INTRODUCTION:

As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum. India is ranked 11^th in the Asia Pacific region and 62^nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the world’s attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14^th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24^th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5^th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019.

India has been ranked the “best country brand for value-for-money” in the Country Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by Future Brand, a leading global brand consultancy. India also claimed the second place in CBI’s “best country brand for history”, as well as appears among the top 5 in the best country brand for authenticity and art and culture, and the fourth best new country for business. India made it to the list of “rising stars” or the countries that are likely to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, led by the United Arab Emirates, China, and Vietnam.

Contribution to the Economy:

According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 brought out by the World Economic Forum, the contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at US$ 187.3 billion by 2019.

The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 year. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2019.is expected to generate 40,037,000 jobs i.e. 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019.

Role of the Department of Tourism:

Being the nodal agency for the development of tourism in the country, the department of tourism needs to make greater efforts to co-ordinate and integrate the policies of central ministries that have an impact on the development of tourism and to mobilize state governments and the private sector to develop unique and competitive tourism products and destinations. Crucial decisions affecting tourism are taken by other ministries viz. the Ministries of Finance, Home, Civil Aviation, Surface Transport, Environment and Forests, Urban Development, Rural Development, Ocean Development etc. The Department of Tourism has tended to concentrate largely on its role as the promoter of International tourism and generator of foreign exchange earnings while paying relatively less attention to inter-sectoral policy co-ordination and the all-important development of tourism infrastructure and product quality. In the Tenth Plan, the Department will redefine and expand its role and work towards inter sectoral convergence and policy integration to remove the barriers to the growth of tourism.

Barriers to Growth:

There are several factors that are responsible for the inadequate growth of the tourism sector in India. These are: barriers related to approach, barriers that discourage private investment, factors that affect competitiveness and factors that affect the long-term sustainability of tourism. The effective and early removal of these barriers during the Tenth Plan is an essential determinant for the success of the New Tourism Policy. The need for a national consensus on the role and level of tourism development in the country has been voiced repeatedly but a concerted effort to achieve a consensus has not been made.

Tourism should not be limited by state or regional boundaries if distortions in policies are to be avoided. It is important that a consensus among all states is evolved through the National Development council (NDC) and the barriers to the growth of tourism removed. Tourism has been denied the priority it deserves over successive Plan Periods because its potential as an engine of economic growth has not been appreciated. This is visible in the low allocation of resources. Allocation to tourism has averaged 0.16 per cent of the total Plan outlay from the Third Plan to the Ninth Plan. In the Tenth Plan, it is likely to receive an allocation of 0.72 percent. According to the WTTC, India is one of the lowest spenders on tourism- 153^rd out of 160 countries – while its neighboring competitors and China invest far more:

Malaysia (5.1 per cent), Nepal (5 per cent), Indonesia (8.4 per cent), Maldives (15.7 per cent), China (3.8 per cent). The growing domestic and international demand, which is set to boom, reinforces the need for higher investment. Failure to measure up to additional investment demand for domestic tourism is likely to lead to the over-exploitation of existing facilities, discouraging foreign visitors while leading to an increase in the outflow of high-spending domestic tourists from the country.

Most State Governments give scant importance to tourism even though they virtually control the tourism product located within their boundaries .They are responsible, inter alia, for local infrastructure, transport systems, sanitation and hygiene, leisure and recreation, law and order, the upkeep of local monuments and the general well-being of the tourist. Their support and participation is essential for tourism to succeed and spread its benefits among the host population. Their lack of interest has resulted in an unprofessional ad hoc approach that acts as a deterrent to the growth of tourism. The approach of the state governments needs to be focused, highly professional and result-oriented if India is to avail of the opportunity that the currently favorable market trends have to offer.

Apart from the State Governments, the private sector plays a vital role in the growth and development of tourism. Although the Central Government and certain state governments have, from time to time, announced incentives to involve the private sector in tourism development, the result achieved have fallen short of expectations.

