaya love music more than any other. There is one big event for the music industry NH7 which is a weekend music camp festival organize by springboard. In the study, the researcher had identified the gap between the stakeholder, the host communities as well as the guest. The literature has also reveal the failure of planning process as well as the coordination process. Keywords: Events management, promotion, stakeholder, community tourism. BOLLYWOOD INSPIRED TOURISM IN THAILAND Piyush Vig Assumption University of Thailand Bangkok (Thailand) Bollywood inspired tourism has been a center of attraction and immense interest since the starting of this industry. There is no doubt with the fact that film tourism could be the one of the reason for tourism growth for the various destinations such as Thailand. After watching Bollywood movies, people are attracted towards the Thailand destination, where the movie has filmed such as Housefull, Ready and many more famous movies. This research is a qualitative study and the purpose of the study is know the factors which motivates Indian tourist to travel Thailand after watching Bollywood movies and there perception towards Thailand, and also benefit gain by the hotel industry by Bollywood inspired tourism in Thailand. The data was collected by using purposive sampling, an in-depth interview with 15 inbound Indian tourist at famous tourist attractions, and 2 luxury hotels in Bangkok. The constant comparison method was used to analyze the data by coding the key information from the interview transcript. The study finds that Indian tourist are motivated by various tourist attraction in Thailand such as beaches, water sports, Thai food, traditional massage & the world famous night life area. Mostly every tourist is having positive perception about the Thailand country in different point of view. Even hotel is getting the good incremental revenue with the help of Bollywood inspired tourism in Thailand. This study will be helpful for Thailand government to improve their tourism sector in better way and even though for D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 74 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) primary researcher in their future study. Also it will be helpful for other stakeholders who are directly or indirectly related to tourism sector. Keywords: Bollywood, Tourism, Motivation, Perception, Benefits. ECOTOURISM AND ITS ROLE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SIKKIM Dawa Doma Sherpa Department of Tourism Management, Sikkim Government College, Gyalshing West Sikkim (Sikkim) Introduction: Ecotourism is a growing largest travel industry in the world and a tool for sustainable development. Ecotourism is all about enjoying the natural world benefitting to both hosts and tourists. Sikkim, a small Himalayan state is blessed with natural and cultural resources and a perfect setting for ecotourism. Sikkim is promoting ecotourism for sustainable development of the state. The increased inflow of tourist is raising a concern issue on the sustainability. Ecotourism Policy of Sikkim is based on the principles and practices of Sustainability. Objective: Paper focuses on sustainability aspects of ecotourism practices in Sikkim. The main objective is to analyze the role of ecotourism in sustainable development of the state and to study the impacts of ecotourism in the study area. Methodology: The study is carried out in Four Ecotourism Zones. The study follows a multimethod approach that includes a literature review, Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The primary data is collected from the respondents using a questionnaire and Focus Group discussion. The secondary is collected from books, journals, government reports and internet sources. Technique used in analyzing the data is in the form of table analysis along with column, line, bar graphs and pie charts and also T-Test and Correlation. Results: The Results indicated that ecotourism is a major economic activity in Ecotourism Zone of Sikkim. The additional benefits from ecotourism gained through homestay operation, agroproducts, hotel services, Restaurants, local wine preparation, transportation services, and tourist guide shows an improvement in socio-economic condition and are largely able to improve their social relationship. Findings: The study reveals that the economic status of local community has improved after they had taken ecotourism as a source of livelihood. Increased awareness of environmental factors promotes values of ecotourism, which is beneficial effect on the environment. Conclusion: With regard to the overall research, approach ecotourism has the potential to deliver a lot of economic benefits to traditional cultures. Ecotourism is an alternative source of livelihood and engages themselves as active stakeholders in the overall process of sustainable development. Recommendation: The study recommended that the development of ecotourism without proper control and supervision will hazard the environment So that close monitoring is needed in ecologically sensitive area. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Ecotourism, Sustainable Development, Ecotourism Zone, Impacts, Local Community IMPACT OF TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE “SCOTLAND OF THE EAST”- MEGHALAYA Ricky A J Syngkon1 and Wandinecia Tariang2 1Department 2Department

of Commerce, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) of Economics, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

The Northeastern region of India is endowed with diverse physical and biological characteristics which makes it one of the most potential areas of the country in respect of tourism promotion and tourism development. The topography of the region along with its tributaries contribute substantially towards enriching the scenic component of the region. The state of Meghalaya, also known as the “Scotland of the East”, with its immense natural beauty along with rich cultural heritage provides ample scope for attracting tourists not only for those seeking a tranquil getaway but it even for those seeking adventure with the state offering varied activities like trekking, caving, river rafting to name a few. Given that the tourism sector is a service-oriented sector, it has a huge potential of creating employment and a means of generating a source of livelihood for the people in particular and for the state in general. The rich cultural heritage of the state has attracted tourists from across the globe. However, the lack of infrastructure and poor marketing strategies has created a serious bottleneck which comes in the way of tourism development. Further, despite the rich potential for development available in the state, there is a lack of vision and appropriate policy prescription which has kept the tourism sector in the state in a limping condition. This, therefore, calls for a need for policy planners and/or decision makers and stake holders of the state to initiate an appropriate and feasible development paradigm that would provide a socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable tourism that would help to boost the economy of the state. Keywords: tourism, employment, income, sustainable, economy ROLE OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: “WITH RELEVANCE TO THE CURRENT CONCEPTUALISATION IN DIFFERENT SECTORS” Mervin Jaison Vas1, Lakshmi B M2, and Sharmila.P.Nayak3 1, 2, 3The

Yenepoya Institute of Arts, Science, Commerce & Management, Balmatta, Mangalore (Karnataka)

This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualized. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism and proposing a model, which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement and in this study paper it gives importance on sustainable tourism and its development with relevance to the current conceptualizations of tourism. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Sustainable development is not a new issue for the development goals of the world community, but it is a goal that gives importance to challenges, aiming to create a balance of social, economic and environmental dimensions, as well as balance among government sectors, private sectors, and community sectors. In 17 Sustainable development goal tourism has role play on the 2030 Agenda recognizes the critical role played by the tourism sector, which accounts for one tenth of global GDP and employment. It is in reference with in the three of the Global Goals that is, SDG 4 for ‘Life Below Water’; SDG 8 for ‘Decent Work and Employment’ and SDG 12 for ‘Responsible Consumption and Production. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have joined forces during the International Year for Sustainable for Development to help ensure that tourism advances tourism sustainable development through 2030 and beyond. The sector has a direct impact on efforts to achieve other Goals, such as eradicating poverty, advancing to achieve gender equality and protecting the environment too, which plays an important role. Keyword: Sustainable development, Conceptualisation, Environmental Protection, Community Involvement, gender equality. SENIOR TOURISM IN BANGKOK Ritu Upadhyay Assumption University Thailand, Bangkok (Thailand) The purpose of this study is to know the motivational factors of the senior tourists, the effect of tourism on their lives. The accommodation they want to stay for that period of time, the activities they are interested in, transportation opted by them and how they arrange a budget for these things. The health problems and the precautions they take and their experience in Bangkok. In this research paper, the qualitative method is used. Qualitative method is the method in which the researcher has collected the data from in-depth interviews taken from 14 senior tourists and 4 DMCs and travel agencies. The findings of the study are that seniors are the ones who spent more time and money on their trips, and they are more interested in culture and tradition. They are the one who are curious to know about everything. Irrespective of their age they still exploring new things, places, food. The value of the findings is that everyone should know about them also as senior tourists are the newage travellers. Keywords: Senior tourists, motivation, accommodation, activities, transportation, experience. HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES IN ASSAM THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES Dimpy Sonowal Department of Tourism and Travel - School of Hospitality, Tourism and Travel, Assam Women's University, Jorhat (Assam) Assam is a land of multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious society. This state has a large number of ethnic groups. Some of the ethnic groups are such as Boro, Missing, Kachari etc. The D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) tribals of Assam are not in a very good economic condition, due to which we could see the youth going astray. Community Based Tourism (CBT) is being promoted as an alternative to conventional tourism. It is a tourism where the local community in a rural area is actively involved in tourism activities for earning tourist income and a part of the total income is set aside for projects which provide benefits to the community as a whole. This paper tries to analyze how a Community Based Tourism project helps in empowering tribal communities of Assam while highlighting its prospects and challenges. The paper also aims to examine how CBT can help the tribal communities to gain economic development and improve their social status as both these factors can help in leading to the integration of the tribals in nation building and economic growth. The study is based on both primary and secondary data analysis of diverse communities residing in the state. At the end, some suggestive measures have been listed out for holistic development of the area. Keywords: Tribal Communities, economic development, community based tourism, sustainable forms of tourism, holistic development, Assam. TOURISM EDUCATION IN INDIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Rajinder Kumar Institute of Vocational (Tourism) Studies, Himachal Pradesh University Shimla (H.P.) Tourism education around the globe has been focused on different dimensions. It has characteristics which vary from continent to continent. European tourism education focused on training and apprenticeship, American tourism education on Managerial science and Asian tourism education on innovation and service quality. Expansion of tourism industry has led to the development of tourism education programs in Asian countries. The efforts for quality based tourism education curriculum is growing across the globe irrespective of the size of economies. The South Asian tourism industry has witnessed 26.57 million tourists in 2017. Hence there is a growing need for the competent human resource as well. The research tried to investigate the nature of tourism education being provided in Indian universities, colleges and institutes. The research shows tourism education being provided is general in nature instead of specialization based tourism domains. The data was collected through questionnaire from tourism academicians, teaching in universities, colleges and institutions across the country. It was found that the image of tourism education can be improved through incorporation of Indian Tourism Services (ITS) for Tourism Graduates. Moreover, there is need for student interaction, frequent syllabus updates and networking among tourism stakeholders as well as inclusion of futuristic approach in curriculum. Keywords: Tourism education, specialization, tourism professionals, ITS

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) TRANFORMATIVE POWER AND VALUE OF EXPERIENCE CONSUMPTION Vandana Goyal A.V. College of Education (AISECT), Franchise of Dr. C.V Raman University, Bhopal (M.P.) The data used to improve our offerings does not have to be highly varied. New, alternative data sets can be systematically re-used at different points in the value chain to improve the customer experience. Brand leaders in the industry to help them make unique connections with their customers - through interactive ads that add value to consumers and shorten the path from consideration to brand purchase. Potential customers will expect a higher value in return if we are asking them to furnish us with their highly valuable data. We need to model this value into our offerings and think deeply about how we can match offerings to the perceived value of the inputs used to deliver them. It’s evident that better customer experiences deliver greater brand impact and returns. In fact, 27% of people exposed to native experiences say they are more likely to convert.2 At Verizon Media, we continue to focus on developing premium solutions that are easy to buy and provide value to our audiences. Creating authentic content that resonates with our consumers is key to our digital marketing success. We were thrilled to see consumers spend over two minutes in the ad, higher than any engagement time for average rich media ads. It far surpassed our expectations," said Felix Carbullido, CMO, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. This campaign was a true example of a brand putting customer value first, and the marketing results prove it: 78% of customers found the ad to be helpful, and each customer spent an average of 2.4 minutes engaging with the ad. This paper aims to explore and compare the roles of brand’s experiential and transformational benefits in formation of consumer-brand relationships. This paper aims to explore and compare the roles of brand’s experiential and transformational benefits in formation of consumer-brand relationships. Results show that brand experience and self-expression have significant positive impacts on consumer-brand relationships. Brand experience plays a more important role, compared with transformational benefits, in this process. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Keywords: Tourism, Hospitality, Collaborative Consumption, Transformative Tourism, Brand Relationship. ROLE OF TRIBAL ART AND CRAFT IN MADHYA PRADESH TOURISM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GOND ART Nishi Sharma1, Pinki Khanna2 and Mansingh Vyam3 1, 2Department

of Home Science & Hospitality Management, PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education, NCERT, Bhopal (M.P.) 3 Freelance Gond Artist, Nehru Nagar, Bhopal (M.P.)

Madhya Pradesh with its abundance of tourist destinations and their unmatched variety and richness, has much to offer to tourists. In addition, its central location, moderate climate, beautiful landscape and friendly people make this state a veritable tourist paradise. Madhya Pradesh is a cluster of innumerable districts and varied topographic and climatic characteristics, the magnificent vindhyachal mountain range, river valleys and plateau. Madhya Pradesh is the largest state of India with the highest tribal population. Two out of three tribal in Madhya Pradesh belong either to the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Gond groups or to the Bhils. Madhya Pradesh is famous for its wonderful art, craft, music and dance. Some famous tribal art of Madhya Pradesh are Gond art, Mandana art, Pithora art, Rock art & sculptures of Sanchi and Khajuraho etc. Gond paintings have numerous themes including folk stories, Gods, Goddesses, Nature, Religion, Birds and Animals etc. the gond people have a belief that viewing a good image begets good luck and they decorate their walls and the floor of their houses with traditional tattoos and motifs using beautiful colours and materials for different themes. A Gond painting forms a mystic world that is created by dots and lines. Gond art is a form of painting from folk and tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribe of Madhya Pradesh. The work of gond artists is routed in their folk tales and culture, and thus story–telling is a strong element of every painting. Different products of home furnishing, decoration and garment accessories are also very popular of gond art. Gond art being very much accepted with other arts and crafts like embroidery, digital printing, screen printing, block printing is very much in the present fashion trend. Characteristically these paintings are reflections of the tribe's fantasies towards nature, forest, and trees, etc. Art and craft is an important aspect for promotion of tourism. Madhya Pradesh being a land of tribal art and craft, also a beautiful destination for tourism is selected by the researcher for the study on role of tribal art and craft in Madhya Pradesh tourism with special reference to gond art through the responses of tourists. Keywords: Tribal Art and Craft, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Art Products, Gond Art, Gond Paintings. THE WORLD'S FIRST RAIL COACH RESTAURANT - BHOPAL EXPRESS: AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR TOURISTS Pinki Khanna1, Nishi Sharma2 and Vijendra Borban3 1, 2Department

of Home Science & Hospitality Management, PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education, NCERT, Bhopal (M.P.) 3Freelance Journalist, Bhopal (M.P.)

Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh is fondly referred to as the city of lakes. It is the 16 th largest city in India and 131st in the world. Apart from its natural beauty, Bhopal is also famous for a number of tourist attractions. There are many mosques, museums, temples, parks and other worth visiting places. It also has a number of historical places around it. Bhopal is heaven for tourists and thrill for spiritual seekers, food lovers, nature addicts and researchers. It blends it’s old and new so well to bring out a concoction of vibrant cultures, rich traditions and eclectic cuisine. In keeping with its rich and varied cultural history, Bhopal has kept the vibrancy intact in its cuisine too. Boasting a huge variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes as well as sweet treats, the eclectic variety of food at different points in the city enchants even the most demanding palate. Food lovers can have a gala treat at Bhopal Express- the world's first rail coach restaurant. It is a unique theme based restaurant established at Shyamla Hills, Bhopal in year 2007. An old rail coach has been transformed into a beautiful restaurant. To add to the authenticity of the rail coach restaurant, it has been placed on a real railway track. There are vibrations happening in quick succession which gives a feeling of a moving train. The seats and the tables have been designed in a way that it looks exactly like a train compartment. The windows have live moving side scenes that looks like as if the train is moving. There are continuous announcements happening inside the coach, which D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) resembles the hustle and bustle that happens in a real train. From the ambience to the seats everything tends to give the real feel of a train. The moment one step inside will get the vibes of a luxury train coach. This restaurant offers vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, Italian, Mughlai food and many other delicious desserts. The restaurant is the most famous one in Bhopal, both among the locals and tourists. This initiative was taken by Madhya Pradesh Tourism in order to reuse the aged coaches and increase the footfall in Bhopal. This rail coach restaurant has been running successfully and is receiving a lot of positive reviews from the local people, domestic and international tourists. Visiting this unique restaurant of Bhopal is an experience known to linger in mouths and minds forever. Looking to the uniqueness of the world's first "Bhopal Express Rail Coach Restaurant”, researcher has taken it for Case Study. Keywords: Rail Coach Restaurant, Bhopal Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Cuisine, Theme based Restaurant. STAKEHOLDERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON INNOVATIONS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTOR S. R. Kulkarni1 and S.S. Kulkarni2 1Walchand

College of Engineering (Maharashtra) Mahavidyalaya (Maharashtra)

2Kanya

Now, it becomes essential to seek new methods and dimensions for improving performance of hospitality and tourism related activities. This sector is facing highly competitive environment. Development of the hospitality industry is possible only by implementing a set of innovative practices which can be experienced as effective stimulus. These innovations are essential for ensuring viability and improving competitiveness of hospitality and tourism industry. The significance of innovations for confirming growth of hospitality and tourism sector has been widely recognized now. The awareness about of customers’ choices helps in providing more rational and attractive design of service offerings. It also supports in formulating superior operational strategies focusing on customer needs. Along with re-examination of existing service, offering it is equally essential to decide which innovations will create value. These innovations not only deliver additional value to customers but also are economically viable to the organization. The hospitality industry has an abundance of options hence need to be wise while deciding products and services that will add value for customers. In the process of identifying innovative solutions for hospitality and tourism sector, the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) plays a crucial role. The success of activities in hospitality and tourism sector depends on its integration with ICT. ICT enables anybody to access the information about facilities for tourism and hospitality at anytime from anywhere. The service providers can also reach the probable customers around the globe in a single click using web based techniques, mobile computers, etc. Now, the e-tourism approach is emerging speedily. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) This paper is based on the study with an objective to understand the impact of innovation on customers’ choices in hospitality and tourism sector. The paper also discusses on the influence of innovations towards service development and operational strategy. The analysis is based on a survey of forty tourists in Sangli and Kolhapur Districts of South Maharashtra. The tourists under study are categorized as business and professional tourists and leisure and holiday tourists. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. It explores the application of innovative approaches for business development, revenue generation, cost minimization and reaching to the unreached customers. The paper identifies gaps between hospitality and tourism sector with respect to application of ICT. It also suggests remedies to bridge these gaps. By understanding, the innovation in service concept organization can develop more effective design yielding most profitable and sustainable operational strategy. Keywords: Hospitality, Tourism, Innovation, Services, ICT, e-Tourism, Operational Strategy MARKETING PRACTICES OF TOURISM SMES: A CHANNEL FOR PROMOTING TOURISM ACTIVITIES OF WEST AND SOUTH-WEST KHASI HILLS OF MEGHALAYA Firsterson Lawriniang Dept. of Tourism and Hotel Management, NEHU, Shillong (Meghalaya) The tourism sector is one of the fast growing activities in modern era due to industrialisation, increase in income and the fascination to travel. Moreover, this sector involves the participation of many stakeholders; particularly, the tourists and the host community. The host community provide services to the tourists through enterprising. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to the growth of tourism of any destination. West and South-West Khasi Hills are the two districts situated in the central of the State Meghalaya (India) and are well-known for their pristine beauty of nature, which includes hot spring, waterfalls, River Island and beautiful hills. The rationale behind this paper is the lack of documentation regarding the studies on tourism SMEs and their businesses in the North-Eastern states of India. Notably, there is a dearth of studies on the subject matter of marketing practices of tourism SMEs in India. Hence, the focal point of this paper is to identify and decipher the principal factors of marketing practices of tourism SMEs using empirical evidences and primary sources collected through in-depth interviews with the owners/managers of small enterprises involving in tourism activities through accommodations, retail and food of West and South-West Khasi Hills districts. Marketing practices in tourism SMEs manifest and reflect upon the choice of location, promotion, innovative distributional channel and customer service relationship. Using descriptive analytical approach, this paper will try to identify the need of systematic marketing practices of tourism SMEs as a channel for promotion of tourism activities of West and South-West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya. Keywords: Marketing practices; tourism SMEs; West and South-West Khasi Hills

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION FOR GROWTH OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN SHILLONG Monika1, Punit Gautam2 and Dinesh Bhatia3 1, 2Dept.

of Tourism and Hotel Management, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) of Biomedical Engineering, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

3Department

The hospitality sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in India and has grown at the rate of 7.11 % between 2012and 2018. The industry is being given widespread coverage and importance in different Govt. of India schemes. Many international hotel chains including Sheraton, Hyatt, Radisson, Meridien, Four Seasons Regent and Marriott International are already established in the Indian markets and are still expanding. Hotel Industry in India has witnessed tremendous boom in recent years which is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and its growth has fuelled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The thriving economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as a boon for Indian hotel industry. The arrival of low cost airlines and the associated price wars have given domestic tourists a host of options. The 'Incredible India' destination campaign and the recently launched 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' (ADB) campaign have also helped in the growth of domestic and international tourism and consequently the hotel industry. Hotel Industry giants are flocking India and forging Joint Ventures to earn their share of pie in the race. Government has approved 300 hotel projects, nearly half of which are in the luxury range. Sources reveal, as of 2017-18, 81.1 million people are employed in the tourism sector in India which was 12.38 per cent of total employment in the country. This industry has great significance in the Indian economy as well as in the global economy. According to Economic Survey of India and Technopak, the Indian hotel industry accounts for USD 19 billion, 71.50% (USD 11.95 billion) which comprises of the unorganized sector and the remaining 29.7% (USD 5.67 billion) from the organized sector. Hospitality industry needs the personnel who enjoy their work, innovate the way of doing their work and committed to their job. The motivated and satisfied employees are the ones who decide the profit or loss of the company as they are in direct contact with the customers which ultimately decides the company’s image and quality in the market. A good organizational culture has the potential to maximize employees’ strategies and ideas. The study on the hospitality industry is an original one, which has been quiet limited to the North Eastern region of the country and especially to Shillong. Keywords: Employee satisfaction, tourism, hospitality, hotel chain GEOTOURISM- A CONCEPTUAL NOTE Kamaleswar Kalita Department of Geography, Tinsukia College, Tinsukia (Assam) Geotourism is a comparatively new and fast growing concept of tourism. Geotourism sustains and enhances the geographical character of a place, its environment, aesthetics, culture, heritage and well-being of its inhabitants. It is knowledge based sustainable tourism which stimulates the global movement of people and creates relationships between people and the place of the tourists. Besides, geotourism helps how tourism shapes landscapes, impacts the environment and affects communities D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) and economic development of the places. Every place has its unique characteristics and this uniqueness differ it from the others. The most important feature of geotourism is that it encourages the local people to involve in the process of tourism development. The locale also learns how to conserve the geotourism sites for the sustainable development and the betterment of the society. Some of the important concepts viz., geosite, geoheritage, geodiversity, geoconservation are also closely related to geotourism. However, there are some misconceptions regarding the core concept of geotourism. For instance, the geologists and geoscientists advocate geotourism is a geological tourism. On the other hand, geographers advocate it is a geographical tourism. Resultantly, it bewilders the scholars and researchers as to the concept of geotourism. Indeed, geotourism is neither a geological nor geographical tourism- it is beyond such concept. It is a wide concept highlighting the quality relationship between the visitors and the locale which makes the place meaningful visiting. Geotourism is now an umbrella of all types of tourism. However, presently geotourism development is facing a numbers of challenges. These challenges need immediate attention for the better future of geotourism. The present paper highlights the concepts of geotourim and its challenges. Keywords: Geotourism, geosites, geoheritage, geodiversity, geoconservation GROWING TOURISM THROUGH COMMUNITY TOURISM EDUCATION Sanjay Nibhoria1 and Hemant Kumar Chanchal2 1ITHM,

2JLU

Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (U.P.) School of Hospitality and Tourism, Jagran Lake City University, Bhopal (M.P.)

As studied and observed in the previous decades, it is found that if the community is aware of the positive impacts of tourism and its multidimensional approach, it is easier to develop tourism at that province and it will enhance the opportunities to cater the best tourism and hospitality services. Tourism through community education will not only increase the employment generation but also produce skilled man power and a healthy relationship between tourist and host community. In the addition of this the tourism campaigns also help community to empower themselves and to identify the jobs in it accordingly. The local government and authorities should mention the tourism campaigns and training at local level necessarily. Apart from the involvement and instructions Local government and authorities, the local travel agents and tour operators should also ensure the maximum benefits from the tourism activities directly to the local community. In this way a healthy tourism environment will be generated and all the tourism participants will be benefited. Keywords: Tourism Campaigns, Tourism Education, Local Community, Skilled Manpower, Community Participation.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) WHY SUSTAINED TOURISM FAILS: IDENTIFYING THE DRIVERS OF UNSUSTAINABILITY Tej Vir Singh1 and Sandeep Kulshreshtha2 1Former

Editor-in-Chief, Tourism Recreation Research, Lucknow (U.P.) Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior (M.P.)

2Indian

This paper attempts to identify drivers of unsustainability. Tourism is known to be sensitive industry. In bad times it easily eludes the grasp of stakeholders. Except major events such as spread of epidemics, break of war or natural-catastrophes, there are more reasons for its failure. Based on tangible evidences, this paper reviews the factors that weaken the resort resilience leading it to downside. These factors are examined in two levels: external and internal. External factors are those mentioned above and will be discussed further. These are disastrous and damaging the environment, such as Earthquake, floods and terminal diseases like spread of plague or terrorism. In Monsoonal countries a river-spate can create havoc and the destination has to be renewed. Internal factors, such as seasonality, immature workforce, weak destination site, ignorance of nature’s cybernetics, functioning of ecosystem, community inertia, disrespect of carrying capacity, policy failure, limited knowledge of ecological system and stakeholders’ aversion to tourism research, are arch problems. Academia, for the most part, has its focus on theoretical aspects of tourism rather than reality. Anthropocentric academic is insidious. The most challenging issue is ever-increasing population which grows exponentially. Imagine, mother Earth currently feeds over 7.3 billion which according to UN estimates shall rise up to 9.6 billion by 2050 (UN 2012). Over population is threat to sustainability. Recently, mass-tourism and its off-spring over-tourism have posed tremendous problem. Unless population puzzle is solved, sustainability would be like chasing the Holy Grail. Strong governance is the key to open the doors of sustainability. Lessons, in result-oriented governance can be learnt from Whistler’s resort governance. The paper concludes that unless society as a whole practices principles of sustainability, sustainable development will remain a far cry. To achieve sustainability in tourism strict governance and monitoring is essential. Keywords: Ecosystem, Seasonality, Resort, Resilience Community inertia, Governance

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) EXPERIENCING WINES TOURISM AND WINERIES IN INDIA: A PRECIOUS GIFT OF NATURE TO THE TOURISTS Saurabh Dixit1 and Dinesh K. Jayswal2 1Indian

Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior (M.P.) 2Jiwaji University Gwalior (M.P.)

