When tourism providors under-deliver?

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Simple fact - in context with tourists from any country in the world - very few, if any, will admit to having been made a monkey of on an expensive trip to another country. This is a universal truth, and the reasons are not far to see - most do not know anything about the destination unless they have really researched the destination.


In our context, whether inbound or outbound India, especially after paying out big fat visa fees.


And if they have researched the destination well, then they will certainly have steered clear of all the relevant tourist traps, something many of us learnt early in life.


For example, take coastal beach tourist towns anywhere in the world, and start from the restaurants which are right on the beach. Broadly, these can be defined as "greedy row", where everything is over-charged or watered-down or both.


On the second street from the beach-front are usually the back-ends of the restaurants on the beach-facing row. Prices may be lower, but then also be prepared for lower levels of service, as well as left-overs and a different type of bottom end tourist.


The real flavour of the tourist beach resort begins deeper inland, where the local people live and play, and also commute from. That's where the city buses, as different from the airport or hotel buses, ply. Look for good food, reasonably priced lodgings, and a better type of human beings.


And thus is, then, born word-of-mouth. In all my travels, our best experiences have been at the family type of restaurants, away from the tourist strips. This is true everywhere in the world - including in India. Where you pay for the experience - and not for the real estate. The beach is, after all, free - and you can always walk up there with your own mattress or just lie down on the sand if you want to.


The domestic tourist in India goes forward largely by word of mouth, seeks value for money, and is totally in the market for all that was promised. This has, to many tourism providors in India who depended on the one-visit-to-India-in-a-lifetime type of foreign visitor, caused a lot of angst. 



This is how it works - the foreign tourist can be shown a few tame deers, random peacocks, an elephant ride for photo opportunity and then a ride in an open 4WD with whispers of "tiger was here a few minutes back we just missed him".  After that, any old food in a random tent, with a loo inside the fabric.


The domestic tourist in India is increasingly aware and knows how to escalate matters at her or his leisure subsequently. 


This is the New Indian Tourist. I see them all over India. Well behaved, polite, but will demand and expect everything that was promised. Those providors who can deliver - great; those who can't - will probably miss the opportunity from the Great Indian Domestic Tourist.





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