Development of Tourism in Mahableshwar in Satara District of Maharashtra
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DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN MAHABLESHWAR IN SATARA DISTRICT OF MAHARASHTRA
ABSTRACT:
Mahabaleshwar is one of the most popular tourist centers in Satara district of Maharashtra. This paper attempts to study the development of tourism in Mahabaleshwar. The entire analysis is based upon the intensive fieldwork carried out in the study area, which is supplemented by secondary data. The questionnaire and interview techniques have been employed to collect the information about the number of tourist visited, their expenditure , duration of stay, growth of tourism, seasonal pattern of tourists arrival, motives of tourists, transportation, satisfaction etc. Analysis reveals that tourists’ expenditure is low in Mahabaleshwar; majority of them prefer to return in one day. The number of the tourists has been increasing every year with some expectations. Tourists also like to visit Mahabaleshwar in the rainy season. The common reason the visit is that they attract towards the beauty of nature.
INTRODUCTION:
Tourism is a temporary movement of people at place outside the place of work or residence or beat area. Tourists always visit a particular place in search of pleasure. Sometime this motive is supplemented by other motives like business, education religion, medical, friends and relatives etc. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industry which assembled number of services together like accommodation, transportation, food facility, guide, sight seeing and other. There are number of advantages of tourism e.g. it creates large number of employment opportunities in hotel industry ,transportation, restaurants etc. The main advantage is that it helps to earn foreign exchange without any export and it helps to improve infrastructural facilities in tourists center. It also helps to develop the region by adding national income. Besides these advantages there are many disadvantages of tourism development like adverse effect on socio-cultural setup of the region, it may create shortage of things which are required in day to day life, it also rise the price of land , accommodation, food, cloths etc. Development of tourism also causes danger to environment. In order to minimize these disadvantages proper planning is required. Considering all these factors the topic is chosen to study the tourism development in Mahabaleshwar.
OBJECTIVES : Some specific objectives of the study are as follows. i) To study the geographical basis for the tourism development in Mahabaleshwar ii) To study the tourist attractions in Mahabaleshwar iii) To study the views of tourists regarding Mahabaleshwar as a tourist destination. iv) To find out the problems of tourism development in Mahabaleshwar. v) To suggest some solution to the problem.
DATA SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY: Present research work is based on intensive field work and primary data which has been collected by schedule and taken interviews of some tourists and local people. Secondary data has been taken from census, statistical abstract of Satara district and published and unpublished texts of MTDC.
STUDY AREA: The Mahabaleshwar plateau lying between 170 15’ N to 170 59’N latitude and 730 37| E and 730 47’E longitude. It is wide plateau on Sahyadri mountainranges and its area is 223.1 Sq. K.m. The Wilson point (1436 mtr.) is the highest point of this plateau and it is on Sindola hill. This plateau is surrounded by deep rivers and their basins.
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EARNINGS FROM THE TOURISTS: Tourism generates income and employment opportunities through spending of tourists. But there is no published data about this aspect of the tourism in Mahabaleshwar. So earning from the tourists is calculated on the basis of survey. By using elements like per capita per day expenditure of tourists, duration of their stay and the number of tourists. These elements have been worked out from the primary data collected.
DURATION OF TRAVEL AND TOUR: The total tourist day is an important factor for any tourist center. The reason behind this is total tourists days have a direct relation with the total amount spent by the tourists, requirement of accommodation facilities, transportation facilities, catering facilities etc. Tourists generally try to visit maximum places in minimum time duration and money. So for the tourists centers it is very necessary and important to create more and more physical facilities and tourists’ attraction points to generate more tourist rupee by extending length of their stay.
