ISSN 0798 1015

Vol. 40(Issue 43) Year 2019. Page 23

“S.M.I.L.E.”: A tool for eradicating socio-economic issues by creating Local Entrepreneurs in Tourism

S.M.I.L.E.: Una herramienta para erradicar los problemas socioeconómicos mediante la creación de empresarios locales en el turismo

SAHOO, Debasis 1

Received: 08/09/2019 • Approved: 12/12/2019 • Published 20/12/2019

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Results (Findings & Discussions)

4. Conclusions

Bibliographic references

1. Introduction

A wide admiration of the fact that ‘Tourism as an industry possesses immense potential to generate employment, huge revenue  and contribute significantly to the mainstream economy of a nation’, has often lead to the creation of innovative techniques for utilising this potential to the fullest. In the above line one of the major technique, as identified by many literatures is the ‘involvement of community’ in providing various tourism related products and services to tourists at the destination. According to Godfrey and Clarke (2000) communities are the focal point for the supply of accommodation, catering, information, transport facilities and services. Further it has also been argued that local communities can be empowered through ‘Entrepreneurship’ as it is an essential actor for creating job opportunities, generating income, improving their standard of living Nordin et al., 2014). Moreover a higher level of community involvement in tourism entrepreneurship will lead to greater socio economic benefit for the majority of the community (Nordin et al., 2014). Hence from the above statements it can be realised that tourism entrepreneurship is an innovative solution to various socio-economic issues like unemployment, cultural limitations, etc. So, taking into consideration the various benefits arising out of tourism entrepreneurship, the researcher (being a Social entrepreneur) tries to suggest an innovative approach to create independent local entrepreneurs at the destination level, aimed at improving people’s lives by promoting social changes (OECD, 2010) and tourism environment. The innovative approach has been named as “SMILE” i.e. Service Maximisation through Independent Local Entrepreneurs in Tourism.The above approach is based upon the rapid digitisation (online availability) of tourism products and services and a synergistic relationship with the social issues of the local community who will be acting as ground level ‘operational staffs’ for the delivery of the above. Apart from the primary objective of designing the ‘SMILE-Module’ (software design), the other major objective of the research is to analyse the various benefits (features) and limitations of the above module. The final objective revolves around various areas of its application and implementation technique to be followed, for getting a higher degree of benefit both for the tourist as well as entrepreneur, resulting with a ‘Smile’ all around.

1.1. Literature Review

As there has been enormous research activities carried out since the inception of the concept of ‘community involvement in tourism’, it has resulted in the exploration of multiple dimensions of tourism where the community may contribute in large extent. Such areas of tourism development where the communities contribute significantly ranges from “Providing local premises (Muganda et al., 2013), supplying of accommodation, catering, information, transportation facilities and services (Godfrey and Clarke, 2000), conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage (Jamal & Stronza, 2009), sustainability (Bushell & Mc Cool, 2007 and Figg is & Bushell, 2007), creation of interpretive and nature based experiences for tourists (Jamal & Stronza, 2009), identifying and promoting tourist resources and attractions (Muganda et al., 2013), to becoming an integral part of the tourism development agenda (Aref et al., 2010; Bushell & Mc Cool, 2007; Jamal & Stronza, 2009 and Tosun, 2006) by playing a major role in policy and decision making (Matarrita-Cascante et al., 2010; McIntyre et al., 1993; Muhanna, 2007; and Niezgoda & Czernek, 2008).

So through the tourism development, community have the opportunity to diversify their income by venturing into entrepreneur activities (Pazim and  Rosli, 2011). Further as identified by Nordin et al. (2014), entrepreneurship is a major tool for the development of local community as it empowers them by creating job opportunities, improving investment opportunities, generating income, developing technical skills, as well improving their standards of living. Moreover it was also argued that higher level of community involvement in tourism entrepreneurship will lead to greater socio economic benefit for the majority of the community including women, elderlies, youth, people with disabilities as well as people living in rural areas (Nordin et al., 2014).