‘Wine makes the world shine’ yes this sentence for Tourism and Hospitality industry is as true as the shine of a diamond. The food and beverage services are one of the major sub-sectors of tourism and motivator for travel, as 75% of leisure travellers have been motivated to visit a destination because of a culinary activity (WFTA 2016). Experiencing the food and beverage services, wine is having a vital role in tourism industry. Wines are produced by viticulture at particular natural places called Vineyards that give a beautiful experience to the visitor and tourists so that is why these vineyards are become the wine tourism destination for the tourists. The vineyards in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are the major and exotic wine tourism destination for wine tourism in India which are known for one of the best of wines. A total of 77 wineries are located in Maharashtra, of which 39 are in the Nashik district alone (TOI, 2017) one of the major wine region accounting for 80% of output, due to a favourable climate, fertile soils and a long grape-growing history known as wine capital of India with tasting rooms. The most popular Vineyards and wine brands from India are Sula Vineyards, Grover Vineyards,Vallonne Vineyards, Soma Vineyards and Fratelli Wines which offer spectacular wine tours with the finest taste of wines with food, fest, and accommodation. The wine tours offered by Sula Vineyard, Nashik in Maharashtra and Beyond Vineyard Resort are one of the perfect examples of Indian wine tourism (Travel Triangle). India’s rich and prosperous are finally warming up a wine market of roughly 1.2 million cases (Trak.in, 2018). This concept paper presents the importance of tasting the Indian wines, wineries and wine tours that offer one of the best experience to the wine tourists visiting India. Keywords: Tourism and Hospitality, Indian wine, wine tourism, viticulture, food & beverage services, vineyards destination. ENVISIONING, SKILLING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EMPLOYABILITY IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR- BEYOND STUDIES, PASSION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS INDUSTRY Anamita Biswas NSHM College of Management and Technology, Kolkata (West Bengal) SUMMARY/PURPOSE- It is difficult to ascertain and visualize the future possibility and proper outcomes of hospitality sector; since these outcomes differ by type of organization, brand and is totally based on contextual and organizational situations. Envisioning requires lot of analysis and study of the socio-economic development of present and future hospitality. Hospitality management professionals require skills that are specific according to the industry demands and would also require skills that are important in any management perspective or situation in order to be a influencing and successful hospitality personnel. Our academic curriculum meets only educational D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 86 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) expectations but does not meet the industry demand and student expectations which are the main skill sets required in the workplace. Skills which are mandatorily required are customer orientation and communication skills. Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. They play a big role in the supply chain and the competition they overcome and the ideas and products which they bring to the workplace is worth praising. It is an essential element in the long range success story of a particular business. Entrepreneurship was rejected in hospitality and tourism sector, but it is highly required to focus our attention in this particular segment and we would require entrepreneurs total attention and dedication to adapt to the changing needs of global tourist as with the passing days, the entire concept of our tourists are changing and we need to serve them according to their requirement and much more beyond that. It is high time that we understand the importance of entrepreneurship and try and explore it in many other ways. We need to focus on multiple ways to promote entrepreneurship. Start up business is not that easy that our young generation believe. It deals with proper marketing, selling, investment of correct resources, skills at the right time into the right distribution channel, that’s how it will generate revenue and longevity. Why we teach Hospitality courses? Not just for a valid degree or recognition as a management candidate but our aim is to prepare our young generation for future employability and obviously we need to work on sustainable employability. Our hotel industry prefers employees with certain aesthetic qualities and self-presentation skills, but it has created employment barriers for persons who lack certain desired skills that prevent them from entering the hotel sector. The results showed that from the perspectives of students and managers, both students and graduates lack confidence in their employability, particularly in areas of professional management skills. DESIGN/APPROACH- This article adopts a conceptual viewpoint methodology. And our approach is to make it a better place and industry to survive and sustain whole heartedly. FINDINGS- The ratio of the skilled professional available in this industry is insufficient to meet the overgrowing demand. Hence we need to train and prepare more enthusiastic, passionate professional to initialize this industry that is the best. Key words: Visualize future possibility, start up business, service industry skills, challenges of this industry, high employability or handsome employability, Passion, Competency

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) UNDERSTANDING TOURIST PERSPECTIVE ON THE REGULATION OF TOURISM AT DESTINATIONS AND EXPLORING PROACTIVE APPROACHES TOWARDS TOURISM REGULATION Sudarshan Nair1 and Harsh Raveendra2 1, 2Amity

Institute of Travel and Tourism, Amity University, Mumbai (Maharashtra)

On receiving backlash from anti-tourism elements in destinations like Barcelona and natural disasters in destinations such as Venice and Australia, popular destinations of the world seem to be at a potential risk of antagonistic behaviour from local communities towards tourism. There seems to be a need for the sensitization on responsibility of a tourist towards their destination as unregulated tourism is bridging the uncanny gap between exploration and exploitation. This conceptual paper studies the current status of tourism regulation and explores the need for proactive, moderate and monitored regulation of tourism rather than total shutdown of a destination as a response to a stimuli, from a tourist perspective. Keywords: Overtourism, regulation, responsible tourism, host antagonism HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN TOURISM: A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TOURISM SENSITIZATION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAMMES OF IITTM Divya Talreja1 and Sandeep Kulshreshtha2 1, 2Indian

Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior (M.P.)

Tourism is a livelihood-oriented sector, inducing employment through multiplier effect and creating a strong contributor for accelerating a country's economic growth. The sector offers alternative sources of livelihood development and growth in remote locations, preserves local skills, enterprises development at micro level, and helps encourage a pragmatic approach towards environment conservation. Lack of skilled Human Resource at religious places has been a hindrance towards realizing the full potential of the tourism sector therefore training programmes are being conducted for the tourism & hospitality sector by Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM). Skill development training is given to tourism service providers (unorganized sector) like the priests, taxi drivers, the porters at the railway stations, tourist police, immigration officers, tourist facilitators (Paryatak Mitra) and tour guides etc. Considering the importance of cleanliness and hygiene for the tourism sector, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India has framed “Swachhta Action Plan - Swachh Bharat Swachh Paryatan”. The objective of training human resource is to sensitize, improve skills to churn out a competitive workforce and to identify the primary elements intrinsic for tourism development. This paper showcases aforementioned plan in detail and the need for organizing the 'Tourism Sensitization' & ‘Skill Development’ training programs at religious sites to enhance the destination image for surge in tourist arrivals, role of IITTM, challenges faced during implementation and possible solutions in detail. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Tourism Sensitization, Skill Development, Ministry of Tourism, IITTM IDENTIFYING THE INFLUENCING FACTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG NON-EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES IN HOTELS OF MANIPUR B. D. Onahring1 and Kh. Devananda Singh2 1, 2Department

of Management, North-Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus, Tura (Meghalaya)

Job satisfaction is one of the most important issues for the growth of any organisation. In a systematic review of relevant literatures on the employees of hotel, it was found that the most studied variable was job satisfaction. Thus, this paper is a humble attempt to identify the influencing factors of job satisfaction among non-executive employees in hotels of Manipur. The study used descriptive data using questionnaires on five point likert scale from 367 hotel employees. KMO & Bartlett’s Test and Factor analysis was employed to extract job satisfaction factors while the standard multiple regression was used to analyze the predictive factors of job satisfaction. The results showed that employees were highly satisfied with their jobs. The study also identified 12 main facets of satisfaction, namely social status, company policies, co-workers, recognition, security, supervision, working conditions, creativity, pay/salary, fridge benefit, nature of work and promotions. Keywords: Job satisfaction, employees, KMO & Bartlett’s test, factor analysis and multiple regressions. AN EXAMINATION OF SHOPPING BEHAVIOR OF TOURISTS - A STUDY ON TOURISTS VISITING MEDARAM JATARA(WARANGAL) AND THE KUMBH MELA (ALLAHABAD) IN INDIA Kavita Sasidharan Kulkarni 1 and Dileep Menon2 1, 2Narsee

Monjee Institute of Management, Mumbai (Maharashtra)

The objective of the study and the article is to design a framework of tourist classification. An attempt was made to identify differences with regard to the shopping behavior among different classes of tourists studied. The basis for study has been some earlier studies on related topics, some of them include the Fairhurst, Costello and Fogle (2016) and the Paulien Becker (2014) study. The broad classification of tourists has been done based on the classification proposed by the Fairhurst study as Ethnic, Recreational, Historic and outdoor visitors. However for the purpose of deeper understanding of tourist behavior, various other study classifications have also been considered and studied. The same have been included in the literature review of the study. This study’s tourist classification thus is an eclectic mix of the various classes of tourists studied across different studies. The description of this study’s tourist classes have been described in detail in the later portions of the document. For the purpose of the study[1] the tourist shopping behavior based on parameters like souvenir purchases, sources of information sought by the tourist while identifying the place of shopping, shopping requirements and shopper psychology have been D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) utilized. In order to facilitate a conclusive study, specific tourist locations of Medaram Jatara in Warangal and Mahakumbh Mela at Allahabad districts of India were studied. This research investigates the different types of tourists and their motives while visiting the respective tourist locations while decoding their respective shopping behaviors. The locations pertain to two different types of tourism and therefore it was interesting to draw parallels and contrasts between behavior of the respective tourists. The study intends to offer answers to the research question formulated which was to understand: Who are the tourists visiting Medaram and Allahabad during the Jathara and Kumbh Mela and what are their respective motives?” Keywords: Tourist shopping behavior, Tourist shopping motives-parameters, Tourist- Consumer Experience Management, Tourist -Consumer types-customer value types, Destination Management, Tourism Event Management TOURISM MARKETING: EVIDENCE FROM NORTH EAST INDIA Rizwan Khan1 and Mohd Taqi2 1Department 2Centre

of Commerce, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) for Distance Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.)

India is a country of vast geographical diversity having numbers of attraction consisting natural, architectural and heritage sites spreads over the country. It has great Himalayas in north, vast coastal area in the south, desert in the west and flora and fauna in the eastern part of the country. In the middle of the country, there are various architectural and heritage sites which is evident about the culture and civilization of our country. Mostly part of the country explored for the purpose of tourism because it creates employment, foreign exchange and the socio-economic growth of a particular region. North East India is a ‘paradise unexplored’ and one of the best destinations for nature lovers, trekkers, adventurers and wildlife enthusiasts. North east part of India is still fully unexplored and it is necessary to focus on this part for the socio-economic development of this region. The government has also taken several initiatives for the development of tourism industry in north east. In this regard, the “Incredible India” campaign; The National Tourism Policy (2002); Mega Tourism Projects involving both the central and state government with the Ministry of Railways, Civil Aviation, Road and Transport and Urban Development and the Tourism Department to bring about convergence and synergy in solving the issues; the Visa on Arrival policy are some of the few steps that has been taken. The present paper is an attempt to discuss the marketing prospects and fully commercialization of tourism industry in north east region. It also explores the ways to enhance the tourist activities in the region so that revenues may be generated. Keywords: Tourism, north-east, growth, revenue, marketing.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCES OF FOREIGN TOURIST IN INDIA: CASE STUDY OF UTTARAKHAND Neeraj Aggarwal1 and Anish Slath2 1,2UIHTM,

Panjab University, Chandigarh

Gastronomy has become one of the fundamental elements in the choice of a tourist destination, as gastronomy allows tourist to discover the cultural roots of the destination and will also help to analyze the overall satisfaction of the tourist experience. This research is focused on the analysis of the gastronomic experiences of the foreign tourist visiting India, especially Uttarakhand. The result shows that gastronomic motivation influences the choice of the tourist destination and also their level of satisfaction with these experiences is highly connected to the relationship that gastronomy has with the cultural heritage of the local community. Keywords: Gastronomy, Motivation, Culture, Satisfaction, Foreign Tourist MEMORABLE TOURISM EXPERIENCES - A STUDY OF UMANANDA TEMPLE IN GUWAHATI Bhola Chourasia1 and Punit Gautam2 1Department 2

of Hospitality and Tourism Mgt., Assam Down Town University, Guwahati (Assam) Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, NEHU, Shillong (Maghalaya)

Umananda Devaloi is a Shiva temple located at the Peacock Island in the middle of river Brahmaputra just opposite the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup or the Kachari Ghat in Guwahati. It was built by the Ahom King Gadadhar Singha, who was a devout Shaivaite. It is said that, when Siva was in meditation on this hillock, Kamadeva interrupted his yoga and was therefore burnt to ashes by the fire of Siva’s anger and hence the hillock got the name Bhasmacala. This mountain is also called Bhasmakuta. The Kalika Purana states that Urvasikunda is situated here and here resides the goddess Urvasi who brings Amrit (nectar) for the enjoyment of Kamakhya and hence the island got the name Urvasi Island. It is believed that, worship here on the Amavasya day when it falls on Monday brings the highest bliss. The Siva Chaturdasi is the most colourful festival that is held here annually. Many devotees come to the temple on this occasion for the worship of the deity. The temple of Umananda was built in 1694 A.D. by the Bar Phukan Garhganya Handique by the order of King Gadadhar Singha (1681–1696), one of the ablest and strongest rulers of the Ahom dynasty. The original temple was however immensely damaged by a devastating earthquake of 1897. Later, it was reconstructed by a rich local merchant who chose to inscribe the interior part of a Siva temple with Vaisnavite slogans. During the short period of the Mughal occupation of Kamrupa. Land men and money were received by the priests of the temples of Umananda from the Mughal Emperors Jahangir and Aurangzeb. The Peacock Island can be accessed from Guwahati and North Guwahati by ferries and steamers. One can hire a ferry from Sukleshwar ghat or Fancy Bazar Ghat. This is expensive but one can get the feel of the river and its surroundings without any interventions. This is most ideal for couples and family trips. However, a much convenient and cheaper transport has been provided by Inland Water Transport, which connects the Peacock island to Guwahati from Uzanbazar Ferry Ghat also D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 91 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) known as ka hari ghat. The fees is as low as 20 rupees per person.150+ stairs have to be climbed to reach the temple. This paper makes an attempt to explore the potentiality of Umananda temple in Guwahati of Assam as a one of the most important tourist Destination. Keywords: Urvasi Island, Bhasmakuta, earthquake, meditation GASTRONOMY AS A MARKETING TOOL IN TOURIST DESTINATION: A CASE STUDY IN CHENNAI Chandan Kumar1 and Lomte Daulatrao M2 1IHM-Chennai

2

(Tamil Nadu) Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)

Food plays an important role of any culture and civilization. “NO ARMY CAN MARCH ON EMPTY STOMACH” in the same way no tourist can tour with empty stomach. Food, which is locally available, has a great potential as a marketing tool in that destination. Till now importance and contribution of gastronomy in tourism and as marketing has got very little attention. This paper is about how local and regional food and art of local cuisine will be the centre of attraction for tourist and at the same time seize this opportunity by local entrepreneur and farmer of the region. An evidence-based investigation has done to determine the current status and future potential of gastronomy as a marketing tool of destination marketing in Chennai. The study is conducted in Chennai. The researchers will be using percentage and cross tabulation to analyze the data. Data collected have been analyzed and graphs have been generated by using IBM SPSS version 16.0. Appropriate test will be used to test null hypothesis and conclude about promotion of gastronomic tourism in Chennai. Keywords: Gastronomic Tourism, Chennai, Promotion, Marketing IMPACT OF FESTIVAL BRANDING IN CREATING A TOURIST DESTINATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE VALLAM KALI Suhas Lakshman1 and Payel Das2 1, 2Dept.

of Mass Communication, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham,Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)

There have been a lot of studies focused on large scale events such as the Olympics, Film Festivals and even Sports World Cups but none of them have explored how the power of social media can harness the sustainability of cultural events such as festivals. So, in this study the researchers have tried to assert that how social media interaction leads to festival branding which consequently leads to destination image furthering tourism. This study is one of its first kind to focus on festival tourism rather than on earlier event-based studies. Hence, we have chosen Vallam kali, a snake boat race festival as a case for the study. Vallam kali is held every year during the celebration of Onam. The study will try to prove how social media interaction and festival brings cross-cultural tourism leading to festival branding and destination brandings.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) The study will analyse through a quantitative perspective with a structured questionnaire using the constructs of festival branding, social media interaction leading to festival brand identity and bringing more footfall. The study deals with how marketers can use social media and word of mouth to create and promote a particular festival as a brand and through repeated interactions leading to image formation and identity perception, in turn, increasing festival tourism opportunities in India. This paper from a social standpoint will deal with how the usage of social media can harness the branding of the festival and also sustain the cultural customs/heritage of the country. Keywords: Tourism, Festival Branding, Festival Quality, Festival Image, Intention to visit. EXPLORATORY STUDY ON BRANDING OF AYURVEDA AS A SOFT POWER OF INDIA Greeshma KM1 and Payel Das2 1, 2Dept.

of Mass Communication, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)

Ayurveda has been an integral part of Indian advertisements and products. There are hardly any empirical and conceptual studies that focus on Ayurveda as a Soft power using Nation branding approach. This paper is the first of its kind to assert that Ayurveda is a brand of India, which leads to ayurvedic tourism and eventually leading to ayurvedic soft power. The paper tries to posit how ayurvedic brand image and brand identity create ayurvedic brand awareness which transfigures into ayurvedic tourism and finally, establishing Ayurveda as a soft power of India. This study utilizes a pragmatic approach involving the use of quantitative and qualitative method. To understand the influence of Ayurveda as soft power, we have to interpret the impact of Ayurveda on foreign nationals. Hence, a survey has been conducted through both an online questionnaire and schedule from foreign Nationals. For an in-depth study personal interviews has also been done among 25 foreigners to recognize their purpose and intention to come and practice Ayurveda in India, which leads to Ayurvedic tourism. The paper highlights the potential benefits to researchers and stakeholders across various disciplines such as marketing and tourism, as they can contemplate how branding Ayurveda as a soft power can prove to be an influential asset in the soft power arsenal of India, to increase foreign-based economy profits and investments. Branding of Ayurveda as a soft power will harness and sustain Ayurveda as an Indian product which will in turn brand nation's image and open the door for ayurvedic tourism from both foreign and Indian nationals. Keywords: Soft Power, Ayurvedic Branding, Ayurvedic Brand Identity, Ayurvedic Brand Awareness, Ayurvedic Tourism

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) COMPREHENDING BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE THROUGH DESIGN THINKING APPROACH: A CASE OF SOCIAL INNOVATION AT THE WORLD’S BIGGEST RELIGIOUS HUMAN CONGREGATION Sumit Mishra1 and Neeraj Sharma2 1School 2Department

of Management, Bennett University, Greater Noida (U.P.) of Management Studies, Graphic Era University, Dehradun (Uttarakhand)

This research study is an attempt to critically examine and understand behavioural change brought about through designing of social message and empathy that co-creates a learning experience for tourists/pilgrims. This research highlights a unique way of communicating and inculcating hygiene habit that led to a positive behavioral change among tourists, hailing mostly from rural hinterlands, thus elongating their stay and enhancing their overall tourism experience at the congregation. A literature review of design thinking, social innovation and social marketing show that often the researchers act like a design thinker without realising that they are applying the design thinking approach. The research setting is 2013 Allahabad Kumbh (world's biggest religious fair with nearly100 million visitors). Using case study approach for analysis, the research insights and findings presented are unique and untested previously in the context of mass gatherings particularly having a religious connotation. They contribute uniquely to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of tourism and design thinking, with possibility of utilisation in other mass gatherings, cocreation of epiphanic experiences in tourism. The case presents the insights reached through the observations made by applying the design thinking approach, with the intention of enabling marketer to enhance effectiveness of social innovation. Keywords: Tourism, Design thinking, Social innovation, Co-creation, Kumbh mela, Religious, Social marketing IMPACT OF GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE ON SATISFACTION AND REVISIT INTENTION OF TOURISTS: THE CASE OF LUCKNOW Mohammad Shoaib Khan School of Hospitality and Tourism, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal (M.P.) The study attempts to assess the impact of gastronomic experience on overall tourists’ satisfaction and their revisit intention. Data were collected by using well-structured and self-administrated questionnaires which were distributed randomly to the tourists at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Data were analyzed with the help of statistical analyses like factor analysis, multiple regressions and descriptive analysis. The findings of the analysis revealed that ethnic appeal, ingredients and innovation were the most prominent factors that affected the overall tourist satisfaction and revisit intention. The foremost role of the research paper is its practical implications for the practitioners in the tourism industry for the development of marketing strategies. Keywords: Lucknow, Gastronomic experience, Overall satisfaction, Revisit intention, Tourism D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN STAR HOTELS OF INDIA Asif Ali Syed1, Amol Kumar2 and Ajay Singh3 1, 2Aligarh 3ABES

Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) Engineering College, Ghaziabad (U.P.)

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of digital tools for marketing in star classified hotels of India. Design/Methodology/Approach- This paper is based on extensive literature review and survey of HRACC classified 3 star and above category hotels, inquiring into more than 10 hotels of Delhi. Findings- Findings demonstrate that the approach and usage of digital marketing tools by hotels varied widely which are based on several factors particularly highlighted in this study. Research limitations/ Implications- Literature related to the effectiveness of digital a as a marketing tool within the Indian hotels industry is severely limited, thus this research highlights the challenges some hotels are experiencing., suggests possible approaches for improvement of effectiveness of digital marketing and also makes recommendations for structuring digital marketing strategies. Practical implications – Results demonstrated out of this study may suggest some practical ideas for the incorporation of digital marketing techniques for many hotels in the most optimal way. Originality/value – This study investigates the extent to which digital marketing is being utilized and its effectiveness in the star classified hotels of India. The Evaluation criteria included three aspects: existing literature review, interactions between people associated with digital marketing in these hotels and customers of these hotels. Literature related to digital marketing from Indian hotel perspective is sparse, thus the present research is intended to provide a basis for future research and guidance for industry professionals to best maximize digital marketing channels. Keywords: Effectiveness, Hotels, Digital Marketing, Star classified hotels of India ANALYZING THE EFFECT OF CO-CREATION ON LIFE SATISFACTION OF TOURIST Sandeep Walia1 and Pooja Choudhary2 1, 2SOHMT,

Lovely Professional University, Punjab

Background: Customer satisfaction is one of the widely researched areas of tourism marketing. It is considered to be most important for the existence of any industry. In the past, many year's different strategies have been used to make the customer happy and satisfied. But now in the new competitive market where the customers are knowledgeable and well informed, customer interaction and involvement have become a key component of the comparative environment. Especially in the tourism industries where customer satisfaction not only influences the satisfaction with the services but also impact the well-being of an individual. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Purpose: Considering tourist satisfaction with vacation and life as one of the important elements and co-creation as one of the emerging marking concepts. The present study analyzes the impact of co-creation on the subjective well-being of vacation and on the quality of life. The study evaluates the mediating role of subjective well-being of vacation between co-creation and quality of life. Design/methodology/approach: For the fulfillment of the objective of study quantitative method is used and to understand the different concepts used in the particular study exploratory method is applied. Practical implications – Apart from the theoretical contribution the study also have piratical implication for the tourism industry. The study signifies that co-creation is an important process in marketing. And satisfaction with subjective well-being of vacation will result in satisfaction with life. The study provides a better understanding and suggestion for the tourism industry to use cocreation for the satisfaction of tourists with vacation and life. Keywords: Co-creation, Well-being, Vacation, Subjective, Satisfaction AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF FILM INDUCED TOURISM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KARNATAKA Krishnan Viswanath Srivaths1 and Jamgade Sweety 2 1, 2Ramaiah

University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore (Karnataka)

Motion pictures have long been a factor influencing the behavior of consumers. This also has an impact on their buying behavior, like the desire of an individual to wear the similar brand and style of clothes or use the products used by the lead cast of the movie. Copywriters and advertisers have long used this influencing power of motion media to promote their brands. A derivative of this same marketing concept is, Film tourism or Film Induced tourism. Film tourism, a modern tourism marketing practice, has a scope to generate $3 billion by 2022 in India as there is a potential for up to 1 million film tourists to visit the country by 2022, which is mentioned in the ‘Building brand India through film tourism’, EY and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry report (2019). Studies related to film-induced tourism is still in a very nascent stage, having a lot to be explored in India. India with a population of 133.92 crores (World Bank, United States Census Bureau 2017) is a nation that is heavily inspired by what they see. Indians believe in the concept of seeing is believing. Hence the study was undertaken with a descriptive approach and application of qualitative methods. The sample for the study were locals as well as business owners in the identified destinations. The purpose of the study was to find the various development factors and growth prospects of the destinations through film induced tourism which can be taken up further for investigative study for known destinations in Karnataka. Being an ongoing study, the area of work will be extended to the whole country. The study emphasized on the effects and the growth of tourism post filming and release of popular movies in the destinations where popular sequences of the movies was shot. It was found post analysis of the transcripts that the locals believe the places gained significant increase in tourist footfall post release of the movies. This increase has led to a socio – economic development of the destinations. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Keywords: Film Induced Tourism, Film Tourism, Socio – Economic Development THE ‘JADOH’ TOURISM EXPERIENCE: A CASE OF KHASI FOOD Hakamelamphylla Mawroh1 and Saurabh Kumar Dixit2 1, 2Department

of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

According to Anna Thomas, “We all eat, and it would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly.” This quote rightly talks about the food experience. Experience is all about undergoing or encountering an event or occurrence, which leaves an impression on the person having it. ‘Experience’ comes from the Latin word ‘Experientia’ which means a trial, proof, experiment or experimental knowledge. When it comes to food experience, the ‘experimental knowledge’ aspect of ‘experience’ is most relatable because food is always experimented with new ingredients and it results in attaining some kind of new knowledge and having different kinds of food experience means trying out different types of food and cuisines that may or may not be part of one’s own food habits or cultures. This experimental knowledge of food in many places is gathered mostly by tourists as they travel from one place to another to try out the local cuisines of different destinations and in the process; they gain some knowledge of them. In relation to this, this paper seeks to find out the tourist/tourism experience of Khasi Food. Khasi Food is the indigenous food/cuisine of the Khasi tribe of the state of Meghalaya that is situated in the northeastern part of India. Khasi food represents a very important attribute of the Khasi culture and traditions and that is why it is very intriguing and novel to the tourists visiting the state. The word “Jadoh”, which is mentioned in the title of this paper, is the Khasi word for “Rice cooked in meat (mostly pork) broth/stock with pieces of internal organ meat and a dash of turmeric and salt”. “Jadoh” is a favorite for the tourists visiting Meghalaya along with other dishes. Therefore, this paper will examine the tourist experience of Khasi food through 4 roles which food plays in the formation of tourist experiences, namely, Food and Entertainment, Food and Aestheticism, Food and Education and Food and Memory and also through different constructs for the food tourism experience. The researcher has conducted a study in selected areas/villages of the state with the help of questionnaires wherein tourists visiting these areas were asked to fill in their response in terms of their experience of Khasi food. The study has given an insight on the unique experiences of the tourists while tasting and eating Khasi Food. Keywords: Tourism, experience, food, Khasi Food, Jadoh WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAY? - A PERSPECTIVE OF TOURISTS VS LOCALS Sudeepta Pradhan1, Subhadip Roy2 and Makhmoor Bashir3 1IBS

Hyderabad (Telangana) Ahmedabad (Gujarat) 3Qassim University, Saudi Arabia 2IIM

Responsible tourism has been emerging as a market trend globally, given the shift in ethical consumption to tourism. This paper looks into recent studies in the shifting consumer attitudes D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) towards responsible and ethical aspects of tourism. Responsible tourism is any form of tourism that can be consumed in a more responsible way. The Cape Town Declaration, 2002, specifies that responsible tourism ‘minimizes negative social, economic and environmental impacts’; ‘provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues’; ‘is culturally sensitive, encourages respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence’. Recent years have witnessed a rise in the need for understanding and changing the attitudes, behaviours and choices of individuals to understand sustainable patterns (Shove, 2014). Hall (2013) uses this paradigm to understand behavioural approaches to sustainable tourism. To promote sustainable tourism, social practices, and societal relations firstly socio-technical structures need to be examined. To move towards sustainable tourism, one needs to look at the origin, by altering the relationships within social practices, social relations and social systems (Iaquinto, 2015; Luzecka, 2016). Third, one needs to understand potential pathways i.e. past rules and norms for social transformations required for sustainable tourism (William, 2013). Fourth, the role of governance systems plays a significant role in pushing society towards high or low sustainable tourism practices. Governance systems can change social rules as well as technologies supporting the introduction of more sustainable tourism practices (Hartman, 2016; Wray, 2015). There is a dearth of studies that look into the reasons that make a tourist responsible; or that capture the perspective and role of local players such as residents, businessmen or tour operators (to name a few) in striving for responsible tourism. Based on this premise, the current study has the following objectives: To investigate the attitudes of tourists towards responsible tourism To look into the motivations of tourists towards responsible tourism Capture the views of locals regarding responsible tourism Analyze the various expectations of tourists as well as locals from significant stakeholders. Approach and key arguments/findings – The study proposes to follow a qualitative approach and conduct in-depth interviews of tourists as well as locals (local citizens, tour operators, hoteliers etc.). The interviews would then be analyzed using textual analysis. Keywords: tourism, sustainable travel, responsible tourism ECOTOURISM IN ODISHA – EXPLORATION OF DESTINATIONS AND SHARING OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES Iqbal Ahmad Bhat1 and Nazish Hena Khan2 1Travel

Tourism & Hospitality Management, Khallikote University Berhampur (Odisha) of Journalism, Bharti College, University of Delhi, New Delhi

2Department

The present study is based on the personal experiences of visit to few destinations in the state of Odisha which is known for its ecotourism potential. The land which is filled with myriad forests, mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and soaring peaks with stunning wildlife is worth to visit. The D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) exploration of the ecotourism destinations started after the joining of the author in the Khallikote University as an academician in the department of travel and tourism. The present study takes into account the information search, destination details, tour operator, and travel agent contacts and the available packages. The best source of information available is the Eco-Tourism, Govt. of Odisha website which provides detailed information and is well kept as well as well maintained. The author relied more on the information provided in the govt. website which turned to be the exact source as depicted in the website. The destinations visited and explored includes Daringbadi which is known as Kashmir of Odisha; Mangalajodi, a small village known for its fishermen community and migratory birds; Chilika lake, a brackish water lagoon known for its ecotourism and adventure water sports; Gopalpur, a beech known for its hustle and bustle; Potagarh, a heritage site and others. The visits include the detailed interactions with the local communities and other stake holders involved in the ecotourism. The result of the visit and interactions revealed many aspects about the ecotourism in the concerned destinations which includes community centric approach, sustainable practices, and simple living style based on traditional spheres of living. This study is an approach towards building future research projects and academic assignments taking into account the detailed survey. In the present study, author followed the path of explorations based on visits, survey, and personal interactions as well as experiences. It is presumed that these experiences would serve the basis for the future research in the ecotourism sphere for the promotion of sustainable development practices in the other destinations. The study would also help in developing a qualitative approach to the future ecotourism research in the academic scenario of the tourism management. Keywords: Ecotourism, Destination, Sustainable practices, hustle and bustle, local community THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING ON CUSTOMER PERCEIVED VALUE IN SELECTED RESTAURANTS OF GUWAHATI CITY Pinky Mahajan Assam University, Silchar (Assam) Traditional marketing approach changed with a new approach called as ‘event marketing’, ‘experience marketing’, ‘participation marketing’ or ‘live marketing’. Traditional marketing views customers as rational decision makers focuses on product features and benefits but experiential marketing views customers as rational and emotional human beings who are more concerned with creating customer pleasure and live experience. It is a marketing strategy concerned with involving customers directly in creating brand. Therefore, experience is an essential element of a today’s customer. Experiential marketing plays an important role in influencing customer perception and helps in creating customer satisfaction and loyal base. The main aim of this study is to know the consumer perception towards experiential marketing and the experiential services provided by the restaurants and hotels in Guwahati city. The study will be conducted in the selected restaurants and hotels of Guwahati city and data will be collected through convenience sampling with the help of structured questionnaire. Keywords: experiential marketing, customer perceived value, traditional marketing, customer satisfaction

