Tourism is an important aspect of human life. As an economic activity it is a part of the services sector of an economy and is a big source of employment generation and foreign exchange earning. Tourism could be for sight seeing, holidaying, education, business, medical treatment, rejuvenation of mind and body, etc. In many countries tourism is treated as an industry. It is indeed difficult to pin point the period of human history when tourism began. But, one can easily surmise that tourism could be as old as human race itself. Along with mankind, tourism has also registered a phenomenal growth over the centuries. Now, tourism enjoys an incredible status of being one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the world. Tourism cuts across caste, colour, creed, race, language, etc.

People from all walks of life, of all ages and of all income groups experience the spirit of tourism at least once in their life time. Worldwide, tourism has achieved rapid strides due to its amazing capacity to earn foreign exchange, generate employment opportunities and inculcate a sense of love and brotherhood in the minds of people.

In spite of the images of terror, SARS, climatic/economic crises, global economic slowdown, Iraq war and downward trend in spending capacity, tourism industry has by and large retained its vigour. The annual turnover of world tourism is a phenomenal sum of 3.4 trillion $. Tourism is the largest source of foreign exchange in countries like Costa Rica and Maldives. China spends 3.8% of its budget on tourism and rates fifth in receiving the largest tourist arrivals (31.2 million). The World Travel and Tourism Council's satellite accounting research which measured tourism share in the national economy in 160 countries over the last 10 years, has found a global shift away from Europe to Asia and Far East in the last 10 years.

India is a journey of mind and soul, of the five senses, of self-discovery and of self-fulfillment. Mark Twain had remarked on India as follows: "The one land that all men desire to see

and having seen once, by even a glimpse would not give the glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined."

India has the potential to become a major tourist destination in the world with the demand growing at 10.1% p.a., the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted. According to the latest research by Europe's leading Travel Magazine Conde Nast Traveller, India has entered the top ten tourist destinations of the world for the first time. India's breathtaking range of tourism products are its mystical attraction with its ancient civilisation and culture, a history going back to 5000 years, world's highest mountains, spectacular coastline, tropical forests, wildlife, lagoon backwaters, ancient monuments, forts and palaces. Being located virtually midway between Europe and the Far East, Europe and South East Asia/Australia, India has a strategic advantage. All the international flights have to, out of necessity, fly over India. India receives nearly 2.5 million visitors every year and 30% of them are tourists. The inbound tourism is concentrated in the North and Rajasthan. The South accounts for about 25% of inbound tourism.

Tamil Nadu is now being positioned as a not-to-be missed tourist destination. The systematic and comprehensive efforts taken in 2003-04 have enabled the state to make its presence strongly felt in the tourism sector internationally. The successful organisation of the 64^th SKAL World Congress in Chennai in October 2003 was a major turning point. About 600 delegates from 38 countries and India assembled in Chennai, making this the largest congregation of foreign delegates in an international conference in Chennai in the recent years. The prestigious tourism magazine selling Long Haul, in its ITB Berlin issue in March 2004, has described Tamil Nadu as "India's emerging destination". The final feather in the cap came when Tamil Nadu Tourism received the award "Tourism Event of the Year" at the prestigious South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) held at New Delhi in the last week of March 2004. The award was given to Tamil Nadu Tourism for successfully organising the SKAL World Congress at Chennai.

The 7 Point action plan unveiled by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in her inaugural address at the 64th SKAL World Congress at Chennai on 20-10-2003 has set the agenda for the future. The highlights of the 7-Point Action Plan are as follows:

1) Unlocking the Hidden Treasures of Tamil Nadu consisting of lesser known but very attractive destinations like Chettinad, Pichavaram, Pulicat, etc.

2) Positioning Chennai and Coimbatore as Destinations for International Conventions and Exhibitions.

3) Twinning of Destinations by closely synergising our efforts with neighbouring countries and developing common circuits.

4) Improving accessibility and upgrading the transport network.

5) Filling up micro-level infrastructure gaps in major tourist destinations.

6) Aggressive and focused marketing.

7) Facilitate charter flights and Cruise Tourism.

The above action plan, when fully implemented is bound to give a tremendous boost to tourism sector in Tamil Nadu and the State is sure to find a permanent place in the international tourism map.