Hence it can be realised that tourism entrepreneurship is an innovative tool for solving several social issues of the community like women empowerment, unemployment, limitations of people staying in rural areas etc. So here comes the role of a social entrepreneur to understand the broader context of these issues and present innovative solutions (user-friendly, understandable and realistic ethical ideas) to mobilize available resources for a wide-scale change in the society as well as tourism environment (Ashoka, 2016 and Alvord et al., 2004). Further, Drucker (1985) argued that innovation is the tool for entrepreneurship and both innovation and entrepreneurship demand creativity. According to Mihaly (1997), creativity is the ability to come up with a new solution to the problem, a new method or device or a new artistic object or form. Further Wyckoff (1991) defines creativity as the act of seeing things that everyone around us sees while making connections that no one else has made.

Hence the present study tries to find out the various socio-economic issues faced by the residents at the tourism destinations  and later to draw out a structural model to connect these specific segments of the Indian community with the tourism industry. It basically eyes on creating an online platform which will allow the community to offer their products  and services to the potential tourists. It will not only help to create independent local entrepreneurs at the tourism destinations but also help them back to solve a majority of their socio-economic issues within their specified cultural and social limitations.

 1.2. Objectives

• To identify the various socio-economic issues faced by the residents at the tourism destinations  and their willingness to get associated with tourism industry. 
• To design the SMILE-Module (online platform) for creating local entrepreneurs.
• To find out various areas of its application and implementation techniques.
• To analyse the various benefits (features) and limitations of the above module.
• To recommend suggestive measures for its promotion & future development.

2. Research Methodology

In order to achieve the set objectives, the researcher followed mixed method of research i.e. both quantitative and qualitative techniques along with the web-designing technology.

Initially a survey questionnaire was developed comprising of two basic sections i.e. (a) what are the major socio-economic issues faced by you (local residents)  and (b) kindly rate out your willingness to get an associated with tourism industry. While the initial was an open ended question, the later was measured through a Likert scale (where 1- represented unwilling  and 5- stood for strongly willing). The primary data were collected from a total of 270 residents (identified through multistage  and convenient sampling) by directly surveying 30 residents from each of the nine identified places. The nine tourist destinations identified for study is spread across three states of India i.e. Odisha (east), Tamilnadu (south)  and Himachal Pradesh (north). The destinations were “Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark” in Odisha, “Chennai, Kodaikanal  and Madurai” in Tamilnadu and ‘Dharamshala, Palampur  and Manali’ in Himachal Pradesh. The data were analysed via Conventional Qualitative content analysis, percentage analysis  and mean value analysis.

The second part of the research, i.e. to design a common online platform to connect these local residents (willing to be entrepreneur) with the tourist directly, was developed by keeping in mind the practical issues faced by the developing Indian societies and the observations made during the field studies at the above mentioned regions (structured  and unstructured observation). Further an ‘analytical observation’ of various channels of distribution in tourism sector were made with the help of both direct inputs from the local tourism entrepreneurs (informal discussions)  and relevant secondary data collected from the research article made in these areas of concern, newspaper  and magazine publications, websites of local entrepreneurs, Websites & Publication of Ministry of Tourism Government of India, State tourism Boards and other National DMOs of various countries.

The Primary data collected through direct interaction with local community (regarding their current socio-economic issues   and willingness to be a part of the tourism industry), were tried to be synergised with the present demand of the tourism industry to come up with an innovative idea of providing them with a common platform “SMILE” to offer their products   and services to the tourists in need. 

3. Results (Findings & Discussions) 

3.1. Major Socio-economic issues faced by the residents

The analysis of the collected data revealed that there are several socio-economic issues faced by the residents out of which the majority of the responses were inclined towards, social  and cultural limitation of women in an orthodox society (89.6%), unemployment among educated youth (87.7%), limitations of villagers in the rural areas (84.4%), loneliness of elderly people (81.1%)  and limitations of differently abled persons (72.9%) (Table 1). Further the information collected during the survey (interview) also revealed the root cause of these socio-economic issues which were presented below. 

