RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

2.1 Description of the research design:

Market research is the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting marketing information. Running a business means taking decisions, whatever the nature of the decision; a common trend is the need for information. Here the decisions and market research guide the decision maker. Fundamental to the success of any formal marketing research is sound research design which has the following characteristics, viz., 1. Problem definition 2. Specific method of data collection and analysis 3. Time required for research project and the estimate of expense to be incurred. 4. A research design is simply the framework or plan for a study that guides the collection and analysis of data. It is a blue print that is followed in completing a study.

Therefore, the important considerations in a research design are : The study must be relevant to the problem. The study must imply economic procedures.

Important points about research design are:

 The design of investigation should be taken from the problem. Whether the designs are productive in a given problem setting depending on how imaginatively they are applied. An understanding of the basic design is needed so that they can be modified to suit a specific purpose.

The three basic types of research design are: Exploratory Descriptive Causal

Exploratory or formulate studies are often seen as the initial step in the continuous research. These three research designs are not mutually exclusive and a combination of all the three could be used in the successful completion of a marketing research project. We start with exploratory and go to causal through the descriptive research. Alternatively we can select any of these research designs and take the help of the other two designs if the situation or problem thus requires. The questionnaire method used in the customer survey helped in answering the following queries: The different reasons why people travel. The different kinds of trips that people take or want to take. The different places that the travelers visit or wish to. How tourists prefer to travel- in groups, alone or with family. Budget preferences and ticket size. Average duration of the tour.

 Booking medium and how the information is garnered. Preferred mode of transport and hotels.

2.2. SAMPLING DESIGN

A part of the population is known as sample. The process of drawing a sample from a larger population is known as sampling. Well selected samples reflect fairly accurately the characteristics of the population.

Sampling Techniques: 1) Random/Probability sampling 2) Non - Random/ Non - Probability sampling Random Sampling: This is done in such a way that each member of the universe has an equal chance of being selected, which enables statistical procedures to be used under the results to estimate sampling errors. Types of Random sampling: a) Simple random sampling b) Systematic sampling c) Stratified sampling d) Cluster and area sampling Non - Random Sampling:-

In non-random sampling, the chance of any particular unit in the population being selected is unknown. Types of Non random sampling are: a) Judgment sampling, b) Quota sampling c) Purposive sampling d) Convenience sampling

Sampling technique adopted: In this study, the sampling technique adopted is Judgment sampling and Convenience sampling.

Definition of population: The population for this study is all Indian travelers who have travelled or wish to travel in the near future.

Sample size: In his study, two phases were taken with 100 travelers or prospective travelers as respondents in each phase. In the second phase only people who go for leisure trips were taken.

SOURCES OF DATA:

The foundation of market research is the usage of interviews. It is the means by which primary data is obtained for most of the surveys. The interviewers aim is to draw accurate facts and opinions out of the respondents, while being guided by a questionnaire.

Interview planning: Having decided on what size of sample is required and what method of data is required and what method of data collection is to be used, the number of interview that can be achieved daily is decided. The quality of all market research is dependent on asking the right question and extracting proper responses.

A questionnaire has been designed for this study. The questionnaire designed for the respondents contains few questions and was designed to extract following information. The different reasons why people travel. The different kinds of trips that people take or want to take. The different places that the travelers visit or wish to. How tourists prefer to travel- in groups, alone or with family. Budget preferences and ticket size. People who lay the foundation for traveling. The various problems faced before and during the tour. Average duration of the tour. Booking medium and how the information is garnered. Modes of payment preferred by travelers.

 Preferred mode of transport and hotels.

SELECTING A SURVEY TECHNIQUE:The seven major factors involved in selecting survey technique are: Cost of collecting the data Speed of getting response Accuracy of the data Amount of data gathering Response rate Flexibility of the technique Degree to which sample represents the population

All of such factors were kept in mind while conducting the survey.

RESEARCH DESIGN
In the present economic scenario, the powers of Indian customer are high and they are able to buy according to their needs and wants. Indian government has liberalized impact of various fields like education, pharmacy, technology and other areas to bring about a healthy competition in the market. Todays world is full of cut throat competition which exits in all sectors; and whether in the field of telecommunication or in the field of technologies, everything is changing dramatically. Tourism industry is among the one of them.

OBJECIVE OF THE STUDY The objective of this study is to look into the behavior of tourists and deduce patterns which would serve in making a model which would benefit the company in terms of enhancing its customer base.

NEED FOR THE STUDY This study is conducted mainly for a long term goal accomplishment. The company, Paahun Tour Management Limited is looking forward to foray into intense extension of its customer base. This research will help them to understand customer behavior and address the problems that they face while going on a tour or planning for one. Devised as a pure pre- marketing strategy, this research would help the company to build its standing in the market.

FIELD WORK: There were two phases in which this research was conducted: The FIRST phase was conducted in the form of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated by pilot sample collection. The necessary weeding was conducted and the final questionnaire was thus formed. Out of the 100 respondents, 40 responses were collected online- wherein the questionnaire was mailed to them. 60 responses were collected at various tourist spots in Delhi- Qutub Minar, Red Fort, India Gate, Akshardham Mandir, Lotus Temple and Kalkaji Mandir; in market places like- Lajpat Nagar, Connaught Place, Nehru Place, Sarojini, Kamla Nagar; and also in New Delhi Station and Nizamuddin. The SECOND phase was conducted purely in an unstructured interview mode, wherein responses were collected from the very same tourist spots, metro stations,

and crowded market places. However, the respondents were only those who had been on leisure trips.

3.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY: For a company to start