INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
From Gandhi to the Ganges, Bollywood to the Taj Mahal, India is a land of mystique,
contrasts and contradictions. While it appeals to the romantic imagination, it is a
country where tourism has huge potential to be unleashed. The means to achieve this
goal is tourism marketing in India.
The mission of tourism marketing in India should be to promote India as a desired
destination to the traveler, not simply as an attractive vacation but as an experience to
cherish.
From the earliest historical periods, travel has been a fascinating activity for people all
over the world, be it for exploration, trade or pleasure. Nowadays, travel has become a
way of life. Owing to industrial development, evolution in transportation and rise in
disposable income, the urge to travel has become irresistible. More so in the face of
increasing globalization.
Tourism is a human activity of great significance. It involves a temporary break from
normal routine to engage with experiences that contrasts with everyday life, with the
mundane. Over the years, the definition of tourism has undergone a change along with
the historical changes. According to Himziker and Krapf tourism is the sum of the
phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of nonresidents, in so
far as it does not lead to permanent residence and is not connected to any earning
activity.
With the increasing growth of tourism and its associated opportunities, the concept of
marketing tourism in India assumes a lot of significance.

In making an attempt to explore the potential of marketing tourism in India, the report
focuses on the analysis of the Indian tourism sector while drawing parallels from other
parts of the world. A few marketing strategies to market tourism in India have been
discussed. The report also discusses innovative approaches to marketing tourism like
rural tourism marketing.
The scope of the report includes governmental role, international organizations, types
of tourism India can promote and opportunities as well as the challenges associated
with them.

THE INDIAN SCENARIO

THE INDIAN SCENARIO

Tourism has major potential for India at our stage of transformation and development.
It puts equal value on our untouched natural resources and culture. As India opened her
gates towards a more open economy, tourism has evolved into a highly structured
industry with the potential to earn immense revenues. Being in the services industry, it
offers high value-added markets with considerable returns on investments. Tourism has
a multiplier effect on people involved in hospitality, transportation, travel agencies,
proprietors of tourist business and entrepreneurs supporting the tourism industry.
Indias tourism industry has also recorded phenomenal growth. The rate of international
arrivals in India in recent years has been to the tune of about 19 lakh arrivals per year.
The unprecedented growth in tourism in India has made it the second largest foreign
exchange earner. This is not surprising since India possesses a whole range of
attractions normally sought by tourists and which includes natural attractions like
landscapes, scenic beauty, mountains, wildlife, beaches, major rivers and manmade
attractions such as monuments, forts, palaces and havelis. However, in global terms,
inspite of such attractions, tourist arrivals in India are a mere 0.30% of the world
arrivals. Receipts are similarly low, just a 0.50% of the world receipts. We are still
quite far from the target of 50 lakh tourist arrivals per year.
Most popular destination
Rajasthan has emerged in the last decade as one of the favorite tourist destinations for
domestic and foreign tourists alike.
The state receives 600,000 foreign tourists and 7,000,000 domestic tourists every year.
The world famous "golden triangle", comprising Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, has put

Jaipur on the world tourism map. Almost 60 percent of foreign tourists visiting India
visit these places. Rajasthan has registered record tourist arrivals in the first half of
2004 of over 400,000 foreign tourists and 5.5 million domestic visitors. This has
effectively meant a 63 percent rise in foreign tourists and 33 percent increase in
domestic visitors to the state over the previous year.

Some additional statistics are presented below in order to reinforce the fact that Indian
tourism is one major sector to look out for investors and entrepreneurs alike.

LIMITATION OF STUDY

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

The data is not available on the net (statistical).

The questionnaires made were artificially filled.

The customers showed fake response.

There was no originality.

CASE STUDY

The world of planes, ships and hotels is changing, and its safe to say that it has been
going through a slight bit of an uphill climb. First came the GFC, where consumers
tightened purse strings and kept vacationing to a weekend away at Pops farm. Then
came the emergence of online sites that compared prices, offered great deals and
changed the whole industry travel agents were no longer a tourism providers
gateway to consumers, the internet was!
As the industry looed online as a key communication tool to reach consumers, brands
began investing in integrated campaigns that included a range of media channels.
As David Brown, managing director of DDB Sydney (the agency behind the new
Theres Nothing Like Australia campaign) said: Selling a country as diverse as
Australia to the rest of the world is not just about creating one ad or one campaign
anymore our goal is to creative a platform that is strong and flexible enough to host a
number of different campaigns and marketing initiatives
Looking at the seven tourism case studies we have here, it seems like other key players
in the tourism market are following suit, and gaining huge rewards from this
diversification.
From P&O Cruises iPad app that saw over 2000 downloads in just one month to
Mirvac hotels a jump in online revenue of over 300% thanks to effective SEO while
digital was one of root causes that demanded a change in marketing strategies, it is also
proving to be a breath of fresh air for the tourism economy.
This case study discusses the innovative Atithi Devo Bhavah (ADB) program initiated
by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in India. This program was launched in 2005 with
the objective of developing tourism in India as part of MoT's 'Incredible India!'
campaign.