Lack of Women Empowerment: The issues of women empowerment commonly associated with their cultural  and social limitations which don’t allow them to work outside and get an identity of their own. Though by virtue of various Government schemes  and effort of NGOs, several co-operative societies have taken shape these days but those are not enough as per the current demand.

Table 1
Major socio-economic issues
faced by the residents

Unemployment among educated Youth: Among other major issues is the unemployment among youth which is a direct result of the unorganised expansion of education system in India. It is now being widely admired that the government policies to increase the literacy rate and provide equal opportunity of education to all has resulted in a generation of educated but unemployed youth both in rural and urban areas.

Limitations of villagers in the rural areas: Lastly the socio-economic status of the people staying in rural areas is another burning issue in most part of the country. The problems regarding a sustainable source of income  and societal issues of being remaining attached with the mother land have left the villagers helpless in many occasions.

Loneliness of the elderly people: Another major issue in the present Indian society is the loneliness of the elderly people staying in villages and small cities. It is primarily due to high degree of urbanisation in a developing country like India where the present youth (both educated and uneducated) sees a better career opportunity in the big cities and metros and moves out of their native places leaving their parents and hereditary residence  and professions. It is resulting in such a situation that now-a-days the elderly people are left with big houses, considerable amount of earning and a grand loneliness being deprived from the love and presence of their housemates.

Limitations of differently abled persons: Further one of the prime societal issues of every continent is the future of ‘persons with disability’. In a developing country like India though government has taken several steps for providing equal opportunity to the ‘differently abled’ people (now-a-days called “Dibyang”), but it stands irrelevant for many in a competitive world.

3.2. Residents’ willingness to get associated with tourism industry:  

While surveying the residents it was observed that in spite of the limited resources and several other societal issues most of the local people are interested to get associated with the tourism sector as it would help them enhance their economic status. The value of Likert scale (mean value- 4.3) signalled that the residents are ‘willing to strongly willing’ to be a part of this growing segment. (1-Strongly Unwilling, 2- Unwilling, 3-Not sure, 4-Willing, and 5-Strongly willing.

While observing these above issues at different regions what was revealed is the availability of diversified resources at these destinations. As India is among one of the leading destination in the world for having the largest diversity in terms of culture, history, religion, language, cuisine, geography, climate and natural resources, each of the region has something unique to offer. Further the resident’s high willingness to get involved in the tourism sector signifies its future growth potential. Hence the only segment which can connect them all with the outside world is the tourism sector. So upon the analysis of various channels of distribution in tourism, it was observed that there are basically two modes by virtue of which tourism products and services are offered to the clients i.e. Manual and Electronic mode. But with the invention of new technological tools, the reach of electronic medium has surpassed the international boundaries in last few decades. It shouts the use of television, computer, internet, websites and Global Distribution System (GDS). Hence it was chosen as the medium to develop and propagate the concept of such a model which will allow the local community to offer their unique products  and services over an online platform that can be accessed by the domestic as well as foreign tourists on their finger tip. It is named as “S.M.I.L.E” (Service Maximisation through Independent Local Entrepreneurs in Tourism). It will have dual benefit of creating small and medium scale entrepreneurs for tourism industry as well as solving majority of the socio-economic issues of the related community. The position of this unique model (S.M.I.L.E) in the Tourism Distribution Chain was represented in the following diagram. (Figure: 1)       

Figure 1
Position of S.M.I.L.E. in
Tourism Distribution Chain

3.3. Designing of the “S.M.I.L.E.-Module” (The Online Platform)

Unlike the other online platform, at the initial phase there was a need for a unique logo which would represent the idea behind the “S.M.I.L.E. Project”. It was to be designed with few things in mind such as smiling faces of the tourist as well the entrepreneur, the basic inspiration behind the development of the idea i.e. the surplus accommodation lying with the elderly people, the rural environment towards which the model has been targeted and last but not the least the colour theme which was thought to be pink representing the femininity and the blush of the facial smile. Hence a unique logo was prepared (suggestion) with the above features in mind, which was presented in (Figure 2)      