To provide a conductive environment for private sector investment, it is important to realize that the travel and tourism sector is adversely affected by the lack of synergy in inter-sectoral policies. The growth of the sector requires well-integrated and co-ordinate policies and stability in approach. Contradictions and arbitrary changes in policy send confused signals to the investor. Unless conformities in policy are expeditiously removed well before the end of the Tenth Plan period, the New Tourism policy is unlikely to succeed. Being a long haul destination, India is more conveniently accessible by air and cannot be easily reached by rail or road. A restrictive air transport policy has a very deleterious effect on tourism traffic. There are insufficient connections to most tourism destinations. The situation could b eased if the large number of regional airports could open up as international airports. The existing international and national airports also require improvement. The price of aviation turbine fuel needs to be lowered to make air transport competitive and affordable. Today, it is cheaper to travel by air to neighboring countries from India than to travel to certain parts of India itself. A more liberal aviation bilateral regime and a new aviation policy to benefit the economy of the country as a whole rather than the national carriers alone would greatly aid the development of tourism. Central and state governments need to evolve a taxation regime, which is revenue generating without being burdensome.

Accommodation and transport taxes tend to be very heavy in certain states while the excise policy in the others is extremely harsh. The land policy in some states makes the setting up of a hotel a formidable exercise and as many as 48 clearances are required for the construction and running of a hotel. Such policies deter private sector investment. The importance of protecting private investment in tourism must also be appreciated and activities such as mining, unauthorized construction, encroachments and haphazard development around tourist resorts must be prevented through appropriate legislation and public support.

As tourism is a highly competitive industry; the traveler has a wide range of choices and looks for good value for money. The lack of quality infrastructure, uncompetitive rates, indifferent or poor product quality, difficulty in getting access to information on travel and tourism destinations, untrained service provides, and above all, the lack of hygiene, have an enormously negative effect on the competitiveness of the tourism product. A world class destination requires professional planning to prevent haphazard, uncontrolled growth, spatial and land use planning, strict architectural controls, sewerage infrastructure and water treatment plants. It requires improvement of entry points and appropriate facilitation services. The lack of a vision arrival regime on account of security considerations places India at a disadvantage Vis-a vis its competitors. It is necessary that India strikes a balance between security considerations and the need for tourism development and reviews its visa policy to permit tourists from its major source markets to obtain visas on arrival. Equally important is the behavior of the host population. Training programmes are required not only for hotel managers but also for tourist guides, taxi – drivers, staff at eating places, potters etc., as the manner in which they conduct themselves affects the tourist’s experience of the country. Important do’s and don’ts in terms of a code of ethics need to be inculcated among the service providers. During the Tenth Plan, the Department of Tourism will organize capacity building programmes for service providers through mobile training units.

The rural tourism potential in India has been realized very late when compared to the other part of the world. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) has notified Tourism as one of the major sources for generating employment and promoting sustainable livelihoods. The Union ministry of tourism in collaboration with UNDP has launched the Endogenous Tourism Project in the year 2004, linked to the existing rural tourism scheme of the government. The UNDP has committed $2.5 million for the project. UNDP will help in areas of capacity building, involvement of NGOs, local communities and artisans forge strong community-private and public sector partnerships. The government has decided to develop necessary infrastructure for facilitating rural tourism. So far the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, with the help of State tourism departments has identified 31 villages across the country as tourist spots and providing Rs. 50.00 lakh as financial assistance for each project. Besides, an additional amount of Rs. 20 lakh would be provided for developing logistic facilities and starting community participation centers through self- help groups. Till June 2007 only 25 projects have been successfully completed or are in the verge of completion in the 16 states.

Indian Tourism Industry Forecast (2007-2011)’’ Key Findings:

Ø In India, inbound tourist expenditure per head is third highest in the world and even more than global average tourist spending.

