Destination Attributes and Tourist Satisfaction in Jaipur as a Culture Tourism Destination

Introduction

Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with lifestyle of the people, history, art, architecture, religion(s), fairs, festivals and other elements that helped shape their way of life in a particular geographical area. It also includes the travelling to heritage places like famous monuments, museums, archeological sites etc. India is known for its rich cultural heritage and an element of mysticism, which is why tourists come to India to experience it for themselves.

India is one of the oldest civilizations with variety of rich cultural and natural heritage. It has the world’s youngest mountain chains from east to west, to be called The Great Himalayas. Its rich architectural legacy dating to an ancient past with a great philosophical thought, timeless monuments, magnificent temples, breathtaking beaches, nature-majestic mountains, wonderful wildlife make India never ceases to lure the travelers. India has fascinated people from all over the world with her geographical and cultural locale. In the north India, there are different culture tourism destinations which attract large number of foreign and domestic tourists (Singh, 2002).

The Rajasthan state of India is having number of culture tourism destinations including famous pink city ‘Jaipur’ which enriched with its handicraft, fairs, folk dances, music forts, palaces, museums and people of different religions. It is an enthralling and memorable experience to one and all. India is also a tourist paradise and has all unique features of modernity and traditional hospitality (Dasgupta, 2011). Due to rich cultural resources, Jaipur has registered phenomenal growth and projected as ultimate culture tourism spot.

In this chapter, an endeavor has been made to provide an overview of tourism in Jaipur with particular reference to experience of tourist towards different destination attributes (facilities and services). The chapter starts with brief introduction of culture tourism, overview of India as tourist destination followed by description of Jaipur tourism potential number of tourist arrivals and focus of the chapter.

The city of Jaipur looks vibrant and colorful with its unique architecture and natural surroundings that makes it important destination of India. Jaipur is well-connected by road, rail and air. The city railway station and airport are the major points of entry and exit to the state. The Jaipur Airport is located at a distance of 13 km from the main city. Most of the domestic and international airlines operate to and from Jaipur. Flights to Jaipur from Delhi and Mumbai are frequent. The regular international flights operate mostly from Jaipur to Sharjah, Muscat, Dubai, Bangkok and other destinations. The Jaipur Railway Station is one of the main stations of Rajasthan. Most of the cities and towns in India are connected to Jaipur by railway. There are a number of trains that run almost on a daily basis to and from Jaipur. Some of the important trains to Jaipur are; Shatabdi, Mandore Express, Jammu Tavi Express, Ashram Express, Ahmadabad Mail, Ibadat Express etc.

Jaipur is a major tourist destination with many places of historical and religious importance. Some of the important tourist attractions include Wind palace as one of the important hallmarks of Jaipur that attracts tourists from all over the world. The City palace in Jaipur is one of the architectural wonders that reflect a perfect blend of the Rajasthan and Mughal architectural style. The famous observatory knows as Jantar Mantar also attracts several tourists throughout the year particularly those interested in study the movements of stars and planets. The Albert Hall museum in city is a magnificent building that served as the store house of artifacts and paintings of the past. The fort of Jaigarh provides a bird’s eye view of Jaipur and frequently touched by tourists from country and overseas territories. Another famous and crucial attraction of the city is known as Rambagh palace which is the former residence of Maharaja of Jaipur, and now one of the luxurious hotels in Jaipur. During the vacations, large influx of visitors can be seen in the palace. Amber Fort built by Meena dynasty and later ruled by Raja Man Singh, is fort witnesses numerous tourists all through the year. From religious point of view, the Birla temple also situated in the city as a wing of several Birla temples located across the country. The temple looks stunning during night.