Tourism, transportation and accomodation: Case study of two cities in Southern India

The problem investigated here is the characterization of tourism in the southern Indian cities of Bangalore and Mysore. To generate the characterization, inputs were obtained from three types of sources. These are tourists, hotel operators and tour operators in both cities. Separate questionnaires were prepared and administered to the three input sources. Twenty two questions were asked in the tourist questionnaire. The tour operator and hotel operator questionnaires contained twelve and nine questions respectively. Questions to tourists pertained to factors such as point of origin of tourists, purpose of visit, length of stay, etc. Questions to tour and hotel operators were designed not only to obtain information regarding their operation but also their perception of tourist activity. A descriptive analysis of the survey responses has been conducted. The responses have been charted in a manner to make comparisons between Bangalore and Mysore straightforward. Quantitative measures such as mean and standard deviation have been computed wherever it was found appropriate. The analysis has lead to the generation of the profile of the typical tourist to Bangalore and Mysore and to the identification of some general tourism patterns. Recommendations have been made for action by the central and state governments as well as businesses for enhancing tourism in the two cities