Ø India has been promoting its healthcare tourism by providing the visitors with private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the number of tourists visiting India for the purpose of medical treatment will reach one Million by 2012, representing a CAGR of 28.09% from 2007.

Ø Disposable income in past (during 2001-2006) grew at a CAGR of 10.11%, thereby driving domestic as well as outbound tourism.

Ø Room rent accounts for more than 50% of revenue earned by Indian hotel industry.

Ø Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at a CAGR of 12.79% over the five-year period spanning 2007-2011.

Ø Tourist influx to India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 22.65% between 2007 and 2011.

Ø India’s share in global tourism is expected to reach 1.5% by 2010.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Rural environments have a long history of extending themselves for recreational purposes. Historical data reflects the existence of countryside recreation in European countries right from the 17^th and 18^th century. Thomas Cook, the pioneer of tour packages conducted its first excursions to country areas (Williams, 1998). However before the 19^th century few people other than the upper class traveled. This trend changed by the mid-19^th century. Invention of the railways, availability of free time, increase in disposable income and other technological advancements (Sharpley and Sharpley, 1997) all contributed to luring the middle class to experience holidays once considered the domain of the elite. The motivation for these early tourists were either the urge to experience the popular images that they had been subjected to or in some industrialized regions, the working population (ex- migrants) visiting their rural roots in the countryside. Hungary is a classic example of the latter (Ratz, and Puczko, 1998). However with the continuous increase in the number of tourists visiting rural areas, the awareness of developing the region to cater to the needs also grew. The sliding economies, changes in agricultural practices, the rural-urban migration initiated by the industrialization, were also contributory factors for this shift. With the increase in popularity and numbers, the impacts of tourism on the environment and people started emerging. As early as the 20^th century questions of access to and preservation of valued landscapes were becoming contentious issues. Apart from the developmental and environmental reasons, the social criteria (broadening of cultural provision, enrich and revive dying arts and craft forms and social interaction for local people who often live relatively isolated regions) (Swarbrooks, 1996 in Ratz, and Puczko, 1998) are also motivational factors for the development of rural areas. It was based on one or more of the above factors, which has led many countries both developed and developing to focus on rural tourism.

So what is it that attracts the tourist to a rural area? Working from the perspective of the tourist, the countryside has been viewed upon as ‘isolated and remote representing peace, difference, even exoticism. Rurality means nature- for mental contemplation, aesthetic appreciation or physical activity. Traditional lifestyles represent our heritage that is often believed to be well preserved between generations in rural areas. Other words/ phrases that people associate with rural tourism is relaxing environment, adventure and challenge, health and fitness, fresh air, wildlife and landscapes, experience of rural communities, culture and lifestyles, a change from everyday urban life, conservation work and explore historic identities, interests in heritage (Thomson Learning). Rural tourism is one that extends to all senses. It touches on the physical and psychological level. Tom Stephenson sums up; ‘were not to see landscape, so much as to experience it physically’ (Cosgrove, 1984:268 in Urry, 2002:89)

Tourism in rural areas in the 21^st century has built on the original concept with greater focus. Many countries in order to achieve a balanced growth of the urban-rural regions have incorporated the development of tourism. Very often rural tourism is a sub-component of the agricultural policy of the nation. The dynamics between the pull and push factors are becoming more complicated and sophisticated. The numbers of visitors to rural areas has increased considerably. It was estimated that during the turn of the century 3% of all international tourists travel was for rural purposes, which is around 19 million (excluding domestic tourism). This accounts for an annual growth rate of around 6%, 2% above the growth rate for all tourism (Cabrini, 2002). The countryside is also increasingly being viewed as a commodity (Kneafsey, 2001) that can be marketed y the tourism industry and consumed by the tourist. With the rapid consumption rate, tourism has needed to develop in all types of countryside to insatiate this growing need. The new forms of rural tourism that are currently in use to describe the tourism activity are agri-tourism/ agro tourism, farm tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, alternative tourism, eco- tourism and several others (Hall and Page, 2002:213).