Table 1: Intended length of stay of tourists in Mahabaleshwar
|Intended length of stay (in days) |No. of respondents |Percentage to total |
|One day return |147 |58.8 |
|1 |64 |25.6 |
|2 |23 |9.2 |
|3 |08 |3.2 |
|Over 3 days |08 |3.2 |
|Total |250 |100 |
Source: primary data
On the basis of sample survey the length of stay is calculated. In the table-1 the intended length of study of tourist in Mahabaleshwar is given from the above table it is observed that about 58.8 % of tourists have planned a program of one day return tour, 25.6% of tourists planned a program of one halt at Mahabaleshwar. 9.2 % of tourists planned a program of two days halt 3.2% of tourists planned for three days and some number of tourists planned fore more than three days. Usually tourists visit one or more tourists stations in a particular trip of the 250 tourists contacted 147 visited only Mahabaleshwar. The rest visited other stations like Wai, Panchgani, Pratapgad, Mahad, Shrivardhan, Ganpatipule etc. along with Mahabaleshwar. It could be seen from the table that most of the tourists planned one day return tour mainly because it is possible to visit all the points in only one day. Also except rainy season rate of accommodation is very high in almost all hotels in Mahabaleshwar. This amount is not affordable for most of the domestic middle class tourists. So they prefer to return or move to the stations like Wai, Mahad, Shrivardhan, Ganpatipule etc. where the charge of accommodation is comparatively very less than Mahabaleshwar. Most of the middle class tourists traveling with their families so as to reduce expenditure on accommodation prefer to visit one day. Only those tourists stay in Mahabaleshwar who are not able to reach Mahabaleshwar early in the morning. Those who plan to stay more than two days are mainly from high income group or the Honeymoon couples, Who want isolation in natural scenery in Mahabaleshwar. There is no other attraction center for the tourists except natural scenery so there are very few tourists who prefer to leave more than two days.
Per capita per day spending by the tourists The per capita per day spending is one of the important elements which have large economic significance. Spending is influenced by many other factors like price of product or services, income of tourists, necessity etc. In the table-2 per day per day per capita spending of the respondent tourist is given. It can be seen that tourists spending varies from Rs.10 to more than Rs. 300 per head.
Table-2: Per capita per day expenditure of tourists in Mahabaleshwar
|Expenditure in rupees |No. of respondents |Percentage |
|10 – 100 |106 |42.4 |
|100 – 200 |95 |38.0 |
|200 – 300 |37 |14.8 |
|Over 300 |12 |4.8 |
Source: Primary data. From table-2 it can be seen that 42.4 percent tourists spend between Rs 10 -100, 38 percent spend between Rs. 100 – 200, 14.8 percent spend between Rs.200 – 300 and only 4.8 percent of tourists spend over 300 Rs. The average per capita daily expenditure works out to about Rs 159. Tourists spend little in Mahabaleshwar because about 59% of tourists visit for only one day hence there is very short time for marketing or any other expenditure. Tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are mainly from metropolitan cities like Pune, Mumbai, Surat etc. so they are much more interested in natural scenery than the marketing. Also the market of Mahabaleshwar is very small and there is lack of variety. Things available in the market of Mahabaleshwar are available all over India. Besides most of the tourists cannot afford to spend more but it is very significant about them is their rising tendency to move out of station in the urge of pleasure.
GROWTH OF TOURISM: Tourism is one of the main factors which accelerate the economic growth obvioualy that each and every management of the tourist center tries to out do others in soliciting tourists , encouraging them to longer stay etc. by offering them more and more facilities of entertainment, concessions etc. Hence the attempt is made to study the growth trends in tourists arrivals in Mahabaleshwar.
Source – Mahabaleshwar Municipal Corporation (Tax section)
It can be seen from the above table that the number of tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are increasing every year with some exceptions like year 1990-91, 1997-98 and 1998-99.. in the year 1986-87 439532 tourists visited Mahabaleshwar while in year 2002-03 the figure is almost more than double i.e. 979781. There are three discretionary elements which affect the movement of tourists namely income, time and mobility. Tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are not exception for that. Tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar has been increasing because per capita income of the people has been rising. So there is rising tendency of them to spend some money on traveling. The thing is to be considered that it is possible for the tourists from Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Mumbai etc. to visit Mahabaleshwar in only one day. So most of the tourists visit Mahabaleshwar on weekends or during holidays. It is easy to reach Mahabaleshwar from both the sides of Sahyadri which helps to increase number of tourists. There are many ifs and buts so it is very difficult to make some forecast about the trend of tourists. Many factors like shortage of transport, economic capacity, increasing prices of land , taxes and duties, undue publicity, security etc affect the flow of tourists and ultimately affect the whole tourists industry. The reason behind the decrease in number of tourists in few years is not clearly studied, but the interview of local shopkeepers will help to throw some light on the reasons like climatic conditions, cricket matches, landslides etc. DIRECTION OF TOURISTS ARRIVAL: Tourists can reach Mahabaleshwar from three directions. One is from east (via Panchgani, Wai) Second is from west ( via Medha, Poladpur) and third is from south-east (via Medha Kelghar). There are three check posts on these three routes namely lake side check post, Mahad side check post and Satara side check post. By knowing the direction of tourists arrival it is possible to know about the areas from where most of the tourists came. Also it helps to plan a strategy to increase number of tourists from other areas.