The Tourism Department has launched this marketing campaign in 2003-04. This campaign phrase has become very popular and has given consistency and theme to the advertisement efforts of the Department. It has established a strong brand image for tourism in Tamil Nadu. While "Enchanting Tamil Nadu" encapsulates the rich and varied tourism wealth of Tamil Nadu, the phrase "Experience Yourself" strikes a chord with the tourists in India and abroad. The design of the advertisement campaign represents heritage, history, culture, spirituality and peace, which are the core strength of tourism in Tamil Nadu.

3) Tourist Wealth of Tamil Nadu:

Tamil Nadu is a unique and fascinating State, where technology co-exists with tradition, old architecture blends with contemporary vitality and where nature is at its unsullied best. These make Tamil Nadu a year round destination. It boasts of abundant tourist wealth, which can be broadly grouped under the following heads:

a) Hill Resorts are beautiful mix of mountain ranges and plains with pastoral landscape, exotic plants and shrubs, grassy hillocks. Here tourism remains environmentally benign. Notable hill resorts are Udhagamandalam, Kodaikanal and Yercaud.

b) Beach Resorts: Out of 7100 KM long coastline of India, Tamil Nadu has 1000 KM long spectacular coastline with sugar white bays and sun drenched beaches. Marina beach is the second longest in the world. The recent beautification drive launched by Government on the Marina has earned the appreciation of all and Marina has been restored to its past glory.

c) Waterfalls, which present an awesome spectacle of the colossal cascade of water. Hogenakkal, Courtallam, Thirparappu, Kumbakarai, Papanasam etc are worth mentioning here.

d) Wildlife sanctuaries like Mudumalai, Anamalai, Mundanthurai, Kalakkadu etc.

e) Zoological Parks, which have abundant wildlife in their natural habitat.

f) Bird Sanctuaries, where the clacking and squawking of birds is melodious.

g) Botanical/Horticultural Gardens where the gardens are immaculately maintained to provide a visual feast.

h) Temples/Churches/Mosques where the carvings are exquisite and extravagant. Every wall of the surface is carved - the carvings are delicate and distinct but at the same time integrally linked with each other. It displays the ingenuity and artistic skill of sculptors. The history of some of the pilgrim centres dates back to even 1000 years.

i) Heritage Monuments where the architecture is unique and inspiring. They are marvels of engineering technology of the bygone era.

j) Mangroves: The mangroves at Pichavaram in Cuddalore District are one of the largest mangroves in the world. Mangroves are also found in Muthupet in Thiruvarur District.

k) Lake: The Pulicat Lake is the second largest saltwater lagoon in India (after Chilika Lake in Orissa).

The various kinds of Tourism commonly prevalent in Tamil Nadu are as follows:

Tourists visiting tourist centres in Tamil Nadu for leisure constitute a major segment of tourists. They usually throng the hill resorts, beaches, waterfalls, zoological parks, bird sanctuaries, botanical/horticultural gardens, etc.

This is another major segment of tourists visiting Tamil Nadu. They visit places of worship according to their faith. But, at times their zeal transcends all barriers and they do not hesitate to visit places of worship of other religions.

This group is normally made up of people in their fifties and above, who would like to visit historical monuments.

This is the most vibrant group made up of young boys in their teens and twenties. They like to whet their appetite for adventure through trekking, air/water sports, etc.

Top executives who arrive in Tamil Nadu to attend seminars, conferences, conventions, general body meetings, elections, etc. combine tourism with their business trips.

Medical Tourism:

Tamil Nadu is proud of possessing India's best medical facilities (Allopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, etc.). This coupled with Tamil nadu's traditional hospitality attracts patients from other States and even from neighbouring countries. After full recovery, the patients as well as their attendants visit places of tourist interest.

Fairs/Festivals Tourism:

Large inflow of tourists is usually seen during the major festive seasons like Deepavali, Christmas, Ramzan, Pongal, etc. The exhibitions, fairs (like India Tourist & Industrial Fair conducted every year by Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation at Island Grounds, Chennai), etc. also draw significant number of tourists.

People visit their kith & kin in connection with social functions like marriage, dedication of new house, ear-boring ceremony, etc. and visit tourist places either before or after the functions.

Academic Tourism:

Students from educational institutions visit tourist spots as part of their curriculum. The tour, though primarily meant for informative/ educative purposes, is later converted as a tourist trip. Students are given concession in entry fee to Poompuhar Tourist Complex, Sound & light show at Thirumalai Mannar Palace, Madurai and Kattabomman Memorial Fort, Panchalankurichi, which are under the control of the Tourism Department.