Though the 'Incredible India!' campaign was successful in increasing the number of
tourists, the experience of tourists in India left much to be desired due to the
inconvenience caused by various touts, guides, and tour operators.

The ADB program was targeted at various stakeholders such as taxi drivers, tourist
guides, small tourist operators, and the general public.
Marketing Management Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations,
Strategies, Marketing Management, Case Studies
It aimed to change their attitude and behavior toward foreign tourists by stressing on
the aspect that a guest has been held in high esteem in India since ancient times. This
case study discusses the key components of the ADB program and the steps taken by
the MoT to roll out the ADB program. The case study also covers the mass media social
awareness campaigns that were initiated by the MoT as part of the ADB program.
Issues:
This case will help the learner to

Understand

the

issues

and

constraints

faced

by

public

sector

organization/governmental organization in planning and implementing an innovative

program
Understand the issues in Tourism (destination) development and marketing and how
the Indian Tourism ministry addressed these issues
Understand the issues in social marketing and how the Indian Tourism ministry
formulated and implemented an innovative social awareness program
Understand the challenges faced by a public sector organization/governmental
organization in sustaining an innovative program
This case is intended for use in Master in Public Sector Management (MPSM) level
programs as part of the Public Sector Innovation course. This case can also be
effectively used as part of the Services Marketing, Tourism Marketing and Social
Marketing, Marketing Communication courses. The case can also be effectively used in
Faculty Development Programs and 'Train the Trainer' programs.

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The tourism sector in India is witnessing an impressive growth curve.

This is evident from the table given below.
India Estimates and Forecasts
2004

2014

% of
India

INR bn

% of
Growth1

INR bn

Tot

Growth2
Tot

Personal Travel &

927.3

10.3

3,612.90

6.1

9.1

114.5

---

13.9

387.4

---

7.6

36

4.3

96.2

5.1

Capital Investment

485.3

7.2

7.7

1,663.90

7.8

7.7

Visitor Exports

202.3

4.8

11.9

779.4

3.3

Other Exports

81

1.9

14.1

487.9

2.1

14

1,846.30

---

10

7,027.70

---

8.8

T&T Industry GDP

618.4

9.1

2,002.30

2.1

7.1

T&T Economy GDP

1,477.40

4.9

8.7

4,972.50

5.2

7.5

11,404.00

2.6

12,441.20

2.6

0.9

24,456.60

5.6

2.1

27,790.00

5.7

1.3

Tourism
Business Travel
Government
Expenditures

Travel & Tourism

Demand

T&T Industry
Employment
T&T Economy
Employment
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council

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Over the years, tourism has emerged as a major segment of Indian economy
contributing significantly to the foreign exchange earnings which have increased from
Rs. 32 crores in 1974-75 to more than Rs.10000 crores by 2001. In the year 2000, 5
million tourists visited India. The highest number of foreign tourists i.e. 43% visited
India for pleasure, 25% for business and 11% for meeting friends and relatives. The
tourists below the age of 30 years are predominantly pleasure seekers. The pride of
place continues to be the Golden Triangle i.e. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur circuit.
India's visibility on the world tourist map has just got better. The World Travel and
Tourism Council (WTTC) selected New Delhi to host its fifth Global Travel and
Tourism Summit in April 2005.
India has the potential to become the number one tourist destination in the world with
the demand growing at 10.1 per cent per annum, the WTTC has predicted. In India,
the Government spending on tourism is 153rd in the world at 0.9 per cent. China
spends 3.8 of its budget on tourism and rates fifth in receiving the largest tourist
arrivals (31.2 million) after France, U.S., Spain and Italy.

