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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Tourism plays a pivotal role in promoting goodwill among the people

and thereby fostering socio-economic development of the country. Tourism as

an industry helps to earn huge foreign exchange reserves and creates direct and

indirect employment opportunities to a very large section of the society.

Besides, promoting handicrafts and fine arts of a nation, it helps in preserving

the nature’s beauty, cultural heritage of the land, tradition of soil and

strengthens the process of national integration and universal brotherhood. It is

necessary to make a distinction between different types of tourism for an

analytical purpose. For instance, tourism is usually classified into two broad

categories; international tourism and domestic tourism defined in terms of

territorial boundary of the permanent residence of the tourist. There need not

be any minimum length of the trip to qualify it as a tour and the critical factor

is the movement away from the place of permanent residence to the destination

or destinations not in the same locality.

Another common form of tourism that we find is elite tourism and mass

tourism. An elite tourist travels with independent mind and he is always

individualistic. He could be an antiquarian, a naturalist, and an explorer visiting

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places not frequented by or not known to many. Being a snob in nature and

non-conformist, if not off-beat, his enjoyment is diminished with an increase in

the tourist traffic to the place. For that reason alone, he has a preference for less

accessible spots. The nature-loving tourist is often goes around a mountain or a

game sanctuary all for himself. The primary urge of such a nature-loving

tourist is the interaction between nature and himself. He wants to share his

experience with his friends, relatives and fellow tourists of the group. Antique-

lover, when frequenting a historical site or a monument also prefers solitude.

Motivated by the spirit of adventure, difficulty in getting to tourist site may act

as a challenge for him. He conforms well to local conditions and is not

particular with accommodation, food and related facilities.

Nature and types of tourism

On the other hand, a tourist belonging to mass tourism is a gregarious

tourist, with the herd instinct. He avoids places not so well known and flocks at

a destination, which is already passing through mass tourism phase. An

increase in tourist traffic has a bandwagon effect on him. He demands facilities

to which he is accustomed and does not want a change in his life style. The

primary urge of a gregarious tourist does not come from nature or historical

sites, but from a possible interaction between persons. Nature may provide a
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suitable backdrop, but not more than that. Usually he prefers company and

hankers for sports and other entertainment facilities.

Tourists may often move in formal and informal groups. There are

different types of group tourists. There are exclusive groups like married

couples, particularly honeymooners, family groups, friends-circles or groups of

students studying in the same class. Recently cooperative holidays are enjoyed

also by a group of workers belonging to a common business establishment.

People may form different groups in the course of the journey itself. For

instance, pilgrims may start their journey separately but the different terrain

and the strain of the journey may often bring them together. Tour operators like

Thomas Cook with their pre-paid package tours usually form the largest and

most heterogeneous polyglot. A single tourist could be a social drifter in search

of drug, sex or other excitement. He could also be a high business executive or

government official who comes to the tourist spot to shed his inhibitions. A

great of them would, however behave like any other tourist.

Similarly, there are no reasons to think that married couples would not

visit nightclubs or gambling dens together. But, it cannot be denied that a

solitary unaccompanied tourist would be least bound by conventional morality

and norms of behaviour to which he is likely to conform in his known

surroundings.
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On the other hand, a family group tourist would stick to the same code of

behaviour when traveling abroad as in the hometown. A newly married couple

will fall somewhere between the two, since the accepted code of behaviour is

still not yet firmly established. To provide accommodation, transport and

related facilities to a larger group is however, more difficult because of the

bulky nature of the required services. Such difficulties are felt in the case of a

package tour. The amount and pattern of expenditure per day of a package

tourist is expected to be different from that of a non-package tourist. Package

tours, therefore, are based on some special arrangements like chartered flight

(in the case of International tourism), a separate reserved railway compartment

(in the case of domestic tourism) or a tourist bus (in the case of both

international tourism and domestic tourism).

Motives for Tourism

From the motivational point of view, a distinction can be made between

a recreational tourist and a motivated tourist. The primary urge of the first type

of tourist is to travel for pleasure with entertainment value or recreation as an

end in itself. The primary urge of motivated tourist (as defined here) may be

altogether different. To him, traveling for pleasure is there, but not as a primary

motive. For instance, a commercial tourist travels widely from one place to

another to form or renew his business connections. His choice of place of

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tourism is determined primarily by business considerations though he may

often mix business with pleasure. Similarly the primary urge of a pilgrim,

whether traveling alone or in a group is not to enjoy the scenic surroundings of

the place of pilgrimage but to fulfill some inner religious urge and to perform

some religious rites sanctioned by some commonly held religious norms. The

sense of fulfillment of his religious urge may increase (rather than decrease)

with the hardship of the journey.