Figure 2
Suggestive Logo Design
for the S.M.I.L.E Project

In the second phase, the homepage for the website/ online platform featuring SMILE (Service Maximisation through Independent Local Entrepreneurs in tourism), was designed with the earlier decided thematic background of Pink hue. The home page features two different sections which allow the entrepreneur (community) and the visitor (tourists) to register themselves separately. Upon providing their e-mail id, mobile number and a self-created 8 digit password, they will be send with an activation link to their e-mail ids. The link will redirect them to log-in for their activated account and take the benefits of the online platform. Hence the online platform is comprised of two major modules i.e. first one to register the entrepreneur and allowing them to showcase their products and second one for registering the tourists and allowing them to search the products or services on offer and book according to their need. (Figure 3)      

Figure 3
Suggestive Home Page Design for
the S.M.I.L.E’s online Platform

3.3.1. Designing the First Major Module (for the Entrepreneurs)

After signing up with the newly created Id  and password the persons will be directed to a page which will allow them to fill in the required details as an entrepreneur. The page will have five ‘Sub-Menus’ each having specific functions. The first sub-menu ‘ABOUT’ will ask the entrepreneur to fill in the details such as entrepreneur’s name, proposed company name, address, contact details including phone number, email address. Further it will be required to upload the photograph of the person, as well as the scan copies of any address proof and the passport, because the security of the tourist has been given the highest priority in this model. So the detailed information about the entrepreneur is a must to get verified and registered over this platform (Figure: 2.2). Finally one has to click over the ‘Save and submit’ button to move in to the second sub-menu i.e. ‘ACCOMODATION’. Here one can feed in the details of any accommodation facility available with him, which he would like to rent to the tourists such as own home stay, PG accommodations, own Tents etc. He will also be required to fill in the type and number of room he has, its maximum capacity, facilities available, and the price for the specific category of rooms. He may also upload the picture of the available accommodation units for the tourists, to have an insight of it (Figure: 2.2).

Figure 4
Suggestive design for the Sub-Menus
i.e. ‘About’ & ‘Accommodation’

Upon saving the above details, the third sub-menu i.e. ‘FOOD & BEVERAGE’ will get activated which allow the entrepreneur to fill in the details regarding the  food and beverage facilities available with him such as in house dining, well equipped dining hall, cafeteria, room service or small restaurant etc. It will also allow uploading any picture of above facilities for tourist’s convenience. Further details of various cuisines being served such as local cuisine, Indian food preparations, Chinese snacks, and bakery preparations, along with their delicious pictures may also be uploaded to give a better choice option for the food loving tourists. The fourth sub-menu which will appear after saving the above details is ‘PACKAGES’. It will allow the entrepreneur to sell any unique packages such as religious tour, adventure tour, community walks, cooking classes, tour of industrial manufacturing units & handicraft production areas, plantation tour etc. (Figure 5). He can feed in the details of any such package like name, duration, period of offering; price and most importantly he can create the itinerary by himself through the inbuilt itinerary development module (uniqueness). Upon saving the above details the fifth and final sub-menu i.e. ‘GOVERNANCE’ will get activated (Figure 5). This is the most important part of the Entrepreneur’s registration as it will generate a Unique Entrepreneur Code (UEC) and ask for filling in important information about the entrepreneur like date of birth, level of education, languages known, PAN card number and current bank account details to which the money will be credited when any of his product is purchased online by the tourists. The last section on this page features the links for applying for the ‘registration under shop and establishment act’, ‘certification from department of Tourism’ and certification from FSSAI-Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (optional), which will automatically get selected once the earlier information are filled in.