HOSPITALITY SECTOR
With the spurt in tourism, it is only natural that Indian hospitality is witnessing a boom.
Earlier, top Indian companies were restricted to the major towns and cities. But today
the scenario has changed. The top companies are setting up hotels in smaller towns and
cities. Several foreign chains have entered the Indian market. The result is that the
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quality of service has improved. The overseas players have brought in efficient systems
and service standards from Europe and the US. Competition has forced Indian hotel
groups to improve their standards.
Some of the recent expansions announced by the major players are listed below:
The ITC Welcomgroup has invested Rs 1,500 crore and will further invest Rs
1,000-1,500 crore with thrust on super deluxe luxury properties in the key metros.
The Leela Palaces and Resorts plans to invest over Rs 900 crore in three more
hotels in Udaipur, Chennai and Hyderabad.
The Grand Group of Hotels has announced a Rs 1,000 crore expansion taking its
presence to 15 from the current seven.

WAYS TO MARKET TOURISM

India receives three million foreign tourists a year while a small country like Thailand,
with much more limited geographic and historical attraction, receives more than three
times that number and they plan to double it to 20 million tourists in the next decade.

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The importance of tourism is not only the foreign exchange it brings in but, more
importantly, in the employment it generates at several locations and in several layers of
society -- ranging from airline staff to hotel employees and scooter-taxi wallahs.
India is yet to be marketed to its full potential as a tourist destination.
The first step in any marketing exercise is to identify the customer and his or her
needs and inclinations. The major sources of such tourists are the three richest regions
of the world, viz. the US, Western Europe, and Japan. And in those regions, the target
groups we have to attract are people who have the time and the money.
These are usually people who have retired and can afford to explore the world outside
their own immediate reach. The younger backpackers or student-type tourists are not
sufficiently well funded.
Taking our primary target group of retired people, there is one common characteristic
among such people throughout the world. They like to play golf and explore history,
religions, and arts, for which they had little time when they were busy with their
careers.
So far, the Indian tourism industry has focused on selling ancient, medieval, and
Mughal India, the temples and forts of ancient days. This is good but it isn't enough.
Secondly we need to explore opportunities for leisure tourism, and for playing
games like golf. There are people who will come to enjoy India's winter sun, and so
Goa has been marketed, but India has many more beaches.
More recently, Kerala has successfully marketed itself for everything -- from the
ayurvedic massage to its backwaters. India's hill states can easily attract more

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tourists than Nepal does, especially now that Nepal is in trouble, but Nepal is much
better organized for trekkers and mountain-lovers than Uttaranchal or Himachal
Pradesh.
The Japanese and Chinese will willingly do the Buddhist circuit in much greater
numbers, if we can organize a pleasant experience for them in Bihar. Then, our colonial
history presents its own opportunities.
Fortunately, we as a nation have become confident enough in our own standing and
achievements that we can rise above anti-colonial feelings and talk about the colonial
period without inhibitions or resentment.
Although the Mughals colonised India and even converted our people to their religion
four centuries ago, today we take pride in showing tourists monuments like the Taj
Mahal as the pride of India.
With the passage of time, the same is happening to the monuments and cities built by
our European colonisers -- the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the British.
For a European tourist it is often more interesting to see remnants of the adventurers
from their own countries. Even for the Americans, it is easier to relate to such sites as
most of them are descendants of Europeans.
Fortunately, we have several such monuments and sites bearing witness to the history
of our European colonisers. We should use them to market our country.
Lets take the case of Pondicherry. It has several French remnants, including the use of
the French language. In France schoolchildren are still taught about the French empire
in India, which consisted of Pondicherry, Mahe, Karaikkal, and Chandannagar.

15

But perhaps the people who have most historical connections with India are the British
and through them their cousins from the US. The British East India Company began its
operations in Madras.
The other legacy of the British is the plantations of the Nilgiris on the Eastern side and
Munnar on the Western side. The pioneering British planters braved malaria and wild
animals to create the rubber, coffee, and tea estates which are totally Indian-owned
today.
There are very few locations in the world where this can be seen. A travel film on this
section of India in itself can be a great advertisement for India.
In short, if we were to look at different parts of India against the canvas of the history
of the European merchants in India, we can create a whole saga of great interest to
Western tourists.
No other country in Asia has this asset and it is time for us to exploit it by
marketing this part of our history.

PACKAGING: A Tourism Marketing Tool

Time is a valuable commodity for today's travelers. Dual- income families find it
difficult to schedule vacation time; family members often have jobs or activities that
conflict; or an individual's job makes long vacations impractical. Packaging is a popular
technique used for attracting these customers, because packages make travel easier and
more convenient.