A student going abroad for higher study or to attend a summer school,

selects the university or college as his place of study not by the same

consideration that would reign supreme for a vacation tourist. Similarly in the

case of a group of students accompanied by their teachers on an educational

tour, the declared motivation is not only pure enjoyment but educational

motive also. But, in practice, such educational tours may often be a camouflage

for an outing or picnic. It may be pertinent to add here that different motives

for a tour need not necessarily lead to different types of tour. The mode of

behaviour of a person attending a business convention or a seminar or a

conference would be more or less the same whether he is by profession, a

businessman or a government official or an educationist. Similarly the same

motive for tourism (say, business or education) may lead to different types of

touristic behaviour pattern. Thus, the continuous nature of journey of a

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commercial traveler may not be observed in the case of a business magnet

attending a convention held abroad or within the country. Similarly, the nature

of tourism of an educationist attending a seminar would be different from that

of an exchange student. Besides, as usually it is said, all forms of travel are

educational in nature. Hence, education may be regarded as a generalized

motive, if not the primary motive for all forms of travel.

Pleasure Travel: Types

Some holidaying tourists make a careful selection of the spot where the

entire holiday or any leisure time (say privilege leave or a week-end) is spent.

In making such a selection, more than climatic and other natural attributes, the

type of facilities available at the tourist spot and the user’s preference play a

major role. Holiday homes or cottages cater to such resort tourists. Holiday

homes are usually maintained by business establishments for the recreation of

their employees only. Cottages are usually run by private entrepreneurs and are

usually available on rent. A resort tourist prefers a peaceful life and a period of

rest from work. Accordingly, he wants a change away from the hustle and

bustle of his place of work. Often the resort tourist may prefer staying in a

home of his own away from his usual place of residence. At the opposite end,

we have tourists with wanderlust. Their tour itinerary covers as many travel

spots of natural wonders, historical sites and cultural centers adorned with
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different cultures, cuisines or way of life, all packed in a short period of time.

The monotony of their nature of work forces them to spend their vacation by

travelling from place to place. Travel companies and tour operators with their

pre-paid package tours cater to the above type of tourists. Another suitable

term for this type of wander lust tourism is therefore “cultural tourism”. The

resort tourist not only wants a peaceful life but also a life style, which he is

accustomed to. This leads to enhancement of infrastructural facilities, which

ultimately increase employment opportunities.

The various types of tourists are shown in the following flow chart:
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TOURIST

Recreational Motivated
Tourist (tr) Tourist (tp)

Resort Tourist with

Tourist wander lust

Business Pilgrimage Office duty Study Cultural events Health To attend Visiting native Meeting friends &
Conventions games & Place of origin relatives (social
Seminars, sports meet (ethnic visitors) visitors)
Conferences

Note; 1. This categorization is not watertight. It has been observed already that there is an overlap between the wander lust type of
Tourism and a cultural tourism which not only takes the nature of a pilgrimage but also includes cathedrals, temples in its
Tour itinerary. Similarly games and sports are also forms of recreation for many, though they are professions for others.
2. Some authors have used the term common interest tourist in place of motivated tourist. In a sense recreation is also the most
common motive for traveling. But as it has been explained in the text, we have used the term motivated tourist only to
designate those tourists for whom travel for pleasure is not the only or even the primary motive.
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1.2 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

When many people consider tourism, they think of international travel

to exotic destinations. However, most tourism is domestic—that is, it relates

to tourists traveling within their own country. Industrial countries dominate

both international and domestic tourism. Europe, North America and the

Pacific region receive more than two thirds of international visitor arrivals.

However, tourism is a major industry worldwide.

In the mid 1990s the tourism industry contributed more than 6 per

cent of the value of all the goods and services produced throughout the

world. It also accounted for more than 7 per cent of global capital

investment and 13 per cent of world consumer spending. Experts estimated

that tourism supported more than 130 million jobs worldwide and

contributed more than 5.6 per cent to total tax payments.

The tourism industry is made up of all the businesses that directly

provide goods or services for the business and leisure activities of tourists.

The industry includes international and domestic airlines; shipping lines and

ferry operators; railway, bus and taxi operators; accommodation suppliers;

restaurants, clubs, and other catering establishments; tour and excursion

operators, travel agents; managers of entertainment facilities (theatres,

cinemas, discotheques, night clubs, funfairs and so on); theme parks;

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national parks and heritage attractions; manufacturers and retailers of

souvenirs; visitor information centers; and conference, convention and

meeting centers. Many of these businesses serve non-tourists too.

Tourism creates many job opportunities. Tourism is a labour-intensive

industry—that is, it requires a large number of workers. But most tourism is

seasonal, that is, there are times in a year when visits to a destination reach a

peak, especially at seaside and ski-resorts. As a result, many tourism jobs are

part time and casual. The majority of tourism jobs are also low skilled and

low paid. However, the large numbers of people that tourism employs and

the links it has to other industries, such as catering and restaurant work,

mean that governments actively encourage tourism development.