The term ‘rural tourism’ has different meanings in different countries. A few examples of the forms it takes in different countries: In India, components of rural tourism include heritage, farm, pilgrim, adventure and nature. In Slovenia, the most important form of rural tourism is tourism on family farms. In Netherlands, the rural tourist product means especially camping on the farm and being linked to route- bound activities as cycling, walking or horse riding. In Greece, the main provision of rural tourism product is bed and breakfast with accommodation in traditionally furnished rooms and with traditional breakfasts often based on homemade products (Ratz, and Puczko,1998).

OBJECTIVE OF STUDYING RURAL TOURISM:

Although there is phenomenal growth in Indian Tourism, but rural tourism was never given any priority. The concept of rural tourism has a noble cause, it is another kind of sustainable tourism that exploits resources in rural regions, causes little or no harmful impact, and generates increasing benefits to rural areas in terms of rural productivity, employment, improved distribution of wealth, conservation of the rural environment and culture, local people’s involvement, and a suitable way of adapting traditional beliefs and values to modern times.

Not much study has been done in India to assess the potential of rural tourism, the related challenges and opportunities. The main objective of undertaking this research is to find out the potential of rural tourism in India and also whether rural tourism can be marketed as a product.

Defining rural tourism:

As per Gannon, ‘Rural Tourism’ covers “a range of activities provided by farmers and rural people to attract tourists to these areas in order to generate extra income for their business”. Any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Rural tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the countryside. It is multi-faceted and may entail farm/ agricultural tourism, cultural tourism, rural tourism has certain typical characteristics like; it is experience oriented, the locations are sparsely populated, it is predominantly in natural environment, it meshes with seasonality and local events and is based on preservation of culture, heritage and traditions.

In Indian context, any form of tourism that showcases the rural life either real or recreated, and that which involves rural folk (as artists and guides etc.) at such locations. There by benefiting the local community economically and socially, as well as enabling interactions between the tourists and locals for a more enriching tourism experience would classify as rural tourism.

That means rural tourism takes place in the countryside and creates value from rural opportunities.

The rural tourism has great potentialities in attracting tourists of various interests as it is a mix of various tourism concepts. It provides everything in single package and works in non-urban setting with rural essence for the benefit of local community while preserving rural assets, values and heritage. Rural tourism inculcate following concepts of tourism.

· Heritage and Culture (Ethnic Tourism)

· Learning and Education from natural environment about rural life style, art and culture (Eco Tourism)

· Scenic value (Nature Tourism)

· Religious value (Pilgrim Tourism)

· Adventure/ Sports based activities (Adventure Tourism)

· Rural / Agrarian life style (Farm Tourism/ Agri tourism)

· The way in which rural tourism is organized and the forms it takes vary from country to country. In some countries, the government or cooperative movement is the main source of investment. In others it is private enterprise.

Components of rural tourism:

1. Agro- Tourism: Tourism on the farms enables farmers to diversify their activities while enhancing the value of their products and property. Farm tourism also helps to reconcile farming interests and environmental protection through integrated land management in which farmers continue to play a key role.

Tourists who choose farm accommodation rather than other kinds of accommodation facilities look for genuine rural atmosphere where they can share intimacy of the household they live in, learn traditional crafts and skills with their hosts, make friends which is a quality, modern times have almost forgotten and above all enjoy homemade food and drinks. Some specific food labels can help consumers establish a local produce and cab be used as a setting point to tourist who want to taste home grown quality food and drink.

2. Heritage and cultural Tourism: Heritage and cultural Tourism in rural areas comes in a wide range of forms most of which are unique to an individual local and a valuable component of the rural tourism product. Heritage and cultural tourism includes temples, rural buildings but may be extended to local features of interest including war remnants, monuments to famous literary, artistic or scientific people, historic remains, archeological sites, traditional parkland etc.

