Dissertation Project Report

on
STUDY ON CONSUMER
PREFERENCE OF TOURIST
DESTINATION IN UTTRAKHAND
(INDIA).

SAURABH GAUR
MBA (2011-13)

INTRODUCTION
The study aims at analyzing the behavior and preferences of domestic
tourists available options in India. The study was carried out
through a comprehensive questionnaire. The main objective of this
paper is to measure the association between socioeconomic,
demographic variables and tourist destination. The analysis would
bring to the fore the relative significance of various parameters that
go into the decision making process, viz., distance, cost, facilities
for transport, lodging, boarding, season and climatic conditions,
special festivals and occasions. The first step towards positioning
of a tourist destination is to determine the most important variables
tourists consider while evaluating a destination.

OBJECTIVES
To ascertain the awareness levels of people as regards to

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The research is about analyzing the tourists feedback and studying the
various factors of tourism with the goal of highlighting useful information,
suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making. Descriptive
Research has been used. In this research open-ended and closed ended
questionnaire have been used and the tool used is MS Excel & SPSS.
This study will help to understand their perceptions and needs regarding their
choice of tourist destination in Uttrakhand.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Kaushik Neeraj, Kaushik Jyoti, Sharma Priyanka and Rani Savita, Factors
Influencing Choice of Tourist Destinations: A Study of North India, (2010) The
IUP Journal of Brand Management, Vol. VII, Nos. 1 & 2,

Jain Sheenu and Tiwari K A, A Study on Indian Consumers Preferences for

Domestic Tourism (2009) The Icfai University Journal of Consumer Behavior,
Vol. IV, No. 1

Himadri Phukan ,Uttarakhand as a Spiritual Tourist Destination: An Emerging

Research (2012) Vol. 5 (5) May.

Upadhyaya Makarand, Influence of Destination Image and Destination

Personality: An Empirical Analysis (2012) Vol. 7 Issue 3.

FINDINGS

Most tourists are aware about Nainital, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Mussoorie and
Corbett National Park.

Mussoorie and Nainital are the places which maximum no. of respondents had
visited. This show the popularity of the two major hill stations of Uttrakhand.

Internet and Family & Friends are the two most important sources of
information regarding the tourist places in Uttrakhand

Most people prefer to visit Uttrakhand for Relaxation & Peace which accounts
for nearly 23% of the respondents

107 respondents prefer hotel accommodation.

Climate and safety are very important for nearly 67% of the respondents.

LIMITATIONS

One of the biggest constraints of my research was time. Since this research had to be conducted in a short
period of three months some of the minute details of the research were overlooked which may have
affected my results to some extent.

Another constraint was that of money. Since the research was conducted by an individual, a lot of money
could not be spent on the research.

The sampling of the tourists was mostly among those in the 18-30 age brackets. Youngsters are more
inclined towards places where they can find adventure like Rishikesh & Corbett National Park.

Random sampling error. The sample size is 200 which may not be enough to capture the true preference
of the people across diverse socio-cultural backgrounds.

Central tendency error in questions where people were asked to rate tourism factors on a Likert scale and
the response of most respondents was largely dependent of their income. The maximum number of
respondents belonged to high income group category.

RECCOMENDATIONS

Uttrakhand must be able to provide hotels to cater to all segments of the society.

It must open avenues for business opportunities, could be tourism related itself, and cash on its vast
religious backdrop.

Railways must be given a boost so that long distance travel becomes easy.

Low cost airlines and helicopter services also can be used to reach the inaccessible regions depending on
the climatic conditions.

Entertainment facilities must be provided in order to ensure a longer stay by the tourists.

Family entertainment facilities must be developed.

Basic infrastructural facilities have to be developed further, most importantly road and parking facility.

Shopping facilities need a boost. Village Haat, Local culture and handicrafts must be promoted.

CONCLUSION

Uttrakhand has immense tourism potential, which has not been fully utilized because of
lack of infrastructural facilities and even government support.

Focus needs to be put on the infrastructural needs of the tourists which greatly affect their
decision for selecting a tourist destination.

Medical tourism is a major growth driver.

The analysis has brought to the fore the relative significance of various parameters that go
into the decision making process, viz., distance, cost, facilities for transport, lodging,
boarding, season and climatic conditions and religion.

The basic step towards positioning of a tourist destination is to determine the most
important variables tourists consider while evaluating a destination.

THANK YOU