Tourist Perception as a Key Indicator for Destination Competitiveness for Tourists Visiting Ujjain Pilgrim Circuit

Abstract

Tourism, as an economic activity, is a business for both the individual entrepreneur and the community. It is built on a system of interconnected demand and supply forces. International, national, and local marketplaces are on the demand side. The "tourist product" consists of attractions, accessibility, facilities, and infrastructure on the supply side. The integrated tourist destination product creates the tourist experience, and its improvement contributes to destination competitiveness. Therefore, the tourist experience can be considered fundamental for destination competitiveness. This paper aims to examine the relationship between Tourist perception and destination competitiveness. The proposed approach is tested on the Pilgrim circuit of Madhya Pradesh which includes Indore - Ujjain – Maheshwar – Omkareshwar - Mandu with a key focus on Ujjain tourism development. During Simhastha 2016, the government spent lakhs to build Ujjain as a holy centre and attract devotees. Following Simhastha, the government claims that thousands of tourists from throughout the country would visit the city daily, strengthening various businesses involved in tourism and hospitality. According to the authorities, over 125 homes have been converted into hotels and guest houses to accommodate worshippers. A year later, tourism in Ujjain is still as slow as it was before Simhastha. Nearly 60 of the 125 hotels have closed, and the surviving ones are struggling to fulfill their basic expenditures. The majority of them are having difficulty repaying their loans. To measure the visitors’ perceptions of the destination product, the survey method will be used. The obtained results confirmed a significant difference in the assessment of the tourist perception & destination offerings, which confirmed the starting hypothesis that the perception of the destination product can be used as an indicator of tourist destination competitiveness.