ECO RESOURCES AND TOURISM RELATED
CONCERNS OF KARNATAKA HOTELS along with a bird's view of
waste management processes
Dr. Padma Srinivasan

Introduction:

A major difference in marketing services as against other consumer products is that after a customer has spent money on services, he has nothing substantial to show except bills for his money as benefits as compared with buying tangibles.  For example, if a hotel room remains vacant, it is unlikely that the same can be sold even tomorrow.  The services are planned, controlled, automated and audited for quality control and are also to be regularly evaluated to ensure qualitative cum quantitative improvements in the services.

HOTEL BUSINESS “T.Q.M” DEFINITION:

Waste management has slowly crept in part of hotel business' T.Q.M. Thus quality does not influence price tag but a survival technique. If this quality aspect is not impressed on the Guest, he may stop giving business? But it is also seen that during the budgeting process, eco-driven business plans are pushed to ' Later On' or 'Next Priority' space. So unless the hotel theme necessarily revolves on ECO-RESOURCES, the hotels or resorts do not focus on eco related issues. The hotels identify the waste zones and plan specifically for them. So, a safe and relaxing environment is maintained at all costs.

THE ECO RESOURCES AND TOURISM RELATED CONCERNS OF KARNATAKA HOTELS:

Karnataka is the eighth largest state in India. Located in the southern part of the country, it is surrounded by other states like Maharashtra and Goa in the north, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south, Andhra Pradesh in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. The state of Karnataka is situated approximately between the latitudes 11.5° and 18.5° North and the longitudes 74° and 78.5° East.

The state of Karnataka is part of two well-defined regions of India, namely the Deccan Plateau and the Coastal Plains and Islands and it can be further divided into four physiographic regions-the Northern Karnataka Plateau, Central Karnataka Plateau, Southern Karnataka Plateau, Karnataka Coastal Region. The State is capturing the attention of the hotel management, tourism department, Government and tourists. Tourism is clearly being perceived as Karnataka's strength. Its cosmopolitan nature, manageable infrastructure and largest talent pool are attracting quality tourist and sound investors. In short Karnataka is well on the road that will take it places. It is offering the comfort and convenience of Aero-Tourism. It facilitates flying down to the most exotic offerings of the state in the comfort of the sleek 68C Twin- Engine AirCrafts or a state- of the- art Helicopter fleet.

KARNATAKA STATE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION:

It is the corporation that takes care of the State's tourism matters, along with the State Tourism Department. The tourism projects** approved by the State and the state subsidies sanctioned are given in the following table:

Table: 1

*From June-May of every year. From the year 2000,no subsidy is being sanctioned. **Data as given by the KSTDC.

The above table indicates that the number of projects approved by the State is showing healthy growth trends. With the innovative strategies definitely the industry will grow at a faster pace bringing prosperity to the State. Despite discontinuance of the state subsidy, the industry is showing remarkable growth in the past 10 years. The above 672 hotels do not include the hotels that are not obtaining approvals from the Department.

TOURISM POTENTIAL & KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT'S INTERESTS:

Karnataka was among the first States in the country to bring out a progressive Tourism Policy as early as June 1992. This had the twin objective of promoting tourism-related activities and enhancing employment and income-generation among all sections of the society to further promote tourism in the State.

Table: 2.

Foreign Exchange Earnings During 2002 And Corresponding Figures for 2000-2001.

*Provisional Source: Department of Tourism, GOI.

* WM is costly and can be afforded only by the mighty
* WM is a tedious order and requires skillful workers
* WM is a value addition coming with a high price.
* WM is insisted by urban guests and rural guests can be taken for a ride
* WM is for required for the jobs whose nature are
* HIGHLY-TECHNICAL
* COSTLY EQUIPMENT BASED
* HIGH PRECSION.

But the latest in studies like that of Papiya Sarkar's indicate that a social vulnerability occurs due to the crisis of WM not managed well by the Municipal bodies and lack of action by the stakeholders. It goes to add that WM is the responsibility of one and all, as a single entity as society. Now the science of WM has given its due share of recognition and the Governmental Agencies have toughened their action against the hotels that do not plan WM. Now professional bodies like that of National Solid Waste Association Of India (regional, national, international 
and zonal) have become assertive in their action and consultancy.


WHAT IF??????? WHAT NEXT?????? 

Negative impact when WM is not implemented in a Hotel: The Hotel suffers in many ways, if it does not implement a systematic WM process. Few of them can be:

* Failure to keep the cost under control
* Lack of plans and management of the precious dear resources
* Fall in the repeat custom
* Brand shrinkage
* Corporate failure in the market
* Target of stakeholders' disinterest
* Non-Achievement of Organization's vision,mission,plans
* Irreparable damage to the society, environment & stakeholders.

WM as a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE for the HOTELS: 

But in 2004, a paradigm shift (probably in a little way due to globalization too) has taken place making WM as COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE factor. This shift is mainly due to:

COST LEADERSHIP: "Cost Effectiveness" alone was the survival mantra, which implies tightening of belt, cut down waste in any form and recycle all resources to optimize under stringent conditions.

FOCUS: The firms started focussing on their mission and core competencies. Unstoppable populace explosion made labor cheap, resources dear.

PRODUCT/SERVICES DIFFERENCIATION: The system, processes and strategies were reengineered, to fit the technological revolution taking place and lack of places for disposal due extensive housing projects taking place, widening the periphery of the towns. The Products/Services were compounded with their value additions using WM as a tool. To cite an instance, most hotels advertise that the water they run in baths are recycled and purified for the use of the Guest. Some even advertise that they use recycled/handmade paper requesting the guests to use the products judiciously.

Conclusions:

In Karnataka, the number of hotels has increased substantially with more hotels opening up shops. Taj hotels which has few properties already has moved to Economy concept hotels, (which it has named as Smart Basics Hotel) using innovative cost saving measures and cut down wasteful costs. Their aim is to provide Taj Hospitality at economical rates, which is possible only with trimming the frill costs and better waste management techniques. 

Author:
Dr. Padma Srinivasan,
HR-Head & Company Secretary, Bangalore
Visiting Faculty, ICFAI Business School, Bangalore