Business Opportunity Report on Emerging and Mega Trends in the Tourism Industry

This report discusses the business opportunities created by emerging and mega trends in the tourism industry, specifically adventure tourism and nature tourism. It also explores the impact of these trends and opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses to promote sustainable tourism.

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Business opportunity report
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background of the tourism industry...........................................................................................3
Emerging mega trends creating impact on the tourism industry................................................3
Adventure tourism (emerging trend)......................................................................................3
Nature tourism (mega trend)..................................................................................................4
Impact of these trends.............................................................................................................5
Opportunities for the entrepreneurial businesses.......................................................................5
Sustainable tourism................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the business opportunities that will be created
with a specific market or industry with the mega trends and emerging trends. The specific
industry chosen here is the tourism sector and the emerging trend has been the adventure
tourism while the mega trend is the nature tourism. With the changing needs and preferences
of the tourists nowadays, the tourism sector has introduced new ways to drive the consumer
behaviour and it has been possible with the management of services that are associated with
these emerging and mega trends. With the coordination of tourism plans and Government
laws and policies, synergy in the development of tourism has been achieved, which has
created new kinds of tourism products and services responsible for acquiring various benefits
from the mega and emerging trends in the market (Bethapudi 2013). The adventure tourism
and nature tourism are the sources of various new products and services such as trekking,
mountaineering expedition, wildlife conservation, etc., which can also be beneficial for
coping up with the changing demands and expectations in the tourism market with ease and
effectiveness.
Background of the tourism industry
The tourism and hospitality industry of India is one of the major drivers for the
growth and development of services’ sector and it has great potential due to its rich cultural
heritage and varied ecology along with natural beauty and conservation of wildlife
experiences spread all across the nation. Considering the sector, it is understood that the
tourism sector has immensely contributed to the economy of India and is also considered as
one of the major sector that commits to foreign exchange earnings and provided employment
opportunities for many people too (Zaei and Zaei 2013). The digitally advanced traveller
nation India has also been consistent in usage of digital technologies, which has enriched the

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experience of tourists and made sure to provide them with a great experience during their
travel. The increase of disposable incomes and rise in middle class have also contributed
largely to the growth and development of the inbound and outbound tourism in India. The
arrival of foreign tourists has increased to over 8.36 million and with great employment
opportunities all over along with the setting of more international hotel chains, the market
share has been around 48 percent and is expected to reach over 50 percent by the year 2022
(Munjal 2013).
Emerging mega trends creating impact on the tourism industry
The emerging mega trends are large contributors to the delivery of various new
services that are preferred by the tourists and this can draw in new customers too. The
emerging trend has been the adventure tourism nowadays, because with the rise in disposable
incomes of people, the inbound and outbound tourism has been influenced and it has focused
more on the safety and convenience of tourists. This has encouraged the tourists to try out
something adventurous and feel free to gain new experiences, which they have not achieved
earlier (Ghimire 2013). Thus, the adventure tourism has been an emerging trend while the
mega trend is the nature tourism, which mainly focuses on the sustainable tourism and
preserving wildlife and nature for creating a positive impact on the environment.
Adventure tourism (emerging trend)
The urge or desire for adventure is present in every human being and same happens
for the tourists who want to try something unique and new. Thus, the adventure tourism is
considered as a popular niche segment within the tourism sector and with the huge geo-
physical diversity and tourism policies. There has been promotion of adventure tourism
consisting of services provided to the clients including trekking, camping, mountaineering
expedition, river rafting, etc (Hazra, Fletcher and Wilkes 2017). This emerging trend has

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greatly enhanced the level of awareness about the adventure tourism trend in India and even
allowed the clients to choose from a wide range of services such as orchid tours, mountain
trekking, scaling high peaks in Himalayas, elephant safari, which offers great scopes and
opportunities for the nature lovers too (Sultana et al. 2014).
Mountaineering and trekking
One of the most effective service could be the management of trekking facilities and
ensuring providing the best protection to the tourists. The Indian Mountaineering Federation,
Ministry of Tourism and State Governments have enabled proper safety measures and
ensured that the trekking services provided by the tourism companies in India offered are safe
and secure The services could be associated with the trekking in Himalayan range such as
Kashmir valley, Manali, Ladhak, etc (Fatma, Rahman and Khan 2016). The tourism
companies have managed these services by making proper arrangements, with the
involvement of a guide and provided necessary amenities along with arrangement of food and
accommodation in tents while trekking to provide the travellers with a great adventurous
experience.
River rafting
With the emerging trends, the tourism companies have delivered services such as
river rafting on the rivers located in the foothills of Himalayas that can extend through
exception ally beautiful terrains, deep gorges and even through towns. The white water sports
activities along with rafting for gaining a good adventurous experience are also considered as
vital services provided by the tourism companies in Manali, Beas, Teesta and Rishikesh.
With the involvement of Central Ministry of Tourism, extended support has been provided
for boosting the water sports activities for the tourists while scuba diving service and

