TRICHY MARKET ANALYSIS

BY KARTHIKEYAN THANGAVELU

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI DISTRICTDISTRICT PROFILETrichy or Thiruchirapalli is one of the important districts in Tamil Nadu. As per Census 2011, Trichy has an population of 2.71 million. The composition of urban/ rural proportion is 49.15% to 50.85%. Based on the population of urban agglomerations, it has been ranked 52nd city with a population greater than 1 million. As per 2011, it has a GDP of 21.39 thousand crores. As of 2010, the average GDP growth rate based on 2004-05 prices is 13%. The per capita income based on 2008-2009 prices was Rs. 54,636.

TOURISM TAMILNADU OVERVIEW In 2012, Tamil Nadu saw an total arrival of 1876.99 lakh tourists. Tamil Nadu stands second next to Maharashtra in foreign tourist arrivals ( .36 crores) and third next to Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in domestic tourist arrivals(18.41 crores) In 2012, Tamil Nadu saw a total Foreign Exchange earnings of Rs. 11,823 crores . This was 13.87% increase from the previous year. Among the 788 worldwide sites identified by UNESCO , Tamil Nadu is bestowed with 5 world heritage attractions. The sites are Rock-cut monuments at Mamallapuram, the Big temple at Thanjavur, the Iravadiswara Temple at Darasuram, the Brahadeshwara Temple at Gangaikondacholapuram and the Nilgiris Mountain Railway. The Twelfth plan (2012-2017) of Tamil Nadu has allocated Rs.364 crores for tourism development in the State. This includes Rs.159 crores bank loan from ADB ( Asian Development Bank). Below chart gives the list of the various tourism circuits identified for development , estimated development cost and funding type identified by the Ministry of tourism and State Government of Tamil Nadu.

TRICHY OVERVIEW In 2011 , Trichy saw a total tourist arrivals of 63.25 Lakhs . In Foreign Tourist arrivals (2.4 Lakhs) , it is ranked fifth and in Domestic Tourist arrivals(60.85 Lakhs) , It is ranked tenth among the 32 districts in Tamil Nadu. The major tourism spots identified by the ministry of tourism are :

Source : Ministry of Tourism, Government of India Below chart compares the Domestic and Foreign tourist arrivals in Tamil Nadu and Thiruchirapalli district. Trichy captured an average domestic market share of 4.8% and average International market share of 6.1%. Between 2002 -2011, Thiruchirapalli has recorded an inconsistent growth. The biggest abnormality in growth can be noted during the year 2009/10. According to TSA research , the demand for travel and tourism is expected to grow by 8.2% between 2012 and 2019.The Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) of Tamil Nadu targeted the Trade, Hotel and Restaurants sector to grow at a rate of 13% per annum. Based on our research, we expect the Domestic and Foreign tourist arrivals to grow at the rate of 10%.

TRANSPORTATIONThe three main modes of transportation in trichy are roads, rails and air. We have studied all these segments to understand how well the city is connected to other domestic and international markets. This will enable us to understand our future potential markets and anticipate our future tourism growth rate. Road TransportationTrichy is well connected to other districts of Tamilnadu by National, State and Major district roads. Majority of the domestic and Foreign tourist use the road and rails to connect to the city. Below chart details the National Highways passing through the town. It should be noted that Tier I and Tier II cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Puducherry have been well connected by National Highways to Trichy.

The below map indicates the network of National and State Highways passing through Tamil Nadu. It also depicts how Tamil Nadu is highly connected with other southern States. All the roads are maintained by the Tamil Nadu Highway Department.

Railway Transportation

Tiruchirapalli Railway Junction ( TPJ), located at centre of the city, is one of the profitable stations under the southern railway division. About 120 express and passenger trains passes through the junction and it handles passenger traffic about 50,000 people per day. As per 2012-2013 Southern Railways report , Tiruchi is among the top ten passenger earning stations. The Station has about 7 platforms. Trichy is the sixth major station to be brought under the scope of ISS(Intergrated Security Scheme) . Tiruchirapalli has been selected as one among 980 stations identified as "Adarsh" stations for development.Air TransportationTiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ) ,located on the NH210 highway , is 5km south of the city center. As of 2012, Tiruchirapalli is the 10th busiest International airport in India. The airport has currently a passenger handling capacity of 400 and cargo handling capacity of 250 metric tonnes. The airport is one of the profit making units of the 125 airports maintained by the Airport port authority of India The below chart gives you a glimpse of the operating statistics at trichy airport.r

The below chart details the growth of Thiruchirapalli airport during the period 2006 to 2012. AAI expects the passenger traffic to increase at a rate of 13%. In the International sector, Trichy airport is connected with Dubai, the only region in the Gulf sector , Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the only regions in the Asia Pacific region, points out a fact that excess potential remains untapped. Burma (Myanmar), a home for a million plus Tamil people , still remains unexploited. In the Domestic sector, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mangalore, kozhikode and Varanasi , traffic potential still remains unexploited. Trichy has become the home for many Africans , who are currently studying in the city under the UNESCO program. So Trichy airport has a potential for growth.

EDUCATIONTrichy being a Tier II city has some of the best educational Institutes in the country. Apart from Anna University , Bharathidasan Institute of Management and SRM University, Premier educational institutes like the Indian institute of management ,Indian Institute of technology, Tamilnadu National Law school and National Institiute of Technology are located in the district. About Twenty Engineering colleges and twenty two Art and Science colleges are present in the district. Thiruchirapalli is now the most favoured educational destination in Tamil Nadu.

HOSPITALSTrichy is fast growing into a low cost Medical tourism hub. Some of the best multi speciality medical facilities are now available at trichy. The below table lists the major hospital located in the city.

INDUSTRIESThe major public sector companies in Trichy are Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project (HAPP), Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), Ordinance Factory(OFT) , Railway Central workshop and Cethar Ltd. Major oil companies like Indian oil corporation and Bharat petroleum corporation have their petrol pumping units .

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Electronic Corporation of India ( ELCOT) had identified 147.61 acres of land as special economic zones(SEZ) for Information Technology development at Navalpattu, near Trichy airport. In 2010, with a built up space of 50,000 sqft , an IT park was launched with the hope that it will be occupied by mid size companies and attract other IT gaints to invest in the SEZ. However , due to the economic slowdown in the US and Europe, Information Technology development did not move as forecasted for Trichy. Today, only two IT midsized companies operate from the ELCOT IT park.

The list of Business process outsourcing companies in the city are Capgemini, Allsec Technologies , Omega Healthcare, First Source, 24*7 Hunting , Scientific Publishing services and Sutherland.Using Chennai reality model, we have graded the city specific factors responsible for IT/ITES in a grading scale of 1 to 5. We do find that Trichy has a lot of scope for IT/ITES development. In the forth coming years , we do expect growth in the sector.

CONCLUSIONRecently, The Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, announced 1800 crores projects in Srirangam, Thiruchirapalli, her constituency. With two more years for the State government rule, we would want to watch the proposals come to reality. Trichy is still waiting to be included in the Phase 11 Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal, which could boost the city infrastructure. The Integrated Bus Terminal at Thiruchiraplli, has been a decade dream for the city residents. Airport Authority of India land acquisition plans for trichy airport has been stalled by the Defence ministry. However , with the lokh Sabha election round the corner, we hope for positive change. With a positive political climate, good International and domestic connectivity, low cost world class medical facilities, Premium B-schools and technical institutes , prospects for more industrial and IT/ITES development , we conclude that Trichy is continuing on a growth path.