September 24, 2012
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Sep 24: Time and again we are told the undivided Dakshina Kannada District (Mangalore and Udupi) has huge potential for development of tourism. Known for its religious places of worship of diverse faiths, the palm-fringed groves, pristine beaches, the vibrant culture and rich and matchless variety of flora and fauna, Tulunadu offers a delightful experience of travel both for domestic and international tourists. With so much to showcase precious little has been done by the state government through its tourism department to explore the full potential of tourism in Dakshina Kannada District. Despite the apathetic and the step-motherly attitude of the Tourism Department it is the private tour operators who have taken up the onerous task of promoting tourism in these coastal districts. But for their unbridled enthusiasm and zealous efforts, Mangalore would not have made into the tourist map of the state leave alone the country.
Every year September 27 is celebrated as World Tourism Day and to coincide on this occasion Daijiworld spoke to one of the leading tour operators of Mangalore Eulalia D'Souza, proprietor of Lia Tours and Travels, Mangalore, who has been in tourism business in the last 14 years. She spoke at length pertaining to every facet of Tourism in these coastal districts such as present situation tourism in Mangalore, what we lack, what needs to be done, what tour operators expect from the tourism department, potential areas of exploring tourism and other matters relating to promoting tourism in Dakshina Kannada. With her vast experience in the field having worked with other operators before she started on her own, Eula, as she is known to her friends and acquaintances, has grasped the nitty-gritty of the tourism field in her own inimitable style. She is widely travelled, has mingled with some of the well known names in the tourism field in the country, and certainly knows her onions. Eula is also the chairperson of the tourism sub-committee at the Chamber of Commerce, Mangalore.
Q. What made you get into the business as a tour operator?
A. I always had great fascination for flying and nurtured an ambition to be an airhostess. As my father was against it I chose this field which still gave me ample opportunities to gratify my desire to fly. After my B.Sc I did a certificate course from Air India Staff College for travel agency personnel, which has given me the confidence and courage to get a strong foothold in the business.
Q. As a tour operator how many passengers do you handle a year?
A. On an average my agency handled about 10,000 passengers every year in the last 2-3 years and most of them are international tourists. There is a marked increase in the number of tourists visiting Mangalore in the last couple of years.
Q. Do you handle any specific type of clients?
A. I must say we are specialized in handling passengers of cruise liners that call on New Mangalore Port and these passengers belong to different nationalities. These cruise liners are like floating hotels and they offer some of the finest luxury facilities equivalent to those offered in 3 to 7 star hotels.
Q. So they must be high profile tourists?
A. Yes. Travelling in a cruise liner is quite a luxurious and expensive hobby. The youngest age of these cruise line travelers could be 60 years and upwards. Most of these travelers would have saved their working time and money to take a cruise voyage.
Q. How do you get to know about these cruise liners and the tourists?
A. As an individual tour operator I have taken efforts to go to major tour operators all over the country to convince them to get their group to Mangalore. I promise them that we will give them the best of service within our capacity as an individual operator. I must say I have not let them down so far. I have been able to get more tourists due to my personal efforts and contacts.
Q. Any particular reason for the increase in number of cruise liners visiting Mangalore Port?
A. There has been a steady increase in the number of cruise liners visiting Mangalore port in the last two years because of the facilities offered at the Mangalore port. There has been a 20% increase in our tourists in the last 2-3 years because there is an increased awareness about Mangalore as a magnificent tourist destination. According to our feedback the work of tour operators has been highly appreciated by ship captains and passengers of these cruise liners. There has been a good report about Mangalore spread through by word of mouth resulting in more cruise liners opting to touch Mangalore coast.
Q. Since you handle high-profile tourists are you happy with the infrastructure facilities available in undivided Dakshina Kannada?
A. Unfortunately, lack of infrastructure is the biggest impediment faced by the tour operators. While the district administration and the police departments have been cooperative we are not getting any encouragement from the state Tourism Department. So much so, we don’t even get enough brochures to distribute to the tourists. I had to print my own brochures and had to make my own roadmaps. I have seen in tourist destinations of other states the tourism departments gives brochures free of cost to the tourists.
Q. Do you inform the district administration and the police whenever the cruise liners arrive?
A. Yes. I inform the district administration as well as the police informed to ensure that the tourists don’t face any problems on the roads for our vehicles to move around freely. Both the district administration and the police department has been very cooperative and supportive.