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In the hospitality and tourism industry, "packaging" is the process of combining two or
more related and complementary offerings into a single-price offering. A package may
include a wide variety of services such as lodging, meals, entrance fees to attractions,
entertainment, transportation costs (air, auto, train, cab or bus), guide services, or other
similar activities.
Packaging can also create a variety of benefits for participating businesses.
Why Packages Are Popular?
Travel packages have become increasingly popular over the years. They are attractive
because they benefit both the customer and participating businesses; packaging
provides convenience and value to the customer, and added revenue for participating
businesses.
Benefits to the Customer:
Packaging can be an effective marketing tool to provide several customer benefits.
These may include:
Ability to budget for trips. Packages include most of the components a customer
must pay for during a trip. The customer pays at one time and has a good idea of the
trip's total cost.
Increased convenience. Trips can be time consuming and difficult to arrange.
Several telephone calls and letters may be required to arrange for tickets,
accommodations, reservations, and other components of a trip.
Greater economy. Businesses that package can frequently purchase tickets, meals,
and other package components at wholesale prices.

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 Popular programs and activities. Visitors and travelers are often unfamiliar with
many of the activities and attractions in an area: a package can help customers find
them easily.
Specialized interests. Packaging provides a unique opportunity to design
components of a package for specialized interests.
Packaging can be used by businesses to help improve profitability and build
customer volume.
Smooth business patterns. Use packaging during low demand periods to add
attractive features to the business's service or product, thus generating additional
business.
Joint marketing opportunities. Packaging can allow the business to reduce
marketing costs or start a new program one could not normally afford by joining
with one or more businesses to conduct a marketing or advertising program.
Improved target marketing. Packaging can be an effective tool to tailor tourism and
travel products for specific target markets.
Greater holiday weekend business. Packaging can be used to highlight special
holiday weekends by developing services appropriate to the theme of the weekend.
Unique recurring events. Businesses can create their own events that can occur
throughout the year. Events could be tournaments such as chess or bridge or crime
re-enactments that let guests do the detective work.

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 Redirected traffic to lesser-known attractions. Directing visitors to often overlooked

attractions can help in two ways: heavily visited attractions may be offered some
relief, while newly discovered attractions may thrive and prosper.
Items to Consider in Developing a Package:
Before developing a tourism packaging program, the business should devise a
marketing plan through practical marketing research. The business owner should ask
him/herself the following questions:
Are you willing to do market research to determine who your customers are and
what they want?
What are the potential attractions, businesses, or marketing service firms that could
provide a part of the package?
What are potential marketing and promotional networks that will help spread the
word about your product?
Will the physical appearance and service skills of your business match the target
audience?
Does your business have the ability to manage and service the customers you
generate through your packaging program?
Are you prepared for a risk? Because you will be including customer service
activities that are not under your direct control, you will be required to develop
formal, written agreements between the cooperating businesses.
Elements of a Successful Package:

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 Include attractions or demand generators.

Provide value to the customer.
Be well planned and coordinated.
Offer consistent quality and compatibility among elements.
Provide a distinctive customer benefit.
Cover all the details.
Generate a profit.

Rural Tourism: Strategies for Marketing Rural Tourism in India

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India, traditionally, has been a long haul tourist destination and provision of rural
tourist destinations in its basket of destinations will go a long way in showcasing and
marketing India in a better perspective. Further, tourism can also be sold as postconvention destination not only for the conventions held in India but also for
neighbouring countries.
As tourism becomes established as an economic activity, marketing strategies
concentrate on increasing the volume of tourists. This, at times, creates a host of
unforeseen consequences. Thus, it is necessary that the objectives of tourism
development in relation to a region, city or (a rural area) leisure spot be clearly stated.
In fact, the developmental role of marketing has to be kept in mind while marketing
regions, cities or leisure spots(a rural area). This developmental role is to be further
strengthened by socially responsible marketing.
When it comes to cities and leisure spots/heritage sites - particularly in the rural areas,
marketing becomes a major problem. This is because the local bodies are either not
aware about the developmental role of tourism or are constrained by their own politics
or lack of funds. Before we go further in dealing with these aspects it must be noted
that in the marketing of a destination (region, city or leisure spots) we should consider
the following aspects:
Attractions - like promotion of rural tourism around a heritage site
Infrastructure (accommodation, cuisine, hygiene, clean water (basic amenities etc.)
Accessibility (roads, means of transportation)-I gather should not be too far from
railhead or airport: 2-21/2 hr.