Tourism has brought economic benefits to many places in terms of

employment and income. But it has also created problems when it has grown

too rapidly or in an uncontrolled way. Experts believe that tourism

destinations go through a life cycle. After tourists discover a destination, it

undergoes rapid development. Large numbers of tourists who visit the

destination then change its character by affecting its physical environment

and the culture of its people. Changes to the destination may mean that

whatever attracted tourists to it in the first place are lost. The destination will

then go through a stage of stagnation and possible decline. By recognizing

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this life cycle, the tourism industry has revived many tired destinations.

Atlantic city in the United States increased its visitor arrivals after a long

decline by allowing casino development. Other cities have built new

attractions such as conference halls, museums, art galleries, and leisure

centers. Some have hosted a major event, such as the Olympic games.

In many regions, the natural environment is a major tourist attraction.

Bird and whale-watching, scuba diving, wildlife photography and safaris are

some of the major growth areas in the field of nature-based tourism.

International attractions of this type include the game parks of eastern and

southern Africa, the national parks of North and South America and the

unspoilt habitats of Antarctica.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Tourism developments on coasts and estuaries, particularly in

Southeast Asia and the Pacific, have disturbed bird and fish breeding and

feeding grounds.

Uncontrolled hotel development has caused many problems in coastal

resorts. As well as damage to sand dunes, some hotels have been built too

close to the neighbouring beaches, leaving them in shadow for much of the

day.
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Pollution is another problem. Water pollution may cause a decline in

water quality for swimming. It may also affect the growth of coral reefs. The

coastal resorts of Pattaya and Phuket in Thailand have recently embarked on

a major programme to stop the water pollution caused by inadequate sewage

systems.

Tourism has exposed destinations in developing countries to the

behaviour and values of visitors from foreign, mostly western, cultures. In

some destinations, the local residents copy the visitors and the culture

changes. Old customs die out. Dishes that foreigners expect and prefer to

replace with traditional foods. In many locations, craft workers make low

quality, inauthentic souvenirs for a quick profit.

Tourism sector at present is plagued by a number of factors which

include Government’s apathy, poor infrastructure, law and order problem,

visa problems, poor sanitary conditions and pollution etc.

The government’s support to the industry has fallen well short of

expectations and budgetary and other allocations to the sector have been

one per cent of public spending, as against global average of 6.8 per cent.

The capital expenditure that goes into the industry is a meager 6.4 per cent

of the GDP as against the global average of 11.8 per cent. Tax paid by

tourists in India is the highest in the world. Compared to other Asian

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countries where the tax rate is between 3-6% Indian hotel charge about 40

per cent tax. It is not surprising, therefore, that repeat visits of international

travelers to India few and far between.

Poor infrastructure is another area, which is responsible for dismal

performance of tourism sector. Roads are patholed dusty and narrow to say

the least. Our airports are busy with increasing airliners operations and the

industry is also worried about airline seat capacity. About 10 million seats

are required in the international segment while the supply is just about 5

million. In the domestic segment against demand of 19 million, supply is

just about 10 million. There is a huge gap in the availability of hotel rooms

also. Total requirement of hotel rooms is estimated to be about 130000

rooms as against the availability of just 60000 rooms. The biggest shortfall is

in 3 star category.

The moment a tourist sets his foot in India, there is a tendency to view

him only from the point of view of making money. Astronomical amounts of

money are charged from him for accommodation, local travel, food and local

handicrafts items, etc. Our newspapers are full of stories of tourists being

cheated, incidence of robbery, eve teasing, rape, murder and beggary etc. All

the above present a very dreary picture of the country discouraging people to

visit India.
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Procedural delays in getting visas are another area of concern.

Eligibility criteria and cumbersome procedures in getting visa put off many

visitors from visiting India. We follow the policy of reciprocity in issuing

visas. Visas are issued to the citizens of only those countries, which give

visas to Indians.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To document the growth and development of tourism business in India,

Tamilnadu and Tiruchirapalli District.

1. To identify the potential services offered to tourists by hotel owners

and the level of room occupancy in order to promote tourism in

Trichirapalli district.

2. To analyse the business prospects at the tourist spots.

3. To assess the socio economic status of tourists, their purpose of visit

and problems faced by them at the tourist spots.

4. To assess the level of satisfaction of foreign and domestic tourists in

Trichirapalli district.

1.5 HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

The following hypotheses are framed and tested.

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a) More members of foreign tourists occupy hotel rooms in winter

season and domestic tourists demand for hotel rooms is high in

summer season.

b) There is multi-collinearity and hence the existence of

Autocorrelation among the explanatory variables.

c) Satisfaction levels are not different between foreign tourists and

domestic tourists.

d) The carrying capacity of tourist spots of the study area is highly

insufficient to accommodate tourist inflow.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

This study is an analytical one based on primary and secondary data.

The secondary data required for the study was drawn from published

documents of India Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ITDC),

Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation Limited (TTDC), journals,

articles, books reports relating to tourism and popular websites.

The data collected from the above sources are supplemented by the

information collected through discussions with the persons related to the

tourism industry.

For collecting primary data three questionnaires were prepared.