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) MEDICINAL PLANTS BASED FOOD TOURISM AS AN EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM IN MANIPUR, INDIA Shougaijam Ghanapriyari Devi 1 and Sherry Abraham 2 1, 2

Department of Tourism Studies, School of Management, Pondicherry University, Puducherry

Food is a medium to experience the culture, tradition and intangible heritage of a destination. The unique food culture of a place could be offered as a tourism product to the tourists who have interest in understanding and learning about food culture and tradition of others by tasting or eating local food of the destination. In rural areas, food source includes medicinal plants for food security and to meet the nutrients required by the body. The main aim of this study is to explore the possibility of developing medicinal plants based food tourism in Manipur as an experiential tourism destination. This review paper identifies the potential of medicinal plants based food tourism in the state and finds out the strategies to develop medicinal plants based food tourism in Manipur as experiential tourism. This review paper is based on secondary data related to food tourism, ethnobotanical studies on traditional food with medicinal plants, tourism in Manipur and experiential tourism. The data are collected from various books, journals, conference proceedings, thesis, newspaper articles and websites. The study finds out that Manipuri people use medicinal plants in their cuisine as a food habit, culture, tradition and to meet the nutrients required for their body. It is one of the unique potentials to develop tourism in the state by offering different food tourism product to the tourists. Manipur can be promoted as experiential tourism by developing medicinal plants based food tourism with proper strategies. Ex-situ conservation for medicinal plants in herbal garden, botanical garden, medicinal plants tourism farms and in-situ conservation in their natural habitats are the critical initiatives to be taken up to develop medicinal plants based food tourism. Organising traditional food festival, selling local food products, establishing medicinal plants museum, research centres and herbarium for students are some of the other strategies to develop such type of tourism. Herbal walk in the forest, collecting medicinal plants from the wild, participating in cooking and cultivation of these plants in the farms can be offered to the tourists to gain unforgettable travel experience. Keywords: Food Tourism, Medicinal Plants, Experiential Tourism, Manipur GASTRONOMY AS A NEWLY DEVELOPED TOURISM PRODUCT Dorothi Saikia North East Institute of Management Science (NEIMS), Assam Tourism simply means to travel to a destination. But in deeply, it includes so many things where, staying in a place for at least 24 hours and doing some activities like sightseeing, adventuring, shopping etc. It includes so many sectors like transportation, accommodation, food & beverage service and all together tourism created. According to Word Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) tourism contributes 8.8$ trillion to the global economy and contributed 319 million jobs, representing one in ten of all jobs globally. The product in tourism industry or tourism product consists of the total experience of the whole journey of the tourist from the time the tourist leaves home till the time he/she returns back. It is the sum total physical and psychological satisfaction provides to the buyers. ‘Gastronomy’ is about the study of food and its relation with culture. There are many motivational factors which plays an important role to travel to a destination and gain some experiences. And now a days, experiencing gastronomy is at a similar level to visiting a museum, enjoying music and admiring the architecture of a destination. Gastronomy is also can be refer as food tourism where the preparing style of food, relation with culture and geography with food studied. The study is based on secondary data. In the present study an attempt has been made to provide the potentiality and scope of food tourism as a tourism product. Keywords: Gastronomy, Food tourism, Tourism Product, Physical and Psychological, Culture AN EXPLORATION STUDY ON TAIWANESE TRAVELERS’ EXPERIENCE IN USING ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING WEBSITES Poh Theng, Loo1, Xue Chun, Xu2, Cheuk Yi, Lam3 and On Ki, Lam4 1Department

of International Tourism and Hospitality, Taiwan I-Shou University (Taiwan) 2Department of Postgraduate, University of Surrey (U.K.) 3Ovolo Southside Hotel (Hong Kong) 4Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel, Castle Peak Bay, New Territories (Hong Kong)

Online hotel booking is ubiquitous in tourism due to convenience of 24/7 online website and ease of comparing information for travelers before making their hotel booking. Therefore, online hotel booking websites such as Agoda.com, Booking.com, Hotel.com, Airbnb and other websites have become popular and important among travelers in their hotel room purchase decision making. In Taiwan, the number of travelers who use online hotel booking websites for their hotel room booking has shown positive growth yearly. Moreover, undeniably many hotels rooms are sold via these online platforms. Therefore, understanding the travelers’ experiences in using the websites for booking is important. Qualitative approach was adopted for exploring the Taiwanese Travelers’ online hotel room purchase decision in five stages; (i) identifying purchase needs, (ii) searching relevant information, (iii) evaluating of alternatives, (iv) making purchase decision and (v) postpurchase experience. A total of 25 in-depth interviews were conducted. The findings reveal that at the beginning of the hotel room purchase experience, travelers rely heavily on online booking websites information however when comes to stage four decision making emphasized on the information about the hotels rather than the website information for their actual stay experience later. Seven main categories of elements considered by travelers in their hotel room booking are identified in this study, which are: (a) Basic hotel information (e.g. room type, non-smoking room, breakfast availability, check-in and check-out time), (b) Quality of stay (e.g. cleanliness, safety and security and staff friendliness), (c) Hotel ranking and reviews, (d) Pricing terms (e.g. cancellation policy, refund policy, discounts, payment method), (e) Other services (e.g. shuttle bus, early checkin, late check-out), and (f) Physical evidence (e.g. hotel amenities and facilities). This study D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) enhances the existing literature on online hotel booking experience and also it provides insightful findings for hotel industry practitioners as well as online hotel booking website companies to understand better travelers experience in hotel room purchase and their needs in using the online platforms. Keywords: Online hotel booking website, Purchase decision stages, Traveler booking experience UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM AND SELF CONCEPT BUILDING: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES Zubair A Dada1 and Reyaz A Qureshi2 1Coordinator,

Tourism Management, Directorate of Distance Edu., University of Kashmir, Srinagar 2Sr. Assistant Professor, Tourism & Travel Management, Dept. of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, Srinagar

Self understanding is subordinated to the more inclusive and fundamental aim of building a rewarding sense of self identity. Prolonged absence from home environment is capable of pushing a robust cognitive change in the travelers who are seeking for life changing experiences and new meanings. Experiential tourism emanates from encounters in new cultural settings and assists the traveler to undertake an experiential expedition around self-exploration. It stretches his/her resourcefulness and makes him/her to revisit his/her self-understanding. The present research proposes to reconsider and review the associations between experiential travelling and personal change as is reflected in the attention recently paid to the subject by tourism psychoanalysts who use the psychoanalytical theory for deeper investigation of the area. Keywords: Experiential tourism, self-concept, rediscovering, psychoanalytic, direct experience HOSPITALITY PLAYER’S UNDERSTANDING TOWARDS PRESENT SITUATION OF TOURISM IN THE NILGIRIS DISTRICT OF TAMIL NADU STATE A. Suresh Babu1 and S.C.Bagri2 1Department 2School

of Tourism & Travel Management, Government Arts College, Ooty (Tamil Nadu) of Management, HNB Garhwal Central University, Srinagar Garhwal (Uttarakhand)

Tourism is a major happening in most of the developing countries due to its enormous benefits. Being an alluring sector, both private and public sector participation becomes imperative, is visible through wide range of offerings at all tourist places. Sometimes their offerings act as a prime motive to visit a destination. Also, it is pertinent to note and accept that tourism has redefined itself in its offer and rightly supplied by the involved business players (both private and public). Further going depth, the place, practice, and people are of extreme diverse and accordingly its demand. Pressure is being felt by the business players to meet the demands and invoke them to go for an extra mile by deviating from the allowed/permissible regulation both in practices and physical structures. Thus changes are witnessed heavily which deteriorates the destination image sometimes. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 102 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Having said this, the Nilgiris district is a prominent destination in the state of Tamil Nadu continue to attract millions of tourists every year. Its pleasant climate round the year and distinctive attractions made it more competitive and compelling place to visit. The tea gardens of the district stand tall as a major attraction and create ever green memories to tourists. Due to its plentiful of attractions, there exist a mass tourist arrivals or over tourism which has led the district to have some shortfalls like more number of tourist visitations in some of the clusters leaving many attractions with poor show. The unevenness of tourist footfalls within the attractions and problems due to higher tourist footfalls are the common occurrences, which in due course of time will emerge as a serious threat if unattended. The purpose of this paper is to undergo an examination among the hospitality players involved in various tourism and its related services located in the twin hill stations to learn their opinion/understanding on the unevenness and its impacts on the district’s tourism situation. 200 questionnaires were distributed to different hospitality players located in Ooty and Coonoor (the twin hill stations of the district) environs on the basis of judgement sampling, who were asked to return the questionnaire after registering their opinion as inputs besides panel interviews with the significant industry players. The survey was conducted during the month of May and October 2019 respectively and appropriate statistical methods were used to analyse the data. The results of the survey clearly indicate that the commercialised approach of some business players, less promotion of newer attractions, players focussed on the twin hill stations at maximum level and the negligence of strict monitoring has paved way for some irregularities leading to inconveniences to tourists, people and finally to the nature at large. Strict regularity measures on tourists, yardsticks for hospitality players, time and place bound service accessibility stands part of action plan to rectify the shortcomings. Keywords: Compelling, imperative, negligence, opinion, prominent. PROMOTION OF ECOTOURISM IN PACHAMALAI HILLS OF TAMIL NADU FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT R.Narasimmaraj1 and A. Suresh Babu2 1Department

of Tourism & Travel Management, Government Arts College for Women (Autonomous), Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu) 2Department of Tourism & Travel Management, Government Arts College, Ooty (Tamil Nadu) The Pachamalai Hills is one of the Eastern Ghats hill stations located in Tiruchirappalli District in Tamilnadu. Due to lack rain fall over the past, this hill station's agriculture and agriculture- based activities has been diminished therefore people have lost their employment opportunities over the years. At this juncture the only left option is to develop the tourism activities particularly ecotourism to create employability as well as preservation and conservation of the pristine natural beauty of the Pachamalai Hills is the need of hour. In addition to that, Government of Tamilnadu (Tamilnadu forest Department) has initiated notable activities towards the same. The present research paper deals with the promotion of ecotourism activities in the Pachamalai Hills with the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) inclusion of local community participation (the Maliyali Tribes) in this area. A well-structured questionnaire was developed consisting of both qualitative and quantitative methods to establish levels of participation of local community, amenities/ facilities and the environmental conservation measures. Data were collected from the form selected ecotourism spots in the Pachamalai Hills. All the assessment was completed by using rank test and factor analysis with relevant factors incorporating scale development techniques. The attraction diversity in the areas is high, even though the resources were associated with minimum level of accessibility, low levels of tourism infrastructure, reasonable levels of environmental degradation and moderate level of community participation. Results from this research paper would be presented to government authorities (Department of Forest, Government of Tamilnadu) for further development. Keywords: Ecotourism; Resource evaluation; Assessments; Pachamalai; Hill Station PROMOTION AND OUTCOMES: A CASE STUDY OF PUNJAB TOURISM Sunil Kumar Institute of Vocational Studies (Tourism), Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla (H.P.) This paper is to assess the promotional strategies of government of Punjab for Heritage Tourism on the basis of secondary data of past 10 years with an approach to evaluate government's expenditure on promotion of tourism. It is also measures expenditure and its relationship with tourist footfall, foreign earnings and development confined to tourism of Punjab. This study is aimed to fill the gap between the present approach and actual requirements of Punjab tourism. The outcomes are based on the data provided by public domains, RTI and Annual reports with the help of Quantitative methods in graphical and tabular form, In addition to this valuable suggestions from tourism professionals are included which may help policy makers in planning further strategies for Heritage tourism development. Keywords: Heritage, Tourism, Promotion, Strategies DO XENOPHOBIA IMPACT TOURIST DECISION-MAKING PROCESS? Himanshu Jishtu Dept. of Travel and Tourism, St. Bede’s College, Shimla (H. P.) This study investigates into the tourist perception behind making a destination choice. The fear of unknown cultures had always restrained tourists from visiting a destination. Red flags against migration and increasing xenophobic national character do have probability to impact tourist inflows. This provide rationale to investigate tourist behavior in relation to cultural distance of religion being inherited to cultural distance for the same community. This study first investigated the impact of xenophobia on destination choice by tourists. Xenophobic mindset is being investigated with relation to culture and latter to the religion. This is followed by investigation of spiral impacts of xenophobia on tourist behavior which may make him skeptical to his own community too. This study is being carried out upon tourists in one of the famous Himalayan tourist D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 104 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) destinations, which accounts for 2.9 million tourists per year and is a cultural mix of colonial heritage and ethnic customs. A total of 384 samples were collected keeping in view the representativeness of samples. Keywords: Xenophobic tourist; Destination choice; Tourist decision-making; Cross-cultural tolerance WINE TOURISM IN INDIA: TOURIST MOTIVATION PERSPECTIVE Sudeepta Pradhan1, Sunny Bose2 and Makhmoor Bashir3 1, 2IBS

3College

Hyderabad, IFHE University, Hyderabad (Telangana) of Business and Economics (AACSB Accredited), Qassim University (Saudi Arabia)

Introduction: In 2008, Sula Vineyards in Nashik started the first annual two-day 'gourmet world music festival', commonly known as SulaFest. Located in the heart of the wine capital of India; Nashik, the festival include music, drinks, food, and fashion. Additionally, the fest offers grape stomping, wine tasting, master classes by winemakers and camping as well. The festival provides high voltage performances by acclaimed artists & bands. For the SulaFest 2020, Sula Vineyards promises to plant a tree in exchange of every ticket sold, making it India’s most sustainable music festival. Wine destinations across the world have begun to realize the benefits of wine tourism and its role in generating tourists and revenues. Wine tourism has been defined as ‘visitation to vineyards, wineries, wine festivals and wine shows for which grape wine tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of a grape wine region are the prime motivating factors for visitors’ (Hall et al., 2000). Wine, food, tourism and arts collectively form elements of wine tourism and provide lifestyle packages to wine tourists (Hafermann & Lankford, 2019). A Summary of the research aims – - To examine the demographic and behavioural characteristics of wine travellers in India - To examine the motivations of wine travellers in India - To come up with focussed marketing strategies for wine marketers Approach and key arguments/findings – The study proposes to follow a qualitative approach and conduct in-depth interviews of wine travelers. The interviews would then be analyzed using textual analysis. The findings would help in identifying the expectations and motivations of wine travelers in India. This would provide marketers and vineyards plan their marketing strategies. Keywords: Tourism, wine tourism, travel, marketing strategies

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) VIRTUAL REALITY RISING AFFECT ON CONSUMER EXPERIENCES - A CASE STUDY OF INDIAN HOSPITALITY & TOURISM INDUSTRY M P Sharma School of Travel & Tourism, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, (U.P.) The purpose of this paper is to address changing consumer experiences in hospitality and tourism Industry which aspects of technology brought about these experiences. This paper proposes a conceptual model of technology and consumer experiences. Also examines aspects of cyber technology that give rise to consumer experiences and projects what the consequences of these experiences may be as they apply to marketing. Resorts and hotels are constantly innovating when it comes to selling their family packages and premium relaxation experiences. The growing availability of virtual reality creates new marketing and branding opportunities for the industry to offer cutting edge and deeply immersive ways to engage with customers. VR as an Amazing Sales Tool Selling a premium hotel room or holiday experience, or distinguishing it from rival offerings, is an increasingly challenging task for marketers and brands in the hospitality industry. The use of virtual reality can provide inspiration and innovation when selling hotel rooms or travel packages to travel agents, wholesalers, event planners and then on to consumers in increasingly competitive markets. As the use of VR becomes a more commonly accepted marketing tool in coming years, hotels will be able to share virtual experiences directly with customers. These will be shared via desktop or mobile app, social networks (YouTube or Facebook 360). Customers are already enjoying VR for sports and music events and sharing 360-degree clips with friends. Soon their holiday videos will also come in VR-format, and customers will expect the resorts to be promoting their destinations in a similar manner. Also, in the near future, content can be viewed within a web browser, the forthcoming WebVR standard should vastly increase the use and acceptance of VR. Hotels and resorts could regularly update information pages with WebVR widgets to show off the latest rides, attractions and room improvements. A tour can help transport customers to these places and put them far closer to the reality than any traditional marketing. Keywords: Virtual reality, conceptual model of technology, WebVR widgets, web-based technologies, event planners

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM IN KATHMANDU VALLEY - A CASE STUDY ON GUTHI SYSTEM U N Shukla1 and Shashank Shekhar Tiwari2 1, 2

Department of Travel & Tourism Management, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Agra (U.P.)

Heritage is all tradition, qualities and features which passed from one generation to another. In the case of “cultural heritage,” the heritage not only consist of money or property, but of culture, values and traditions. Cultural heritage symbolizes our history, our bond to the past, to our present, and the future. According to Garrod & Fyall, “Cultural heritage can be potentially preserved through tourism and this can be achieved with the local community participation”. It has been observed that Involvement of local community is critical for the preservation of unique cultural heritage of the region. Nepal is a home of 10 world heritage sites and famous for its historical and religious significance. Newari people are the natives of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal is well known for their historic heritage and civilization. Local community participation for the preservation of their heritage is practiced from thousands of years in Newari community of Kathmandu valley by the formation of ‘Guthi’. The main roles of Guthis’ are to safe guard their various religious, cultural and social establishments through the conduction of different religious festivals and rituals. But due to some reasons, like globalization and bad government policies Guthi’s practices are diminishing day by day. This is a qualitative analysis tends to highlight on the role of guthi system in saving and conserving the cultural heritage of the region which further boost the tourism in Kathmandu valley. Keywords: Cultural Heritage Tourism; Community Participation, Guthi, Kathmandu Valley EMERGING TRENDS OF MICE IN CONTEXT OF INDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY Tarun Kumar Rana1 and U. N. Shukla2 1, 2

Department of Tourism & Travel Management, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Agra (U.P.)

Tourism is the major revenue generator of the Indian economy. In this context, there are various types of tourism activities which contribute in their own way across the country. It is observed that the MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conventions, and Exhibitions) business experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, and a large revenue generator for the Indian tourism industry. In other words, the MICE business has a significant role in the Indian tourism industry. There are many sub activities in this business such as business gathering, meetings, corporate incentive tours, conventions, exhibitions, and corporate events; which are taking a place throughout the year across the country or in other way it may be said that MICE business has no significant seasonality challenge. In this way the MICE Tourism is a recession-proof type for the Indian tourism industry. Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism acknowledging the significant role and importance of developing, creating healthy environment & world-class amenities in India to overcome the aspect of seasonality and to promote India as a 365 days’ destination for the tourists.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Furthermore, it has experienced that the trends of MICE tourism are becoming more dynamic in nature as well as changing their way in accordance with the corporate houses' demand over the past few years. In this context, the MICE tourism is changing and growing day by day from this, new emerging trends come into existence, particularly in the MICE segment. In this paper, the study will include the various emerging trends of MICE in the context of Indian tourism industry. Keywords: MICE Tourism, Business travel, corporate events, emerging trends, recession-proof. A STUDY OF ADVENTURE TOURISM AS A RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY IN KULLU VALLEY U N Shukla1 and Anuj Kumar2 1, 2Department

of Travel & Tourism Management, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra (U.P.)

From the ancient period, the man's quest for nature is always to get the win over it and this has taken the space of adventure throughout the world, presently adventure tourism. It is not markedly censed with the risk of life but also become sources of recreational activities with full of thrill and challenges to fight with nature. India is a country which as all kinds of adventure activity namely: Land-based, Water-based, Aero based. The Northern and Northeast part of the country is cover with ice/snow peak mountain wild they Western, Southern and Eastern part of the country it's surrounding by area south ocean, hind ocean and Bay of Bengal respect this indicates the high adventure opportunities with in the country for an adventure lover. The Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh lustily covers with mountain, river, forest and snow cover mountain, which has in the scope of the soft and hard adventure. You just name it and you get it over there, from beginner to expert treks, river rafting, etc. all can be found in one place. In this paper, an effort has been made to discuss those activities of adventure which are recreational and having nature of soft adventure in Kullu valley and explore all those adventure tourism activities to the fullest to enjoy them as recreational activities. Keywords: Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Recreational Tourism, Kullu Valley A STUDY OF PALACES OF GWALIOR IN TOURISM PERSPECTIVE U N Shukla1 and Mansi Sen2 1, 2Department

of Travel & Tourism Management, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Agra (U.P.)

Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world. India cannot be untouched with it. From ancient to medieval period the image of the country was limited up to the fact that it is an abode of sadhu’s, snake charmers, and maharaja’s(king’s). Thus, the concept of heritage tourism has been added in India as it has been a land of 562 states before independence. The Scindia dynasty of Gwalior state was one of the renowned among all due to its wealth and prosperity. The palaces of Gwalior have a great attraction among the domestic as well as foreign tourist. It has a vast change of the dynasties which contributed in the construction of palaces in Gwalior such as gurjar, pratihar, mughals, tomar and scindia dynasty.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) In this research article the efforts have been made to highlight the all palaces of Gwalior which have a great scope of tourism development in a state. Keywords: Cultural Heritage Tourism; Community Participation, Gwalior ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK Jutimala Bora1 and Toralima Bora2 1Department

2Centre

of Commerce, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh (Assam) for Computer Science and Applications, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh (Assam)

Social media can be considered as one of the powerful tool of communication in present day world. People more often use the social media platform to collect information. Social Media has huge impact on the people of every walks of life. In present day scenario, social media is extensively used in every industrial sector and the tourism sector is not way behind. The entire North East over a long period of time growing as a hotspot for tourism and Kaziranga National Park can be considered as one of the most attractive and enchanting tourist destinations situated in Assam. However, most people now a days greatly depends on the social media before taking any decision. The easy availability of the information and easy accessibility with pictures and videos always helps a person to plan their trip beforehand be it the location, booking of hotels weather conditions etc. Thus, an attempt has been made to study the role of social media for the development of tourism industry with special reference to Kaziranga National Park based on some of the search queries. The study will be based on secondary data. Keywords: Social Media, Tourism, Kaziranga National Park. THE ROLE OF TOURISM DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS IN EXPERIENCE BUILDING Abijith Abraham1, Saurabh Kumar Dixit2 1, 2Department

of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

In the modern online age, Tourism destination competitiveness has become an important concept in devising a process to ensure higher customer / guest satisfaction level. The need to ascertain the correlation between what assigns the tag of a ‘top’ destination and the tourist numbers has become an important aspect for the personnel with destination management organizations. Therefore the scholarly works that connects tourism destination competitiveness and experience building has seen a rise in numbers. The results of such studies may prove to be useful in illustrating the important characteristics of a destination and level the playing field for destinations competing against each other in the same global market. Furthermore, the need prioritize the customer/guest experience will simplify the task for other tourism stakeholder to introduce a tailor made product for the tourist visiting a particular destination. The more subjective variables such as quality tourism experience will be computed along with the objective variables including the likes of tourism expenditure and D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) arrival counts. Finally the practices ensuring quality tourism experience will provide with a great reason for the tourists to revisit a particular destination. Keywords: Tourism destination competitiveness, quality tourism experience, tourism satisfactions, experience building ICT AS A SYNCHRONISING TOOL FOR COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA? AN EVALUATIVE STUDY Rashmi Ranjan Choudhury1, Saurabh Kumar Dixit2 1, 2Department

of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

Globally, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has improvised the tourism industry as a fast growing industry. Technology has a significant stance in tourism industry as several activities are related with communication and technology like; information search, booking, marketing, service deliver and so on. Community based tourism (CBT) is a leading form of tourism in the rural areas having natural, cultural and any form of tourism potentials. Now days Govt is more concern about CBT development in the possible destinations by providing special attention and grants. In the digital era, ICT plays important role to maintain synchronization between several stakeholders and provides a directional growth to the tourism industry. The use of ICT increases the tourist visit, demonstrate the important dimensions of tourism and enhance the livelihood of the local community. E-commerce, social media representation, e-word of mouth marketing are the main features of ICT used in tourism which can be used for CBT development as well. Meanwhile in India the ICT development in several remote areas are not up to the mark, hence raising the problems like: community awareness about ICT, adoption of ICT in tourism development. This evaluative study focuses on the local community perception and their consciousness about ICT and find out the digital gap between the stakeholders coordination in ICT implementation. Finally the paper suggests few operational measures to be undertaken by the community as well as the administrators in bridging the digital gap for a sustainable community based tourism development. Keywords: Technology in tourism; ICT; Community Based Tourism; CBT; Local community; Digital-gap PROMOTING UMSWAI VALLEY AS A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DESTINATION BY INDUCING RURAL TOURISM MODELS AND COMMUNITY INDULGENCE Angshumi Goswami Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) The article focuses on the livelihood generation model in the Umswai valley of Karbi Anglong through the involvement and interactions of communities living in the valley. The otherwise selfsufficient tribes of Karbi, Tiwa and Khasi explore new avenues of generating income by indulging themselves in tourism related activities. Umswai valley is a paradise unexplored in the heart of D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Karbi Anglong. With jaw-dropping landscapes, lush greeneries and its distance from the hustle and bustle of city life, makes it a perfect travel destination. Umswai valley lies in the West Karbi Anglong district and consists of several villages which are again inhabited by several indigenous tribes living in perfect harmony. With the help of an NGO named Root Bridge Foundation, the tribes dwelling in the different villages scattered all over the valley was able to recognize the tourism potentiality their land has. Consequently, with the consent of the villagers and the willingness of the organization, an initiative was started to promote sustainable tourism in the valley and to attract tourists and enhance the economic activities of the land. The villages in Umswai valley since 2018 has been bought under the web of tourism and it has been promoting tourism activities involving setting up of eco tourism models. This paper assesses the techniques and processes undertaken by the communities and the organization collectively to promote rural tourism thereby ensuring sustainability in consumption of resources and generation of revenue. Since the Rural tourism project in the valley was started from scrap, the main aim has been to set up proper homestays for the tourists to come and stay. The article deals with both primary and secondary data, the former been collected trough visits to several villages in Umswai valley namely Shikdamakha, Bormarjong, Amdaba and the latter been collected through published journals and information available on the internet. Keywords: Umswai valley, Karbi Anglong, Sustainable tourism, Rural tourism, homestays, communities EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES OF RURAL TOURISM IN EAST JAINTIA HILLS Kular Skhem Mukhim Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya)

Tourism sector nowadays have reached almost every parts and corners of the world. It is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in modern world. Nevertheless, rural tourism also has been one of the tools that bring major development in many rural areas. East-Jiantia Hills is one of the districts in Meghalaya which is still lack behind in attracting both domestic and especially international tourists even though these areas have lots of potentiality. This paper aim to explore all the areas in East Jaintia Hills which have a potential in attracting tourists and also the major challenges faces by the locals in promoting rural tourism. Using exploratory method, questionnaires and secondary data available this paper will try to find out the way and needs of these areas in promoting rural tourism in sustainable manners. Keywords: Tourism, Rural Tourism, Development, Domestic tourists, International tourists, Sustainable, East Jaintia

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ON A DESTINATION’S GASTRONOMICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF A TOURIST Purvi Saini1 and Shantanu Jain2 1

Delhi Institute of Hotel Management, Lajpat Nagar (Delhi) of Hotel Management, Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli)

