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Tourism

Himachal Tourism : A Swot Analysis
Saurabh Rishi* Dr B. Sai Giridhar** Abstract Himachal Pradesh is a land which is bestowed with natural grandeur at its best - picturesque locations, snow capped mountains, lush green valleys, a cool climate and hospitable people. It is indeed the very lap of nature. It is therefore a fact that Himachal Pradesh has immense tourism potential; a potential that it must leverage and sustain. Tourism has its benefits which Himachal Pradesh must cash on without getting affected by its shortcomings. To leverage on this tourism potential, it is necessary for Himachal not only to sell itself but also analyse the needs, the perceptions, the preferences, the satisfaction of the customers that it can provide. Hence the study aims to analyse these very tourist responses with the help of a questionnaire. The study revealed that although Himachal has unique natural offerings it is not able to cash upon them due to lack of various facilities. Most of tourists’ expectations were met with but they depended on the presence of good necessities like amenities, food and water and proper infrastructural facilities like accommodation, transport, accessibility, etc which were found lacking in certain cases. A majority of the respondents believed that they would come again based on the fact that the natural beauty of Himachal draws them towards it but provided it develops the necessary facilities which may be lacking currently. The tourists believed that Himachal does have the potential of becoming one of the world’s top tourist destinations, if it can overcome its deficiencies and market itself well so as to position itself uniquely in the minds of tourists. It was therefore suggested that Himachal must develop its infrastructural facilities and promote its offerings in a sustainable manner. It must explore newer avenues in relation with nature and open up its unexplored areas. Introduction ‘Tourism: The organisation of holidays and services for...