Before preparing the questionnaire a pilot study was conducted in which

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discussions were held with restaurant owners, tour operators, commercial

shops and tourists? After the completion of the pilot study, the questionnaire

was modified and restructured and split into three; one questionnaire for

restaurant owners, another questionnaire for commercial shops and the third

questionnaire for tourists.

Sampling

Convenient sampling method is adopted for choosing 250 foreign

tourists and 250 domestic tourists in the study area. There are 600

commercial shops in and around tourist spots. Out of these 600 shops, 120

shops are chosen through simple random sampling method. There are 150

hotels providing services to tourists in the study area. Out of these, 45 hotels

are chosen through simple random sampling method.

Statistical Tools used

Data collected are carefully fed into the computer and tables are

prepared with the help of computer. Statistical tools such as simple

percentage, mean and trend are used for analysis of data. Chi-square test is

used for testing the hypothesis. Kathleen Carry model is used for finding out

the significant effects of hotel room occupancy by foreign and domestic

tourists. Factorwise satisfaction index is used to find out the level of

satisfaction of sample respondents.

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1.7 AREA OF THE STUDY

Trichy’s long history goes back to before the Christian era when it

was a Chola citadel. During the 1st millennium both the Pallavas and

Pandyas took power many times before the Cholas, regained control in the

10th Century. Then the Chola empire finally decayed. Trichy came in to the

realm of the Vijayanagar emperors of Hampi until their defeat in 1565 A.D

by the forces’ of Deccan sultants. The town and its most famous landmark,

The Rock Fort Temple, were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. Later in the

18th century Trichy witnessed much of the British French struggle for

supremacy in india.

Orientation & Information

Trichy is scattered over large area. Most of the hotels and restaurants,

the bus stand, railway station, tourist office and main post office are within a

few minutes’ walk of each other in the junction area. The Rock Fort temple

is 2.5km north of here with the other temples of further 3km to 5km north

again.

The tourist offices phone no.2460 136. It is situated at Williams Road

with Branch Officers at the railway stations and airport, is open week days

only.
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History

Tiruchirappalli played predominant role in the later of South India.

Cholas were the early rulers of this region from the period of sangam age.

Among the early Cholas rulers, Karikala Chola (50-95AD) was the most

powerful and after him the Pandyas followed by the Pallavas held vijay over

this region for short periods. Cholas rule was once again reviewed by

vijayalaya.

This was the beginning of great chola empire and with the succession

of powerful rulers remained under cholasupremacy (Tiruchirappalli District,

Gezzeteer 1999). During the year 1251 A.D pandyas under Jaya Sundara

Pandya rose to power and Tiruchirappalli was brought under pandya rule by

putting an end to Chola Supremacy over Trichurappalli. Pandys’s rule over

this region lasted too little over half a century followed by Muslim

domination till 1334-35 A.D.

In the middle of the fourteenth century The musliums were defeated

by the vijayanagar ruler and Tiruchirappalli was brought under Nayak rule.

Vijayanagar Chockkanatha Nayak was the last among Nayak rulers and after

his death in 1731 A.D, a power struggle followed to the throne of the Nayak

Kingdoms between Meenakshi the widow of the king and Bangarue

Tirumalai the father of his adopted son and later between Meenakshi and
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Chanda sahib the confidential adviser of the Nawab of Arcot: ultimately

Chanda sahib proclaimed himself as the ruler.

In 1741 A.D the Marathas invaded Tiruchirappalli and took Chanda

Saheb as a captive. Chanda Saheb succeeded in securing freedom in

1748A.D and soon got involved in the famous was for the Nawabs place in

the earnatic against it. Anwad-ud-din, the Nawab of Arcot and his son

Mohammed Ali what followed were actually a struggle between the

European powers for colonical expansion in South India with Tiruchirappalli

as the pivot, which ultimately led to the triumph of the English.

When about the year 1759 A.D Hyder Ali came to power the history

followed as a power struggle between Hyder Ali and later Tippusultan with

the British. After the death of Tippusultan the English took the civil and

military administration of the carnatic in 1801. Tiruchirappalli thus came

into the hands of the English and the district was formed in 1801 under

Mr.Wallac the first English Collector.

Until the buckle scheme for revision of taluk and village

establishments was introduced Tiruchirappalli consisted of nine taluk which

under the new scheme were regrouped into five by transfer of Karur taluk

from Coimbatore district during 1910 and formation of Lalgudi taluk from

part so Musiri and Tiruchirappalli taluk raised the number of taluk in the
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district to seven. Subsequently, three new taluk, viz. Kallattur, Alangudi and

Tirumayam werer added on by the merger of Pudukottai with Tiruchirappalli

during 1948. The number of taluks in the district raised to ten remained

unchanged till 1961.

Betweem 1961 and 1971 three new taluks Ariyalur, Turaiyur and

Manapparai were formed from parts of Udayarpalayam, Musiri and

Kulithalai taluks respectively raising the number of taluks in the district to

Thirteen.

