A STUDY ON BACKWATER TOURIST’S PREFERENCE RELATING TO SERVICES OFFERED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KUMARAKOM BACKWATER TOURISM.

Abstract

Tourism industry has moved to be the one of the major source of income to India and going through a significant phase of growth and development. The growth in Indian tourism industry both in terms of Tourist arrival and foreign exchange earnings is remarkable. Tourism is promoted by the government both state and national level because it supposedly contributes to creating wealth at the national and local levels, maintain and preserve the heritage and historical monuments which would otherwise have fallen into rapid dilapidation. It projected tourism as an engine of economic growth and an instrument for eliminating poverty, solving unemployment problem, opening up new fields of activity and the uplifting status of livelihood of the peopleTravel on backwater cruises in Kerala is an experience of a delightful journey to a land where earth, sea and sky come together in harmony. Backwater cruises in Kerala are carried out in large converted traditional boats called "Kettuvallams".Success of backwater depends upon the level of facilities available in the houseboat. Therefore, the study is based on “A study on backwater tourist’s preference relating to services offered with special reference to Kumarakom backwater tourism. This study examined, whether the service components and the level of preference among the both male and female tourists for backwater tourism in Kumarakom backwater tourism This study also examined the level of satisfaction and the gender factor. This study concluded that the preference on selecting Kumarakom as a destination for backwater tourism by the tourists purely based on the services offered to the tourists and does not contain any gender influence in selecting the backwater tourism. It also concluded that the level of satisfaction among both male and female have no association.