Figure 5
Suggestive design for the Sub-Menus
i.e. ‘Packages’&’ Governance’

The fourth and final link i.e. applying for VAT/TIN number will only be activated once the annual transaction exceeds the limit above which a TIN number has been made mandatory by the sales tax department.  Now finally the entrepreneur will have to click the ‘save and apply’ link for the SMILE Registration which will open a gateway for the payment of registration fees.  Upon the successful payment of the fees, the submitted details will be electronically transferred to the concerned departments (Govt.) for verification. A small window featuring “Thank you for registering with SMILE” would thus appear which will also provide information regarding the further modes of communication i.e. via e-mail, phone, or ‘APPLICATION STATUS’ link on the sub-menu bar. At any point during the entire process the entrepreneur may sign off through the ‘Log out’ button and the details which are saved earlier will remain intact in the entrepreneur’s personal id, which can be edited later before the final application being sent for verification. Only after the Government verification, the entrepreneur and his offered products and services will be made available to the tourist over this online platform website.

3.3.2. Designing the Second Major Module (for the Tourists)

Unlike the earlier module after signing up with the newly created Id and password the tourists will be directed to a page which will allow them to search the various tourism related products and services on offer. The page will have five ‘Sub-Menus’ each having specific functions. The first sub-menu ‘SEARCH’ will give the opportunity to the tourists, to search as per certain criteria like, area of interest, period of travel, destination (country/state/district), products (accommodation/packages), price range etc. (Figure 6).  Upon submitting the specific criteria as per the requirement, the search result will display relevant products as per the availability. It will showcase the Unique Entrepreneur Code (UEC), the products offered by him/her and the prices for the same (Figure 6).

Figure 6
Suggestive design for the Sub-Menu ‘Search’
(including search result)

If a tourist wants to check the details of the entrepreneur, then he/she may click upon the code (UEC), and the details of the entrepreneur will appear in a flash showing the name, address, as well as the Entrepreneur’s Smiley Ratings (ESR) based on the earlier tourist’s reviews. The contact details will remain covered in order to protect any kind of illegal financial transaction bypassing the module (Figure 7).

Figure 7
Suggestive design for the Sub-Menu ‘Search’
(Entrepreneur & room details)

Further the detailed features of the ‘products/packages appearing in the search result’ can also be viewed by the tourist just by clicking over the same. It will show the type of the room, capacity, availability, facilities, pictures as well as the Smiley ratings for the room (Figure: 2.5). In case of a package it will showcase the duration of the package, period of offer, itinerary, and price as well as the smiley ratings for the package. Here the ‘Booking’ option allow the tourist to book that particular accommodation or package and make the payment online (Net banking/CC.DC) after uploading a valid Id proof. The money is then directly transferred to the entrepreneur’s bank account registered with S.M.I.L.E. The very moment an automated e-mail specifying the details of the purchase is send to the Tourist’s ‘registered email-Id and mobile number’ along with the contact details of the entrepreneur. Similarly the entrepreneur will also receive the detail of the purchase as well as the contact details of the tourist both over the registered E-mail as well as through SMS over the registered mobile number (RMN). This will facilitate the further communication among the guest and the host. Apart from the ‘SEARCH’ sub-menu which allows the tourist to carry out above activities, there are four other sub-menus which allows the tourist to look at the ‘BOOKING HISTORY’, make any ‘CANCELLATION’, to leave the ‘FEEDBACK’ and to check out the ‘REFUND STATUS’ in case of cancellation prior to the cut-off date. Finally the Log-out button allows the tourists to signoff at any moment and keeps their search details and transactions secured.

3.4. Application & Implementation of “S.M.I.L.E.-Module” : (

As far as the application of the above model is concerned it has been designed specifically keeping the needs of the people staying in rural areas and very small cities of the country as it was found that out of 270 residents surveyed during the field research 205 residents showed their willingness to get connected with the tourism industry directly/indirectly (76%). The above module will be very much applicable for those who have got basic awareness regarding the benefits of tourism, the resources in the nearby areas as well as the facilitating products which are available at their disperse (such as rooms, food, vehicles etc.). Hence the household women, elderly people, unemployed youth, person with disability and villagers who are willing to be a part of this service sector can be readily accepted in to this system. Moreover the areas of its application will expand from providing rooms, food and beverage, transportation, and packages to selling of indigenous commodities and handicraft products online. Further as it is a very much user friendly system, a common man with very basic knowledge regarding the use of internet and mobile phones will be able to access as well as help others to get the benefit out of the above module.