3. Eco Tourism: Many tourists visit rural areas for the purpose of bird and animal watching and learning about local flora and fauna. Rural tourist destination as a product is definitely very fragile in ecological, social and cultural sense. Its development requires very specific approach that could help it remain sustainable in the long term.

The rural tourism basically rests on three planes of activities. Each of which forms its indispensable component. Let’s give an elucidation to each of it. Rural tourism as a means to rural development has three components:

· Diversification of the farm activities

· Contribution to the development of the vacation sites

· Utilization of the local human resources

Identification of resources available for rural tourism in India:

Landscape:

This is very pleasing to the city people who are surrounded by the concrete jungles. Local attractions like woodlands, historic buildings, and natural scenery like Lake Etc should be widely publicized.

Flora and fauna:

City people generally love to come in contact with small, fragile animals. Children are fascinated by the cows and the claves and love feed them. Lamb is again a centre of attraction. Eg. In the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh wild flowers in the spring season and rare animals like angora rabbits, yak etc. can be the centers of attraction.

Ingenious products :

Special products of the area such as the wild mushrooms, other edible wild plants, seafood, and pickles can be widely publicized. Specialized regional cooking is something the visitors look up to eg. Kangra dham of the Kangra Valley in H.P and the rural hinterlands of the Kashmir valley in J and K.

Intangibles:

Finally there is the local culture of the specific area that can act as a U.S.P for the marketer. Historic buildings such as the temples and shrines as well as traditional agricultural tools are part of the rare cultural heritage, which appeals deeply to the visitors. Participation by the visitors in the regional festivals can be another retreat. Another intangible marketable product could be the interesting narration of the old tales by the village elderly to recreate the vicinity of lost cherished days of the village.

Diversification of Allied Activities (farm inns, restaurants etc):

1. Development of Farm Inns and Restaurant:

It involves building facilities such as farm inns and develops agricultural products and the folk arts which are the specialties of the region. The main purpose is to increase the farmers, incomes, so that the farm families can prosper in areas farm business is either slow or seasonal. They need not serve expensive meals but only need to provide a simple yet clean room to sleep and purely Indian dal roti cooked in Indian basic condiments. In developing the rural tourism ties between the local industries are very important, people visiting the rural areas need accommodation, and this need creates the farm inns. Farm inn again is the conglomeration of variety of supply chains like food supply, laundry service, and logistics etc. an increase in the number of visitors create the demand for the souvenir. This demand creates the ripple effect and slowly and steadily benefits the economy of the larger area thus creating a partnership of the local businesses benefiting the local inhabitants.

2. Developing Vacation Sites:

In the developed world governments play the major role in developing the vacation sites based on the regional plans to avoid any adverse impact? In the developing countries like India camping grounds and the lodging facilities are prepared but they are not fully utilized, auto camp site for example, are prepared without the correct understanding of the real needs of the visitors from the cities and sometimes operate at a loss. Preparation of the vacation site must find out what urbanite people look for in the rural hinterlands?

3. Integration Between Visitors and Native Community:

An example of this aspect is the events organized in the countryside of the Great Britain, This concept is called as the weekend holidays. Visitors come to attend the traditional craft lessons, instructed by the professional in the field. The whole community works together to welcome the visitors from the cities. Holidays on this model can be very successful for the rural India that is the storehouse of local skills and rare talent. Many people in the cities feel nostalgia about the traditional plays, skits dance forms etc. participation of the local community to recreate the magic of the hitherto past heritage can be a wonderful treat and an ice breaking session both for the locals and the visitors.

Marketing strategy for rural tourism

Niche Marketing in Tourism Sector:

A niche market in rural tourism industry – can be linked to eco, heritage, cultural, culinary, health/wellness/spa and other niches.