During the first review meeting of Tourism Department convened by Hon'ble Chief Minister in July 2001, among other things, it was decided to increase the tourist inflow to Tamilnadu from 7-9% to 10-12%. Subsequently, all the measures initiated by this Department were aimed at achieving the above target. These measures have started paying dividends, as could be seen from the following statistics.

It can be observed from the above statistics that there is steady growth in tourist traffic to Tamilnadu. Efforts will be made to keep this momentum during 2004-2005.

III. Commissionerate of Tourism and the offices under its control

The Commissionerate of Tourism is headed by Commissioner of Tourism, who is assisted by a Joint Director, three Deputy Directors, two Assistant Directors, One Publication Officer, One Accounts Officer and more than 200 Ministerial staff members working in the Head Office and Unit Offices. The field offices comprise of 20 Tourist Offices (14 within Tamil Nadu and 6 outside Tamil Nadu) and 26 Tourist Information Centres (18 within Tamil Nadu and 8 outside Tamil Nadu) whose main functions are rendering assistance to tourists in respect of their stay, food, sight seeing, shopping etc., publicising the tourist potential of Tamil Nadu and co-ordinate with District Collectors / Public Works Department/Local bodies etc in implementation of projects.

Tourist Offices of Tamil Nadu are functioning at the following places:

1. Kanniyakumari

2. Tirunelveli

3. Rameswaram

4. Dharmapuri

5. Kodaikanal

6. Madurai

7. Udhagamandalam

8. Salem

9. Tiruchirappalli

10. Thanjavur

11. Poompuhar

12. Chidambaram

13. Mamallapuram

14. Chennai

15. Mumbai

16. Kolkatta

17. Panaji, Goa

18. New Delhi

19. Jaipur

20. Agra

Tourist Information Centres are functioning at the following places:

1. Railway Junction, Tirunelveli

2. Panchalankurichi

3. Railway Station, Rameswaram

4. Bus Stand, Rameswaram

5. Airport, Madurai

6. Railway Junction, Madurai

7. Gudalur (The Nilgiris District)

8. Railway Junction, Coimbatore

9. Airport, Coimbatore

10. Railway Junction, Tiruchirappalli

11 Airport, Tiruchirappalli

12. Central Railway Station, Chennai

13. Egmore Railway Station, Chennai

14. Kamarajar Domestic Airport, Chennai

15. Anna International Airport, Chennai

16. Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus, Koyambedu, Chennai.

17. Tarangambadi (Tranquebar)

18. Hotel Tamilnadu Complex, Thanjavur

19 Railway Junction, Bangalore

20. Hyderabad

21. Thiruvananthapuram

22. Ahmedabad

23. Bhubaneshwar

24. Chandigarh

25. Guwahati

26. Varanasi

During the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Five Year Plans, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India was assisting the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations to undertake large number of small and isolated Tourism projects spread through out the length and breath of the country resulting in the resources being spread very thinly. This could not create any major impact on the development of tourism infrastructure in the country. In order to provide quick and substantial impact to tourism growth in the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07), the Ministry of Tourism and Culture has proposed new schemes for the development and promotion of tourism in the country. They are as follows:

Under this scheme, it is proposed to take up the following schemes.

a) Development of Vivekananda Travel Circuit

Swami Vivekananda had visited important pilgrim centres in Tamilnadu viz. Kanniyakumari, Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram etc. For development of Tourism in Kanniyakumari District a sum of Rs. 6.63 crores was sanctioned by Government of India in 2003-04.

Rameswaram is one of the most sacred towns of India and Government of India has declared it as a national pilgrim center. It is well known for its temple corridor, the longest in India, the bathing ghat, Ganthamathana Parvatham, Kothandaramar temple and nearby islands. During 2003, as many as 17,27,143 tourists had visited Rameswaram. Swami Vivekananda landed at Pamban in 1897 after his trip to abroad. He visited the Rameswaram temple in January 1897 and stayed at Viveka baskaram. During his visit to Ramanathapuram, he stayed at a place known as Ramalingam vilasam. Swami Vivekananda had also visited Paramakudi. The components of the project are provision of infrastructural facilities at Pamban, Development of Viveka Baskaram, Agni theertham, Ganthamathana parvatham, Jatayu Theertham, Ramalinga vilasam and construction of Tourist Reception Centre. The total cost of the project is Rs.168.24 lakhs, which has been sanctioned by Government of India in March 2004.