The development and implementation of the above module (S.M.I.L.E) will require co-ordination and cooperation from various Government Departments including Ministry of Tourism (MOT). In the initial phase as suggested a co-ordination committee/ a Project Steering committee need to be constituted by the MOT who will continuously look after the activities starting from the development of S.M.I.L.E’s online platform to its final implementation. The Online module/Website has to be developed and maintained by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) Govt of India in close co-ordination with the researcher and eminent scholars in the field of tourism related businesses. One of the major concern during its development is the ‘encryption’ and interlinking of the SMILE’s website with the Websites of MOT, FHRAI (Federation of Hotel & Restaurant association of India), IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation), State department of Labour, State Tourism Boards, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India)  and website of State’s department of Sales Tax. Apart from the above it has to be interlinked with financial institutions (Banks, CC companies) and various payment gateways for the purpose of financial transaction. Moreover it should also have the provision of interlinking facility for its promotion over the social media. Before the final implementation/launching of the Website, the major task lies with the establishment of S.M.I.L.E Offices/Counters by the State Tourism Boards at the several regional tourism offices/VICs (Visitor Information Centre). These counters will facilitate the interested entrepreneurs (with little knowledge of internet), in opening their registered IDs, filling up the details and applying for the same.

In the next phase once the website is floored over the internet it will enable every individual to register them and apply for an entrepreneurship registration over the SMILE platform. Hence a dedicated server for storing the huge data related to the entrepreneurs and their products is a must for the above project. Once the application is submitted along with the registration fees, the information will be electronically transferred to the concerned State Tourism Board, State’s department of Labour, FHRAI and FSSAI.  Then the tourism department of the state will send a small inspection committee for inspection of the products/services mentioned in the application. The committee should comprise of a Gov  tourism official, a certified hotelier of that region (also a member of FHRAI) What is it? a Govt. regd. Tour Operator. Similarly after the inspection of the ‘Labour inspector’ and the ‘FSSAI inspector’, if the claimed products are found suitable to be offered to the tourists, then he will be certified and the detailed list of products along with the ‘UEC’ will be featured on the website. It can then only be viewed and accessed by the tourists. 

As far as the funding of the above project is concerned it would get a major boost due to its functioning technique which involves partnering with many government organisations. Thus it will be helpful in creating a pool of funds from various government bodies. Further it could be associated with the various national level programmes involved in creating human resource for tourism sector such as CBSP (Capacity Building for Service Providers) scheme, HSRT (Hunar Se Rozgar Tak), Sustainable, Rural & and community based Tourism Projects and Skill India & and Digital India Campaign etc.

3.5. Beneficial Aspects & Limitations of the S.M.I.L.E. Module: (Objective-4)

Apart from the earlier discussed benefits like women empowerment, overcoming the loneliness issue of the elderly people, employment generation for youth & and disable people, and solving the socio-economic issues of the rural people etc. there are numerous other benefits which are discussed below.

Creation of local independent entrepreneurs at the destination level will be helpful in meeting the highly increasing tourist demand around the major tourist destinations.

Elimination of intermediary and direct interaction between the tourist and the entrepreneurs will result in a dual benefit i.e. it will yield direct business to the owner and capturing the medium to low spending tourist segment.

There is no cost involved in the promotion of the products and services, rather the entrepreneurs will get the advantage of the promotions lead by the MOT.

It (SMILE) ensures the safety and security of both the tourist and entrepreneurs by providing a multiple verification system.

The government will be able to keep strict control over the quality of the products and services being offered over this platform. It will result in a high level of guest satisfaction as well as earn better feedback and good will for the local entrepreneurs. 

As the above system will keep an eye over all the financial transactions between the service provider and the tourist, the chances of tax pilferage is very low.

One of the most unique features of this project ‘S.M.I.L.E’ is that, it will be a self-evaluating module, i.e. the success of the project (performance evaluation) can be measured on the basis of the annual sales turnover over this platform.