2Institute

ABSTRACT There is a huge competition between different destinations to attract tourists. Tourists need to have food, and prefer to try the local cuisine so as to get the overall local experience of the place they are visiting. The local market thus can benefit an economic boost if they fulfill this demand of the tourists. Food for some tourists plays an important role in selecting a destination. Gastronomy in these times has become a significant part of cultural exploration and it is considered to be a thoughtful variable in structuring a tourist’s day. Gastronomic tourism means when people decide to explore certain destinations for the sole and foremost purpose of trying the local offerings and food options available to them. In other words, it is the exploration of the local cuisine as the purpose for undertaking tourism. In scientific literature, gastronomic tourism is also defined as a kind of tourism, which is based on visiting different restaurants’, food festivals, food producers and certain special places for tasting distinctive varieties of food, to eat food prepared by a renowned chef, to watch the preparation of certain kind of delicacies. In recent times, with social media influencing the gen-next to travel more, this sort of tourism has become very popular, as proven by a study conducted by the World Food Travel Association, having about 52% respondents travelling for the sole purpose of trying the local food, and about 83% of respondents believing that the local food creates an everlasting experience of the destination. Tourists want gastronomic experiences, which are, tend to be unique and available in a particular local region. This Descriptive research tends to find the connection between gastronomy and tourism and to know more about niche market segment and gastronomy tourists. This study is taken in the Delhi NCR region, which is no doubt a destination point, which offers unique and diverse gastronomy. The results of data analyses will reveal whether the gastronomy has an impact on the overall experience of tourists visiting a destination. Keywords: Gastronomy, Tourism, Destination, Travel, Culture Literature review As per definition, Tourism is the movement of people or a group of people, from the place they belong to a place they want to be, for the purpose of leisure, and for a period of not more than 6 months. Tourism then segregates into 2, Inbound which means foreigners entering the country in focus and Outbound where the people of the country in focus visits another country. Before the invention of wheel, such trips were done usually in herds for the sole purpose of safety and travel and such groups were called as Caravans. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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Figure 1 Pictorial representation of types of Tourism Tourism is considered to be as a basic activity for human, which is of utmost importance to provide a fresher outlook as well as experience to the one who undertakes it, one that is able to reduce tension and increase the quality in life. As discussed earlier, in the old times, mass tourism was the only way of experiencing it, but in today’s time, tourism is practiced solo, or in small clusters, which have a common goal of leisure and tying out new experiences as well as culture. Through the activity of tourism, monotony that surrounds the daily routine of the individuals is nullified and a fresher perspective of a brand new life is achieved. A fast paced life of today years something new almost every day, and thus food related tourism, or Gastronomic tourism, is such an experience. The basic concept of gastronomic tourism is the person who plans an outing or a trip partially or entirely dedicated to sample and taste the local offerings as well as products which are available, or to indulge and sign up for activities specific to food and gastronomy. (Georgică gheorghe, 2014) A popular tourism researcher Javier Blance Herranz has categorized the motivations of the person undergoing tourism into main two categories – the internal push/stimuli and the external pull/stimuli. As per him: The internal stimuli is looked from the view point of demand, where they motivate the traveler to undergo tourism of the gastronomical locations which includes desires as well wants of an ego-centric mind which years for an escape from the monotony of the daily schedule, and looking forward to a relaxing experience along with the family to achieve a deep emotional bonding along with one another. The resources which are considered as the pull stimuli are natural as well as cultural aspects of attractions, such as special festivals, events and special experiences pertaining to food related products at the tourist focused destinations. Some other factors are also considered along, in the pull stimuli which include the level of friendliness that the residents show towards the tourists, diversity of the gastronomical scenario of the country in focus along with the variety, proximities of the country, planned geographical layouts of the cities of the country etc. (Banerjee, 2015) Travelling a particular location for the sole purpose of experiencing the local Gastronomical offerings of the country is considered to be an emerging phenomenon, which is molding itself as a new and upcoming tourist offering or product, mainly pertaining to the fact that almost 1/3rd of the allocated budget of the trip is incurred on the consumption of food. Due to this sole reason, the cuisine of the locals is considered to be as an important attribute when talking about the overall tourist experience. One of the most used definitions of Gastronomic tourism is one proposed by Antwain Lee is that gastronomical tourism "is considered to be a soulful journey, of the regions vibrant and rich in resources concerning gastronomy, and excellent cuisine to innovate leisure experiences which are done for the purposes of excitement inculcation and entertainment that D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 114 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) includes: Field visits of Food related suppliers, gastronomical festivals, Cooking Demonstrations, and food tastings or for that matter any food related activity." This roadway of experiences serves a direct connection with the personal lifestyles that people follow, which includes getting firsthand experience in experimenting, eating more traditional foods, getting to know the basics of different cultures, accumulating knowledge and summarizing the focal points related to culinary tourism along with regional specialties of the regions visited. If the above mentioned reasons are considered to be motivating factors to undergo gourmet tourism for a specific destination, the person is considered to be travelling for the sole purpose of Experiential Tourism for Gastronomy. Such a tourism type includes various sub-topics, if considered solely from the perspective of food (Lee, 2015) According to the number of tourists as well as the level of interest, (Hall CM S. L., 2003) divided food tourism into three main categories, namely, gourmet tourism (or gastronomic/cuisine tourism), culinary tourism and rural/urban tourism. The interest level of the tourists travelling for gastronomy was used as key differentiating point between the aforementioned three categories in accordance to their core description. Gastronomical tourism is completely attributed to food, where whatever activities the tourists participate, they revolve around food. It can be defined as a kind of food tourism, where visits to famous, expensive as well as poor restaurants along with wineries that are known for their famous offerings and special products. The second category is the culinary tourism which is characterized by a moderate level of interest in food. The Culinary tourists are fond of the local offerings of food and wine and consider them as an important factor for judging the overall essential experience of the place they are touring, but they don’t emphasize completely and only on the basis of food. Culinary tourists are the people who eat typical regional offerings at a meager price range and in a setting that is non-fine dining as preference is given on the local, dining ambience (Beer CL, 2012). Thus to sum up, ‘culinary tourism is not simply one more niche product such as eco-tourism but a recognition of the vital role that cuisine can play in the creation of a satisfying tourism experience as well as its role in expressing a destination’s cultural heritage’ (S, 2006) Culinary tourism makes acquaintance to the production of ingredients involved in making food, its distribution, the methods employed so as to prepare the food for consumption, the styles in which it is authentically consumed and the social environment and contexts in which the consumption occurs. The last category of this food related tourism is rural/urban tourism which is characterized by a clear majority of travelers. These tourists have negligible priority and preference in any sort of activities or interests related to food activities and they just consider the local food as ‘trying something different’ mainly done as a plain necessity (Sharma, 2004). Marketing Tools used to Promote Gastronomical Tourism in India Flavors of India Indian food, which is considered very popular all across the globe, is a subtle art of balancing all the wonderful exotic and native spies, ingredients and colours, which has always been the sole reason to attract a foreign clientele to appreciate all its properties. "The motivation behind such rise in the popularity is the mindset to know whatever one can know about the lifestyles, traditions and culture that Indians follow. (Sahin, 2015) And For Indians, food is undoubtedly very important" D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) remarks Sameer Gupta, an industry veteran having 30 years experience behind him and having served dignitaries like George Bush, Lady Diana & Prince Charles, and also involves himself teaching Indian cuisine at his home to the foreign tourists that visit Jaipur. The classes include ingredient familiarization along with cooking authentic Indian preparations and also eating them afterwards in a family style. Delhi Tourism’s: Dilli ke Pakwaan Festival This annual event, which is of a week’s duration, hosted by Delhi Tourism, was a plethora of culinary delights were offered to the tourists and visitors. The event was named “Dilli ke Pakwaan” and was held at Baba Kharak Singh Marg. In its last edition, it witnessed a new attraction called ‘Khau Gali’ which had stalls owned by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) showcasing the best selections as well as their culinary brilliance. Hundreds to Thousands of visitors attended the food stalls under the Khau Gali section and experienced how food sold on the streets add charm and play an important to add variety to the overall food scenarios which usually is dominated by food chains. It was observed that foreign tourists all the way from countries like Germany, United States and Britain were also at the event and they relished a lot of dishes like chaap with rumali roti special tikki, jhaalmurhi and special Kebabs. Food vended on the Streets is considered as a treasure house of traditions and is one of the top force enhancer and multiplier of the tourism industry. It is a well known fact that the street food culture of Asian countries is quoted as the best. The street food offerings under the zone of Khau Gali served some delicious culinary fares including chhole kulche, dahi kabab, namkeen chirwa, potato veggies, shevpuri, and a lot of paan, which is a digestive, wrapped in a betel leaf. Along with Starters, there was a lot of emphasis on royal mughlai food like biryanis, kababs and paratha, and an amazing range of desserts including lassi, milkshakes, churan and Bengali sweets like roshogulla. International Mango Festival The International Mango Festival which is Organized in Delhi, can most certainly be described as a mega event which happens for around two days, mainly during the summer time, where around 550 varieties of mangoes are exhibited , some of the popular demand mangoes being the 'alphonso', 'chorasya', 'shamasi', 'balia', 'malda', 'nigarin kheria', 'himsagar', 'dhoon', 'dhaman', 'ruchika', 'gelchia', 'amrapali', 'mallika' and a lot others. The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) in coordination with the National Horticultural Board, hosts this festival every year at famous venues. It also involves the participation of Famous chefs from famous restaurants and hotels around the country preparing delicious theme recipes as well as dishes, all comprising mainly of mangoes. The evening is also enhanced by a lot other activities like the mango slogan writing competition, A mango theme park for kids to enjoy and other cultural performances like the mango eating contests which are judged on the basis of time are important aspects that make the festival. Culinary heritage, a mirror to real India With the hunger to search the authentic roots, this much is clear that foreign traveler don’t just want to visit 5 star hotels and industry veterans, and thus this search paves their way towards the simple households of India. Such are the places which teach them traditional delicacies such as Mangodi ki sabji, Besan Gatte, Batata chi Bhaaji, dal, Baigun Bhaja and some sweet preparations like Basundi D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 116 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) and Sheera. Such activities are then concluded by everyone sitting and eating together thus promoting communal harmony. (Ms. Gauri Shah, 2017) Experience which was relished by involving oneself completely in cooking and eating together stands nowhere near to what the Indian restaurants have to offer, even if they are the best in business and serve excellent dishes. Tour organizer Sanjay Kaushik of Rajputana Holiday Makers says, "even though the hotels of today’s time portray a royal and luxurious image of India, but the foreign gentry wants to explore the real India, its values, the legacy set in terms of culinary and the life lead by Indians, And that’s exactly why such involvement between the groups of foreigners and community has been visible." Gujarati Food Festival A yearly affair, celebrated in the land of Gandhi Gujarat, a very elaborate scale food festival is celebrated, popularly called as the Gujarati Food Festival by the locals, which pays a small tribute to the far and wide, sweet and tangy Quintessential Gujarati Khavanu, consisting but not limited to Gujarati Kachori, Khatti Meethi Kadi, Jalebi, Rabri, Methi nu Muthiya, Surti Dal, and a series of other amazing culinary preparations, that remain sort of exclusive to this part of India. Street Food vendors, Hawkers, Restaurant owners as well as renowned chefs of Gujarat also take a part in this happy festival and it goes on for about a week. Objectives   

To analyze the impact that gastronomy has on tourism. To explore the market segment of gastronomical tourism. To identify the priority level of the tourists on the gastronomical aspect of their destination.

Study methodology A descriptive research framing was followed in this study know the preferences of the tourists along with how high in their personal pecking order, do they keep food while travelling a foreign land, and also how often do they travel for the sole purpose of eating food. In addition to above, it was also sought out to study how much impact does the gastronomical sector has, on the overall tourism of a particular country, which was done keeping in mind of the first objective; the information published was obtained by the questionnaire analysis, which involved a lot of personal as well as topic related questions so as to record and observe whatever opinion the samples gave out. Research design The research paper adopted a descriptive design in analyzing what importance the country’s local gastronomical offerings have on the overall experience of a particular tourist. Qualitative as well as Quantitative approaches of collecting data were adopted for such an analysis assignment of the feedbacks of the selected respondents. The Primary Data was collected through a questionnaire along with an interview and the Secondary Data was collected through the help of Magazines, publishing’s, books as well as the internet.

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Description

Particulars

50 Convenience Descriptive Study National Capital Region of Delhi Primary and secondary

Sample Unit Sampling Type Nature of the study Location of the study Nature of data

Target population

Table 1 Research Design Particulars

Combining a lot of elements with similar behaviours as well as characteristics of any particular group in focus is called as population (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). The target universe and the population selected for the study included Tourists in Pahadganj area of New Delhi. 50 tourists which were touring the city from various countries as well as nationalities along with around 5-10 employees of reputed tours and travels agencies was selected so as to have a varied viewpoint and a larger outreach of the population. Sampling size To conduct the research, a simple method of random sampling was applied for sample selection. Here a very fair game was played wherein every potential sample applicant had an equal chance of making the required cut, and this was done on the basis of convenience of the authors to select the samples for the observation and study. Data Collection Procedure A Structured questionnaire along with a quantitative tool, such as the Likert’s ten point scale was used. Surveying of the site used a questionnaire having ten closed-ended questions with nondetermined answers to record the opinion that the samples had.

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Figure 2 A detailed flow chart showing how the research has been done. Data analysis Participants included 50 Indian tourists visiting Delhi/ NCR which is famous for its local food and has an ample of high end or chain restaurant/ café option as well. They were asked to fill the questionnaires. Following is the result of survey done:

Out of 50, 46% of the respondents i.e. 23 people were the residents of Delhi/NCR whereas 54% of the respondents i.e. 27 people migrated from other parts of the country. Therefore responses of the people from different regions of the country have also been recorded. Out of 50 respondents, 12 people are between 18-25 years of age. Highest proportion of respondents i.e. 18 people were into the category of age group 26-35. Lowest proportion of respondents fall into the category of age group 36-45 that means people who fall under this category of age tend to travel less. 14 people out of total respondents were into the age category of 46 and above. Hence we can say that people between the age group 26-35 tend to travel more and people between the age group 36-45 travel less maybe because of increased responsibilities of family and work.

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Respondents were asked whether they prefer local food or the chain restaurant / cafes upon visiting a destination. Out of 50, 32 respondents which makes about 64% of the population that was studied said that they like to have the local food more if compared to chain restaurants/cafes, and the remaining 18 respondents which makes 36% said that they opt for dining at chain restaurants/ cafes. Hence we can say that greater proportion of people prefer exploring local cuisine of the respective destination in order to consume the culture of the place completely.

Given data depicts that out of 50 respondents, 40% of the total population is engaged in their own business to sustain ad survive, 14% of the overall respondents are employed in the public sector, doing jobs in banks, insurance companies, defense etc. whereas the left over 46% of the respondents are engaged in private sector firms.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Hence we can conclude that people engaged in private sector tend to travel more than the people engaged in public sector. In order to release off some stress people engaged in private sector travel more like weekend gateways or something like that

.

Above pie chart, it is shown that 12% of the population i.e. 6 people said that their monthly earning is up to Rs. 20000. 22% of the total respondents’ i.e. 15 people responded that their monthly income is between Rs. 25000-35000. Coming forward, 36% of the population i.e. 18 people responded that their monthly income is between Rs 35000-45000. Remaining 11 people out of 50 said that their monthly income is above Rs. 50000. Therefore scale of monthly income greatly influences the travellers’ decision of selecting a destination and making a budget.

Respondents were asked whether they are aware of the term “Food Tourism”. According to the above data analyses, 84% of the total population studied were very well familiar with the term while 4% of the total number under the ‘No’ category knew vaguely, as in they had half knowledge about the topic. 10% of them heard of “Food Tourism” or Gastronomic Tourism” but had an incomplete information. Remaining 2% of the total population studies had never heard of the term. Therefore, we can say that major percentage of the population is aware of the term gastronomic or food tourism.

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So out of 50 respondents, 17 people consider food as the major criteria for choosing the destination to visit, thus making them ‘Gastronomical tourists’, 12 people had some irregularities in their thought process and thus gave negative response to the same question, making them what we call as ‘Rural or Urban’ tourists. The rest 21 people weren’t sure, some saying they might travel provided the place they are visiting is super famous for its food or it is a one time opportunity, and therefore the problem statement was not properly analysed using this particular and simple close ended question Respondents were asked whether local food has major influence over experiencing the destination, and to this statement, 23 people said yes making it the majority decision, whereas 14 of the selected respondents did not agree to the statement and they thought of it as untrue. Remaining of the 13 respondents were in a dilemma and thus being in the state of double mind, they opted for the third option “maybe”. This could either be the fact they were playing it safe or maybe because they had a 50-50 opinion of the topic, hence the number of people who were not sure of their answer was less. Because the previous question wasn’t clearly answered as percentage of people who opted for maybe was high, this question proved a little beneficial to rectify the problem and give a clearer solution. Respondents were asked what ratio of travel budget was spent on gastronomy. 22% i.e. 11 respondents believe that they spent one fourth of their budget on food. 52% i.e. 26 respondents believes that they spend two fourth of their budget on food whereas according to 26% i.e. 13 respondents, they spend three fourth of their budget on food. People who fall in third category can be categorized under gastronomic travelers whose sole purpose of travelling is to try different cuisines of different destinations.

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74% of the total population studied i.e. 37 people gave a positive response when talked about retention of visiting the same place again for food, while 26% of the total population studied i.e. 13 people do not consider gastronomy as the driving factor. Results and Conclusion The current research studied the effect of gastronomical implications on the overall experience of tourist. Respondents were asked whether they prefer local food or the chain restaurant / cafes upon visiting a destination. Out of 50, 32 respondents which make 64% of the population studied said that they prefer local food over chain restaurants/cafes while the remaining 18 respondents which makes 36% said that they opt for dining at chain restaurants/ cafes. Hence we can say that greater proportion of people prefer exploring local cuisine of the respective destination. Taking about considering food as the major criteria for choosing a destination to visit, it has been observed that large percentage of people weren’t sure, but the doubt got cleared when asked whether local food had major impact over experiencing a destination. It has been revealed from the study that nearly half of the population spend two fourth of their travel budget on food and 13% of population study spend ¾th Hence food is given a distinct priority upon visiting a destination. Moreover, those 3/4th people are categorized as gastronomic travelers. Thus, it was found out to be actually true, that the idea of Gastronomical tourism is very exciting and a lot of people put out a lot of priority when they talk about travelling for food. References  Alipour, M. G. (2011). The impact of sales forces on marketing beverage performance in Iranian SMEs. . International Journal of Humanities and Social Service, 1(2), 112-117.  Baker, S. &. (2003). The market researcher's manifesto. International Journal of Market Research. 45 (4), 415–433.  Banerjee, M. (2015). Food Tourism: An Effective Marketing Tool for Indian Tourism Industry. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064, 4(6), 795-800.  Beer CL, O. M. (2012). Food tourism implementation in the black forest destination. Journal of Culinary Science and Technology 10(2), 106–128. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)  C., A. M. (2007). A study of the effect of sales promotion on consumption of fast moving consumer goods in Kerala. Department of Commerce & Management Studies, University of Calicut.  Cecco, C. C. (2010). Food and beverage revenue maximization parameters in 21st Century. Journal of Academic Research in Economics, 127-137.  Georgică gheorghe, p. t. (2014). Gastronomic tourism, a new trend for contemporary tourism? Cactus tourism journal . 9(1). 12-21.  Hall CM, S. L. (2003). The consumption of experience or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste. Food Tourism Around the World: Development, Manag, 314335.  Lee, K.-H. P. (2015). Travel lifestyle preferences and destination activity choices of Slow Food members and non-members. Tourism Management, 46, 1-10.  Lewis, M. (2004). The Influence of Loyalty Programmes and Short-term Promotions on Customer Retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(3), 339-350.  Ms. Gauri Shah, M. K. (2017). A Study on the Importance of Food Tourism and its Impact on Creating Career Opportunities amongst the Residents of Pune city. International Journal of Research in IT and Management (IJRIM). 7(3) , 192-208.  Nelson Oly Ndubisi, &. C. (2005). Customers behaviourial responses to sales promotion: The role of fear of losing face. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 17(1), 32-49.  Pae, J. H. (2002). Global advertising strategy: the moderating role of brand familiarity and execution style. . International Marketing Review, 19(2), 176-189.  Pendit, S. D. (1998). Pramusaji Food and Bevrage Service. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.  Rachman, A. (2019, October 22). Retrieved from eprints.ung.ac.in: http://eprints.ung.ac.id/1695/5/2012-2-93403-331308013-bab2-06022103025059.pdf  S, I. E. (2006). Segmenting Canadian culinary tourists. Current Issues in Tourism 9(3), 235–255.  Sahin, D. G. (2015). Gastronomy Tourism as an Alternative Tourism: An Assessment on the Gastronomy Tourism Potential of Turkey . International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Sep 2015, 5(9), 79-105.  Sharma, Y. U. (2004 ). Culinary preferences of foreign tourists in India. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 29-39.  Stevens R. E, &. L. (2005). Sales force survey of the Carter Sales force. Yorkshire: Haworth Press, Yorkshire.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) ROLE OF FOOD/PRASADAM SERVED AT RELIGIOUS PLACES TO ATTRACT TOURIST/PILGRIMS: A CASE STUDY OF TIRUMALA Lomte D. M. Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) ABSTRACT The offering and receiving of prasadam has a significant role to play in our Indian society. Food served in temples in India is regarded as pure and sacred. In India, temple food has always held a special place in the hearts of those who have a religious bent of mind. Different shrine has its own special prasadam and often has vast dining areas to offer food to devotees. Temple food has a unique cooking style and cuisine. Food sustainability is yet another reason that temple food should be studied, Temples in adapted and sustained. Lesser popular temples have Annadanam for festive days, as well as on important occasion like Sivaratri, Navratri etc. More than being delicious, the prasadams are produced with sheer scale of operation and also large numbers of volunteers prepare it with much love, every single day of the week. Every prasadam has its own uniqueness. People consider prasadam as the direct blessing from their God. They consider prasadam as a favourite food of their beloved deity. Researchers would like analyse the role food /prasadam served at religious places to attract tourists /pilgrims. The study is conducted at Tirupati (AP) with an example of Tirumala. The researchers have used percentage and cross tabulation to analyse the data. Data collected have been analysed and graphs have been generated by using IBM SPSS version 16.0. Chi square test has been calculated to test null hypothesis. Null hypothesis got rejected and alternative hypothesis got accepted. The result of this study proves that food served at religious place play an important role in attracting pilgrims and tourists. Keywords: Prasadam, Temple Food, Food Sustainability, Temples, Annaprasadam, Attraction, Pilgrims/Tourist etc. Introduction Food served at any religious places is generally in the form of Prasadam. The food prepared with full dedication and use of appropriate ingredients. These cooking techniques are developed since ages, with experience and as per the acceptability of the people visiting to the religious place. India is a country with rich cultural heritage and is known for this all over the world. This diversity of culture can be seen in its different religions established in the country. Indian cuisine in true sense is an amalgamation of the cultures, traditions and influences of different ethnic communities absorbed and imbibed over the centuries. Indian considers food as an auspicious entity to preserve culture and connect people other than satisfying hunger and perform body functions. A basic necessity of life, food is one of the only constants found across all groups, societies and cultures. Religious groups take the role of food beyond fulfilling physical and emotional needs by including it into daily religious practices and rituals (Heather Farr).

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Definition of Food “Food” means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, which is intended for human consumption and includes primary food to the extent defined in clause, genetically modified or engineered food or food containing such ingredients, infant food, packaged drinking water, alcoholic drink, chewing gum, and any substance, including water used into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but does not include any animal feed, live animals unless they are prepared or processed for placing on the market for human consumption, plants, prior to harvesting, drugs and medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances (India, 2006). Prasadam There are several stages of the Hindu practice of cooking, offering and eating prasadam. The chefs have to remove their shoes and the Maha Mantra played quietly in the background. Cleanliness is a very important aspect of preparing prasadam and it is equally as important that the food being prepared is fresh. After the food is prepared and offered, all are invited to eat; at the end of the food distribution line, a smaller vessel held mahaprasad, or food that was directly offered to God. All devotees, all present will be invited to share in the practice of receiving prasadam. The receiving of prasadam from God’s leftovers is not only between one devotee and God, but is community-based too. Devotees believe that the gift of prasadam is so great that it must be shared with others (Heather Farr). The Sam Veda says in text 19 that “the giver of food protects one and all” and giving prasadam is considered “the noblest form of donation” (Vedas). The text explains that donating food blesses devotees. According to the scripture, if devotees do not offer food to others, or store more food than needed, God will destroy all food (Vedas). Ghee soaked Halwa and puri served at Gurudwara or lunger; Sabudana Vadi, Karanji and Modaks served at Siddhivinayak Temple, Dadar (Mumbai); the food served at pandals, we have been to Durga and Kali pujas in Nagpur, just for the simple and comforting moong dal khichuribhog(rice, pulses and vegetables cooked to a creamy consistency) served along with bainganbhaja (fried brinjal) and payash (kheer) or Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane (Chennai) serves the puliyodarai are the various kind of food served in the form of Prasadams. If you visit Rajasthan, couldn’t stop talking about the qawwalis and kheer (tabarruk) distributed during Urs at Ajmer Sharif. Prepared in two huge cauldrons (deg), in the precincts of the dargah, it is garnished with dry fruits. Also tradition of laddu itself is nearly 300 years old at holy town Tirupati (Swaminathan, 2015) are prasadam. Religious belief expressed as food customs To understand the reasons for nutritional and dietary customs in any religion requires a brief orientation of the rationale for such practices and laws. Many religious customs and laws may also be traced to early concerns for health and safety in consuming foods or liquids. In the past, preservation techniques for food were limited. Modern conveniences such as electricity were unavailable, and the scholars of the day did not understand theories of health promotion, disease prevention, and illness as they do today. Therefore, religious leaders of the day developed rules about the consumption of foods and drinks, and religious practices, restrictions, and laws evolved. Specific laws about what can be consumed remain in most religions today. Attention to specific D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 126 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) eating practices, such as overeating (gluttonous behaviors), use of strong drink or oral stimulants, and vegetarian diets, were also incorporated into the doctrine of religious practice. In addition to laws about the ingestion of foods or drinks, the practice of fasting, or severely restricting intake of food and/or drink, became prevalent, and is still practiced by many religions today. (Waibel) It is important to make a distinction between the growth of spirituality in secular societies and public interesting a ‘New Age’ sensibility. Tacey (2003) argues that spirituality has come to the attention of the fields of public health, social work and psychology because it is larger and more encompassing than the New Age, which is a commercialized ‘wing’ of new spiritual movements. New Age often relates to the ‘exploitation’ of public interest, whereas spirituality is a response to, and engagement with, the social environment. It might also be a consequence of secular societies searching for answers to burgeoning social problems. King(2008) suggests that a significant part of the appeal of spiritual movements in modernity is that they have come to be seen as more inclusive and accessible than orthodox mainstream religions, though the latter groups do maintain their own unique and adaptive expressions of spirituality. Tirumala Bharat, the land of spiritual bliss is strongly believed to be pervaded by the Lords, their deep imprints and a sense of divine presence, eternally available in the environment around. The presence of deities is often felt in the structures called temples, which are the epitomes of the great; age old, rich Hindu Sanatana Dharma. Among the galaxy of temples, which are also the architectural marvels located in our country, the hill shrine of Tirumala is accredited as being the most visited temple in India and also in the world as a whole. Located on the picturesque Seshachalam Hill Ranges, this temple occupies a unique place in our great land of holy shrines (TTD, Temple Legend). A ritual of Naivedyam offered at Tirumala The Naivedyam is served between 8:30 am to 9:00 am during winter and between 7:30 am to 8:00 am during summer to deity. The first bell announces the offerings of food as Naivedya to the Lord by ringing the two big bells followed by Sattumurai through the recitation of the prabandham by the Jiyanjar or his assistants and the Vaishanva Acharyapurushas. This is followed by the distribution of matras or dadhyondana among them. The ringing of the bells and the Naiveydam is popularly called the first bell of the temple. While the food is offered as Naivedya to the Lord only the archakas are present and the BangaruVakili doors are closed. During this time the cooked food is brought in the mantapa in large gangalams of exact sizes; called solai or half solai measures. Food offerings are also made to Vishvaksena, Garuda and the nityasuries during this time (Ramesan, 2012). Food Served to Pilgrims/Tourist at Tirumala Sri Vekateswara Annaprasadam is unique among all donation trusts that are being run by TTD. ‘Annam Para Brahma Swarupam’. Food only can support the body to attain Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. Programmes of the scheme This was started on a small scale in 1984 and now Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is providing full meals as "Annaprasadam " on free of cost to all devotees in D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Tirumala and Tiruchanoor. Every day nearly 2 lakh devotees are availing the free Annaprasadam in Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Nithya Annaprasadam Complex, PAC-II Tirumala .TTD is also supplying food packets on a continuous basis to the pilgrims awaiting for darshan in outside Q-lines and in the compartment of VQC-I &II .In Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple also nithya Annaprasadam facility being provided, daily for about 5000 pilgrims at free of cost. Besides this T.T.D. is providing free food to the pedestrian Pilgrim in the Alipiri footpath near Narasimhaswamy Temple. TTD started distribution of Annaprasadams at Srinivasam and Vishnu Nivasam complexes, Tirupati with effect from 11.1.2014 to 10,000 pilgrims twice a day. Mathru Sri Tarigonda Vengamamba Nithya Annaprasadam Complex, Tirumala was newly constructed with Rs.35 crores& the building was opened by H.E.Smt. Prathibha Devisingh Patil, Hon’ble President of India on 07-07-2011. The building is having four dining halls in two floors. Each dining hall is accommodates 1,000 persons at a time in new Annaprasadam building. In addition to full meals daily about 4,000 Nos. of Rotis are also prepared. The Annaprasadam complex is completely modernized with modular kitchen equipment by adopting the modernized cooking ranges, trolleys, vessels and dining tables. Around 1000 staffs including office staff, catering Supervisors, cooks, cleaners and contract workers etc., are in the service of devotees visiting Tirumala in providing the free Annaprasadam to the them every day (TTD, Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust). Laddu Tirupati Laddu or SriVari Laddu is the Laddu sweet offered as Naivedhyam to Venkateswara at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The Laddu is given as prasadam to devotees after having the darshan in the temple. The Laddu prasadam is prepared within the temple kitchen known as 'Potu' by the temple board Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tirupati Laddu received Geographical indication tag which entitles that only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can make and sell it (Wikipedia, Tirupati Laddu). Research Question After discussion on food served at religious places, we would like to know  

What is the role of gender and food / prasadam served at the religious places to attract pilgrims? Whether Laddu and Annaprasadam served at Tirumala have any role in attracting pilgrims?