Table 4 : Direction of tourist’s arrival in Mahabaleshwar
|Entry point |Percentage to total tourists arrived in a particular season |
| |Rainy |Winter |Summer |
| |2001-02 |2002-03 |2001-02 |2002-03 |2001-02 |2002-03 |
|Mahad side Check post |48 |25 |46 |46 |47 |55 |
|Lake side Check post |48 |71 |46 |46 |44 |36 |
|Satara side Check post |04 |04 |08 |08 |09 |09 |
Source: Mahabaleshwar Municipal Corporation (Tax Section)
Notes- Rainy period includes June, July, August, September winter period includes October, November, December and January. Summer period includes February, march April and May. Direction of arrival of tourists is given in the table- 4. the tourists from Konkan and Mumbai enter in Mahabaleshwar mainly from the Mahad Side check post, Tourists from Nasik Pune. A.nagar Aurangabad etc. enter from the lake side check post while tourists from Stara, Karad, Kolhapur etc enter from the Satara side check post. In the year 2001-02 among the total tourists arrived in rainy season 48% of them enter from the Mahad side check post, same number of tourists enter from lake side check post and only 4% of tourists enter from the Satara side check post. But in the year 2002-03 only 25% of tourists enter from the Mahad side check post in rainy season. While 71% of tourists enter from the lake side check post and 4% tourists enter from the Satara side check post. In the rainy season of 2002-03 large number of landslides occurred in the Ambenali ghat which links Mahabaleshwar with Konkan.It causes to reduce the number of tourists entering from the Mahad side check post. In the winter season of 2001-02 46% of tourists enter Mahabaleshwar from both the Mahad side check post and the lake side check post only 8% of tourists enter from the Satara side check post. In the year 2002-03 there is no change in the above percentage. In the summer season of 2001-02 47% of tourists enter from the Mahad side check post. 44% of tourists enter from the lake side check post and 9% of tourists enter from the Satara side check post. In the summer of 2002-03 55% of tourists enter from the Mahad side check post. 36% of tourists enter from the lake side check post and only 9% of tourists enter from the Satara side check post. The above survey reveals that the number of tourists entering from the Mahad side check post and the lake side check post are nearly same but very little number of tourists enter from the Satara side check post. So it is very necessary to take some efforts to encourage tourists from the districts like Satara, Kolhapur etc. to visit Mahabaleshwar. In the rainy season number of landslides occur in Ambenali Ghat section it creates the danger to the tourists entering from the Mahad side check post. So it is very necessary to take some preventing steps to avoid landslides in this region. Also many tourists complain about the narrow roads in Ambenali Ghat so if the road extention takes place it will help to increase the number of tourists entering from the Mahad side check post.
SEASONAL PATTERN OF TOURISTS’ ARRIVAL: Seasonal pattern of tourists’ arrival has highly practical significance. Seasonal fluctuations cause the imbalance of visit of the tourists but infrastructure facilities may help to increase the number of tourists.
Table-5: Seasonal Arrival pattern of Tourists in Mahabaleshwar.