Creating a Niche of Agro Tourism Under Rural Tourism:

The various forms of agro tourism initiatives may include food festivals, outdoor recreation, experience like cooking classes, hospitality services like farm stays, guided tours, off-site farmers’ market etc. these activities would lead to tourism product enhancement. Eg hitherto silent agricultural estates, farms, food processing plants, orchards, nurseries etc. can be commercially used for tours, farms stays, farm operation lectures, cooking classes etc. farmers’ market concept can improve farmers’ disposable income by the sale of local art, craft, literature and entertainment etc.

Branding Rural Tourism:

A brand is a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business. Brand is the image of the product in the market. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service. The recent trends that may hit the rural tourism industry are as follows:

· Consumers are tired of the same old trip

· Consumers are more willing to take risks

· Consumers are seeking the emotional connection with the people and the place

· Consumers are interested in meaningful and educative experience

The whole exercise of branding the rural tourism takes into consideration the very basics of branding. People engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain utilities or characteristics that make it special or unique. Careful brand management stresses upon creating value, which is basically the manipulation in the form of the projected image of the product so that the consumer sees the product as being worth the amount that the marketer wants him/her to see, rather than a more logical valuation that comprises an aggregate of the cost of raw materials, plus the cost of manufacture, plus the cost of distribution. Second important consideration is about creating the brand identity. A product identity, or brand image are typically the attributes one associates with a brand, how the brand owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand- and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Effective brand names build a connection between the brand personality as it is perceived by the target audience and the actual product/ service. The brand name should be conceptually on target with the product/service. The brand name should be conceptually on target with the product/ service (what the company stands for). Furthermore, the brand name should be on target with the brand demographic. Typically, sustainable brand names are easy to remember, transcend trends and have positive connotations. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand’s differentiation from competitors.

Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a products brand identity may acquire (evolve), gaining new attributes from consumer perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, brand associations become handy to check the consumer’s perception of the brand.

Brand identity needs to focus on authentic qualities – real characteristics of the value and brand promise brand promise being provided and sustained by organizational and/or production characteristics.

When we are talking of the rural tourism we are talking of the niche marketing so while creating a brand we must keep in our mind as to what aspect of our product we want the consumer to identify with Rural tourism has variety of facets which have been elucidated upon below:

Culture:

· Music, dance, theater

· Dress

· Art and craft

· Celebration and cuisine

· Spiritual beliefs and symbols

Heritage:

· Elders

· Architecture

· Archaeological sites

· Cemeteries

Natural environment:

· Hunting and fishing

· Low impact recreation

· Foraging

Agriculture

· Techniques

· Tools

· Local specialties

The real job of the marketer is to choose his niche and develop the theme surrounding it and then create a brand promise with the potential consumer. Based on the secondary data following could be the rural tourism themes:

· Regional cuisine

· Small scale farming

· Art

· Forestry and wood

· Architecture

· Flora and Fauna

· Rivers and brooks

· Mountainous adventures

· Health….etc

Product life cycle of rural tourism product portfolio

When we say that a product has a life cycle we assert four things:

· Products have a limited life.

· Products sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities and problems to the seller.

· Profits rise and fall at different stages of the product life cycle.

· Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life – cycle stages

PLC shows the stags that the products go through from development to withdrawal from the market and the product portfolio determines the range of the products a marketer has in development or available for the consumers at any one time. Managing the product portfolio is very important for the cash flow.

The different stages in PLC are as follows:

· Development

· Introduction

· Growth

· Maturity

· Decline

· Withdrawal

Product development phase:

The rural tourism, which is still at the infancy stage, so it hits on this phase on the PLC, it requires a lot to brain storming sessions on the part of the marketer so as to develop new ideas and innovative concepts. This stage further needs a marketing analysis to determine whether the envisaged product is what it is needed in reality, whether the venture can be produced at profit. This step is then succeeded by product package development and refinement, testing marketing locally and regional should the next step. Further the marketer moves towards the analysis of test marketing results and amendment if needed in the product process. Last but not the least there are preparations for launch that is publicity gimmicks and marketing campaign to be launched.