Objective To find out the role of food/prasadam served at religious place to attract pilgrims. Hypothesis H0: There is no association between food served at religious places and frequency of visits by pilgrims / tourists H0: p< 0.05 H0: Food served at religious places do not play any role in attracting pilgrims / tourist. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) HA:There is association between food served at religious places and frequency of visits by pilgrims / tourists HA: p> 0.05 HA: Food served at religious places play important role in attracting pilgrims / tourist Methods 

Questionnaire Design

The tool used to conduct survey was a questionnaire on Google Doc Forms which was divided into two parts, demographic profile and responses about religious place and food serves there. 5 point Likert scale is used to understand the frequency of visit in future and recommending same to friends and relatives. 

Scale

5 point Likert scale is used to understand their attraction about food served at religious place; where 1= Not at all visit again /Not at all recommend to friends and relatives 2= Will not visit again / will not recommend to friends and relatives 3= Neutral 4= Will visit again / will recommend to friends and relatives 5= Sure, Will Visit again / Sure, will recommend to friends and relatives 

Sampling

A pilot study of about 5 questionnaires was conducted with the help of Google Doc Forms and appropriate changes were made accordingly. The link was circulated among the students of Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati and their friends. The respondents were chosen from Tirupati conveniently to understand revisit of the respondents for prasadam to Tirumala. Convenience sampling method is used to select the sample, as no financial support available to conduct the study. Researcher has used its own resources. The sample size of 76, considered for study. 

Data and Statistical Analysis

Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 and graphs were generated using Microsoft excel version 2007. Chi-Square test was performed and p values of H0

 The next question asked whether the sale tactics affect the f&b revenue, was whether money spent on publicity is properly recovered or not. The H0 would be NO, & the H1 would be YES. The Observations recorded were 65% of the respondents saying YES, and 10% contributing to H0 by voting NO. Other option being DEPENDS had 25% supporting the answer.  Another Likert’s scale was used to know about the discounts that are offered to the customers, in reference to drinks. Discount is a popular sales tactics used to increase the f&b revenues. Thus, an assumption was made, & hypothesis testing was done. (Refer last graph on page 9) Assumption: 0-5 scale points fulfills the H0 condition and the 5-10 scale points fulfills the H1 Arithmetic Mean (H1) = 07(s.p.6) + 15(s.p.7) + 10(s.p.8) + 05(s.p.9) + 10(s.p.10) = 47 i.e. 4.7 10 10 Arithmetic Mean (H0) = 0(s.p.0) + 0(s.p.1) + 0(s.p.2) + 0(s.p.3) + 0(s.p.4) + 03(s.p.5) = 30 i.e. 0.3 10 10

Thus, (H1) = 4.7 and SO, H1 ≠ H0 and, (H0) = 0.3 H1 > H0

SR. NO. 01.

QUESTIONS

(H0)

Do you think sales techniques help in maximizing 30%,

D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

(H1) thus 70% in favor

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) food and drinks revenue?

rejected

02.

On the scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), what is the level of benefit the hotel receives in terms the revenues, by effective sales techniques

0.5 Mean, 4.5 Mean, thus thus rejected valid

03.

Do you think Money incurred on advertisements 10%, thus 65% in favor made for earning food and beverage revenue is rejected recovered in the form of increased revenues?

04.

Rate from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) about how 0.3 Mean, 4.7 mean, thus effective is discounts in drinks sale? thus rejected valid

Table 2 Questions from the questionnaire to test the Hypothesis Conclusion To be able to frame a conclusion, we can say that sales strategies and tactics are directly proportional to the revenue as well as the profit generation of the company. The more practical the sales strategy be, the more the organization will flourish in the long run in terms of higher profits of food as well as room revenues, but one thing to note, not only the strategies play a vital role, but it is the quality of the service product that actually plays an important role in the revenue generation. The food and beverage sales strategies used by the hotels around Delhi NCR are usually prepared by considering some certain theories like the AIDAS theory, right set of circumstances theory and most important, the buying formula theory. There are certain other practical guides, which are looked and pondered upon, while making a sales tactic, which are usually done through a market survey, which aids the organization to know about the guest, the buying worth and capacity of the guest and of course, the income level of the clientele as well. Speaking of the hypothesis that was put forth, the hypothesis was proven true, which meant that the respondents do think that there is an impact of proper sale strategies over the food and beverage revenues, and thus all the questions asked in the form of “Objectives of the Research” were answered in the study. A negotiation process follows this step between the customer and the sales person to come a rate, which will be feasible for both the customer and the sales person. Next is the closure of the deal in which the product is sold to the customer. Limitations When the study was conducted, it was found that if the sample hotels were more, the result would have been more varied and conclusive. To add to this, the geographical area for sample selection was limited, due to inconveniences to the Author. Delhi NCR is in itself a very huge area, which couldn’t be covered without facing many difficulties. Lastly, getting sensitive information from various hotels like the author did above, the F&B Revenues was very difficult (for obvious reasons) which caused a major hindrance. Recommendations: Extensive research is still required to conclude with Arithmetic proof that sales forces affect the Food and beverage revenues. This paper proved the H1theory using Arithmetic Mean that there exist a positive relation i.e. better the sales forces employed, better will the profits. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) References  Alipour, M. G. (2011). The impact of sales forces on marketing beverage performance in Iranian SMEs. . International Journal of Humanities and Social Service, 1(2) , 112-117.  Baker, S. &. (2003). The market researcher's manifesto. International Journal of Market Research 45 (4), 415–433.  C., A. M. (2007). A study of the effect of sales promotion on consumption of fast moving consumer goods in Kerala. Department of Commerce & Management Studies, University of Calicut.  Cecco, C. C. (2010). Food and beverage revenue maximization parameters in 21st Century. Journal of Academic Research in Economics, 127-137.  Lewis, M. (2004). The Influence of Loyalty Programmes and Short-term Promotions on Customer Retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(3), 339-350.  Nelson Oly Ndubisi, &. C. (2005). Customers behaviourial responses to sales promotion: The role of fear of losing face. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 17(1), 32-49.  Pae, J. H. (2002). Global advertising strategy: the moderating role of brand familiarity and execution style. International Marketing Review, 19(2) , 176-189.  Pendit, S. D. (1998). Pramusaji Food and Bevrage Service. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.  Rachman, A. (2019, October 22). Retrieved from eprints.ung.ac.in: http://eprints.ung.ac.id/1695/5/2012-2-93403-331308013-bab2-06022103025059.pdf  Stevens R. E, &. L. (2005). Sales force survey of the Carter Sales force. Yorkshire: Haworth Press, Yorkshire, GBR 112013.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) THE HIMALAYAS AS A TOURIST DESTINATION: ADVENTURE AND SPIRITUAL Gunjan Malhotra Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) ABSTRACT The paper aims to understand the pull-factors that affect tourists and influence them in choosing The Himalayas as a tourist destination. The paper also determines the infrastructural elements that drive tourist people to want to visit The Himalayas. The regression analysis has been conducted on the preferences of the tourists and factors that motivate them to revisit the Himalayas as per their experience in terms of spirituality and adventure. The results show that although people visit the Himalayas with certain expectation of adventure and the spiritual experience but their expectations are not necessarily translated into actuality when it come to the spiritual experience. Possible arenas of spiritual experiences that can be tapped by marketers to satisfy tourists’ (customers’) spiritual expectations have been provided. Keywords: the Himalayas; tourism destination, spiritual tourism, adventure tourism Introduction Destinations are an amalgamation of tourism services and products, which offer an integrated and comprehensive experience to people (Buhalis, 2000). New tourist destinations have emerged such as nature-based outdoor leisure activities (Boyle and Samson, 1985; Lee et al., 2001; Ryan & Bernard, 2003). The most popular destination for tourism is the mountains with their majestic beauty (Mieczkowski, 1995). Mountains as a tourist destination that help to promote enhancement in the quality of life of local people by initiating infrastructural, and other economic development (Nepal, 2003). Mountain tourism remained in isolation for a long time, protecting their traditional ways of life (Apollo, 2014; Craig-Smith, 1994). The Himalayas is the highest mountain chain in the world (Apollo, 2016) with diversity in its natural environment (Andreychouk, 2015; Apollo et al., 2018). The Himalayas are the great mountains of Asia, which includes more than 110 peaks expanding to elevations of 7,300 meters or more (Hewitt, 2013). It also includes Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. It lies on the borders of India and China (Apollo, 2014). The Himalayas are particularly significant due to their lasting affiliation to literature, mythology and religions sentiments (Brunn, 2015; Chaterjee and Bishop, 2018). Since time immemorial the vast glaciated heights have attracted various pilgrim mountaineers from the Indian subcontinent and other places. In contemporary times too, the Himalayas are the most recognized among the tourist community and to mountaineers throughout the world (Pomfret, 2006). Himalayan tourism brings together travellers, adventure sport, spiritual experience, and outdoor recreation. While being an undefeated destination choice among many mountain destinations due to their landscapes, culture, wildlife, and a hotbed of activities like trekking and rock climbing for adventure-seeking enthusiasts, it also has a place in distinct and niche area of spiritual tourism (Beedie & Hudson, 2003). This experience broadens the possibility of the Himalayas, in the tourism context. The paper recognizes the pull-factors that affect tourists and influence them in selecting the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 186 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Himalayas as a destination of the visit with gender preferences and determining the basic amenities such as infrastructural facilities, ease to travel, etc., that drive people to want to revisit the destination. The various factors that pull the tourists to visit Himalayas are the effectiveness of the organizing company/website, safety and risk preparation, online reviews, landscape and the perceived holy/spiritual aura of the mountains (Singh, 1993; Mustonen, 2006). Interestingly, after adventure sports, spirituality is considered the most important factor for the people who frequently visit The Himalayas as a tourist destination (Stringer & McAvoy, 1992). The remainder of the paper is followed by the literature review and hypothesis consisting of adventure and spiritual preference of the tourists (or consumers) to revisit to the Himalayas. The next section discusses the methodology adopted for the paper. Next the results and discussion of the paper is done. Lastly the conclusion and recommendations for the future research ideas are suggested. Literature Review and Conceptual Framework Tourist destinations are competing to provide maximum satisfaction to the people. The tourist managers have formulated effective destination management strategies to attract more regular tourists and to create revisit intentions. Many studies have focussed on tourism satisfaction through the perception of the individual tourist’s experience in the diverse types of tourism destinations. These tourism destinations may include spiritual tourism (Bagri & Kala, 2015; Sharply & Jepson, 2011), island tourism (Prayag & Ryan, 2012; Mitchell & Reid, 2001), mountain tourism (Jurigová & Lencsésová, 2015; Fredman, 2008; Gill & Williams, 1994), adventure tourism (Buckley, 2007; Weber, 2001), leisure tourism (Veal, 2017; Kyle et al., 2003), and rural tourism (Sidali et al., 2015; Jamal et al., 2011). The concept of adventure trip, along with a spiritual experience, is not much explored in the Himalayan studies by the researchers. Mountain Tourism as an attractive Tourist Destinations Tourist destinations can be defined as a place where a tourist can attend events, festivals, walk, see historical monuments, rest, taste local cuisine, spend his time in nature and experience unique features of a destination (JOVANOVIĆ & Ivana, 2016). Mountaineering, trekking, and hiking, as tourist destinations have increased over the years (Apollo, 2017). Mountains have grown in popularity worldwide as a significant holiday destination among the tourists (Taher et al., 2015). Mountains have always been famous for its coastal regions, but recently mountains majestic and remote beauty have gained global popularity. The feeling of losing natural ecological tourist spots to the drastic climate change patterns experienced around the world has increased the tendency of tourists to shift their destination choice towards places which might not be the same after a few years. Therefore, the Himalayas have become popular destinations for international tourism due to its severe environmental and socioeconomic concerns (Nepal, 2000). The tourist destination is a competitive market as it works on revisit intentions of the tourists. It is unclear on what type of characteristics influence repeat visits. The repeat destination visits may happen because of relaxation, recreation, and destination image. If the tourist perception on destination loyalty improves, the revisit intent and recommendation of the destination as a vacation destination also increases (Som et al., 2012; Kuo et al., 2016). Therefore, tourist companies are D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) interested in effectively convincing consumer decision-making process to motivate tourists to visit the Himalayas as a tourist destination. The tourist decision-making process to select a destination is inclined by diverse, flexible factors. It depends on the influence of external factors such as infrastructure, the natural beauty of the place, etc. and the effect of tourist habits and requirements. The Consumer Decision Process Model represents a five-step process of consumer decision making (Blackwell et al., 2006; Apollo, 2015): information search, need recognition, outlet selection and purchase, evaluation of alternatives, and post-purchase evaluation. Throughout these five steps, many factors affect consumer decision making. In the post-purchase evaluation process, people may be satisfied or not satisfied with the destination selected to visit for a holiday. They may feel uncomfortable with the decision made by them (Bakshi, 2012; Apollo, 2015). Customers’ expectations and needs keep changing and, therefore, the customers’ satisfaction from the product or service remains inconsistent (Kano, 1984). The Kano model classifies the customers’ preferences as desired quality, expected quality, indifferent quality, delighter quality, and reverse quality. The customers’ satisfaction level from the tourist destination may encourage them to visit the Himalayas for adventure or spiritual tourism. The current tourists don’t recognize destinations only as a tourist product which offers an overall integrated experience but is subject to different interpretations depending on a range of different parameters (Sims, 2009). Tourist destinations are well defined geographical areas which double as a world heritage site. The general view is that the tourist packages offered to prospective customers are well-designed portfolio of services that encompass pleasing factors to entice the consumers to the maximum. The destination has itself become a service environment (Edensor, 2000; Žabkar et al., 2010). Tourist managers need to plan parameters in their resource management and product design to increase tourists’ motivations from substitutable products and product configurations (Gnoth, 1997). In tourist destinations, the relationship between performance and importance of a destination attributes helps to increase the satisfaction among the tourists. For example, one of an emerging spiritual and adventure tourist destination is Trijuginarayan, located in Garhwal Himalaya in the Uttarakhand state of India. The important destination attributes are related to hospitality and safety, tourism product of atmosphere and climate, a variety of tourist activities, spiritual and cultural nature. The performance of these attributes helps to determine tourist satisfaction. Also, the satisfaction among the tourists increases because of facilities such as accommodation, hygiene and sanitation, tourism infrastructure, and transportation at destination (Bagri & Kala, 2015). Few studies have shown that tourists’ insight is a consistent forecaster of behavioural intents for a tourism destination (Wakefield & Barnes, 1996; Sirohi et al., 1998; Sweeney et al., 1999). The mountain tourism experience may be influenced by consumer intention and assessment which examines the causes of intent of the tourists to revisit the destination (Chen & Tsai, 2007; Chi & Qu, 2008; Prayag & Ryan, 2012). Studies show that satisfaction and quality/performance are good predictors of hikers' intended revisits. The more the tourists are satisfied, the chances of revisiting the tourist destinations increases (Kozak, 2002; Chen & Tsai, 2007; Malhotra, 2017). The organizing company must satisfy the basic requirements to retain hikers such as infrastructure, health, and amenities, etc., to establish positivity with the destination selected. Therefore, the proposed hypothesis is: D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) H1. Tourists' visiting the Himalayas are affected by basic requirements such as infrastructure quality, etc. for overall satisfaction and revisit intentions Adventure Tourism Adventure tourism encouraged many people to engage in mental stimulating adventure activities to pursue self-fulfilment and excitement. As part of their adventure tourism activities, tourists prefer to travel to remote destinations (Swarbrooke, 2003). However, the behavior of the individual tourists has changed over the years, and they demand attractive and unique experiences in their holiday adventure activities. Hence, new markets for adventure tourism have emerged (Poon, 1993). Individual tourist's experiences differ due to their behavior, experience, and motives that change over time. The differences in adventure activities and experiences have recognized the growth of adventure holidays. Thus, adventure tourism companies sell an enormous collection of activities and varied experiences in different tourist destinations to attract tourists and ensure exclusive experiences for their tourists (Swarbrooke, 2003). Adventure tourism participants are motivated to participate in every adventure activity that provides various levels of risk in diverse forms (Weber, 2001; Swarbrooke et al., 2003; Pomfret & Bramwell, 2016). There are positive and negative risks associated with adventure tourism activities. When the tourists control a challenging activity, it is known as positive risk whereas, when the person cannot control the activity, it is termed as danger and known as a negative risk involved. The risks associated with adventure tourism may vary as tourist’s experiences, knowledge, and skills to perform an adventure activity may be different. However, a person’s participation and experience in adventure activities may influence the perceived or actual risk taking capabilities. One of the motives to participate in these activities is the element of risk associated that is sensation seeking (Woicik et al., 2009; Pomfret & Bramwell, 2016). It includes two motives of the adventure tourists to participate – first, to seek complex, new, intense, and varied experiences; and, second, to willingly experience the legal, financial, physical and social risks. Another intention to involve in adventure activities may include tourists need to become more competent, to improve self-esteem, to develop a skill, and/or, to experience challenging innovative situations (Campos et al., 2018). Tourists’ experiences change with their behavior and motives if they regularly engage in various adventure activities. Adventure tourist company Pretoria, South Africa conducted a research on African speaking individuals and realised a need for a comprehensive adventure tourists sociopsychological profiles of participants (Lötter et al., 2014). The adventure tourists are different with regards to gender. Male adventure tourists prefer the winter season to participate in hard and highrisk adventure activities such as air-based activities. Whereas, female adventure tourists have a preference for helicopter flights, scuba-diving, and abseiling as a hard/high-risk adventure activity. Females’ participation in adventure activities is less than males’ participation due to fear, risk and/or, lack of skill (Lotter, Geldenhuys & Potgieter, 2014). Mountains, in particular, are attractive tourism destinations that preserve mountaineers to seek adventure willing (Collister, 1984; Scott, 1994; Beedie & Hudson, 2003; Mutana & Mukwada, 2018). Mountaineering tourism as a holiday destination had significantly increased the adventure tourism business with indicating limitations between mountaineering and tourism. The tourists plan a holiday to experience adventure activities, and these holidaymakers buy mountaineering packages D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) independently to gather maximum experience through indulging in adventure activities (Dean, 1976; Urry & Rojek, 1997; MacCannell, 2013). Mountaineer tourists (or adventure tourists) are encouraged to participate in package mountaineering holidays in the Chamonix region of the French Alps. Package mountaineer tourists includes mountaineering as a key part of tourist’s lifestyles, experienced mountaineers do not consider themselves as risk takers, and mountaineer’s tourists develop skills and experience to contribute in package mountaineering holidays (Butzmann & Job, 2017). These package mountaineering tourists consider having a safe mountaineering experience that inspires tourists to revisit the destination (Pomfret, 2011). An inspired tourism destination is enhancing a Scottish mountain recreational site. This site is endangered by climate change, which may impact current desires and interpretations, infrastructure, and management strategies on tourist experiences (Varley & Medway, 2011). The development of adventure tourism has created uncertainty of outcome through participating in adventure activates (Miles and Priest 1999; Price, 1978). The Push and Pull Theory indicates a desire to satisfy once requirements, the attraction of tourist destinations. Tourists motivation is a push factor whereas, the perception of tourists to visit a tourist destination is a pull factor as per the theory (Dann 1977; Hallab, 1999). Adventure tourism is marketed by refereeing any outdoor recreation activity because of adventure activity. The detailed plan and smooth logistical and safe itinerary may be required to provide a successful experience for adventure activities. The appearance of adventure tourism impacts mountain tourists by controlling experts, promotional media, and the application of technology in adventurous settings (Davies, 2018). These factors provide an extraordinary experience of an adventure in mountain exploration. The experiences of adventure tourism may be different for males and females as per their risk-seeking capabilities. Therefore, the next hypothesis is: H2. Male Tourists’ visiting Himalayas are looking for an experience of adventure activities more in comparison to female tourists. Spiritual Tourism Spiritual tourism has increased as more people prefer to travel to find peace and inner self. Spirituality means the breath of life. Spirituality was defined as "An individual's endeavors to explore and, deeply and meaningfully connect one's inner self to the known world and beyond" (Kale, 2006). At times spirituality and religion are considered similar, but the two of them are different (Marler & Hadaway, 2002; Standifer et al., 2010; Kelly, 2017). Spirituality includes parts of pranayama and yoga into it (Corner, 2009; Kumar et al., 2014). The word yoga means ‘yuj' in Sanskrit, which means to attain the objective of recovery through mental and physical balance (Woodyard, 2011; Varambally and Gangadhar, 2012). Tourism is linked with spirituality, where pilgrimage travel is considered as the earliest form of tourism that helps in personal transformation (Cohen, 2008). The spiritual tourism and yoga tourism are used interchangeably as there, is same, associations with pilgrimage and wellness tourism. It is based on similar associations and to predict the motivation of tourists on account of uniting body, mind, and spirit (Bowers & Cheer, 2017). Yoga was first introduced in India. It has powers to heal unique health problems and provides wellness experience to its followers (Agarwal, Makker & Sharma, 2008). India is "yoga bhumi" and one of the spiritual hubs of the world. Several religions D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) have their origin in India (Aggarwal et al., 2008). For India, yoga is an essential part of India's national history, identity, and psyche. The Ayurveda and the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) of the Himalayan region have harvested from ancient times for their multiple uses (Sharma & Kala, 2017). This Ayurveda and MAPs give an additional advantage when merged with spirituality and yoga for tourist's wellness experience. Thus, the Himalayas of India has a unique position in the world map of mountain tourist destinations. Therefore, the demand for mental and spiritual renewal tourism services has risen in the past. Tourists are required to improve their health and identify themselves through an experience they gather in the natural environment of the Himalayas. Tourists prefer to deepen their experience, enhance their personal growth, and speed up their spiritual healing experiences. Thus, the experience of spirituality is related to the experiences tourists gather within the destination and with the quality of tourism services on the destination (Ambrož, & Ovsenik, 2011). Therefore, tourists, both males, and females prefer spiritual tourism to rejuvenated themselves and finds a deeper inner self for peace and meaningful life experience. Hence, the next hypothesis is: H3. Female Tourists’ visiting Himalayas are looking for an experience of spirituality. Research Methodology The exploratory research approach is used. Quantitative research includes ‘statistical procedures to examine group means and variances’ (Ponterotto & Grieger, 1999; Ponterotto, 2005). The data sample is obtained from seasoned tourists visiting the Himalayas for hiking and mountaineers who are in the pursuit of exploring hilly areas during each of their visits. This research entails using convenience research to cover a wide range of hikers living across India as the source of judgement because limiting the survey to people living in the vicinity of the destination would limit the scope of accessibility to tourists. Convenience sampling is selected because of the convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher (Robinson, 2014; Farrokhi & Mahmoudi-Hamidabad, 2012). A deliberate effort was made to include responses of domestic as well as international hikers and mountaineers. A structured questionnaire was floated to all parts of India in order to obtain a balanced sample. The data was obtained from hikers as well as non-hikers and social media fora like "The Himalayan Club" established by Corbett (1929), which comprises of trekkers who pursue hiking on a regular basis. Structured questionnaires were designed in the English language and were provided to 400 hikers and non-hikers and garnered a response from 267 people, representing a response rate of 66.75%. As per the literature, a response rate of 35% is considered desirable (Baruch and Holtom, 2008). The questionnaire was completed in the three-month (September-November 2018) survey period. A Cronbach's alpha reliability test on our set of data that is 267 respondents shows that the data set is reliable (Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items = 0.676). The questionnaire employed a 7-point Likert scale for judging importance given to ease of travel, safety, infrastructure, local market, and internet facilities. The choice was made for a 7-point Likert scale rather than a 5-point one for various reasons. Miller (1956) argued that the human mind has a span of absolute judgment that can distinguish about seven distinct categories. A span of immediate memory for about seven items, and a span of attention that can encompass about six objects at a time, which suggested that increase in the number of response categories beyond six or seven might D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 191 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) be futile (Colman, Norris & Preston, 1997; Finstad, 2010). Also, Lewis (1993) found that 7-point scales resulted in stronger correlations with t-test results. Quantitative studies emphasis on the measurement and analysis of causal or correlational relationships between variables (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). The study tried to explain the factors that impact the revisit intent of the consumers to The Himalayas through multiple linear regressions. After that, the factor analysis technique was used to denote procedures for data-reduction and summarizing. The Principal Component Method was employed using SPSS, version-20. Then, the factors that show an impact were selected to study the cross-tabulation using the chi-square test to determine preferences for the male and female tourists while visiting the Himalayas for adventure tourism and/or spirituality tourism. Results and Discussion Out of a total of 267 respondents included in the study, the number of males was 177 (66.29%) while the number of females was 88 (32.96%) while a handful of 2 respondents didn't wish to disclose their gender (Table 1). 34.1% of the respondents were married, and 77.6% of them were having the annual income less than INR 20 lakhs, and most of them have done graduation. The distribution as per their current place of residence is 45.69% North India, 26.5% South India, 19.47% West India, 5.24% Out of India and remaining 3% from East India. The age range 21-30 years constituted of the maximum respondents with 89.1% share. The remaining was as follows: 6% of 31-40 years' age range, 3.4% of middle-aged people from 41-50 and a handful above 50 (Table 1). The demographic characteristics of the tourists represent young male tourist in the age group of 21 to 30 years prefer to visit the Himalayas as a tourist destination for both adventure and spiritual experience. Also 32% of the female tourists prefer to experience adventure activities and spiritual peace and wellness by visiting the Himalayas as a tourist destination. Almost 40.1% people had visited the Himalayas at some point in their lives, and a had prior experience, around 59.9% had yet not been to the mountains out of which 39.3% wanted to visit the tourist destination in future. The respondents who prefer to travel solo were 10.1%, who liked to travel with friends and family were 70% and 15.4 % respectively. There was also a share of people, 4.5%, who explore traveling with strangers. The people who liked to wind up their trip in one week were 42.7%, those who sought more than one week of travel were 19.9%, whereas a meagre 4.5% thought weekend getaways was a good option for them. One-third (33%) of the respondents varied the length of their trips as per their conveniences. The responses of all the above-mentioned facilities were clubbed together for each respondent for various central tendency and standard deviation measures. A frequency distribution of the combined central tendencies and standard deviations was done. The maximum importance was given to safety with a mean of 6.18 with a standard deviation of 1.147. The next in order of decreasing importance were following factors: ease of travel, infrastructure, internet, and shopping in the local market. Overall it can be concluded that sufficient importance is given to facilities by tourists. Around 79.8% of people rated overall importance greater than or equal to 5 on a 7-point scale.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Thereafter, the data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis conducted on SPSS 20 version. The explanatory power of the regression equation is 0.78 (table 2). This r-square value states that the variables such as infrastructure (including stay and food facilities), ease of travel, shopping in the local market, safety and security at the trip and internet included in the model together able to explain 78% variations in the dependent variable i.e. travel to Himalayan or any other recreational trip. Vaske (2008) states that a relationship is minimal when R ≥ 0.14. A relationship is typical when R ≥ 0.36 and a relationship is substantial when R ≥ 0.51. Thus, the regression model is good. The coefficient of infrastructure, ease of travel, shopping in the local market, and safety is positive while the coefficient of the internet is negative but both are statistically significant at 5% level of significance. Thus, we can say that the one percent increase in the infrastructural facilities in the Himalayan region will increase by 35.6% increase in the tourists to visit the Himalayas as a preferred tourist destination. Also, with the increase in one percent in the ease of travel, local market, and safety the travellers to the Himalayan region will be increase by 30.4%, 19.9% and 13.1% respectively. This increase in as infrastructural facilities, ease of travel, shopping in local market, security, and safety at the trip will ensure that more visitors travel to the Himalayan trip or any other recreational trip. However, with increase in the usage of internet there will be decrease in the travellers to the Himalayan region. One percent increase in internet availability importance will reduce people to travel to Himalayas by 8.5% only. The diagnostic tests on our model were conducted. The Durbin-Watson d statistics is found to be 1.933, which indicated that there is no problem of autocorrelation in the model. Also, the coefficient diagnostics reporting all variable inflation factors was less than 1.7, which indicates no multi-collinearity problem in the model. Further, the heteroscedastic problem was checked through scatterplot and found that our model was having no problem of heteroscedasticity. Therefore, it can be used for predicting the travellers to the Himalayan region with precision. This analysis indicates the satisfaction that the tourists experience while exploring the adventure activities and spiritual wellness and peace at the Himalayas as the tourist destination. Thus, H1 of ‘tourists' visiting the Himalayas are affected by basic requirements such as infrastructure quality, etc. for overall satisfaction and revisit intentions’ of the study is proved. The tourists prefer to revisit the Himalayas or any other recreation sites as their holiday destination only if the infrastructural facilities, ease of travel, safety, security, and shopping in the local markets are as per the requirements and satisfaction level of the tourists. The survey data was examined using the principal component factor analysis as an extraction method. The results show three out of five components having Eigen values greater than 0.85 but less than one. Only, two factors were having Eigen value of more than one. Thus, the study discarded the remaining three factors, and considered the local market shopping and internet accessibility as very crucial for recreational tourism. This factor is important as against the commonly taken belief of internet availability importance for recreational tourism. It explains that adventure plays a strong role in attracting tourists to recreational purposes with a sample size of 267, where 89.1% of the respondents are in the age bracket of 21-30 years. In this study, crosstabulation was used to determine if any relationship exists between the variables selected. To identify important socio-psychological differences among male and female adventure tourists as well as spiritual tourists. Next, Pearson's Chi-square test was applied to assess tests of goodness of fit and tests of independence. A test of goodness of fit establishes whether an observed frequency distribution D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) differs from a theoretical distribution. A test of independence assesses whether paired observations on two variables expressed in a contingency table are independent of each other. The chi-square results show strong evidence for our hypothesis of male tourists seeking adventure and spiritual experience together with a Pearson coefficient of 4.723 with 0.03 level of significance and one degree of freedom. Also, it indicates the reverse for females who don’t seem to have had the adventure as well as spiritual experience during their last visit to the Himalayas (table 3). Further, it is observed that of 32.96% female respondents and 66.29% male respondents, we observe males and females both seek adventure and spiritual connect when traveling for the Himalayas as a tourist destination or any recreational purpose in the same ratio band (74.14%, males and 72.73%, females seek adventure and 38.98% males and 29.55% females seek spiritual connect). The same expectation is translated into the previous Himalayan experience where 71.6%, males and 72%, females had an adventurous experience (table 4). But, there is a stark gap in the same as a Spiritual or divine experience. The spiritually attractive feature among travellers with prior experience of Himalayas is mapped under ‘Spiritually enticing about Himalayas’ (table 5). This experience shows that our hypothesis H2 and H3 does prove that males prefer the adventure activities more in comparison to the females as they are risk takers and without fear indulge in new, innovative and risk-taking activities provided by the destination. Females prefer and experience more peace and wellness and are more inclined to divine experiences and thus prefers spirituality tourism more in comparison to adventure tourism. Conclusion and Recommendations The preference for mountains as a tourist destination has increased recently. The tourist's experiences and the satisfaction from the destination encourage them to revisit the same. Tourists are motivated to perform various activities provided by the destination, and thus the popularity of adventure tourism has increased. The Himalayas tourist destination provides both adventure activities and spiritual peace. Thus, the Himalayas has become the most preferred tourist destination. The study indicates that males and females perceive these experiences in some different ways. Male tourists prefer more from adventure activities whereas, female tourist seek for spiritual peace and wellness derived by the tourists. However, the Himalayan tourist or recreational tourists revisit the destination only if basic amenities such as ease of travel, shopping at local markets, and infrastructural facilities are well-equipped at the destination. These adventure tourists and spiritual tourists do not consider internet availability as an important factor to decide their visit to the Himalayas as a destination. Therefore, the tourist companies should encourage participation from the people by providing attractive advertisements indicating safety, security, infrastructural facilities, etc., at the region. Also, the companies should understand the sensitive behavior of the male and female tourists separately when convincing them to visit these recreational sites (Apollo, 2017). The structural limitations of this paper include that the definition of spirituality and divinity is often considered to be religious within the Indian population context. The components of spirituality are subjective and had several meanings for different cultures, subcultures, and even individuals. Furthermore, the sample's representativeness was limited because of the age group of the respondents, which has the majority in the 21-30 age bracket. This paper cannot be generalized for other age groups. Nevertheless, the target population of this paper was not the general public but people who are active tourists. The generalization of this paper's findings to the general public and D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 194 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) among different countries should treat with a degree of caution. Also, due to the majority of Indian respondents who are high on Uncertainty avoidance seek facilities such as safety, ease of travel, internet facilities, infrastructure as key factors in their travel satisfaction indication. There is a possibility of the same changing with different demographic respondents. Table 1. Demographic characteristics of respondents GENDER CURRENT RESIDENCE No. of No. of Respondents Respondents (% of (% of Respondents) Respondents) Males 177 (66.29%) North 122 (45.7%) India Female 88 (32.96%) South 71 (26.6%) s India Others 2 (0.75%) West 52 (19.5%) India East 8 (3%) India Out of 14 (5.24%) India MARITAL STATUS ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL (in INR) No. of No. of Respondents Respondents (% of (% of Respondents) Respondents) Single 176 (65.9%) < 10 96 (36.0%) lakhs Married 91 (43.1%) 10-20 111 (41.6%) lakhs 20-30 49 (18.4%) lakhs 40 lakhs 11 & above (4.1%)