Q. What kind of infrastructural facilities do you expect from the government?
A. We are requesting only basic infrastructural facilities like good approach roads and basic facilities like drinking water and clean toilet facilities to areas of tourist destinations. The tourists or tour operators don’t mind paying for these facilities as long as good facilities are provided.
Q. As an individual tour operator what kind of services do you offer to tourists?
A. As a tour operator my primary job is to provide enough transport, enough tour guides and working out the logistics of the tour so that the tourists get true value for the money they spend.
Q. In the absence of good infrastructure facilities how do you manage to take care of your tourists?
A. We inform our guests in advance about our limitations as far as the facilities are concerned. We also make it clear to them that that unlike other major ports of India Mangalore Port may not have top class facilities. At the same time we try to make up for the lacuna by providing good service and at the end of the day the tourists go back happily. Private tourist’s places other than heritage sites that come under government department like, Achal cashew Industry in Baikampady, Soans Farm, Moodbidri, we have been lucky to have some of the facilities specifically provided to cater to our tourists.
Q. In the absence of professional tour guides how do you manage to provide tour guides?
A. I train college students who are good in communication, also have some lecturers, few homemakers and other professionals in my list of tour guides. I conduct workshop for them in my office and take them on a tour to familiarize with the places of tourist destination before the arrival of tourists. This workshop helps them to get the feel of the kind of job expected of them. This provides an excellent opportunity for the youngsters to earn good pocket money and also get exposed to people of diverse nationalities.
Q. What is expected of these tour guides?
A. These tour guides should possess good communication skills, should be aware of everything about Mangalore such as the population, weather, local culture, festivals etc. They should also have enough knowledge about Indian culture in particular and about India in general. These tour guides are paid remuneration for the work done and they also get tipped by the tourists.
Q. How do you handle a big group of tourists considering that cruise liner passengers are huge in number?
A. I outsource the transport service by booking KSRTC coaches. “Brilliance of the Seas” belonging to Royal Caribbean had touched Mangalore port in April this year had about 2000 passengers. Out of this 1700 chose to visit Mangalore and I needed 40 coaches to arrange their tour of in around Dakshina Kannada. KSRTC provided 23 coaches and I had to arrange the remaining coaches from Bangalore.
Q. Which are the most preferred destinations by the tourists in undivided DK?
A. We offer 3 choices to the tourists. Some opt for visiting Jain temples that include Karkala-Moodbidri temple tour and a visit to Soans Farm. There are others who opt for tour around Mangalore including a visit to Achal Cashew processing plant, Kudroli Gokarnanatha Temple, St Aloysius Chapel etc. There are a few who want go around local fish market, fruit market or prefer to visit the old port.
Q. What are the other potential areas of promoting tourism in these coastal areas?
A. Apart from heritage tourism we can promote temple (places of worship of all religions) tourism, eco-tourism, beach tourism and even Pilikula artisan’s village in itself can be promoted as a tourist destination.
Q. Is there any unexplored area of exploring tourism here?
A. I strongly believe that we can promote monsoon tourism in a big way because this is one area which remains unexplored and inflow of tourists during the monsoon is almost zero. In fact we can promote monsoon trek and arrange visits to some of the magnificent waterfalls we have. Even festival tourism can be promoted in a big way as our cultural diversity is distinct and quite riveting. There is also ample scope for promoting health tourism & educational tourism.
Q. What is the reaction of tourists about Mangalore?
A. We are very happy that tourists have given positive feedback about Mangalore. They say they find Mangalore is quite clean as compared to other cities, they find people here well-mannered, friendly and hospitable. They are also very appreciative about the high level of education in these districts. As a tourist spot they find the diverse culture truly pulsating and invigorating.
Q. Finally, what is the position of Dakshina Kannada at the state level as a tourist destination?
A. Sadly the department of tourism has given least preference to promote Mangalore as a tourist destination. I am unable to comprehend the reason of this indolent attitude of the department towards Mangalore. Tourism department has evinced little interest only in promoting beach tourism and heritage tourism has also not been given the importance it deserves. I believe that beach tourism can be quite common but it is our heritage and culture, which is distinct to this land, should be showcased more robustly.