During the decade 1971-81 a major change in the administrative setup

of the district was effected by formation of Pudukkottai district in January

1974, by transferring Kulattur Alangudi and Tirumayam Taluks was

trifurcated into three districts (1) Trichy, Perumbudigu Mutharayar (2) Karur

Deeran Chinnamalai district and, (3) Perambalur Thrivalluvar district.

Population

Total population of the district according to 2001 census 21,96,473

consisting 11,08,016 males and 10,88,538 females. Rural population of the

district is 13,15,869 person and urban population is 8,80,604 persons and

13,15,484 literates.
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Languages

Main languages spoken in the district are Tamil, Kannada,

Malayalam, Telugu and Urdu.

Geography and Physical Features

It is a land locked district with no coastal border, the even topography

of the land throughout the district renders sub-division into natural regions

rather difficult. The greater part of the district consists mainly of an

undulating plain bisected by the valley of Cauvery. The monotony of the

plains is relieved here and there by broken and isolated masses of crystalline

rocks.

The predominant soil in the district is red sandy with scattered pockets

of black soil. In the absence of fertile soil, the prominent role of

Tiruchirappalli is playing in the agriculture sector in the state is due mostly

to its irrigation facilities.

The forest resources of the district are meagre compared to the state as

whole. The district forests are poor not only in area but also in quality most

of the forest in the district are tropical dry deciduous and tropical dry thorn

evergreen.
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The Madras – Dindigul Road (N.H45) traversing the eastern part of

the district is the main arterial North-South link to which is connected all the

important radial roads of the district.

Due to the limitation and location, characteristics of the railway lines

in the district the buses play a dominant role in the transport system.

Tiruchirappalli is an important bus terminal and transit point for the State

Government buses.

About 650 routes buses run both by the Tamil Nadu Government

Transport Corporation and private bus operators interconnect all important

places in and around the district. Goods transport by Lorries is better

organized in the district. Tiruchirappalli has an airport. Indian Airlines

connects Tiruchirappalli with Chennai, Trivandrum and Colombo.

Industries

The district has fairly rich mineral deposits. The upper region contains

only a moderate number of valuable minerals of which the magnetic iron

beds in the Musiri are most important. A good deal of building stone is

quarried in Tiruchirappalli.

The most important heavy industry in the district is the high pressure

boiler plant of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) located at

Tiruverambur with M/s.Tehcno Export of Czechoslovakia. This plant

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engaged in the manufacture of heavy boilers required for thermal Stations

was started in 1965 at a cost of Rs.24.50 Crores. The initial output capacity

of 750 M.W per year has presently been increased to 2500 M.W The plant

achieved an out turn of 11450 M.T of material for the manufacture of

boilers.

The seamless steel tube plant of the BHEL an ancillary unit if the high

pressure Boiler Plant in Technical Collaboration with West Germany, this

plant setup at a capital outlay of Rs.58.2 Crores is designed to manufacture

40,000 tonnes of boiler seamless steel tubes per year.

The Ordinance Factory inaugurated in July 1996 is another public

sector unit. In the district this factory setup with the installed capacity for the

production of 5000 numbers of small arms has achieved the production

target.

Sugar cane being grown as a major commercial crop, sugar industry

occupies an important in the rural economy of the district. There are two

sugar mills in the district E.I.D parry Sugars (I) Lts., at Pettavaithalai and

Kothari Sugars Chemical Limited (II) at Kattur.

There are 19 medium sized industries in the district manufacturing a

wide arrange of electrical equipment and engineering products. The

corporation setup by the Tamil Nadu Government for the promotion of

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industries have rendered technical as well as financial assistance for starting

new industries in the district.

Tiruchirappalli holds a pride of place in Cottage industries. There is

variety of cottage and village industries dispersed throughout the rural areas

in the district.

Thottiam and Uppliapuram blocks are important centers for the

manufactures of carpets and blankets. Training unit for training the artisans

have been established at Kotakudi, Thottiam and Venkatachalapuram at

Uppiliyapuram bloc. There is also an industrial co-operative society for

blanket weaving.

Industrial co-operative societies are also in the district for the

development of mat weaving, leather turning and coir industry.

Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd., (TNPL) is setting upon

integrated newsprint cum-paper project at Pugalur is the district for the

manufacture of 50,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper per annum.

This project estimated to cost around Rs.190 Crores (including

working capital) is joint venture of the Government of Tamil Nadu, Indian

Financial Institutions and World Bank. This project will herald new

technology in the country.

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Handloom industry has been a traditional occupation of this district.

The Handloom weavers constitute roughly 5% of the total working

population in the district. This industry flourishes mainly in Karur, Turaiyur

and Tattayangar pettai.