D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

AGE year s

No. of Respondents (% of Respondents) 238 (89.1%)

2130 3116 (6%) 40 419 (3.4%) 50 51 & 4 (1.5%) abov e

EDUCATION LEVEL year s

No. of Respondents (% of Respondents) -

10th Pass 12th Pass Gradu 223 (83.5%) ation Post- 44 (16.5%) Gradu ation

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Table 2: Results of Regression Analysis with traveller to Himalayan or any other recreational trip as dependent variable Constant Infrastructure Ease Local Safety Internet Adj. D-W of Market R2 statistics Travel Model 0.386 0.356 0.304 0.199 0.131 -0.085 (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.001) 0.782 1.933 Table 3: Gender specific results for a Chi-Square test Chi-Square Tests

Value

df

Asymptotic sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

4.723

1

0.03

N of Valid Cases

177

Pearson Chi-Square

1.532

1

0.216

N of Valid Cases

88

Pearson Chi-Square

7.941

1

0.005

N of Valid Cases

267

Gender Male

Female

Total

Significance

(2-

Table 4: Adventurous and Spiritual experience of prior Himalayan travelers Key elements sought Prior experience of Himalayas (%) 45.76

Adventure(%)

Spiritual connect (%)

Experience of prior Himalayan travel Adventurous Spiritual/Divine experience experience (%) (%)

Males 75.14 38.98 71.60 14.81 (66.29%) Females 28.41 72.73 29.55 72.00 4.00 (32.96%) Table 5: Spiritually enticing about Himalayas’ of prior Himalayan Travelers

Prior experience of Himalayas

Sought in travel Spiritual connect (%)

Spiritually enticing about Himalayas Picturesque landscape (%)

Places of worship (%)

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Meditation (%)

Divine presence (%) 196 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) (%) Males (66.29%) Females (32.96%)

45.76

38.98

82.72

41.98

32.10

51.85

28.41

29.55

84.00

16.00

40.00

52.00

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)  Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, H. R. (2003). Techniques to identify themes. Field methods, 15(1), 85109.  Scott, D. (1994). Trekking commentary. High, 134, 56-59.  Sharma, N., & Kala, C. P. (2017). Harvesting and management of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himalaya. Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.  Sidali, K. L., Kastenholz, E., & Bianchi, R. (2015). Food tourism, niche markets and products in rural tourism: Combining the intimacy model and the experience economy as a rural development strategy. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(8-9), 1179-1197.  Sims, R. (2009). Food, place and authenticity: local food and the sustainable tourism experience. Journal of sustainable tourism, 17(3), 321-336.  Singh, T. V. (1993). Development of tourism in the Himalayan environment: the problem of sustainability. Himalaya, a regional perspective: resources, environment and development, Delhi, 63-77.  Sirohi, N., McLaughlin, E. W., & Wittink, D. R. (1998). A model of consumer perceptions and store loyalty intentions for a supermarket retailer. Journal of retailing, 74(2), 223-245.  Som, A. P. M., Marzuki, A., Yousefi, M., & AbuKhalifeh, A. N. (2012). Factors influencing visitors’ revisit behavioral intentions: a case study of Sabah, Malaysia. International Journal of marketing studies, 4(4), 39.  Standifer, R. L., Evans, K. R., & Dong, B. (2010). The influence of spirituality on buyer perception within business-to-business marketing relationships: A cross-cultural exploration and comparison. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 9(3), 132-160.  Stringer, L. A., & McAvoy, L. H. (1992). The need for something different: Spirituality and wilderness adventure. Journal of Experiential Education, 15(1), 13-20.  Swarbrooke, J. (2003). Adventure tourism: The new frontier. Routledge.  Sweeney, J. C., Soutar, G. N., & Johnson, L. W. (1999). The role of perceived risk in the qualityvalue relationship: a study in a retail environment. Journal of retailing, 75(1), 77-105.  Taher, S. H. M., Jamal, S. A., Sumarjan, N., & Aminudin, N. (2015). Examining the structural relations among hikers' assessment of pull-factors, satisfaction and revisit intentions: The case of mountain tourism in Malaysia. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 12, 82-88.  Urry, J., & Rojek, C. (1997). Touring cultures. Transformations of travel and theory.  Varambally, S., & Gangadhar, B. N. (2012). Yoga: a spiritual practice with therapeutic value in psychiatry. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 5(2), 186-189.  Varley, P., & Medway, D. (2011). Ecosophy and tourism: Rethinking a mountain resort. Tourism Management, 32(4), 902-911.  Veal, A. J. (2017). Research methods for leisure and tourism. Pearson UK.  Wakefield, K. L., & Barnes, J. H. (1996). Retailing hedonic consumption: a model of sales promotion of a leisure service. Journal of Retailing, 72(4), 409-427.  Weber, K. (2001). Outdoor adventure tourism: A review of research approaches. Annals of tourism research, 28(2), 360-377.  Woodyard, C. (2011). Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life. International journal of yoga, 4(2), 49.  Žabkar, V., Brenčič, M. M., & Dmitrović, T. (2010). Modelling perceived quality, visitor satisfaction and behavioural intentions at the destination level. Tourism management, 31(4), 537546.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) SOCIO-CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIMALAYAN REGION OF EAST SIKKIM THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM (CBT) Rahul Dhaigude Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune (Maharashtra) ABSTRACT Tourism as a business and industry is growing exponentially and is the largest employers of human capital across the globe. Tourism has many effects on a destination, some of them are positive and some are negative. When the negative effects of tourism outstrip the positive effects, problems occur in that destination. It is the choice of the local community to minimize these negative effects of tourism so that the destination does not worsen. Community Based Tourism (CBT) initiatives help the local community to lessen the negative impacts of tourism. It empowers and gives them accountability to link the development of the community and the region with conservation of the environment and the culture of the region. CBT’s help in the development of the local host community economically, socially, culturally and in conservation of the environment. Through this study, the researcher has made efforts to review the relation between the implementation of CBT in the Sikkim Himalayan Region and it’s leading to the development of the local community economically, socio-culturally and environmentally. The qualitative research has been carried out in the region to investigate if the implementations of CBT initiatives lead to the development of the area. The different perceptions of the host community of the Sikkim Himalayan Region, government official and the NGO’s has been taken into account regarding Community Based Tourism. It is observed that there is enough and adequate evidences to say the Community Based Tourism programs that have already been initiated in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim are helping in the development of the community and region in different aspects. Keywords: Community based tourism (CBT), socio cultural development, economic development, tourism, Sikkim Himalayan region Introduction “Tourism has some aspects of showbiz, some of international trade in commodities; it is part innocent fun, part a devastating modernizing force. Being all these things simultaneously, it tends to induce partial analysis only” Victor Turner, 1974. Till the late 1970’s tourism was considered as a bag of golden riches without any harm causing effect, an industry that was gaining more benefits with lesser monetary resources and causing insignificant damage on human culture, society and the environment. But, in 1997 the Berlin Declaration made a strong proclaim by suggesting that tourism should be developed in a way such that it benefits the local communities, strengthens the local economy, viz a viz employs the D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) local workforce, and wherever ecologically sustainable uses local materials, local agricultural products and traditional skills. Tourism activities should respect the ecological characteristics and capacity of the local environment in which they come to pass. As per Sharpley and Telfer (2002), sustainable tourism offers an innovative way of developing locales that can help to establish a synergetic and interdependent relationship between tourism, the local community and its surrounding environment. “'When you see a lagoon floating with trash or a once stunning countryside covered with concrete you also realize that if values of sustainable tourism are worked upon, then every one of these locations will lose their aura, success and environmental attractiveness”. Community based tourism makes it possible for the actual tourist to learn local habitats and wild life, respect and understand local cultures, rituals and knowledge. The community will be aware of the actual professional worth in addition to the societal worth placed on his or her cultural heritage through travel; and this will foster community-based conservation of these methods. (Butler, 1993as cited in Theobald, 2005) Introduction to Sikkim: Sikkim - “land of peace and tranquillity” Situated in the Eastern Himalayas, Sikkim is one of the most beautiful states of the Indian Union. It boasts of the third highest mountain in the world, Mt. Khanchendzonga which is also worshipped as the Guardian Deity of Sikkim. Sikkim is adorned with snowy mountains, luxuriant forests and exotic flora and fauna, pristine waterfalls, sacred lakes, holy caves, medicinal hot springs, cascading rivers and gentle streams.

Figure 1: Map of Sikkim

Source: Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Office of Sikkim Tourism, Gangtok CBT programs have empowered the local community to take decision that would help them in the long run. With the help of the local communities’ involvement, environmentally conservation has become a norm as they have realized the importance of preserving nature. Not D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 202 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) only the environment, even the socio-cultural aspect of the people has been promoted and people are now proud about who they are and like exchanging ideas and thoughts about their culture with other. Economically, every village that has a CBT program running has benefiting greatly. Aim of the study To understand and assess the impact of Community Based Tourism on the host community in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim Statement of objectives • To explore concepts relating to Community Based Tourism (CBT) including antecedents and follow out. • To map the perception of the host community, the government officials and the non governmental organisations (the stakeholders) regarding Community Based Tourism (CBT) in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim Review of literature Sustainable tourism may be understood as a level of tourism that is based on the concept of being sustainable in all characteristics pertaining to it, which includes the environmental, ecological, economic, social and the cultural aspects. Community Based Sustainable Tourism depends on a multi attribute bundle of resources that are used by the community in different ways to promote the region or the place. When these resources are used in combination with the host community, the development of the region and its and its community occurs in a manner that is sustainable and responsible. (Johnstin, R. and Tyrell, T. 2005). As per the Dynamic Model of Sustainable Tourism by Johnstin, R. and Tyrell, T.2005, the benefits of sustainable tourism come by understanding the how by keeping the local population in the loop while developing the region or place as a tourist destination. With all stakeholders on the same plain, the region would benefit immensely in all aspects of development in a responsible manner. According to Friedmann et al, 1980 many researchers have said that tourism has a very debatable and contentious role in the development of the economies of the developing countries. Although this may be true, many critics have contended that tourism needs to realign its outlook and focus from merely being a pathway towards growth centric economic development to being towards responsible and sustainable forms of development of all the stakeholders involved. (Cited in Zurick, 1992). Tourism needs to minimise the negative impacts of indiscriminate development that is brought about in the region without keeping by the local people, culture and the environment in sync. What tourism needs is to create a linkage between the economy, environment and culture in a manner that is acceptable, satisfactory and beneficial to all the stakeholders (Andereck and D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 203 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Vogt, 2000). Researchers believe that tourism is a way to inspire substantial cross-cultural relations as well as to sustain environmental protection and a more judicious and impartial distribution of tourism income. (Zurick, 1992).

Figure2: Diffusion of Socio-Cultural Changes Resulting from Tourism Source: Kariel and Kariel, 1982 Most studies relating to tourisms reveal that the local populaces have a positive outlook towards tourism. When questioned about their views about the socio-cultural aspects of tourism, the residents felt that tourism brought about many positive and constructive benefits with it. They felt very optimistic about the improved quality of life, better appearances towards tourism, more recreational opportunities and encouragement, revival of cultural activities. (Andereck and Vogt, 2000). The model given below assigns places to diverse and different cultural and social changes related with the growth and development of a region from a rural-agrarian society to an urban technological based one inside the structure of the diffusion theory. A logistic growth curve is recommended, on the curve the various sociological and cultural changes that happen in these tourism dominated areas as tourism increases can be placed accordingly. (Kariel and Kariel, 1982) Community Based Tourism can be defined as, “alternative tourism that seeks to maximize the benefits while minimizing the negative impacts for the host community and environment, providing much needed supplemental income for the host communities, and educating both hosts and guests on environmental and cultural conservation practices.” (Kibicho, 2008). Community Based Tourism is defined by Hiwasaki. 2006 based on its four objectives namely, (a) Empowerment and Ownership, (b) Conservation of Resources, (c) Social and Economic Development, (d) Quality Visitor Experience.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Tourism development and planning will be successful only when the local community is integrated in it. The host community has to be authorised to look after their own resources and the resources of their region. The local host community will only have a stake in the growth of the tourist locale and will be accountable for its growth only if they take care of the natural resources. Furthermore, it is essential that the insufficiencies and deficiencies of a community are not to be held responsible on the promoters of tourism (Cusack, D. and Dixon, L. 2006).

Figure4: Relationship between Tourism and Development Co-operation Source: UNEP, 1999 Community based tourism - key implications: Participation The involvement of the number of people and the various stakeholders who are involved and participating in the CBT and the level at which they are will determine the success of the CBT. The long-term viability and sustainability of the CBT is dependent on the participation of the local community in designing of the activities and resource allocation. This is necessary for the local community to gain benefits both in terms of culture and economic. Market and Customers Community based tourism facilitates tourists to increase their knowledge by realising and learning about indigenous habitats, Bora and fauna, indigenous cultures, ceremonies and customs of a tourist destination. CBT help in addition of worth to the present activity. This creates and incentive to the local community to preserve their cultural and natural habitat and resources. Capacity Growth The success of a CBT in the long run will rest on vastly on the skill set, expertise and experience of all the individuals who are associated with the initiative. The skills developed by the host community and its residents, are the prime constituents of sustainability of a CBT initiative and its development. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Impacts and Monitoring By the various initiatives brought out through the Community Based Tourism result in many changes in the manner the local community takes care of their environment and their daily activities. CBT effects need to be understood so as to progress and change any inadequacies that may affect the complete success of the initiatives. Therefore, monitoring and evaluation of the participation is a vital component of CBT’s planning and execution, as is partaking and sharing the valuable lessons learned among all stakeholders, so as to benefits the local community as a whole. Partnerships and Collaborations Community Based Tourism primarily deals and lays emphases on the level of operations that involve the local host and community, even then, it cannot afford to isolate itself from others sectors and investors. CBT’s need to form alliances, these may include NGOs, governments and multinational companies. Through these alliances both the partners can mutually benefit, achieve effectiveness in their functioning and lobby for policies that would benefit and sustain Community Based Tourism in the long run. Policies The capability of Community Based Tourism to be successful is frequently coupled with key policies that are taken by various sectors, e.g. government agencies that are in charge of finance, tourism, forestry, permits and passes, agriculture, conservation and culture, and international policies and treaties that control global financial markets, commodities and borders. Research methodology Type of research The purpose of research was to investigate the relationship between CBT and socio economic development of the community and conservation of the environment and culture. This is based on the perceived values and beliefs of the community and hence a specific measure of data collection was not used but semi structured questionnaire was used to gather the relevant and useful information from the stakeholders. This study is a qualitative study in nature. Purpose of the research Robson (1993) classifies the rationale behind research in terms of descriptive, explanatory and exploratory:  A Descriptive research is undertaken when a precise outlook of people, events or situations has to be depicted. It needs widespread study of previous knowledge in that sphere so that the researcher can decide the aspects on which information has to be gathered.  An Explanatory research seeks an explanation or rationalization of a situation or problem, generally expressed in the form of causal relationships. It may be quantitative or or a combination of both. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)  An Exploratory research is carried out when the rationale behind the study is to explore, to understand or to find out what is occurring. It is done to seek new insights, ask questions and to assess occurrences in a new light. It is usually qualitative in nature. Based on the above categorization, this research may be classified as an exploratory research. The study aims to find out whether Community Based Tourism would benefit the Himalayan region of East Sikkim in development of economic and socio - cultural aspects and also in ecological conservation. Method of data collection Qualitative Data As per Traynor (2007), qualitative research understands the world through a point of view that is qualitative in nature. Taking it forward, it looks into various meanings and it many a times paves the way towards quantitative research. There are many causes why the researchers have used qualitative data for this research. Primarily, the purpose of the research was exploratory and probing in nature. In addition to the previous, the respondents would be representative of various strata’s of life, community people, government officials, NGO's etc. Thirdly, therefore, a qualitative method to accumulating data would not only bring more detail but also allow flexibility of data collection. Research tool Semi-Structured Interviews In order to truly explore and understand, the researcher sought to use interviews as a means of collecting qualitative data. Robson (1993) classifies interviews as fully-structured, semistructured and unstructured. The researcher found that semi-structured interviews were most apt as the tool to acquire the necessary data for this study. In a semi-structured interview, the interviewer works out a set of questions in advance, but is free to modify their order based upon the perception of what seems most appropriate in the context of the conversation. The interviewer can also change the way the questions are worded, give explanations, leave out particular questions which seem inappropriate with a particular interviewer or include additional ones. The questions were framed based on the literature review in order to cover all aspects and to be able to distinguish or find similarities between research findings and the real world. The sampling According to Sekaran (1992), sampling is a process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population so that by studying the sample one can understand the characteristics to the population elements. Convenience sampling was used by the researcher due to limiting factors such as time and financial constraints. This method involves gathering information from people (the population) D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) who are conveniently present and accessible to provide this information, as the researcher had a very limited time span to gather the required data. Since this research being qualitative in nature, the sample was not fixed at the beginning of the study. As the researcher met the stakeholders and gathered their views, appoint arrived where after the saturation of responses, the interviews were stopped. There were 14 respondents from the Host Community, 4 Government Officials and 6 NonGovernment Organizations representatives who were interviewed. Data analysis The data collected by the way of semi structured interviews was grouped as per the themes that emerged from the responses. Seven themes emerged which were utilized in the analysis of the research. These are as follows: Satisfaction with tourism and tourist Economic Dependency of Local’s on Tourism Socio-Cultural aspect Environmental Aspect Governmental help and perception about Community Based Tourism Benefits of Community Based Tourism Initiatives to promote Community Based Tourism The deduction In this stage, the inferences were drawn from the data that was collected at both stages secondary and primary to come to a conclusion for this research. Recommendations were made accordingly. Since data was collected using qualitative techniques, a lot of information emerged that was not directly related to this research. This information along with the inherent limitations of the study provided a base for determining the scope for the further research. Data analysis and interpretations Data analysis After recording the interviews and then evaluating and analysing them in-depth, the researcher has recognised the following emergent themes; these themes have been discussed in detail below. Satisfaction with tourism and tourist Economic Dependency of Local’s on TourismSocio-Cultural Aspect Environmental Aspect Governmental help and perception about Community Based Tourism Benefits of Community Based Tourism Initiatives to promote Community Based Tourism D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Satisfaction with tourism and tourist The general outlook among the respondents of the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim was that tourism was benefiting them in various ways. Tourism was helping them supplement their income, as well as helping them preserve their cultural heritage. The respondents had a consensus that tourism helped them understand the cultures of various nationalities of the tourists that visited the region. It allowed them to portray their own culture to the tourists and therefore exchange ideas and thoughts between each other. This gave them a sense of pride and recognition about their own cultural identity. Economic dependency of locals on tourism The general views of all the respondents were that tourism supplemented the income of the local people. Income that was much needed by them as their primary occupation of farming, etc. did not provide them with a steady income and therefore it was very unreliable. Tourism has helped the local community by improving their economic and financial status. The locals need the income generated by tourism to support their family and sustain them. Many of them completely depend on tourism to sustain themselves. Community Based Tourism initiatives help in the development of the economic status of the local community. Socio-cultural aspect When tourism increases in a region it affects the Socio - Cultural aspect of the region greatly. Locals interact with tourists and exchanges ideas and thoughts. They imbibe their ways and attitudes. In the same way tourists also, like to understand the culture of the locals and want to understand their way of life. Most of the times tourism has a positive footprint on culture in region, however at times leads to the co modification of this culture harming the local community immensely. The local community believed that due to tourism they were able to preserve their cultural identity, as it brought them income from it. Environmental aspect It is the environment of a region and place that helps the community and people survive. The health of the environment determines the prosperity of a region, if the environment is polluted or degrade, the people will suffer the repercussions of it, namely polluted water, air pollution, garbage, and land degradation, loss of flora and fauna and extinctions of wildlife. Due to unchecked commercialization of the destinations, there is extreme danger in losing the precious balance that is maintained between development and environment. Governmental help and perception about community based Tourism The government is promoting tourism in a big way in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim region. It has realized that tourism has immense potential to generate income for all the stakeholders, be it the government itself, the local community, the travel companies, the hotels D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 209 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) etc. The government in its policies needs to take into consideration responsible tourism, and involving the local community in planning and development of the destination. In doing so they will be able empower them with the power to look after their community and region. The government also provides them will help in getting loans etc. The researcher spoke to the Forest conservation officer and the Assistant Director of Tourism Sikkim to gain insight into the various ways in which the government in helping the local people. Benefits of community based tourism Community Based Tourism (CBT) can be defined as tourism that seeks to maximize the benefits while minimizing the negative impacts for the host community and environment, providing much needed supplemental income for the host communities, and educating both hosts and guests on environmental and cultural conservation practices. Community Based Tourism initiatives gives the locals empowerment and trains them in different crafts so that they can generate income from it. The researcher had explained the meaning and the benefits of CBT to the local community and then had asked them about their opinion in it. The researcher had also asked the NGO and the government about the benefits of having a CBT initiative in the region. Initiatives to promote community based tourism Through the answers of the respondents the researcher was able to infer that Community based tourism was not being given the right incentives to be promoted. The government did not have any policies that helped the establishment of a CBT. Only the local NGO’s were playing a major role in establishing CBT’s and educating the local communities about the benefits from it. According to the people and the NGO’s, a lot more needs to be done to increase the awareness to promote CBT’s in the region. Limitation The sample size is from among the three groups namely the local community, government officials, and NGOs; this is mainly because of time constraint. Also once the answers started saturating, the researcher had to stop interviewing more people. The number of government respondents was very few as most of them declined to give interviews. The research was conducted only in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim and not the entire state of Sikkim. The data was collected qualitatively by the researcher, as most of the respondents were villagers and most of them were illiterate and hence apprehensive of communication with any of the outsider. But once taken into confidence, they were very cooperative in providing information and opening up their thought.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Findings After understanding and analysing the data that had been gathered, the researcher inferred that community-based tourism programs has been helping in development of the region and would help the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim greatly in all the aspects of life as it would empower the local community. A few CBT programs have already been initiated in the region, and the results from them are very encouraging. After listening to what the locals said the researcher inferred that the locals were happy with the rise in tourism but were sceptical about the benefits and harm that it would bring along with it. Many locals wanted the government to take better initiatives to promote tourism in a more responsible manner by involving them and help them prosper economically as it was the region in which tourists were coming. The area of concern is the lack of governmental initiatives in community-based tourism development and responsible tourism. The government in not concentrating on the development of the region and its people in a responsible manner, it is only promoting the region through marketing, without taking into considerations the negative effects that tourism might have on the environment and the host population. With increase in tourist inflows the carrying capacity of the region will also stretch resulting in vast economic leakages happening from the imports of different goods and raw materials from different states. The government needs to put in place checks so that these negative effects of tourism would not harm the local people and the region, it should take initiatives that help in betterment of the lives and the region of the local host community. Hence, the researcher finds that there is enough and adequate evidences to say the Community Based Tourism programs that have already been initiated in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim and are helping in the development of the community and region in all aspects, namely preservation of the environment, economic development, promotion of culture, education and training, spreading awareness about health and sanitation issues, setting up of Home-stays, sharing knowledge and ideas between the hosts and the tourists, etc. Concluding comments It is vital to know that the objectives and principles of Community-based Tourism are not always about the conservation of natural resources and linked with economic, financial development. Socio-cultural conservation, local community empowerment, poverty alleviation and reductions, income generation and training are also important aspects that a CBT deals with and then look for ways to improve the situation. This kind of tourism minimizes the negative impacts and emphasizes on environmental and cultural conservation for both hosts and guests. Community Based Tourism provides the tourist with an experience that he/she would be able to cherish for life. An experience of not just holidaying but getting involved in helping a local host community in its development for future growth, such that their standards of living can be improved. The researcher, after the review of the secondary data and from his inference of the primary data analysis observe that the Community Based Tourism has been able to improve the overall D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) tourist experience as well as contribution of local community in tourism. Although it is not that significant because of the lesser attention from government. Given more attention towards the CBT, would definitely benefit the local community as well as the environment preserve its original nature without much of the harm from tourist activities. Scope for future/further research Through the research many issues pertaining to the in depth analysis of the perceptions of people about Community Based Tourism in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim have been explored. Various other issues which are related to Community Based Tourism have been mentioned in the research but have not been completely explored. Some of the issues that can be further researched to broaden the outlook of the topic are summarized as follows: 

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The researcher has looked into Community Based Tourism as a positive way to develop a region and the local host community. Future research can be undertaken by mapping the perception of stakeholders of how CBT leads to negative effects of tourism. The research has only been carried out in the Himalayan Region of East Sikkim. Future research should be carried out state wise, to better understand the implications of initiating a Community Based Tourism in that state. Also if the research would be carried out with a quantitative data analysis, it would provide a more accurate and in-depth mathematical answer. This research has only mapped the perception of the local host community, the government officials and Non-Government Organization of that region about Community Based Tourism. Future research can be done by including a fourth dimension of the tourist’s perspective; this would help in inferring what they understand from it.