The user-friendliness of the above platform, the itinerary making software & and automated online transaction is also an added benefit for the local community people with very less knowledge of internet.

This platform also empowers the tourist to choose from an array of products and services, just by the click of a button.

The hyperlinks of various websites like IRCTC & and State Transport Corporation sites will help the tourist to make their travel arrangements to the destination.

The Government registration of the entrepreneurs will also provide them an upper hand to take the benefit of several Government schemes.

It (SMILE) will also provide an opportunity to the local community to interact with people from different cultures and share knowledge & and information.

Another major benefit is that the people with limited resources to offer may interlink themselves with the local stakeholders to provide the products and services.

The above project will also give a major boost to the upcoming tourism segments like rural tourism, agricultural tourism, health tourism, community based tourism etc.

3.5.1. Limitations of the S.M.I.L.E.-Module

The implementation of the project over a huge geographic area automatically adds on various issues associated with the concept like partnering of various government bodies, the verification process and the co-operation of the State tourism Boards with the Central MOT. Apart from these there are several other limitations which were confronted while developing the idea, hence it would be better to discuss them in the recommendation section citing the scope for its promotion and future developments.         

3.6 Recommendations (Objective-5)

To come up with the foremost recommendation of developing the website by the NIC it is also required to be featured on the website of Central Ministry of Tourism & and State Tourism Boards, for its promotion.

Apart from this as the provision kept earlier during the designing phase, it should also be promoted over the social networking Sites (NSW- Face book, Twitter, linked in etc.) to have a greater reach to the potential tourists across the Globe.

Further the partnership with the bank for sharing the customer database (potential tourist), can also be another mode of promoting the unique packages/ experiences available over ‘SMILE’. (unlike IRCTC)

The website links of the several vetted Co-operative societies & SHG-Self Help Groups (like Khaadi Gramudyog, Bhutico, Bayanika etc.) selling handlooms & and handicrafts online, can also be provided over this platform at the initial phase.

Keeping an eye over the limitations of the SMILE-Module, the future developments could be in the form of providing separate ‘Sub-Menus’ for “Transportation facilities”, “Unique experience”, “Indigenous commodities”, “Handicrafts & Handlooms” etc.

These Sub-Menus will allow specific entrepreneurs to sell transportation facility available with them, any unique experiences such as cooking class, touring of handicraft manufacturing unit, agricultural & and rural activities etc. carried out by them, selling Indigenous commodities produced over their areas, as well as the unique handicraft products manufactured by them.

Further scope for development can be seen for the modification in the “Food and Beverage” ‘Sub-menu’ to allow the local food joints to feature their food outlets and their local menus over the site.

Hence it would also require addition of separate search criteria (in the tourist search window) like “Food & Beverage”, “Transportation”, “Unique experience”, “Indigenous commodities”, “Handicrafts & Handlooms” along with the earlier criteria of “Accommodation” and “Packages”.

Another recommendation for the website could be the additional links to display “Fast Facts” about the destination being searched by the tourist such as ‘nearby places of interest’, weather, temperature, humidity levels etc. to assist the tourists.

Lastly the provision ‘to create and combine multiple itineraries’ could be developed to enable the tourists prepare a grand tour by combining many small itineraries.

4. Conclusions

A fast moving world based on technological advancement shows a greater & and sustainable scope for the above concept as it has tried to connect each and every aspect of the ‘developing tourism arena’ over an online platform. A clear representation of the supply chain mechanism also displays the huge beneficial aspects of the project which can help in achieving sustainable development goals. Hence the potential lying with the community and the Indian tourism sector if put in to an organised interlinked chain through the suggested project, it would not only create independent local entrepreneurs at the community level but also help them to solve majority of their societal as well as economic issues. Finally the noble thought behind the development of the above platform if put in to action, will certainly develop a “Huge SMILE Community” spreading SMILEs over the faces of billions of tourists & and community members. 

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1. Ph.D *, NET-JRF, Master in Tourism management, BSc. in Hospitality & Hotel administration. e-mail: debasis_chef@yahoo.com