However, some of the projects of rural tourism are at the introduction stage of the PLC, as has been deciphered from the existing literature. The marketing strategies for those ventures could be well-organized promotional campaigns to increase public awareness. The various features, advantages and benefits of the product package have to bring into the limelight. Here you may loose money but you expect to generate profits in near future. The issue to worry for the marketer could be the fact that the product introduction phase for the rural tourism product is long so for quite a considerable period of time the marketer might have to face negative profits.

Proposed extended marketing mix for rural tourism:

A service is the action of doing something for someone or something. It is largely intangible (i.e. not material). A service tends to be an experience that is consumed at the point where it is purchased, and cannot be owned since is quickly perishes. So the nature of the services can be summarized as follows:

Ø Inseparable –from the point where it is consumed, and from the provider of the service. For example, you cannot take a scenic lake home to enjoy it.

Ø Intangible –service cannot have a real, physical presence as does a product. For example, pleasure one has while moving in Manali can’t be touched but only felt.

Ø Perishable –in that once it has occurred it cannot be repeated in exactly the same way. For example, once a summer camp is organized, there will be not other until next summer and even then it will be staged with many different visitors.

Ø Variability – since the human involvement of service provision means that no two services will be completely identical. For example, returning to the same tourist site time and time again for a service might see different levels of customer satisfaction, or speediness of work.

Ø Right of ownership – is not taken to the service, since you merely experience it. For example, a restaurant may provide you service, but you don’t own the service, the waiters or the equipment. You cannot sell it on once it has been consumed, and do not take ownership of it.

7p’s of services for the rural tourism product:

The product here is the total tourism experience of the place, here in the marketer can manage in two ways; one by maintaining the noche of services e.g. he may specialize in one of the many areas of rural tourism or he may offer the portfolio of related products e.g. Adventure tourism, hunting, archery fishing etc can be one portfolio of the products from the many given choices. The features of the product should be properly publicized. The season where the sales are bound to be maximum should be judiciously taken care of. The various product decisions that are to be made are in regard with: Brand name Functionality Styling Quality Safety and support

Price:

This very part of the marketing mix should be set keeping in variety of factors into the consideration. The disposable income of the target segment that is bound to be high here as this product is to be consumed by leisure seeking people who are high on disposable incomes. The PLC of the product and its seasonality should looked in to for, if the product is seasonal the marketer can go for the market skimming pricing policy where n his main concern is to churn out the maximum profits in the minimum time. Some of the pricing decisions to be made include:

· Pricing strategy (skimming, penetration)

· Cash and early payment discounts

· Volume discounts

· Seasonal pricing

Place:

basically connotes the service place, the place of the venture site should be accessible by road ways or waterways. The infrastructure in the form of Internet via V- SAT can be an ideal option for the remote or far-flung places. Telecom can be brought to these areas via V-SAT. in nutshell, place in this industry connotes the accessibility of the service. Such decisions may include:

Market coverage

· Inventory management

· Transportation

· Reverse logistics

Promotion:

It represents the various aspects of the marketing communication, that is, the communication of the information about the product with the goal of generating the positive consumer response. It may include:

· Promotional strategy (push or pull)

· Advertising

· Public relations and publicity

· Marketing communication budget

Physical evidence:

The ability and the environment in which the service is being delivered, both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform the service and intangible experience of the existing customers. In this case it could the cleanliness and hygienic of the area under study.

People:

All the people who are directly or indirectly involved in the consumption of the services are an important part employees, community of the area of the rural tourism site, management and the knowledge workers from the small mesh pf this factor. Their conduct, empathy and sympathy for the tourists are of vital importance.

Process:

The procedure, mechanisms or the flow of activities with which the services are being delivered and consumed. It encompasses the supply chain of the various things like food, information etc. the supply chain has to be very responsive and should aim at deliverance of value for money to the consumer.

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Received on 01.08.2014 Modified on 11.09.2014

Int. J. Ad. Social Sciences 2(3): July-Sept., 2014; Page 137-144