References  Altinay, M., and Hussain, K. (2005).”Sustainable Tourism Development: A Case Study of North Cyprus”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17, 3, 272280.  Andereck, L. K., and Vogt, A. C. (2000). “The Relationship between Residents’ Attitudes toward Tourism and Tourism Development Options”, Journal of Travel Research, 39, 27-36.  Ashley, C., and Garland, E. (1994). “Promoting Community-Based Tourism Development”, Directorate of Environmental Affairs Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Namibia.  Bhalla, P., Coghlan, A., & Bhattacharya, P. (2016). Homestays’ contribution to communitybased ecotourism in the Himalayan region of India. Tourism Recreation Research, 41(2), 213– 228. doi: 10.1080/02508281.2016.1178474  Costa, J., and Ferrone, L. (1995). “Sociocultural Perspectives on Tourism Planning and Development”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 7, 7, 27-35  Das, D., & Hussain, I. (2016). Does ecotourism affect economic welfare? Evidence from Kaziranga National Park, India. Journal of Ecotourism, 15(3), 241–260. doi: 10.1080/14724049.2016.1192180  Datta, D., & Banerji, S. (2015). Local tourism initiative in an eastern Himalayan village: Sustainable ecotourism or small-scale nature exploitation? Bulletin of Geography, 27(27), 33– 49 D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)  Government of India, Ministry of Tourism, Report of the Working Group on Tourism, 12th Five Year Plan. (2012–2017). Retrieved from http://indiagovernance.gov.in/files/tourism_report.pdf  Hiwasaki, L. (2006). “Community-Based Tourism: A Pathway to Sustainability for Japan's Protected Areas”, Society c& Natural Resources, 19, 8, 67- 692.  Horobin, H., and Long, J. (1996). ‘Sustainable Tourism: The Role of the Small Firm”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 8, 5, 5-19.  Hussey, A. (1989). “Tourism in a Balinese Village”, Geographical Review, 79.  Jain, N. and Triraganon, R. (2003). “Community-Based Tourism for Conservation and Development: A Training Manual”, The Mountain Institute and RECOFTC, Washington DC and Bangkok.  Kibicho, W. (2008). “Community Based Tourism: A Factor Cluster Segmentation Approach”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16, 2.  Manyara, G., and Jones, E. (2007). “Community Based Tourism Enterprises Development in Kenya: An Exploration of their Potential as Avenues of Poverty Reduction”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15. 6.  Marshall, C., & Rossman, B. (1999). Designing qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage  McCool, F.S., and Moisey, N.R. (2001) Tourism, Recreation, and Sustainability: Linking Culture and the Environment. CABI. Available at Google Books.  Moswete, N., & Thapa, B. (2015). Factors that influence support for community-based ecotourism in the rural communities adjacent to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana. Journal of Ecotourism, 14(2–3), 243–263. doi: 10.1080/14724049.2015.1051537  Okazaki, E. (2008). “Community Based Tourism Model: Its Conception and Use”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 16, 5.  Sarkar, R., & Sinha, A. (2015). The village as a social entrepreneur: Balancing conservation and livelihoods. Tourism Management Perspectives, 16, 100–106. doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2015.07.006  Sekaran, U. (2003) Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. 4th ed.  Sharpley, R., and Teller, J.D. (2002) Tourism and Development. Channel View Publications. Available at Google Books.  Sirakaya, E., and Choi. H. (2005). ”Measuring Residents’ Attitude towards Sustainable Tourism: Development of Sustainable Tourism Attitude Scale”, Journal of Travel Research, 43, 380-394.  The Mountain Institute. (2000). “Community-Based Tourism for Conservation and Development: A Resource Kit”, The Mountain Institute.  Theobald, F.W. (2005) Global Tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. Available at Google Books.  Tosun, C. (2000). Limits to community participation in the tourism development process in developing countries. Tourism Management, 21(6), 613–633. doi: 10.1016/S02615177(00)00009-1  Turner, L.R. (2004). “Communities, Wildlife Conservation, and Tourism-Based Development: Can Community-Based Nature Tourism Live Up to its Promise”, Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy, 7. 3, 162 - 182.  UNESCO (1976). “The Effects of Tourism on Socio-Cultural Values”, Annals of Tourism Research, 4, 2, 74-105.  Zurick, N.D. (1992). “Adventure Travel and Sustainable Tourism in the Peripheral Economy of Nepal”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 82, 4, 608-628.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) ASSESSING THE MOTIVATION OF YOUTHS FOR ADVENTURE TOURISM Londoner Murphy Sohtun Department of Tourism and Hotel Management North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Meghalaya) Adventure tourism is one of the niche forms of tourism that captures the attention of many tourists especially the youth or young people. This form of tourism is activity-oriented attracting the participants to take part in a number of adventure activities which incites thrill and excitement from which the participants gain individual accomplishment or satisfaction. The young generations are those who constitute the major market segment in this field of tourism as they are more physically fit to participate in various adventure activities and also have the desire to explore new destinations. The objective of this study was to investigate the motivations of the youths to participate in adventure tourism. A survey was carried out to comprehend the adventurers’ motivational decisions. The push and pull motivation factors that influenced the youths towards participation in adventure tourism were examined. The study uses a quantitative approach and with the help of a questionnaire relevant information were obtained from both locals and tourists to derive the results. The results indicated that the most important push factors for taking part in adventure activities were rejuvenating from daily work, experiencing something new, thrill and excitement and feeling of accomplishment whereas, the pull factors were the attractiveness of the physical environment, and affordability. The findings of the study suggested that more research should be carried out relating to the key attributes for participating in adventure activities amongst the youth as this will lend a hand for adventure operators to understand the needs and expectations of the youths for this niche form of tourism. Keywords: Adventure tourism; youth travelers; motivation; push factors; pull factors. Introduction Adventure tourism is one of the niche segments of tourism (Buckley, 2010) which is gaining quick recognition among the tourists and is growing at an enormous pace in the international arena. Adventure tourism treasured at $490 billion (Zutshi, 2018) is believed to be one of the fastest growing categories of tourism that catches the attention of high-value customers, prop up local economies and persuade sustainable practices (UNWTO, 2014). Adventure tourism has caught the attention of many tourists in today’s world and is gaining prominence or popularity very swiftly (Ewert & Jamieson, 2003; Pomfret, 2006). The growing global prominence of adventure tourism is also seen in Meghalaya which is a small state located in the North-Eastern part of India and in recent years, initiatives were taken up by various stakeholders to develop good number of adventure tourism activities in the form of kayaking, trekking, camping, zip-lining among others. However, despite the enormous growth and popularity this form of tourism is experiencing globally as well as locally, it is noticed that adventure tourism is somewhat a new concept that is yet to get any recognition as an academic line of research (Fluker & Turner, 2000; Ewert & Jamieson, 2003; Sung, 2004; Buckley, 2010). In addition, lack of appropriate knowledge on the youths or young travelers segment have posed a great challenge for the adventure operators or business entities in developing and marketing adventure products. Therefore, keeping in line with the above cognitive, D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) it is important to conduct a study relating to travel motivations and behaviour of adventure tourists as this will lend a hand for adventure operators to understand the needs and expectations of the individuals for this niche form of tourism. Adventure tourism is one of the niche forms of tourism that captures the attention of many tourists especially the youth or young people who travel extensively to discover or experience new things. The popularity of adventure tourism amongst the youth is mainly because of the physical demands of the activities associated with this niche form of tourism (Richards & Wilson, 2006). Youths or young travelers are generally individuals aged between 18 to 29 years old (Richards & Wilson, 2006). These young travelers even though are partially limited with their budget but have plenty of time at their back meaning they have sufficient time to travel and participate in a number of adventure activities (Usamah & Anuar, 2017). Youth constituted a major share in the global adventure tourism market accounting to about 45% of the total adventure travelers (Global Data, 2018) and it is understood that adventure tourism benefits highly from these young travellers. Therefore, keeping in mind the market constituted by the youth segment in the adventure tourism, it is important for tourism developers and promoters to understand the motivations and requirements of this segment as this will help them in the development and augmentation of adventure products. The limited studies on travel motivations of youth for adventure tourism provides good scope to conduct a study relating to assessing the motivations of youth for participation in adventure tourism in Meghalaya. The study mainly examines the push and pull factors that inspired the young travellers to participate in the adventure activities. Adventure Tourism The exact meaning of adventure tourism is yet to be fully established and till date there is no universal definition of the term adventure tourism. Several authors have come up with their own definitions depending on the context of their studies. According to Robinson (2012), adventure tourism is a type of tourism that creates a sense of excitement and thrill for the participants as well as demands the participants to be significantly fit: both physically and mentally, because of the risk factors that are associated with the activity. Most researchers in their studies used the risk perception of the individual towards the activity as the main element in understanding the concept of adventure tourism (Williams & Soutar, 2005), and the sense of satisfaction after successfully completing the task (Swarbrooke et al., 2003). A number of studies viewed adventure tourism as an activity which requires an individual to engage in a physical activity, visit a natural environment or undertake cultural excursions in a surrounding that is unusual which is normally outside the comfort zone of the individual (George Washington University and Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2016; Robinson, 2012). Even the Indian Ministry of Tourism agreed to the definition given by the Adventure Travel Trade Association for adventure tourism saying that two of the three elements: physical activity, natural environment and cultural interaction should be present to be considered as an adventure (The Off: About Best Himalayan Adventures, 2015). However, the definition given by Hall & Weiler (1992) viewed adventure tourism from the commercial point of view stating that it is a commercialised outdoor activity which normally takes place in a natural environment that is unknown to the participant. Buckley (2006) also supports the view of the former by describing adventure tourism as a commercial guided tour which is activity oriented. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 215 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Adventure tourism comprises of wide range of activities conducted in air, sea and land (Hall, 1992; Fennel, 1999) ranging from the less energetic activities known as soft adventure which requires minimal knowledge and skills such as snorkelling and hot air ballooning to extreme activities for the physically and mentally fit known as hard adventure (Hill, 1995; Ewert and Jamieson, 2003; Swarbrooke et al., 2003) which requires advanced knowledge and skills like bungee jumping, diving, paragliding and white water rafting. Adventure tourism witnessed tremendous growth rate in recent years; however, it is understood that this form of tourism gained much popularity amongst the youth. The growing admiration for adventure tourism by the youth has contributed immensely to the development of this form of tourism. Not to forget, the rise in the number of individuals who falls in the category of ‘youth’ is one of the main reasons why adventure tourism is becoming popular (Richards & Wilson, 2006). Tourism Australia (2017) stresses on the importance of youth sector for tourism development and as projected by UNWTO (2016), there will be 300 million international trips per year carried by the youths. Therefore, the youth should be the main target market for adventure tourism developers and promoters. Another reason for targeting the youth and considering them valuable for adventure tourism is because of the longer period of time they spend at a destination than any normal tourist (Usamah & Anuar, 2017). Thus, youth travelers should be considered at the forefront in the development of any forms of tourism particularly adventure tourism. Motivations for Travel A number of studies have been conducted on tourists’ motivations in recent years to understand the decision-making process of tourists (Usamah & Anuar, 2017). Motivation can be understood as a process that drives a person to take some decisions which arises because of the Need factor (Goyal, 2015). In the context of tourism, travel motivations are usually categorized into two forces called the push and pull factors (Crompton, 1979; Swarbrooke et al., 2003; Woodside & Martin, 2008) which drives an individual to travel or participate in tourism activities. Push factors can be understood as internal factors that makes a person want to move or travel away from his/her home (Antara & Prameswari, 2018). There exists a number of push factors which comprises of escape from daily work, seeking new things, relationship building and competition (Pomfret, 2006; Chen & Chen, 2015). Crompton (1979) also pointed some of the push factors include relaxation, rest and selfesteem. Pull factors on the other hand are external factors or external motivations (Robinson et al., 2011) which pull or attract individuals to participate or take part in some activities. One of the main elements of the pull forces in the adventure tourism arena is the attribute of the destination (Wang, 2016). Attribute of the destination plays a pivotal role in motivating a person to make a decision (Millington et al., 2001). The other pull factors that motivates an adventure tourist includes accessibility, promotion and safety (Crompton, 1979; Goossens, 2000).

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Adventure tourist’s behavior, preferences and decision making are quite different from the normal tourists. Thus, understanding the factors involved in the decision making of adventure tourists in selecting the tourism products will prove to be beneficial for adventure operators or adventure tourism enterprises in the development and promotion of adventure activities (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2007). Research Methodology The study adopted a descriptive research design using quantitative approach. Since the objective of the study is related to the youths and adventure tourism, youths participating in adventure activities at various adventure sites were selected as samples for the study using convenience sampling. The data was collected from 350 youths at various adventure sites of East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya such as Mawlyngbna, Sohbar, Shella, Mawkdok, and Wahkhen from January to March and October to December, 2019. A structured questionnaire using English language was developed to collect the data from the respondents particularly to obtain information on what motivates the youths to undertake adventure tourism activities. Findings and Discussions Respondents Profile A filled questionnaire was collected from 350 respondents out of which only 322 questionnaires were completed and found to be useful for data analysis representing a response rate of 92%. Most of the respondents comprises those of male with 59.3% as compared to those of female with 40.7%. The youths aged between 22 and 25 years old have the higher responses (42.4%), followed by the youths aged between 18 and 21 years old (34.8%) and those aged between 26 and 29 years old (22.8%). In addition, majority of the respondents are those having a Bachelor Degree (43.6%) followed closely with those having a Postgraduate Degree (37.2%), 12th passed (15.4%) and PhD (3.8%). Push Factors for Participating in Adventure Tourism The push factors which influence the participants to take part in the adventure tourism activities are highlighted in Table 1. A total of 5 push factors were examined to understand the intrinsic motivations of the youths for undertaking adventure tourism. The youths mainly engage or take part in adventure tourism activities for the purpose of rejuvenating from daily work (4.11) and experiencing new things (4.06). In addition, the respondents also agreed that relaxation (3.35) and experiencing risk (3.68) are reasons for taking part in adventure activities. However, it could be seen that the feeling of accomplishment with the lowest mean value (3.15) evoked mixed responses with some agreed (40.94%) to feeling accomplished as the driving force for adventure participation whereas, 31.88% disagreed about the same.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Table 1. Push Factors Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Mean Disagree Agree To try something new 5.63% 4.06% 11.25% 36.25% 42.81% 4.06 To experience something risky and 8.44% 13.44% 7.5% 43.44% 27.18% 3.68 thrilling For relaxation 12.81% 18.13% 9.06% 38.44% 21.56% 3.35 To get the feeling of 27.81% 31.88% 8.12% 40.94% 11.25% 3.15 accomplishment To refresh from daily work 0% 6.87% 8.75% 50.63% 33.75% 4.11 Pull Factors for Participating in Adventure Tourism The pull factors influencing participants to engage in adventure tourism includes accessibility of adventure activity sites, attractiveness of the surrounding, safeness of the activity, affordable cost of the activity and advertising campaign. Table 2 indicated that attractiveness of the surrounding has the highest mean value (4.10) as compared to other pull factors where 51.88% of the respondents agreed that they were driven to take part in adventure activities by attractiveness of the surrounding followed by affordable cost of the activity (4.03). Accessibility (Crompton, 1979) as mentioned in the literature is an important extrinsic force for adventure participation and the current study also complement the former statement which is evident from Table 2, where 41.56% of the respondents agreed that accessibility motivates them to participate in adventure activities. Furthermore, safeness of the activity and advertising are also important for attracting adventure participants with 38.75% and 44.37% of the respondents respectively agreed to the statement. Table 2. Pull Factors Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Disagree Good accessibility of adventure 6.88% 15% 6.56% activity sites Affordable cost of the activity 3.75% 9.06% 4.38% Attractiveness of the surrounding 0% 10.31% 3.75% where activity is offered Safeness of the activity 2.81% 22.50% 15% Advertising campaign 8.44% 19.69% 8.12%

Agree

Strongly Mean Agree 41.56% 30% 3.73 46.25% 51.88%

36.56% 34.06%

4.03 4.10

38.75% 44.37%

20.94% 19.38%

3.53 3.47

Discussion and Conclusion The findings of the study indicated that the main driving force for the youths to participate in adventure tourism was rejuvenating from daily work confirming the study of Subadra et al., (2019) and Pomfret (2016). A number of studies (Crompton, 1979; Pomfret, 2006; Usamah & Anuar, 2017) mentioned that adventure tourists mainly the youth segment participated in adventure tourism to escape and rejuvenate from daily routine and experiencing new things. Similarly, the results of the study also buttressed the statements made by the formers. It can be understood from the results D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) that the key push factors in the study were rejuvenating from daily work and experiencing new things as the reasons to take part in risk and thrilling activities. Usamah and Anuar (2017) argued that one of the most important push factors for the youths to participate in adventure tourism was the feeling of accomplishment. However, the results drawn from the study found otherwise. The prominent pull factors identified in the study that motivates the youths to undertake adventure tourism includes attractiveness of the surrounding, affordability and good accessibility of adventure sites. The findings of the study complement the findings of Millington et al., (2001) and Pomfret (2006) in their respective studies which mentioned that attractiveness of the surrounding or attribute of the destination are main pull factors that motivates adventure tourists. Attractiveness of the surrounding is very important for adventure tourism as the adventure tourists primarily select a destination mainly on the attributes it possesses. Meghalaya, an upcoming adventure tourism destination in India has attracted good number of tourists in recent years mainly for the natural beauty it owns comprising of rivers, lakes, living root bridges, canyons among others. In addition, the study also found out that affordability of the activity can also attract good number of youths for adventure tourism as they are limited with their budget (Richards & Wilson, 2006; Usamah & Anuar, 2017). Crompton (1979) stated that accessibility is an important extrinsic force for adventure participation and the current study also complement the statement. Safety is also a major concern in adventure tourism even though gaining real excitement is through undertaking risks. A study by Williams and Soutar (2005) mentioned that safeness of the activity through responsible operations is important factor to instill confidence in the participants and attracts them to indulge in adventure activities; and the current findings of the study also supported the statement. Furthermore, Goossens (2000) mentioned that marketing can attract adventure tourists to participate in adventure activities and the results of the study also suggested that advertising can intrigued the youths to take part in adventure tourism. The results derived from the study shows that the youth wants to experience something novel to rejuvenate themselves from the daily routine. In addition, adventure tourism developers need to select the adventure sites cautiously as attractiveness of the surrounding is very important in the decision making of the youths for adventure. Not to forget, affordable cost of the activity needs to be considered by adventure tourism businesses especially when targeting the youths as the potential adventure participants as they are limited with their budget. It is also suggested that for adventure tourism to develop, good accessibility to adventure sites is very important as this can attract both hard and soft adventure tourists. All in all, the youth segment should not be neglected by adventure tourism developers and promoters as they constitute the highest share in the adventure tourism market. Finally, very few studies exist pertaining to adventure tourism and the youth segment. Therefore, it is suggested that plenty more research should be conducted in the field of adventure tourism and the youth particularly the key attributes for participating in adventure activities as this will lend a hand for adventure operators to understand the needs and expectations of the youths for this niche form of tourism.

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) References:  Antara, M., & Prameswari, Y. A. (2018). Push and Pull Factors of Tourists Visit the Tourism Destination of Bali, Indonesia. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 6(1), 112-120.  Buckley, R. (2006). Adventure Tourism. Wallingford, UK: CABI.  Buckley, R. (2010). Adventure Tourism Management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.  Chen, L. J., & Chen, W. P. (2015). Push-pull factors in international birders’ travel. Tourism Management, 48, 416-425.  Crompton, J. L. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research, 6(4), 408-424.  Ewert, A. & Jamieson, L. (2003). Current status and future directions in the adventure tourism industry. In J. Wilks & S. J. Page (Eds.), Managing Tourist Health and Safety in the New Millennium (pp. 67-83). Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.  Fennel, D. (1999). Ecotourism. London, UK: Routledge  Fluker, M. R., & Turner L. T. (2000). Needs, Motivations and Expectations of a Commercial Whitewater Rafting Experience. Journal of Travel Research, 38(4), 380–389.  George Washington University & Adventure Travel Trade Association. (2016). Adventure Tourism Development Index: An Adventure Travel Scorecard. Retrieved from https://tia.org.nz/assets/Uploads/2016-adventure-tourism-development-index.pdf  Global Data. (2018, January). Global Adventure Tourism: Insight into key adventure tourism trends and the demands of adventure tourists. Retrieved from https://store.globaldata.com/report/tt0079mi--global-adventure-tourism-insight-into-key-adventuretourism-trends-and-the-demands-of-adventure-tourists/  Goossens, C. (2000). Tourism Information and pleasure motivation. Annals of Tourism Research, 27(2), 301-321.  Goyal, P. K. (2015). Motivation: Concept, Theories and Practical Implications. International Research Journal of Commerce, Arts and Science, 6(8), 71-78.  Hall, M. C., & Weiler, B. (1992). What’s special about special interest tourism? Special Interest Tourism. London: Belhaven Press.  Hill, B. J. (1995). A Guide to Adventure Travel. Parks and Recreation, 30(9), 56–65.  Hsu, C.H.C., & Huang, S. (2008). Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy. In A. G. Woodside & D. Martin (Eds.), Travel Motivation: A critical review of the concept’s development (pp. 14-27). Wallingford, UK: CABI.  Millington, K., Locke, T., & Locke, A. (2001). Occasional studies: adventure travel. Travel and Tourism Analyst, 4, 65-97.  Pomfret, G. (2006). Mountaineering adventure tourists: A conceptual framework for research. Tourism Management, 27(3), 113–123.  Richards, G., & Wilson, J. (2006). Youth and adventure tourism. In D. Buhalis, C. Costa & F. Ford (Eds.), Tourism Business Frontiers (pp. 40-47). London, UK: Routledge.  Robinson P., Heitmann S., & Dieke, P. U. C. (2011). Research Themes for Tourism. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI.  Robinson, P. (2012). Tourism: The Key Concepts. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.  Subadra, I. N., Sutapa, I. K., Artana, I. W. A., Yuni, L. K. H. K., & Sudiarta, M. (2019). Investigating Push and Pull Factors of Tourists Visiting Bali as a World Tourism Destination. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research, 8(7), 253-269.  Sung, H. H. (2004). Classification of Adventure Travelers: Behaviour, Decision Making, and Target Markets, Journal of Travel Research, 42(4), 343-356.  Swarbrooke, J., Bread, C., Leckie, S., & Pomfret, G. (2003). Adventure tourism: the new frontier. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA)  Swarbrooke, J., & Horner, S. (2007). Consumer Behaviour in Tourism. Oxford, UK: Butterworth Heinemann.  The Off: About Best Himalayan Adventures. (2015) What is adventure tourism?. Retrieved from http://theoff.info/Adventure-Travel/business/education/definition-of-adventure-tourism/  Tourism Australia. (2017). The Importance of The Global Youth Sector. Retrieved from http://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/assets/document/1/6/z/1/a/2004958.pdf  UNWTO. (2014). Global Report on Adventure Tourism. Madrid, Spain. Retrieved from https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/unwto-global-report-on-adventure-tourism.pdf  UNWTO. (2016). Global Report on the Power of Youth Travel. Madrid, Spain. Retrieved from https://www.wysetc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Global-Report_Power-of-Youth-Travel_2016.pdf  Usamah, N.F., & Anuar, F.I. (2017). What draws you here? Intention of youth’s participation in adventure tourism activities. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, 9(2), 153-162.  Wang, C. (2016). University Students’ Travel Motivation, Memorable Tourism Experience and Destination Loyalty for Spring Break Vacation (Master thesis). Auburn University.  Williams, P., & Soutar, G. (2005). Close to the “edge”: Critical issues for adventure tourism operators. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 10(3), 247-261.  Woodside, A. G., & Martin, D. (2008). Applying ecological systems and micro-tipping point theory for understanding tourists’ leisure destination behaviour. Journal of Travel Research, 47(1), 14–24.  Zutshi, V. (2018, July 5). Tapping the Global Adventure Tourism Market. Destination Reporter. Retrieved from https://destinationreporterindia.com/2018/07/05/tapping-the-global-adventure-tourismmarket/ OPENING UTTARAKHAND HIMALAYA FOR ECOTOURISM S.C Bagri1 and Junaid KC2 1School

2Centre

of Management, HNB Garhwal University (Uttarakhand) for Mountain Tourism and Hospitality Studies, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal (Uttarakhand)