The co-operative movement in the field of Handloom weaving has

given a fill up to this industry. These societies from the best institutional

agencies for providing necessary facilities to enable the member weavers to

get continuous employment throughout the year. The apex hand loom

weavers co-operative society popularly known as Co-Optex is providing

marketing support to its affiliated primary weavers co-operative societies to

the extent of about 50% of the production. During 1981-82, the co-optex

marketed 82 lakhs meters of handloom cloth produced in the district valued

at Rs.620 lakhs.

There are 13 power loom, co-operative societies in the district having

94 power looms. The Tamil Nadu Textiles corporation is implementing a

programme to setup a power loom complex at Jayankonda Cholapuram.

Major items of production by the weavers of the co-operative societies

consists of cotton sarees and dhothies. Bet sheets woven in Karur area

popularly known as “Karur Bus Sheets” and known for its dexterity and

variety.
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Tourism

Tiruchirappalli a blend of history and tradition is one of the important

pilgrim centers in Tamil Nadu. Flowing of the Cauvery adds to the glory of

this land of temple. This district had quite a number of famous temple noted

for sculptural beauty and excellent architecture.

General Information

Area : 23, 26 Sq.kms

Population : 10, 48,314 / 2001

Attitude : 78 Meters

Temperature Summer: Max. 37.10C / Min. 26.40C

Winter : Max.37.10C / Min .26.40C

Rainfall : 83.5 cms Season: Throughout the year

Clothing Tropical Languages: Tamil, and English spoken

STC code number: 0431

Kumaravayalur

Sri Subramaniaswamy temple in Kumaravayalur is an ancient and

well known shrine built by the Chola Rolers. There are number of stone

inscriptions giving the history of the temple. The three principal sanctums in

the temple are Sri Subramaniaswamy with his two consorts Sri Valli and Sri

Deivanai, Sir Adinatha (alias) Sri Agniswarar and his consort Sir Poorva
 27

Stithinayaki. Panguni uthiram is the most important festival celebrated here

when lord Muruga is taken out in procession in the night mounted on the

silver Peacock vahanam.

Main Guard Gate

It is the headquarters of the district and it had changed along with the

time. The old fort of Tiruchirappalli is almost unrecognizable except for the

small ruined gate known as Main Guard Gate which exists even today as the

Western entrance to the Tiruchirappalli fort. It is started that this was built

during the period of Vijayanagar empire and it was strengthened by

Vishwanatha Nayaka. With the fall of Vijayanagaar empire the fort could

not be maintained properly and was very much neglected and in 1860 it was

felt by the people that the wall of the fort must be removed, so that, they

could live in healthy environments. Between 1866 and 1880 A.D many parts

of the fort which was in a bad condition had been demolished by the

municipal authorities to broaden the roads retaining the main-guard gate.

Rock Fort Temple

Tiruchirappalli most famous land mark is 83m high rocks which is the

only outcrop in the otherwise flat land of the city. The most amazing fact

about the rock is that it is one of the oldest in the world-Green land older

than the Himalayas. The sheer abruptness of its rise is an attention grabber,
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420 steps carved out of rocks lead to the top where theme and inscriptions

dating back to the 3rd century B.C. Hardly anything remains of the ramparts

but the main guard gate is still in fact. The fort played an important part

during the carnatic wars and according to an inscription mainly contributed

to lay the foundation of the British Empire in India.

The top of the rock is the Uchipillaiyar Koil, a temple dedicated to

lord Vinayaka from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchi. A

flight of steps leads to the Thayumanaswami temple dedicated to lord Siva

where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself. There are two Pallava

cave temples that have beautiful sculptures of the 6 centuries.

The Upper Rock Fort Cave

The steps emerge from the entrance of the Thayumanaswamy temple

into the open air and there on the left a chamber tower out of the rock is

counted with inscription. This cave is called the upper cave. The inscriptions

of the upper rock cut cave are written in the Grantha Pallava alphabet. Two

inscriptions record that a king named Gunabara who born such as

Purshothama, Satrumadla and Satyasandha constructed a temple of Siva on

the top of the mountain and placed in it a Linga and a statue. Each of the two

pillars mentions the river Cauvery. On the left pillar the Cauvery is called

the beloved of the Pallavas. It is probable that Gunabara was Pallavas

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Machendravarma. The history of Hindu architecture in Tamil country begins

with Mahendravarma perhaps from here on the third pillars of the same row,

so as to feed devotees on the day of Chithirai festival.

The Teppakulam

The Temmakulam at the foot of the rock to the west is a fine tank with

steps down to the edge of the water. In the center a Mantapam or Pillared

porch is seen. A facility for boating in the tank is available. Near the tank is

the house where Robert Clive lived when he was in Trichy and an 18 th

century church built by Reverend Schwartz of Denmark. The house is now

part of Trichy famous St.Joseph Collge.