Kancheepuram is one of the 7 sacred cities in India. It is situated 76 km South west of Chennai. The town was once the capital of the Pallavas. It is well known for its temples and silk sarees. The important temples are Ekambareswarar temple, Varadarajaperumal temple, Vaikundaperumal temple, Kamakotimutt, Kailasanathar temple and Kamakshi Amman Temple. Sri Adhi Sankara visited nearly 17 places in Tamilnadu spread over eleven districts. Out of the 17 places, Kancheepuram is one of the important centers. It is proposed to develop the places associated with the visit of Adhi Sankara in a phased manner. In the first phase, the development of infrastructure facilities at Kancheepuram has been aken up in 2003-04 at a cost of Rs. 259.40 lakhs provided by the Government of India. During 2004-05 development of other centers visited by Adhi Sankara would be taken up.

Under this scheme, Integrated development of one selected tourist destination is being taken up every year in each State by the Government of India. Major activities under this scheme are improvements to surroundings of destination, provision of illumination, sewage facilities, wayside amenities, refurbishment of monuments, signages, Tourist Information centres etc. Under this scheme, works relating to the development of Mamallapuram have been taken up for execution in 2003-2004.

Under the first phase the following works have been taken up.

a)Shore Temple area: Project cost Rs.2.00 crores

Construction of 15 commercial shops, construction of compound wall, digging of well, ticket counter, parking lot, pathway, landscaping, planting of saplings, electrical works etc. All these works have been completed.

b )Five Rathas area: Project cost Rs.3.00 Crores

Construction of compound wall, landscaping, construction of 101 shops (the shops on the road to Five Rathas will be shifted to these shops), restaurant, toilet, bus-shelter, ticket counter, pathway etc.

The above works are being executed by Central Public Works Department, based on the design prepared by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO)

Under the II Phase, the following works are proposed to be taken up during 2004-05.

Development of Arjuna's Penance Area,

Development of Dolotsava Mandapam and Boothathalwar Mandapam,

Shifting of the High School, Primary School and Balwadi from their present location and construction of new building for Higher Secondary School, Primary School and Balwadi,

Development of Tiger Cave area,

Construction of new Bus Stand.

The total cost of the Project is expected to be around Rs.19.00 crores. Government of Tamilnadu has contributed Rs.1.56 crores towards expenditure on alienation and acquisition of lands.

A detailed proposal for the development of Yercaud at a cost of Rs.519.00 lakhs under the scheme of product / infrastructure and destination development has been sent to Government of India in June 2004 for sanction during 2004-2005.

Across the world, the trends of industrialization and development have had an Urban Centric approach. Along side, the stresses of urban life styles have led to growing interest in the rural areas. In the developed countries this has resulted in a new style of tourism of visiting village settings to experience and live a relaxed and healthy life style. In India also there is growing interest in such rural tourism. Government of India has thus come forward with a scheme under which sanction upto Rs.50 lakhs for promoting rural tourism in one centre. The permissible activities under the scheme are improvement of surroundings/roads, Illumination, Sewerage, way- side amenities, refurbishment of monuments, signages etc. Under this scheme, during 2003-04 the following projects have been sanctioned by Government of India.

Rs. in lakhs

Khazhugumalai in Thoothukudi District 48.68 Chettinadu in Sivaganga District 50.00

Theerthamalai in Dharmapuri District 50.00

A proposal has been sent to Govern- ment of India requesting sanction for promotion of Rural Tourism at Devipattinam in Ramanathapuram District at a cost of Rs.50.00 lakhs during 2004-2005.

Under this scheme Government of India is willing to offer 25% of the project cost for projects like Luxury trains, Cruise terminals, Ropeways etc. Out of various schemes, it is felt that Ropeways or Cable Car would prove to be a big success among tourists. A trip on the Ropeway would enable the tourists to enjoy the birds eye view of picturesque sceneries from a height.

Under this scheme, Ropeway would be established at Kodaikanal and Udhagamandalam. (In addition, ropeways are also proposed at Kanniyakumari and Yercaud without Government of India Assistance.)