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 Carrying capacity of the destination,

Environmental issues (Pollution, Eco-fragility, etc.)
Safety, law and order situation (for both the local population as well as tourists),
etc.
In India we find different destinations in different stages of what is termed as the
product life cycle. For example, a region like Goa, a city like Shimla or a leisure spot
like the Badkal Lake have reached a maturity level. They no more require promotion
and have similarly exhausted their carrying capacity (infrastructural, environmental or
social impacts). Their problem on the contrary is of retaining their image, checking the
decline and doing away with the negative impacts of tourism. In marketing jargon what
they require is internal marketing, product improvement, checking the decline, proper
maintenance, etc.
On the contrary look at a region like Kumaun which is struggling hard to promote its
attractions in different cities (other than Nainital) and rural areas and develop its
tourism products. If proper questions are not posed and answered, the planners and
developers blindly imitate outside concepts and models of development without taking
into consideration the local needs, customs, attitudes and constraints. In such a situation
the destination may not take off at all or the entire developmental investment may go
waste. The questions to be answered and the issues to be resolved would be many but
we take a few here for consideration:
1. What type of attractions (nature, adventure or cultural etc.) within the region have to
be developed into tourism packages?
2. Whether these attractions have to be packaged and promoted as a mix or as separate

22

attractions?
3. Do we have a market for them?
4. What type of infrastructure is to be created?
5. Is the local population receptive to tourism?
6. If the destination is highly seasonal, should huge investments be made or (we) one
should develop alternate and subsidiary accommodation?
7. How to ensure that the ecology and environment at the destination are not damaged
by tourism?
8. What type of tourists are to be attracted? Etc.
Having resolved issues submitted for your consideration regarding enhancement of
rural tourism, we could have a destination with unique selling preposition e.g.
Aathiti Devo Bhava is more practiced in rural India than anywhere else
An experience one cannot have anywhere in the world - equate with west
Actually living with people
Diversity of culture, language, food, craft
Exposure to heritage sites
Coming back to nature
Health - physical and mental both: yoga, exposure to local medicine or Indian
system of medicine e.g. Ayurveda, Unnani. Then there is yoga, various types of
massages
Tranquillity - away from humdrum, stressless and strain free stay

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 Not necessarily though promoting vegetarianism can also be a USP

Environment friendly
Freshness in food ingredients when procured locally - may be organically cultivated
Local crafts and cottage industry can provide unique shopping experience
(inexpensive)
For investors also, promotion of rural tourism investment could bring in higher returns
on comparatively low investments.

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FACTS AND FINDING

Indian Travel & Tourism Total Demand

(1990 constant US$ billion)

Indian Mkt Share of S.Asia Total Demand

Indian T& T Total Demand

(cum. real growth, %)

S.Asia T& T Total Demand

(cum. real growth, %)

25

Indian Mkt Share of World Total Demand

World T& T Total Demand

(cum. real growth, %)

26

CONCLUSION

27

CONCLUSION
The Tenth 5-year plan (2002-2007) of the government treats tourism as a major engine
of economic growth and employment generation. Under the Plan, total resources of
Rs29 billion were allocated towards tourism. Given the strong emphasis of the
government on the promotion of tourism and improvement of the tourist infrastructure
and the vast untapped potential of India as a tourist destination, there is little doubt that
future prospects for Indian tourism are bright.
Tourism is perhaps the most under rated sector in India which can be great driver of
economic growth in and generate millions of jobs as well. India is a country with the
highest potential as far as the tourism sector is concerned.
However, the challenge is to effectively market tourism in India and leverage on the
potentials of the sector. The marketers have to get their marketing fundamentals in
place to capitalize on this promising sector. There are lessons to be learnt form effective
tourism marketing efforts by Indian states like Kerala as well as foreign countries like
Malaysia, France and Hong Kong. These learnings have to implemented with the
support of the government and the determination of entrepreneurs to turn India into a
great tourist destination as make tourism one of the most effective drivers of the Indian
economy.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

29

BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.indiadata.com
www.tourismstats.com
www.world-tourism.org
www.sabre-holdings.com
www.hotels.com
www.expediainc.com
www.indiatourism.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.incredibleindia.org
International Tourism Management-Sagar Publications
Economic Times

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