St.Lourde’s Church

The St.Joseph’s college church is the reduced copy of the Basilica at

St.Lourdes the world famous place of pilgrimage in Southern France. It is

housed inside the St.Joseph’ college campus near main guard gate. The

whole length of the name and coir is 158 feet. The name is 38 feet wide, the

wises one 10 feet wide. The initiation raised glasses add beauty to the

church. The constructions of the church began in January 1890 and

completed on 5th May 1894. The step which was begun in January 1901 was

finished in 1903 when the guilted cross was placed on its pedestal 200 feet

above the sea level. The church was thrown on to the public worship in 1895
 30

It is noted for gothic architectural marvel attracting numerous

pilgrims. This church is located near to Rock Fort Teppakulam. It is mark

able feat of Indian Crafts man ship and stained glass drawings.

Sri Renganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

Sri Renganathaswamy temple at Srirangam is the biggest temple

among the 108 Vaishnavas temple in Tamil Nadu. It consists of

21Ggopurams (floor) and 21 entrances. At the eastern entry to the temple is

called Rajagopuram constructed by the Vijayanagar Emperor in 16th century

remained unfinished after its downfall. It was called Mottaigopura. The

unfinished gopuram work as completed by his holiness azhagia singer jeer

on 25th March 1987. It consists of 13 tires spanning and area of 156 areas.

The Sri Renganathaswamy temple takes the pride as the largest temple in the

country. The unique feature of the temple is its seven-old enclosures with

huge dividing ramparts. The temple is noted for the delicacy Rangavimanam

is resplendent with the structure of Rajagopuram reaches a height of 222 ½

feet with 13 tiers. After the installation of 12 ½ feet with Kalasams and

structures the tower rises to a height of 286 feet.

Annual festival is celebrated throughout the year. The most important

festival is Vaikunta Ekadesi, which attracts thousands of devotees from

place all over India. The festival lasts for 20th day beginning 10 day earlier to
 31

Sukkla Ekadesi in the month of Margazhi (December – January). The first

10 days before the Vaikunda Ekadesi called “Pagal Pathu” and remaining 10

days beginning with after Vaikunda Ekadesi called “Rappathu” festical of 10

nights. Pantha katzhi festival held in Masi (February – March) and

Brahmotsavam festival the grand final held in Panguni (March – April).

Thiruvanaikkaval

Near Trichirappalli is known for the Jambukeswarar temple dedicated

to Lord Siva. It is an ancient temple said to have been in existence from the

first century B.C. The temple had five long praharams.

Jambu is the name of the holy tree under which is the Eswar in the

form of Lingam submerged in water. Sri Jambukeswarar and his consort Sri

Agilandeshwari are the presiding deities of this temple.

Puncha Praharam is the most important festival celebrated in this

temple. This festival celebrated in the month of Panguni attracts about 5000

to 6000 devotees. During this festival, the Lord in female dress and the Devi

in male dress are taken out in procession.

Sri Mariamman Temple (Samayapuram)

Samayapuram is situated at 16km on the Trichy – Chennai trunk road.

It is easily accessible by bus. Buses are frequently plying between

Samayapuram to Trichirappalli. The Madurai Nayak Chokkanatha who ruled

 32

this region during 1706-1722 A.D. constructed a temple for the deity Sri

Mariamman at Samayapuram. The temple consists of an entrance,

Mahamandapam and the two enclosures. In the sanctum the deity Sri

Mariyamman is consecrated. The devotees believe that this deity curses the

diseased people affilicated with evil spirits. People belonging to the different

religious faiths also worship this deity and benefited. There is no animal

sacrifice in this temple and pooja’s performed four times a day. The

important festival Poochorial festival is celebrated on the last Sunday the

Masi. The main annual festival commences on the last Sunday in Panguni.

Thear festival is observed on first Tuesday in Chittirai and the floating

festival (Theppam) on the following Friday. Samayapuram is a very

important place of pilgrimage, famous for its temple dedicated to the

goddess Mariamman.

Sri Prasanna Venkateswarar Temple (Gunaseelam)

Gunaseelam is situated 24km away from Tiruchirappalli on the north

bank of Cauvery River in Tiruchirappalli – Musiri road. There is

Vasihnative temple and the name of the god is Lord Prasanna

Venkateshwarar. It is easily accessible by bus; nearest railway station is

15km from Musiri. Buses are plying frequently between Tiruchirappalli and

Gunaseelam. The temple is about 200 year old. The deity is a powerful one
 33

which is equal to Tirupathi. Tirupathi devotees those who unable to visit

Tirupathi may go to Guanseelam and derive the same benefit as if they

visited Tirupathi. Peoples who are possessed by evil spirits get cured if they

stay in the village and visit the shirne for a “Mandalam” (48) days. The

annual festival of this shrine is celebrated for a period of 11 days during the

month of Puratasi in commemoration of the lord’s dharsan given to sage

Gunaseelam Maharishi who was unable to visit Tirupathi.