The service providers play a vital role in ensuring a hassle free trip for the tourists. During 2004-2005, it is proposed to conduct short refresher courses for the following category of service providers, for which Government of India has sanctioned Rs.7.30 lakhs during March 2004.

The Tourist centers have a number of classified and unclassified hotels. These hotels mainly cater to the needs of high income group and middle income group tourists. Tourists belonging to the low income group category often find it difficult to patronize these hotels. This has resulted in the growth of Dhabas in the pilgrim / tourist centers, where the food items are cooked right in front of the tourists and they are served hot. The Dhaba staff, will be trained on etiquette, good cooking skills and hygiene.

The drivers of tourist vehicles are mostly under-educated. They do not have adequate experience in interacting with tourists especially foreigners. Fleecing by Taxi / Coach Drivers, especially at Tourist spots are sometimes reported to Police. Tourism Department would like to build a healthy relationship between the Tourists and Drivers. To achieve this it is proposed to impart training to vehicle drivers in the fields of Health, personal Hygiene, cleanliness, basic service techniques, etiquette and basic manners.

One of the infrastructure facilities that the Tourists expect is restaurants/Hotels selling quality food at reasonable rates. There are hundreds of approved and unclassified hotels in Tamil Nadu. These hotels/restaurants cook and serve multi-cuisine delicacies both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. It is proposed to conduct training for hotel staff of both TTDC and Private hotels on Hygiene, Behaviour skills and communication skills.

The Receptionists of Tourism Department have gained good experience in extending the traditional hospitality to the Tourists. The Department is very keen on further upgrading the ability of the Receptionists in interacting with the Tourists. For this purpose, the Receptionists will be given training in health and personal Hygiene, cleanliness, basic service techniques, etiquette and basic manners etc.

Some of the tourists desire to get accommodation at nominal rates and at the same time with hygienic conditions. There are also tourists who wish to experience the local life style. To meet the demands of such tourists, "Bed and Breakfast" scheme was introduced by Tourism Department in 2001-2002. The scheme derives inspiration from a quote of Late Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, which goes like this "Receive a guest and send back a friend ". Under this scheme, a house owner can let out a few rooms to tourists. During the stay of the tourists in his house, the tourists will be provided with accommodation and food by the house owner. A detailed booklet containing the Names, addresses, Telephone Nos. etc. of the Bed and Breakfast scheme providers was published during 2001-2002 and this information was also put on the website of TTDC. During

the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 as many as 3,258 tourists had availed of this scheme. The Bed and Breakfast service providers are scattered throughout the length and breath of Tamil Nadu as stated below.

Chennai 117

Madurai - 12

Tirunelveli - 6

Kanniyakumari - 4

Thanjavur - 2

Kodaikanal - 1

Virudhunagar - 1

Salem - 1

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Total - 144

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The house owners require the services of helpers to attend to the needs of the tourists. Hence, in 2004-2005 it is proposed to train such helpers in the field of health and personal hygiene, cleanliness, basic service techniques, basic nutrition values etc.

In commemoration of the birth centenary of late Thiru Chaudhary Charan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has provided Rs.40.00 lakhs to Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation in March 2004 to set up a Tourism Village near Mamallapuram. Under this scheme, Chopal (including multi purpose facility for conducting folk dances and exhibition of handicrafts) Library, Development of area around the Chopal etc would be taken up.

In order to provide quick and substantial impact on tourism growth in Tamil Nadu during the Tenth Five Year Plan period, Tourism Department, Government of Tamil Nadu sent various proposals to Government of India. During 2003-04, the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India sanctioned a sum of Rs.21.80 crores for 18 schemes and released a sum of Rs.13.73 crores as first instalment to commence the work. (During 2002-2003 a sum of Rs.7.67 crores was obtained from Govt. of India for implementing tourism development programme for Tamil Nadu) The total sanction from Government of India in 2003-04 is an all time record for Tourism Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. Similar efforts will be continued during 2004-2005.

The Government of India is extending financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territories every year for implementing projects intended for the benefit of tourists. During the 8^th and 9^th Five Year Plan periods, the Government of India had provided funds for execution of 144 Tourism Development schemes in Tamilnadu.

Rs. in lakhs

Government of India share

for 144 projects 2,535.44

Government of Tamilnadu share

for 144 projects 1,132.65

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Total cost of 144 projects 3,668.09

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Out of the 144 projects, 114 projects have been completed. The following 30 are the ongoing projects.