Home to the warmest people on earth, India is a mosaic of diverse cultural experiences. It is not just a country but also an emotion. An emotion which we want every person to feel on this planet. The topmost officials from the tourism industry talk to Travel Turtle about the significance of marketing to boost tourism in India and showcase India as the number one tourist destination.
Shivangi Tomar
Tourism marketing is entirely associated with marketing strategies in the field of tourism. Today, there are several countries in the world, where tourism plays a major role in enhancing the GDP. In such a scenario, tourism marketing becomes an important aspect to be covered. The tourism sector has emerged as an important sector of the Indian economy. It is the need of the hour to analyze and identify the key areas where India is lagging behind.
The Swadesh Darshan Scheme aims to encourage theme-based tourism to promote, grow, and capitalize on India’s tourist potential. As of March 2022, under the SDS scheme, the Ministry of Tourism has invested Rs. 5,500 crores and sanctioned approximately 76 projects in 31 states and union territories. A similar budget should be formulated to concentrate and focus specifically on the marketing of the states in the country. Now tourism marketing is all about applying various marketing techniques and strategies to boost the tourism industry of every state.
Effective strategic marketing plan to boost tourism
For successful tourism marketing to take place, one thing which is required the most is that the state should speak for itself in such a way that its voices can be heard in the targeted markets. This way they will be able to generate tourists successfully. Also, they need to be extremely careful and attentive in providing touristic services to the people flowing in. This is because if the tourists are happy with the services and the overall outlook of the place, chances are that they will spread the word and this will definitely bring in more people, in turn boosting the tourism sector of the country. In the case of tourism marketing, it is easier to find and draw the attention of the targeted audience towards the destination by providing encouraging content. Therefore, strategic planning and branding are key to effective tourism marketing.
Promoting Incredible India in G-20 worldwide
India has a rich culture and extremely royal heritage. But if we don’t showcase it to the world, what’s the whole point? Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism – Government of India speaks about the importance of grabbing the opportunity to showcase India as an outstanding destination for tourists from all across the globe. “G-20 is a group of remarkable countries and hence it’s our prime focus along with the state tourism ministers to provide a truly Indian experience to all the delegates who will come to India”, says Shri Arvind Singh. He also adds, “In the past, we have frequently spent a significant amount of dollars on global marketing. We are working on restarting a more effective marketing campaign soon, with more preference being given to the digital form of media.” He talks about how global pundits have predicted that the tourism industry will grow faster than the global economy, all owing to marketing. “The rich experience and warmth a tourist will get; they will not get all that in a single country in the world, the range of experiences you can get in India; one will have to travel a continent to get that satisfaction. The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people are well-known”, is what Shri Arvind Singh has to say to every foreign tourist who hasn’t been to India yet. He focuses on promoting the same message through different forms of media and spreading the word worldwide.
Touching the raw nerve of India’s Tourism Marketing
Shri Kanwar Pal, Tourism Minister of Haryana, quotes an incident where he visited Europe and realized that India was much better in terms of tourist spots, history, culture, monuments and tourist activities. He said, “People from all around the world visit Europe in bulk and Europe is considered to be a number one tourist destination, that is because their marketing strategy is always at its peak. It’s because the destination promotes itself as a strong brand and that is what India should do. India needs to work harder on its marketing.” He speaks about how important it is for the central government and the state government to sit together and formulate an effective marketing plan for boosting India as the most loved tourist destination. “Our country should focus on religious tourism as India is popular for the same. People are fascinated with the diverse religions in India and that is what should be our prime highlight while marketing a destination.” He emphasizes the homestay policy which has been recently brought into action in Haryana. Haryana is focusing highly on farm and adventure tourism and as soon as these policies start showing results, tourists are going to be attracted to the destination automatically with the help of active promotions and prime marketing.
Overseas Promotion- An aspect not to be overlooked
The visibility of a particular product is very important if one plans to boost their marketing strategy and get the maximum results out of it. A plan without execution is futile. Mr Rajiv Mehra, IATO President talks to us about focusing on promoting Incredible India worldwide in order for tourism to flourish in the country. “We have been requesting the ministry to support us and start overseas promotion. Until and unless, promotions don’t begin, it will remain ineffectual. We require India to be visible, which is why there needs to be some kind of a strong word in the market which allures the tourists to our country,” says Rajiv Mehra. He strongly believes that it is the responsibility of the government to squander money for showcasing India as the top tourist destination. He adds, “In order to achieve the vision we want till 2028, the marketing game has to be made strong.”
India is an experiential destination with a kaleidoscope of ancient heritage and culture. Tourism Marketing in developing countries as a growth sector resides in its potential to facilitate growth in GDP; create employment; increase foreign exchange earnings, and attract capital investment. Developing countries have recognised its importance and introduced tourism as a major part of their national development strategies. India is a beautiful country which needs to be marketed and promoted beautifully in a similar way. Whenever a traveller contemplates his travel plans, the first option that pops into his mind is our country and the emotion is – “Namaste India”.