Vekkaliyamman Temple, Woaiyur

Vekkaliyamman temple is situated in Pandamangalam, a few metres

away from Woraiyur Nachiyar kovil bus stand. This is 2km away from the

Tiruchirappalli Railway Station and 6km from Tiruchirappalli junction and

Central bus stand. The temple does not have any roof. Once a rishi, sarama,

an ardent devotee of lord siva cultivated red flowers, which he brought from

naga world and used them for worshipping Thayumanavar Swami. King

Paranthaga who ruled Uraiyur at that time plucked those flowers to adorn his

wife’s heirs. The rishi when appealed to the god Thayumanavar, he caused

to storm at that place which caused picnic among the people who started

running helter-shelter. There appeared, Goddess Vekkaliamman before the

people and promised to save them from the storm and other miseries also.

From that time onwards she is the guard in deity of this place protecting the
 34

people from all sorts of worries and problems. There is peculiar habit among

the people of this area that they used to scribble their problems in a bit of

paper and fix it in the Trident placed before the deity (Amman) in the

sanction-sanctorum and the goddess Vekkaliamman anwers their problems

and solves too. Near this temple another famous temple Arulmigu

Panchavarneswarar temple is there. Uraiyur where these temple’s are

situated is famous for handloom sarees. The ligar manufactured in this place

is exported to foreign countries. It is said that even Churchill had a linking

for these ligars.

The Madyjuneswara Swamy Temple (Pettavaithalllai)

The temple is located at Pettavaithallai in Srirangam taluk. The temple

is situated about 26km from the railway station, buses plying between

Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore passes through the village. It is having

interesting story. A store inscription at the head since of the Uyyakondan

Canal reveals that the temple was built by Kulothunga Chola – III (1178-

1218) who named the deity at Thiruvidaimaruthur. Renovations were made

in 1913 the Mollavar is a “Balambhigai” who is installed in a separation

sanction. They are facing east and south respectively. The deity is also

known as Sri Vinayagar, Murugar and Mahalakshmi. The main festival:

 35

1. Brahmothsavam in the month Vaikashi for “CODAY” – when the

deities are taken round the streets in procession both in the morning

and evening

2. Thaipoosam – the deity is taken to Kadambarkovil

3. Skandha Sasti (for 7 days) there is a street procession both in the

morning and evening during the festival occasion thousands of people

attend it

Planetarium

Anna Science Central Planetarium is located at Pudukkottai raod nead

airport. Programmes in Tamil and English version are shown daily

(Department of Tourism Tiruchirappalli).

Government Museum

A museum under the control of the Department of museum for the

Tiruchirappalli district was inaugurated on February 1983. The museum now

functions in Bharathiyar Road with in the distance of about 100 meters from

the fort. There are seven sections in the museum and the total number of

objects exhibited in such sections is around twenty apart from the resource

collections.

As expected of district museum had displayed in the galleries,

sculptures collected from in and around Tiruchirappalli district. There is a

 36

gallery called district museum gallery where the important monuments of

the district are shown by photography. Industrial importance of the district is

known through photographs of actual industrial products. A beautiful pith

model of rock fort too is in this museum. A few wood carvings and original

paintings of the Thanjavur school of painting will give a picture of artistic

heritage of Tamilnadu. Two cases depicting the life of the caveman and the

Malayalies of Pachamalai attracts the attention of the visitors. Similarly

beautiful diorama rocky seashore brings to life of the animals that inhabit the

seashore. Important rocks and fossils are exhibited in the showcase and plant

kingdom is represented in a small any nearly arranged show case and in that

the different types of wood (teak wood etc.,), fibers, coconut, jute and the

grains also displayed. Admission to this museum, which is kept open from 9

a.m to 12.30 noon and 2.00 p.m to 5.00 p.m on all days except, Friday is

free.

1.8 PERIOD OF THE STUDY

Secondary data are collected for a period of 10 years from 2001 to

2010. Primary data are collected from October 2009 to September 2010.

1.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

All possible care to avoid shortcomings and errors in the collection of

data has been taken during the study. Utmost care and skill are exercised to
 37

derive the conclusions and to bring out the findings of the study. In spite of

all the efforts taken in this regard, the present study is restricted to

Tiruchirapalli District. The collected data may spell out only the attitude of

respondents based on the experiences with regard to tour. The opinion of the

respondents is collected throughout the period of one year and hence, there

may be some cognitive changes in their attitude as well as their opinion due

to some external clues.

1.10 CHAPTER SCHEME

The study is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter deals with

introduction of the study. It consists of objectives, statement of the problem

and methodology of the study.

The second chapter deals with related review of literature consisting

of both foreign study and Indian study.

The third chapter deals with growth and development of tourism in

India, Tamilnadu and Tiruchirapalli District. It consists of analysis of tourist

arrival to India, Tamilnadu and Tiruchirapalli, relating into account the

season wise and area wise distribution of tourists.

The fourth chapter deals with perception of hotel owners towards

services offered by them to tourist and the level of room occupancy.

 38

The fifth chapter deals with the perception of commercial shop

owners towards their business prospects.

The sixth chapter deals with the socio economic status of tourists and

their problems and level of satisfaction.

The seventh chapter deals with findings, suggestions and conclusion.