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windsurfing are popular in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which also can be great
adventure tourism services and emerging trends in India (Ryan 2013).
Nature tourism (mega trend)
The nature tourism is another mega trend within the tourism sector that has focused
on improving the meaning of nature and making it purpose fully a major source of attracting
tourists. The nature tourism trend is not new, but is considered as a major tourism activity
that has been arranged for the tourists by the tourism companies to preserve the wildlife, flora
and fauna and contribute to the wellbeing of the environment largely. The diversity is not
only confined to the culture and people of India, but also includes diversity in land with the
services offered by the tourism companies for visiting places like breath taking Himalayan
range, tropical rain forests, desserts and even coast lines (Mackenzie and Kerr 2013).
Considering the nature tourism activities, the tourism companies have mainly focused on the
sustainable or eco-tourism services in the form of various packages to deliver eco-friendly
holidays in India.
Wild life
The wild life diversity in India includes flora and fauna and a great number of
services has been arranged for the travellers, who can opt for the sighting of natural animal,
i.e., tiger and the majestic elephants and at the same time, become aware of preserving the
natural habitat and wildlife. These unparalleled beauty has been made accessible for the
tourists by the tourism companies, as they made sure to deliver services that can keep them
closer to nature. The rich heritage of the wildlife in India consists of many national parks and
wild life sanctuaries including Jim Corbett national park, Ranthambore, Kaziranga,
Sundarbans, etc., where tiger sighting has been possible for the nature lovers with the help of
safari services and tiger trail services provided by the tourism companies (Taylor, Varley and

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Johnston 2013). The tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan are
visited by many people at certain months of the year, which are quite popular and should be
booked earlier to ensure gaining sight of tigers and other wild animals properly. The greenery
and scenic beauty are experienced by the travellers who seek to stay closer to nature enjoying
the trees, mountains, rivers, etc (Naidoo et al. 2015). The hill stations are also included in
various tourism packages provided by the companies to provide the tourists with a great
experience by allowing them to watch rainforests, coral reefs, sunbathing and swimming in
hot water springs and water bodies too.
Impact of these trends
With the help of these mega and emerging trends, sustainable tourism has been
promoted to preserve the diversity of the place and at the same time, manage proper control
over the numbers of tourists to ensure that the ecological balance of nature is not disturbed.
The trends have created huge positive impacts to the natural areas and even created a positive
note on the eco-tourism activities that ensured conservation of natural resources and
preservation of wild life too (Wood et al. 2013). The stakeholders of the tourism sector are
also benefited and it has also greatly contributed to the formation of scopes and opportunities
for the local people, who can get good sources of income and live a good life in the future.
Opportunities for the entrepreneurial businesses
The entrepreneurial businesses have gained great scopes and opportunities to promote
these emerging trends with the help of eco-tourism, also known as the sustainable tourism to
provide the visitors with a great experience and at the same time, keep the environment safe
and healthy. Considering the environmental crisis nowadays, the entrepreneurial businesses
have aimed at delivering eco-tourism services by providing accommodation at eco-huts and
even contribute to the wellbeing of the community and environment. It has not only helped in

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making people respect the culture of the place that they will be visiting, but also ensure that
the stakeholders are benefited largely (Mason 2015). With the consideration of emerging and
mega trends, the new businesses could easily create better employment opportunities for the
local people to become a part of the workforce and even promote sustainable business with
the management of environment friendly accommodation and food services along with
preserving the rich diversity of flora and fauna in the specific location. Other opportunities
for the entrepreneurial businesses would be created with the help of delivering services that
are unique and new and can provide great experience for the tourists such as Eco trips, The
Eco trips are arranged for the people to visit the forests and even visit those places consisting
of natural resources and accommodating them in eco-huts (Lee 2013). This would make the
businesses sustain quite easily by making people aware of the ecotourism, furthermore
manage conservation of natural resources, energy, recycling of wastes along with the
involvement of various procedures that can keep the environment safe and healthy without
harming the ecological balance in nature or making any interference with the local culture.
The emerging trends such as trekking, camping and outdoor tourism activities have allowed
the tourism company, newly introduced, to deliver outdoor services, which is a good sign for
the future as well (Bramwell 2013).
Sustainable tourism
One thing that is must to start eco-tourism or sustainable tourism is the development
of a business plan, which should be done with the help of monitoring the progress of tourism
and by assessing the costs that might be associated with the management of tourism
activities. Understanding the feasibility of sustainable tourism is essential for the new
business along with the management of resourceful contacts and local support for ensuring
that the long term goals and objectives are achieved along with competitive advantage in
business. Green vacations are trending nowadays with the emerging and mega trends,

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focusing more on nature and adventure tourism, which can also be beneficial for the new and
smaller businesses to manage good contacts with the local bodies and hospitality businesses
(Edgell Sr 2016). This would further enable facilitating the delivery of services and for
ensuring that the natural resources are protected and preservation of wildlife is done, which
can not only influence the consumers’ behaviours and mind sets properly, but can even
promote sustainable business within the tourism sector with ease and efficiency.
Conclusion
The topic provided information about the various emerging and mega trends
considering the tourism industry in India. It was found that there had been great scopes for
the new businesses to sustain in the marketplace with the focus on being sustainable and
environmentally responsible. The emerging and mega trends have promoted sustainable
business, which should further allow the entrepreneurial businesses to manage tourism
services that could make the tourists get closer to nature and at the same time, preserve the
natural systems and biodiversity of the place to contribute to the wellbeing of the
environment and benefiting the various stakeholders too.

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References
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Bramwell, B., 2013. Governance, the state and sustainable tourism: A political economy
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