Source – Mahabaleshwar Municipal corporation (Tax section)
From table- 5 it is observed that about 43-44% of tourists visit Mahabaleshwar in the winter season. In the winter season there are vacations for the schools and colleges in Diwali and Christmas. Most of the people get bonus in these days so they are ready to spend some money on traveling. Also it is the season of school and college tours. So large number of students visits Mahabaleshwar in this season. In holidays many tourists plan a few day tourt to Kolkan and they prefer to go to Konkan via Mahabaleshwar. In the winter season about 36-38% of tourists visit Mahabeleshwar. Being hill station it is expected that most of the tourists visit Mahableshwar in the summer season but such is not the case. The main reason behind this is most of the tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are from Pune and Mumbai and they have other options like Lonowala, Matheran etc in the summer season. Also many tourists complain that the water level of Venna Lake goes down in summer so they can not able to enjoy boating properly. Many of them also complain about the higher rate of accommodation and rising temperature, many people travel over their native places in the summer causing rush to public and private transport so many people avoid to travel in summer. About two decades ago, rainy season was supposed to be the slack season of tourists in Mahabaleshwar but from the last few years, the tourists are visiting Mahabaleshwar in large numbers during the rainy season. All of them want to enjoy the heavy rainfall and foggy environment. About 20% of tourists visit Mahabaleshwar in the rainy season. So rainy season remained no more slack season now a days.
TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS IN MAHABALESHWAR: A place can be developed as a tourist center only if it has some attraction . “One may site many examples of attractions which are ugly or socially unacceptable such as ghettos, gambling and prostitution, and yet these background tourism element serve as major tourism element, serve as major tourism attraction for many destinations”.
Generally tourists have more than one motive to visit any tourist center. Pleasure is a prime motive but different people get pleasure from different things. In Mahabaleshwar natural scenery and Panchanganga temple are the most important factors that have influenced large number of tourists. In the table – 6 the tourism attractions in which the tourists of Mahabaleshwar are interested is shown. Natural scenery is the best attraction for 97% of respondents. Indians are the most religious people in the world hence it is no wonder that among 250 tourists interviewed about 230 tourists visit the panchganga temple in the Kshetra Mahabaleshwar. So the temple stands second tourists attraction point. About 22% of tourists show their interest in hill resort, most of them are from the high income group or the honeymoon couples. Tourists visit a particular place in search of pleasure. Almost all the tourists interviewed in Mahabaleshwar demand many other things like ropeway, joggers park, developed gardens, theater etc.
TRANSPORT FACILITIES IN MAHABALESHWAR: “Tourism is about being else where and a major component of any tourists activity must necessarily be element transportation.” Efficient system of transport plays an important role in tourism development so the traveling must be comfortable and congenial. Lack of comfortable facilities make an adverse effect on growth of tourism industry so transportation is one of the major factors affecting the tourism industry.
Table No.- 7 Tourists preference for Different Mode of Transport
|Mode of Transport |No. of tourists |Percentage to Total |
|Private vehicle |118 |47.2 |
|Private vehicle on rent |40 |16.0 |
|Taxi |42 |16.8 |
|Bus |50 |20.0 |
Source: Primary data Normally tourists have mare than one mode of transportation are present e.g. Railway, Roadways, Airways, waterways etc. But to reach Mahabaleshwar only one mode of transportation is present i.e.Roadways. It can be seen from the table that about 47% of tourists use there own cars to visit Mahabaleshwar. About 33% of tourists hire a car or taxi to visit Mahabaleshwar and only 20% of the tourists travel by private or S.T. bus. Above survey reveals that about 80% of tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar use there own vehicle or hire a car or taxi. The main reason is that they want flexibility in movement while public transport don’t provide such flexibility because it has its own schedule . Also most of the tourists visit Mahabaleshwar in a group so it is more economical and convenient to travel by private car than to private bus or S.T. bus.
SATISFACTION INDEX: Tourism industry always deals with the human being. In each and every stage satisfied tourist is most important and powerful medium of publicity, while dissatisfied tourists are injurious to the industry. Hence it is very important to give best service to the maximum number of tourists.