Research studies on ecotourism opportunities in the Uttarakhand Himalaya are majorly related to National Parks, Sanctuaries, Protected forest areas and Trekking circuits (Maikhuri et al., 2002; Chaturvedi, 2002; Rawat & Jagmohan, 2003; Bagri & Mishra, 2004; Bagri et al., 2009; Kabia & Rawat, 2011; Bagri et al., 2013; Rakhi & Rauthan, 2014; Singh, 2016; Bhalla & Bhattacharya, 2019). Some research work has been undertaken on the role and functions of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Department of Forest and Wildlife to promote ecotourism zones and c ircuits both in Kumaon and Garhwal regions. Ecotourism destination auditing and local people involvement is also the area of the research studies under which comprehensive information and involvement of local people have been given due consideration (Chaturvedi, 2002; Singh & Singh, 2004; Bagri et al., 2008; Mahar & Bagri, 2010; Kala & Maikhuri, 2011; Gupta & Rout, 2016; Bhalla et al., 2016). While some of the research work described the role of local homestays as part of local community empowerment, nothing has been explained about the state’s social entrepreneurship opportunities related to ecotourism. Keeping in view the above background, the present research work has been carried out to examine the scope, status and challenges of ecotourism social entrepreneurships in Uttarakhand. The authors have done extensive analysis of various literary sources and reviewed visions, missions, aims, successful social initiatives, USPs of D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) different ecotourism social entrepreneurships in the World, India and Uttarakhand. Research findings further reveal that ecotourism social entrepreneurship ensures more productive and innovative solutions for various economical, socio-cultural, and environmental problems faced by the state. Also as a tool for rectifying existing ecotourism challenges and problems. Keywords: Ecotourism, Uttarakhand, social entrepreneurship, social initiatives, innovation. Introduction: Tourism sector contributes 10.4 percent of the world's GDP and it is the second fastest growing sector (3.9% growth pa.) in the global economy. The travel and tourism sector contributes 10 percent of global employment and is expected to support 11.7 percent of world employment by 2029 (WTTC 2019). In the case of India Tourism, its sector contributes 9.2 percent of India's GDP with an annual growth rate of 6.7 percent and contributes 8.1 percent of Indian employment (WTTC 2018). Uttarakhand tourism attracted more than 3.68 lakh tourists, including 1.5 lakh foreigners, in 2018 (Uttarakhand Tourism Statistics, 2019). Uttarakhand is known as ‘Devbhoomi: The Land of the Gods’ with diverse tourism products comprising popular pilgrimage, adventure, wildlife and ecotourism. Tourism as a social activity and industry, has influence on socio-cultural, economical and environmental with positive and negative aspects. The sustainable development concepts are vital to apply in different stages of tourism planning, development, and operation processes to avoid negative impacts. Despite the ideology of ecotourism initiatives introduced to ensure sustainable tourism businesses and related activities, not all cases become successful in the practicality of their ethics and principles. As the world demands more local or micro social organisations than profit making corporations to solve social problems, the concept of Social Entrepreneurship is developed as an upgrade of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and a small scale of innovative enterprise. The ecotourism social entrepreneurships are working towards solving existing social problems with the means of tourism activities at a micro or local level. Although considerable research has been devoted to ecotourism, economy and entrepreneurship in the case of the world, India and Uttarakhand (Filion et al., 1994; Kangas et al., 1995: 1996; Tisdell, 1995; Taylor et al., 2003; Bhusal, 2007; Bagri, 1989: 2008: 2015: 2016: 2018; Farrelly, 2012; Sarkar & Sinha, 2015; Das & Hussain, 2016 and Thompson et al., 2018), less attention has been paid to ecotourism social entrepreneurship and its scope in building the tourism industry more sustainable. Unified principles and ethics of ecotourism with innovative initiatives of social entrepreneurship will help in local community empowerment and environmental conservation at a time. Thus, it is important to comprehend the concept and status of World, India and Uttarakhand ecotourism social entrepreneurships in tourism research. In this study, the authors have analysed different ecotourism social entrepreneurships’ structure, scope, status and challenges with respect to organisational visions, missions, social initiatives, and USPs of different tourism destinations. The quantitative and qualitative data is supported by various literary sources and online content analysis of web pages, blogs and review sites. After doing extensive analysis of ecotourism social entrepreneurships, the study reveals that along with solving social problems, it also reduces challenges faced by ecotourism and ensures practicality of ecotourism principles and ethics. The findings indicate the need for easy funding options, technical support, private-public partnerships, entrepreneurship training sessions and single window clearance systems, etc to promote successful ecotourism social entrepreneurships. Moreover, the recent technological advancements are facilitating ecotourism social entepreships (basically startups) with digital support and virtual working models that have high social positive impacts in rural employment D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 222 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) generations, economic empowerment, reverse migration, cultural preservation and environmental conservations. Literature review: Ecotourism as a tool for economic development, Economics and Entrepreneurship of ecotourism is being studied by many scholars on popular World and Indian ecotourism destinations. Filion et al., (1994) discussed the size of International & Domestic ecotourism activities and their implications in the form of sustainability and conservation concepts by analysing five United Nations-World Tourism Organization regions. In the same way, Kangas et al., (1995) analysed the economic inputs and outputs of a Biological Station in Belize during the year 1990-92 and found a positive change in cash balance of income and output rate with 80% retainity in the local economy. Tisdell (1995, 1996) has contributed to a few studies assessing investments in ecotourism and the economics of ecotourism. Both studies suggest that strong offset policies are needed to ensure sustainable investments in practical and that success is based on the demand for that particular eco geographical interest or experience. The whole focus of the study was given by Lindberg (1998) who proposed a framework on the economics of ecotourism to planners and managers. It analyses ecotourism's share of benefits and costs in the environment, fees and revenue generated for environmental conservation, and how it results in economic development. However, Wunder (2000) viewed that there is a relationship between the type of economic incentives provided to local people and their positive/negative attitude towards conservation. Taylor et al. (2003) studied the Galápagos (Ecuador) Islands’ local economy with respect to ecotourists, conservation workers and other residents spending. Lordkipanidze et al. (2005) conducted a SWOT analysis on entrepreneurship development of newborn ecotourism destination of Sweden (Söderslätt) and identified major obstacles restricting entrepreneurship culture as a) Obstacles related to economic and social issues, b) Obstacles related to the learning process, and c) Obstacles related to the market. Jaafar & Maideen (2012) have argued that to ensure economic sustainability of local entrepreneurship, the government or locals must preserve the environment because loss of the environment will lead only to degrading of local entrepreneurship services and then losses. They measured the economic sustainability of Small & Medium Island Chalets (SMICs) and ecotourism-related activities of four islands on the coast of East Peninsular Malaysia. After studying ecotourism activities in Mansalaar Island (Indonesia), Situmorang et al. (2012) claimed that 'Social Entrepreneurship' is the best solution to educate local people about the significance of their nature and culture to empower livelihoods and maintain the environment by engaging in ecotourism activities. In the first place, Social Entrepreneurship is a mix of sustainable business models, social impact and innovative solutions (Brock & Steiner 2010). Similarly, Farrelly (2012) proposed the term and concept of Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship (ISE) and its relationship to Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) after realising the lack of attention by researchers applied to the socio-cultural implications and complexities involved in ISE. According to Farrelly, the purpose of indigenous community based ecotourism (ICBE) is to ensure sociocultural, ecological needs and financial requirements of indigenous communities. The focus of other studies, such as Barba-Sánchez & Molina-Ramírez (2014) was on Indigenous Ecotourism SMEs in Mexico and how ecotourism helps to alleviate the problem of socio-economic marginalization of indigenous Latin American communities. Their study has highlighted that not only of social networks but also the culture, values, uses and customs of such communities support to become or recognize as an Indigenous Entrepreneur. Chirozva (2015) did a study on GLTFCA, Zimbabwe and reveals that few communities, especially leaders, have dominated and controlled D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) some conservation areas to build ecotourism lodges and chalets with outdoor private investments. So, in some cases there are inequalities within the beneficiary communities. Ahmad et al. (2016) examined new opportunities and existing barriers to ecotourism social entrepreneurship in Sebuyau fishing village (Malaysia) and analysed local community ancestors’ entrepreneurship views, required levels of supporting systems, and then proposed tools for measuring successful social entrepreneurship. After interviewing small scale eco-entrepreneurs’ Swan (2016) states that even though there are many financial, ecological and other challenges, the entrepreneurs in the business of ecotourism are working with high social and environmental objectives. Thompson et al. (2018) reviewed the entrepreneurialism, ecotourism, and governance of activities in Kilim Karst Geoforest Park in Malaysia to understand how diverse understandings, motivations, and capacities of each eco-entrepreneurs results towards effective governance systems. So far numerous studies have been published regarding India’s ecotourism, especially in the Himalayan region. Ecotourism functions both as a conservation tool and local community development strategy in these regions (DeCoursey, 1999; Batta, 2006). Bhusal (2007) studied the Himalayas of Nepal with respect to existing ecotourism activities and environmental and sociocultural considerations. Similarly, Bansal & Kumar (2013) research focus was on stakeholder’s views about ecotourism in Great Himalayan National Park, and how local communities’ lack of proper knowledge and awareness about ecotourism and its benefits curbs development plans. NITI Ayog (2018) report on ‘Indian Himalayan Region’ suggested promoting ecotourism focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Bagri (1989, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2018) studies highlighted the levels of community participation, tourists' satisfaction, residents’ attitudes and different barriers related to the dominant mountain ecotourism activities of Uttarakhand. Likewise, there are only a few studies focused on both economics and entrepreneurship analysis of ecotourism. Vinodan et al. (2011) studied the economic benefits of ecotourism entrepreneurship activities in the Tiger reserves of Kerala. Ecotourism has benefited directly to the local economy through employment opportunities for guiding, sightseeing trails, destination maintenance/cleaning, forest watchers, etc. Karmakar (2011) has analysed six ecotourism destinations in North Bengal and their impact on the local economy. To get a better understanding of economic impact and status, he analysed local interactions and interests in the accommodation sector, transport sector, souvenir industry, employment as a guide, folk dancing and handicrafts making, etc. The study of Das & Chatterjee (2015) on Ecotourism and Empowerment in Odisha’ wildlife sanctuary noted that ecotourism was first introduced in that region as an economic saviour for many local people who do not have diverse opportunities for revenue generation. In fact, it is the same with many developing or less developed nations. In the absence of ecotourism, most people would have followed traditional livelihood activities which are less profitable. Das & Hussain (2016) explains how ecotourism generated economic welfare in the nearby villages of Kaziranga National Park and the need for diversification in eco business as tourism is a seasonal activity. Local entrepreneurship units in and near tiger reserves in Kerala are engaged in honey processing, eco-friendly carry bag production, wood and bamboo handicraft production, organic farming, balm cream production, and other sales outlets with a local empowerment effect (Vinodan et al., 2011). Sarkar & Sinha (2015) assessed the ecotourism villages (homestays in Sikkim) as a social entrepreneurship system and its complexities regarding financial successes and core environmental conservation practices. After the critical analysis on homestays D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) and local communities, they stated that there is a chance of being pressured on generating more income than preserving nature due to lack of balance between conservation and livelihoods. Thus, for successful and sustainable ecotourism promotions, comprehensive and updated theories, practices and ethics are needed to be developed based on each ecotourism destinations cases. Most of the studies have addressed research problems on economic benefits and local business scopes related to ecotourism rather than social entrepreneurship models in ecotourism. The study addresses several additional questions on the scope, need and impact of different ecotourism social entrepreneurships. Methodology: Both the quantitative and qualitative data were collected from different literary sources, webpages, blogs, and review sites. The authors did an extensive online content analysis on each case's webpages, blogs, and various online review sites to review different ecotourism social entrepreneurship cases. For all these case studies, a manual online content analysis method was appropriate as it ensures not only updated details of each case, but also diverse user generated qualitative data. Both CMTHS Library (Centre for Mountain Tourism and Hospitality Studies, HNB Garhwal University) and Doon Library and Research Centre (Dehradun) and Forest Research Institute Dehradun were further facilitated with literary sources during the study. The results were analyzed in the context of organizational patterns, recent trends and actual impacts with respect to size, scope and challenges. There exists a future scope for application of deep qualitative techniques (participant observation and in-depth interviews) in the same subject stream. Discussion Uttarakhand and Ecotourism: Uttarakhand tourism is popularly known as ‘Devbhoomi: The Land of the Gods’ which expresses states’ ancient temples, shrines, sacred places surrounded with mother nature like Six National Parks, Seven Wildlife Sanctuaries, Four Conservation Reserves and diverse cultures of the communities living around. Uttarakhand state has 78% forest cover area under which its National Parks (Gangotri, Govind Pashu Vihar, Jim Corbett, Nanda Devi, Rajaji, Valley of Flowers), and Wildlife Sanctuaries (Govind Pashu Vihar, Kedarnath, Sonanadi, Binsar, Mussoorie, Nandhaur and Askarnath, Sonanadi, Binsar, etc). According to the Uttarakhand Tourism Policy (2018), Uttarakhand state has recognised ecotourism locations and such locations are mainly Mana, Chopta, Chakrata, Deoriatal, Pallyu, Shaukiyathal, Bageshwar, Munsiyari, Dodital, Dayara Bugyal, Kanatal, Sattal, Chaainsheel, and Mori. Even though Uttarakhand’s revolutionary movement of environmental conservation activities started way back in 1970’s as Chipko movement, Formal ecotourism activities were initiated in 1990s by the Forest department of state government, and later by the Forest Development Corporation, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (Pande et al., 2018). The most recent statistics from the Uttarakhand Forest Department (2019) marked the total tourist arrivals of states’ national parks as more than 4.1 lakhs and a total revenue of 1170.6 lakhs. Jim Corbett National Park, which has numerous ecotourism activities, ranked top in number of tourist arrivals and revenues(2.40 lakh and 822.4 lakh respectively). Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), Department of Rural Development, Ecotourism Board of Forest Department, and Ecotourism Development Corporation Uttarakhand (ETDC) established in 2017 are the major state government stakeholders that promote and monitor ecotourism activities by creating Uttarakhand Tourism Policies and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Master Plans (UTDMP). D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) The state has more than 1,022 homestays (Urban: 267, Rural: 755) with a total of 7,795 beds registered under the state's Home Stay Scheme that was created to boost ecotourism (Uttarakhand Tourism Report, 2019). Moreover, the forest department has 57 forest rest houses that support stay experiences for ecotourists within and near National Parks or other reserved locations. The government has recognised eco-tourist types as 1) General Ecotourist, 2) Ecotourist with interest in unique biodiversity, 3) Trekking ecotourist, and 4) Normal adventure/sports tourists interested in ecotourism services (Uttarakhand Rural Development, 2018). Target marketing plans will gradually generate more tourist arrivals for the state's ecotourism niche. Other than the types of eco-tourists, the report proposed different festivals (Bird festivals, Nature festivals, Chhoti Haldwani Centenary and Jim Corbett Heritage Village Celebration) to diversify connected ecotourism activities. New initiatives like ICT platform marketing, Instant information system, Single window clearance options, Incentives and Subsidies are aiming to strengthen the niche ecotourism that directly ensures both environmental conservation and community empowerment, moreover induced effects on state’s employment generation, livelihood development, reverse migration, emancipation of women, community education, health practices and overall sustainable development. These ecotourism concepts, principles and ethics are demanding an alternative organisational practices like ‘Social Entrepreneurship’. An ‘Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurship’ is needed to solve current situations of ecotourism business models and world and regional destinations. Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurships: The tourism industry has direct impacts on socio-cultural, economical and environmental aspects of social systems. Even though the niche ecotourism has popularized and reduced the negative impacts of the tourism industry, still many destinations and projects lack in ensuring the principles and ethics of ecotourism. Core principles like local community empowerment and participation are not prominent in many ecotourism business developments. Because tour operators used ecotourism only as a ‘brand’ building process rather than community empowerment or environmental conservation ideologies in different cases. Government agencies, policy makers, local destination authorities, and other major stakeholders lost track of the real purpose of ecotourism initiatives. It is important to realize that as the stakeholders are losing core interests and principles of ecotourism, new initiatives with visions of both social benefits and economic activity are vital to ensure sustainable developments of the tourism industry. It's something that is more than a Non-Profit Organisation and less than an unsocial Corporate. ‘Social Entrepreneurships’ are new trends in organisation structure, mostly small in scale that work on developing and implementing solutions to different social problems. According to the PBS Foundation, Social Entrepreneurship is an alternative initiative developed by entrepreneurs and organisations to address existing social issues that can be social, cultural, environmental and economic in nature. Dees (1998) expressed that Social Entrepreneurs are the change makers in the social sector with a mission to develop solutions to social problems by using limited resources in innovative ways and strong continuous activities. Correspondingly, Social Entrepreneurship concepts and Ecotourism principles are related to each other in a way that ensures practicability of ecotourism principles in an efficient way. Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurship acts as an alternative to the usual ecotourism enterprises which are branded as an ecotourism niche but not operated efficiently to ensure ecotourism principles. As Friedmann (1992) mentioned, economic, psychological, social and political levels are at four empowerment levels that determine the impact D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) of ecotourism enterprises. The ideology of ecotourism social entrepreneurship also ensures positive impacts on the above mentioned levels. Cases: There are many successful social entrepreneurships that work on the core theme of ecotourism in the world. These ecotourist social entrepreneurship are involved in finding solutions to socio-cultural, economical and environmental problems by means of tourism practices. ‘Guludo Beach Lodge’ of Mozambique, ‘Borneo Ecotourism Solutions and Technologies (BEST) Society’ of Malaysia and UK based ‘Alternative Adventure’ are the award winning organisations and international examples. ‘Guludo Beach Lodge’ promotes ecotourism activities with local communities near to Quirimbas National Park (World Natural Heritage site). Guludo Beach Lodge, as a social initiative, has facilitated more than 24,000 local community members access to clean drinking water, better health facilities and extra income opportunities. They started as a non-profit organisation and later developed as a social enternership that catered to experiences and village stays for ecotourism (Carter-James, 2017). ‘BEST’ Society of Malaysia is focused on 1) Environment activities like Bee & Organic farming, Land conservation, and Environmental awareness events, 2) Social enterprising programs like Farm tours and Community based tours(CBT), 3) Capacity building schemes like different hospitality and livelihood Workshops and Training in village centers and colleges, 4) Basic need facilities like Clean water, Medical Camp, Fresh groundwater, Rural students hostel etc, and 5) works on Equality, Modern technology and innovations, and Partnerships with different government agencies including big corporations, Academic institutions and NGOs. Another prominent Ecotourism social entrepreneurship is UKbased adventure tour operator ‘Alternative Adventure (AA)’. The AA has structured ecotourism principles operated by local community trusts on events such as trekking, wildlife safaris, family adventure and volunteering in different regions of the world. The core destinations operated are, Africa (mainly in Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco), Nepal, Russia (Altai mountains and Kamchatka peninsula) and South American countries (Andes, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile). Grootbos (South Africa), Feynan Ecolodge (Jordan), Six Senses Laamu (Maldives) and Ol Pejeta (Kenya) are the other few international examples of ecotourism social entrepreneurship that promises principles and ethics of ecotourism in practicality. Most of these initiatives were initially developed in the form of non-profit organisation and later promoted as a social entrepreneurship to formalise the organisational structure and connections that benefit local environment, local communities, and tourists or contributors. Incidentally, there are few successful Indian social entrepreneurship emphasizing ecotourism activities. In recent days central and state governments’ initiatives on start-up policies, schemes and incentives have boosted social entrepreneurship activities in India. Government agencies are supporting these units as a solution to unemployment, rural migration, gender inequality and sustainable developments. Table 1. Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurship in India: Social Initiatives & Unique Selling Propositions. Organisation

Ecotourism Products/Services

Social Initiatives

USP/Special Features

(state)

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2

cuisine/cultural trails and eco workshops.

80% of business revenues goes to the local community.

multidimensional activities by tourists that benefit locals.

Homestays/lodges, treks and forest trails.

Buying local products, training local communities and assisting in homestay setting up.

Fixed Departure trips and local staff interactions.

Day Activities, experiences, story telling trails, and rural stays.

Conservation of rivers, local folklore and stories, supporting local artist communities and Awards and Grants for local tourism initiatives.

Gastronomic trails, Sabbatical trips, City breaks, and Musical trails.

Tours/Off-beat holidays,

Mission to create one million rural livelihood opportunities, support reverse migration and revive local arts and crafts cultures.

Live The Rural Life (package), Warli Art Workshop and Rural Games.

Ecotravel, spiritual, adventure and volunteer tours and treks.

Organic farming, Promotion of green houses, solar energy, waste management and wildlife conservation and restoration of Monasteries.

Ecosphere shop, Information on Spiti and Voluntourism.

Farm retreats, homestays, lifestyle experiences, agrotourism and voluntourism.

BAKRI CHHAP - Local organic brand, doorstep collection centers and online sales platforms for village farm products.

The Brand ‘BAKRI CHHAP’, Farm tours and stays, Voluntourism, Micro-culture and cuisine trails and ‘Pay What You Like’ options.

Homestays, experiences, festivals and farm tours.

Village after school, community hospital and sustainable village tourism initiatives.

Herders Lifestyle Trails.

Village homestay and festival tours.

Health, education and livelihood programs, hospitality training and interest-free microfinances.

‘The Grameen Himalayan Haat’ Festival (GHH).

Plogging, hiking and trekking.

Solid Waste Management initiatives, training programs, and destination transformation projects.

Plogging events and Voluntourism.

(Himachal Pradesh)

Kipepeo

The Blue Yonder (Kerala)

4

Stays experienced with deep Cultural/Knowledge exchanges and

Village stays,

(North-East India) 3

Development of new destinations & model villages.

Not On Map

Grassroutes (Maharashtra)

Homestays and workshops. 5

Spiti Ecosphere (Himachal Pradesh)

6

The Goat Villages/Green People (Uttarakhand)

7

Tons Trails/Kalap Trust

Family experiences.

(Uttarakhand) 8

Aarohi (Uttarakhand)

9

Waste Warriors (Uttarakhand)

Parents & Kids Retreats.

Source: Authors

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Uttarakhand and Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurships: Uttarakhand has huge potential and need for ecotourism social entrepreneurships to solve many economic, environmental and socio-cultural problems. The Goat Villages, Waste Warriors, Aarohi and Tons Trails (refer Table.1) are among the few successfully established Ecotourism Social Entrepreneurships in Uttarakhand. Social enterprises ‘Green People’ created a separate unit ‘The Goat Villages’ as an agro-tourism revolution in Uttarakhand. It is a collection of boutique farm retreats and homestay experiences that empower local communities in villages Nag Tibba, Dayara Bugyal, Kanatal, Pangot, Bastadi, Kumali, Thati Dhanari, and Urgam Valley in the state of Uttarakhand. They have developed the organic brand ‘BAKRI CHHAP (Goat Brand)’ for organic farm products of local communities. The brand's motivation is to ensure good prices for organic products from villagers by removing intermediaries and promoting its sales on online platforms (Amazon) and directly to luxury hotels like Jaypee, JW Marriott, Leela, Crowne Plaza etc. The Goat Village recently won the Gold Award at the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2019, WTM London, under the category 'Best For Benefitting Local People'. ‘Tons Trails’ concept formed under ‘Kalap Trust’ in Tons Valley of Uttarakhand as a special enterprise to promote sustainable tourism principles. Kalap Trust is known for its major after-school projects and Kalap Trust Community Hospital in the valley. Currently the initiative is bringing economic empowerment in 37 villages through tourism activities like the Nomad Trail, High Altitude Nomad Retreat, Tons Heritage Trail, The Kalap Experience, Parents & Kids Retreat, Tons Valley Festivals, Apple Harvest Experience, The Kalap Rhododendron Trail. Likewise, "Aarohi" was created in 1992 with social work related to the health, education and livelihood programs of the rural communities of Satoli Uttarakhand, which now covers 114 villages. Later in 2013 they began promoting The Village Homestay Program, Hospitality Training and Interest-free Microfinance to establish local ecotourism services. The unique Grameen Himalayan Haat (GHH) is an annual festival of Satoli village organised by Aarohi to attract more tourists and as a platform to sell local seasonal products. Waste Warriors are based in the state's capital city, Dehradun, and are solving problems linked to Solid Waste Management systems in and around the state. As an ecotourism initiative they are organising different Plogging Events and Volunteerism activities to conserve local environments from negative impacts of traditional tourism practices. The Hanifl Centre and Mountain Shepherds Initiative are other cases of the state's social entrepreneurships that work linked to ecotourism projects. In support of tourism entrepreneurship, the Uttarakhand government has included various policies and programs like Incentives, Subsidies, Concessions, and Special Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs (Uttarakhand Tourism Policy, 2018). Capital initiatives, interest subsidies, Stamp Duty Concessions, Tax incentives, Special schemes for women entrepreneurs, etc have so far only been adapted to tourism homestay units. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Griha Awaas Homestay regulations promise entrepreneurs a non-commercial rate of electricity, water and building tax, loan facilities, GST concessions, training and mobile apps, website assistance for advertising, etc (Uttarakhand Rural Development, 2018). Recently the Uttarakhand government signed a Memorandum of Understanding - MoU with online travel platform ‘Make My Trip.com’ to list state’s homestay units under stay options and tourist experiences (Singh, 2020). The study by Rawat (2008) recommends for a collaboration between ecotourism stakeholders and different business schools and ecotourism marketing experts to create better ecotourism social entrepreneurship platforms in Uttarakhand. Capacity building programs, Filed works, Single D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) Window Clearance Systems, Private Public Partnerships, Instant 24x7 helpline and Digital marketing are much needed to establish successful ecotourism social units (Uttarakhand Tourism Policy, 2018). Although there are diverse programs driven by government departments to support ecotourism entrepreneurships in the state, still this sector is facing several obstacles and challenges. Challenges: Obstacles like water scarcity problems, natural disaster zones, hilly terrains, international boundaries, sensitive ecosystems, repetitive forest fires, Scattered population, Outmigration, Unemployment (5.5% as of Jan 2020), low per capita income, poor infrastructure has always acted as general barriers to tourism developments in the state (Uttarakhand Tourism Policy, 2018; Rawat, 2017; CMIE, 2020). Additionally, niche ecotourism faces problems caused by lack of Private-Public Partnerships, Strict Policies and Restrictions of the state's forest department, Deficient Government managed units, Insufficient DMS (Destination Management System), Inadequate supporting industries, scarcity in public ecotourism awareness and support (UTDMP, 2008; Uttarakhand Rural Development; Uttarakhand Tourism Policy, 2018). According to Mishra et al., (2018), different kinds of direct and indirect barriers exist for ecotourism developments in the Uttarakhand region. Similarly, Kala & Bagri (2018) identified the four key barriers that stop local community participation in Uttarakhand tourism (eco and sustainable) development as Practical barrier, Socio-cultural barriers, Apprehension barrier and Institutional barrier. Lack of proper communication between different ecotourism stakeholders (local communities, government agencies, tour operators and target ecotourists) of the state made ecotourism potential destinations lagging behind from developments (Akash et al., 2019). There is a high gap between ecotourism principles and state’s government agencies’ conceptual clarification on ecotourism from other type of tourism activities like nature tourism, wildlife tourism and adventure tourism. In most cases the different agencies have treated both natural tourism and ecotourism as the same concept. This further makes the public more confused about schemes, incentives and policies developed by forest departments and tourism boards. Strong leadership and authority, specifically for the state's ecotourism activities, are not yet established because of the existing multiple departments or boards working as they want. According to Pande et al., (2018), ETDC has not successfully involved local people's participation in ecotourism development. The same challenges are also stumbling social entrepreneurship developments in the state's ecotourism sector. Firstly lack of proper support for private-public partnerships stopping local startup initiatives. More field work and a bottom-to-up approach studies must be supported regarding the possible solutions for ecotourism social entrepreneurships. Simple registration, funding, investment and auditing processes will ensure the entrepreneurs focus on the social initiatives to solve problems. Social entrepreneurship will act as a sustainable solution for existing barriers related to ecotourism in Uttarakhand. Conclusion: Along with the boom of the tourism industry, sustainable practices become necessary to promise a better future. Ecotourism niche only promotes tourism activities that ensure environmental conservation and local community empowerment. Likewise, social entrepreneurships that concentrate on ecotourism initiatives are solving diverse socio-economic and environmental problems of local communities/state/nation/regions. Same in the case of India. The state has a huge potential for ecotourism social entrepreneurships but has not yet been promoted well because of many obstacles and challenges. Existing ecotourism social entrepreneurships are mostly initiated by outsiders and the state government failed to provide local young entrepreneurs a D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA) 230 | P a g e

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS GHTC - 2020, SHILLONG (INDIA) platform to pitch their ideas. Case-based solutions are much needed to address most of these social problems. Along with in-depth qualitative analysis methods, emic and bottom-up approach models in every stage of social entrepreneurship developments and activities. Easy funding options, technical support, private-public partnerships, entrepreneurship training sessions, single window clearance systems, etc are crucial for successful ecotourism social entrepreneurships. Recent startup trends have exhibited great support for the concept of social entrepreneurship initiatives as important as other pure technology based startups. Many social entrepreneurs have also adapted technological advancements to find better solutions for social problems. Henceforth, a new scope of virtual ecotourism social entrepreneurship is illustrated with the help of VR(Virtual Reality) and AI (Artificial Intelligence). The concepts forwarded by the research have further study scopes with multidisciplinary approaches and methods. Reference ● Aayog, N. I. T. I. (2018). Report, Sustainable Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region. NITI Aayog, August 2018. ● Ahmad, J. A., Abdurahman, A. Z. A., Ali, J. K., Khedif, L. Y. B., Bohari, Z., & Kibat, S. A. (2016). Social entrepreneurship in ecotourism: an opportunity for fishing village of Sebuyau, Sarawak Borneo. Tourism, Leisure and Global Change, 1(1), 38-48. ● Akash, N., Bhandari, B. S., & Bijlwan, K.(2019) Role Of Ecotourism Potentials, Livelihood Improvement And Environmental Sustainable Development In Rajaji Tiger Reserve; Uttarakhand, India. American Journal of Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.26739/2573-5616-2019-8-27. Published August 20, 2019. ● Bagri, D. S., Babu, A. S., & Nayal, B. (2008). A Study on Level and Scale of Local Community Participation in Geo cum ecotourism Promotion and Management in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR), North Western Himalaya, India. Journal of Tourism, 9(2). pp-55-72. ● Bagri, S. C., & Kala, D. (2015). Tourists' satisfaction at Trijuginarayan: An emerging spiritual and adventure tourist destination in Garhwal Himalaya India. Turizam, 19(4), 165-182. ● Bagri, S. C., & Kala, D. (2016). Residents’ attitudes toward tourism development and impacts in Koti-Kanasar, Indroli, Pattyur tourism circuit of Uttarakhand state, India. Revista de Turismoy Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-7121. https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2016.14.002 ● Bagri, S. C., & Mishra, J. M. (2004). Ecotourism complex planning–An estimation of financial outlay for Ansuyadevi in Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of Tourism, 6(1/2), 95-112. ● Bagri, S. C., Babu, A. S., & Nayal, B. (2008). A Study on Level and Scale of Local Community Participation in Geo cum ecotourism Promotion and Management in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR), North Western Himalaya, India. Journal of Tourism, 9(2). p.45-54. ● Bagri, S. C., Gupta, B., & George, B. (2009). Environmental orientation and ecotourism awareness among pilgrims, adventure tourists, and leisure tourists. Turizam: međunarodni znanstveno-stručni časopis, 57(1), 55-68. ● Bagri, S. C., Suresh Babu, A., & Bhatt, V. P. (2013). Innovation and Competitiveness in Ecotourism: A View from the Koti-Kanasar-Indroli-Patyur Circuit in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. Journal of Tourism, 14(1). ● Bagri, S. C. (1989). Mountain Tourism, Problem of Resource use and Environmental Conservation—case of Kashmir and Garhwal'. Journal of Tourism and Hotel Management, 18. ● Bagri, S. C. (2010). Identification and assessment of off-beat destinations in Uttarakhand for community-based ecotourism development & promotion. Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). ● Bansal, S. P., & Kumar, J. (2013). Ecotourism for Community Development: A Stakeholder’s Perspective in Great Himalayan National Park. In Creating a Sustainable Ecology Using Technology-Driven Solutions. IGI Global. (pp. 88-98). D. T. H. M., NEHU, SHILLONG (INDIA)

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