Table No. - 8 Factor wise level of satisfaction
|Factors |Excellent |Good |Satisfactory |Unsatisfactory |Total |
|Natural Scenery |188 |62 |- |- |250 |
|Accommodation |23 |54 |26 |147 |250 |
|Transport |- |74 |130 |46 |250 |
|Entertainment and Cultural |- |- |- |250 |250 |
|programme | | | | | |
|Food and Drinking water |18 |45 |160 |27 |250 |
|Tourists Guide |- |- |98 |152 |250 |
|Personal Safety |90 |145 |15 |- |250 |
|Shopping Facilities |- |- |58 |192 |250 |
|Climatic Condition |21 |124 |80 |25 |250 |
Source – Primary Data
Out of 250 tourists contacted 100% have stated that they enjoy their trip of Mahabaleshwar and all of them have stated that they would recommend to their friends and relatives to visit Mahabaleshwar.
Source – Primary Data Tourists’ satisfaction depends upon many things like natural scenery, accommodation, transport, climatic conditions, entertainment and cultural programmes, food and clean drinking water, tourist guide, personal safety, Shopping facilities etc. by considering the above factors tourists were requested to express their satisfaction in the points (out of 10) and the classification is done on the basis of points 8-10 for excellent, 6-8 for good, 4-6 for satisfactory and 0-4 points for unsatisfactory. The average values for the different level of satisfaction were calculated. By multiplying these values by respective frequencies give total satisfaction. When total satisfaction is divided by total frequency of the respective factor would give the satisfaction index for the factor. It can be seen from the table out of 250 tourists 188 have ranked natural scenery as excellent and 62 as good 23 tourists have ranked accommodation as excellent, 54 as good, 26 as satisfactory and 147 as unsatisfactory. 74 tourists have ranked transport as good, 130 as satisfactory and 46 as unsatisfactory and so on. the level of satisfaction of tourists in respect of factors like natural scenery, personal safety, climatic condition, transport, food and drinking water are comparatively higher than accommodation, entrainment and cultural programme, Shopping facilities, tourists guide etc.
Table No. 10 : Factor wise satisfaction Index (points out of 10) and there Rank
|Factors |Satisfaction Index |Positional Rank |
|Natural Scenery |6.7 |1 |
|Accommodation |4.2 |6 |
|Transport |5.3 |4 |
|Climatic Condition |6.3 |3 |
|Entertainment and Cultural programme |1.0 |9 |
|Food and Drinking water |5.3 |4 |
|Tourist Guide |3.1 |8 |
|Personal Safety |8.0 |2 |
|Shopping Facilities |3.7 |7 |
Source – Primary Data
Note – Formula adopted for calculating satisfaction index ∑MiNi SIi = ---------- N
Where,
SIi = Satisfaction index for ith factor
Mi = Numerical value for a particular level of satisfaction for the ith factor
Ni = Number of respondents deriving the particular value of satisfaction for the i th factor.
N = Total number of respondents for that factor for all level of satisfaction. It can be seen that the satisfaction index for the tourists for natural scenery works out to 8.7, for accommodation 4.2, for transportation 5.3, for climatic condition 6.3, for entertainment and cultural programme and for food and drinking water 5.3 so on. It is to be noted that natural scenery have ranked highest followed by personal safety.
CONCLUSION:
The study reveals some important conclusions which are as follows. 1) The paper helps to understand the behavioral pattern of the tourists. It also helps to understand their duration of stay, expenses, mode of transport, tourist’s attractions, satisfaction and their expectations. 2) About 59% of tourists prefer to return in one day. Tourists from high income group and couples are exception for this. A high rate of accommodation is the main obstacle for the extension of tourists stay. Tourists prefer to leave in nearby station like Wai. Mahad, Shrivardhan than Mahabaleshwar. 3) Tourists spend very little in study area because of small and costly market. 4) Number of tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar has been increasing, it has almost doubled from 1986-87 to 2002-03. 5) There is equal distribution of tourists in summer and winter season. But bulk of tourists enter in Mahabaleshwar from the Mahad and the lake side check posts only. Very few tourists enter from the Satara side check post. 6) Rainy season is no more slack season now a days. About 20% of total tourists visit Mahabaleshwar in rainy season. In this season tourists number entering from the Mahad side check post decreases because of landslides, heavy rainfall and narrow road. 7) About 50% of tourists prefer to visit Mahabaleshwar by their own vehicles; only 10% of tourists use bus service because bus has its own fixed schedule so tourists can not enjoy as they feel. 8) Natural scenery in the study area is the prime attraction for the tourists while Panchanganga temple stands second. 100% of tourists satisfied with natural scenery. 9) Natural scenery, personal safety, climatic condition, transportation stands high in position rank of satisfaction index. While most of tourists are not satisfied with accommodation facilities, market, tourists guides, entertainment and cultural programmes. 10) Narrow road, traffic jam and crowd near tourists points make tourists’ journey uncomfortable.
SUGGESTION:
On the basis of a for side conclusion which are drawn from the present study, the following suggestions have been made. 1) In the Mahabaleshwar demand based resource plan is necessary to utilize natural resources to there maximum level. 2) To earn more tourists rupee, extension of tourist stay is must for this cheaper accommodation facilities like Dharmashala must be developed by the municipal corporation. 3) In order to attract more tourists it is recommended to develop some manmade attractions like Disney world, clubs, Zoo, developed gardens, theatres, museum, fountains etc. 4) Reasonable, big attractive market with a lot of varieties persuades tourists to buy more and more, this type of market is prime requirement of study area. 5) It is recommended to start the bus service from Mahabaleshwar municipal transport from points to point. This type of bus allowed tourists to spend more time on different tourists points where they want and move to next tourists point with available bus. 6) Tourists visit any center with some impression in the mind so it is very essential to create good image in tourists mind. This is possible with the help of advertisement on various T.V. channels, News papers etc. so it is proposed to develop separate marketing and customer care department in corporation in order to attract the more tourists by creating urge in tourists mind to visit Mahabaleshwar. 7) It is proposed to create the web-site on internet with complete information about natural scenery, climatic condition, h historical significance , geographical location , distance form other cities, nearby tourists centers etc. supplemented by photographs, sketches. maps and public opinion. 8) Young people attract towards something new and thrilling it is therefore recommended to start sport entertainment like paragliding, rock climbing, trekking etc. 9) Tourists always want to visit more than one station in a particular trip. There are many stations nearby the study area which have potential to attract tourists in large number. It is therefore recommended that station like Wai, Kamalgad, Dhaodam, Kas, Ajinkyatara must be developed to attract more tourists. 10) Tourists always want a guide who is able to create a real picture of the hill station in their mind, but the guides in the study area are not well trained. So it is recommended that guides in the study area should be trained in a such a way that they could provide information about all cultural, historical, social, political, geographical, economical aspect in the region. Also they must have command on English, Hindi and Marathi languages. 11) To highlight the study area in news paper and on news channels some steps like organizing national and international conferences, seminars, discussion, visit of famous social and political leaders should be organized. 12) Tourists always try to visit famous and popular points where crowds gather enormously. It causes congestion . So it is recommended that other tourists spot should be highlighted. Information about such points, there distance and direction must be displayed at the entry points. 13) In the ghat sections roads are narrow so it creates problem like traffic jam. Extension of road is recommended for the comfortable journey. Number of landslides occurs in the Ambenali ghat so it is very essential to make some plan to avoid landslides in rainy season. 14) For the proper development and growth planning should be done by the experts in various fields like Medical, Engineering, Biology, Geography, Art and culture, History, Geology etc is recommended.
REFERANCES:
1) Batra K.L. (1989): Problems and Prospect of Tourism, Printwell Publishers, Jaipur – 302004. 2) Bhatia A.K. (1983): Tourism Development, Principles and Practices, Sterling Publishers private Limited, New Delhi, PP.(34-5) 3) Kapoor Rakesh (1997): Tourism Policy Organisation and Management, Kanishka Publishing House, Delhi. 4) Kumar Maneet (1992): Tourism Today - An Indian Perspective, Kanishka Publishing House, Delhi, PP 44-45 5) Malhotra K.C. (1992): Tourism Today, Kanishka Publishing House, Delhi. 6) Mahabaleshwar Shrushti (2005): Aditiya Impresses, Panchgani. 7) Selvam M.(1989): Tourism Industry in India: Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay – 400004. 8) www.adityaimpresse.com
