It wasn’t a long time back, when we first watched a young foreigner on Indian television, traveling through the mystical lands of India and sending a postcard back home, with “Incredible India” inscribed on it. That advertisement marked the beginning of a multimillion-dollar campaign attempting to brand India to global travelers. Since then, tourism in the country has come a long way.
The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks India 40th out of 136 countries overall, and 10th when it comes to price competitiveness in tourism. There has been a growth of 10.7% in Foreign Tourist Arrivals to India in 2016, with the USA accounting for the highest number of travelers, followed by Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. The sector contributed to 9.6% of the nation’s GDP in 2016 and supported 40.34 million jobs, 9.3% of its total employment. The industry is expected to grow further at an annual rate of 6.8% to attain a valuation of $440 billion by 2027, as per the Indian Ministry of Tourism.
SHIFT FROM CENTRALIZED TO STATE-WISE TOURISM CAMPAIGNS
Besides promoting tourism, the Incredible India campaign had primary goals of erasing stereotypes and clichéd images associated with the country. Later parts of the campaign saw Aamir Khan trying to raise awareness amongst the masses on treating travelers as guests of the nation. While the campaigns were successful in achieving its initial goals of promoting the variety of cultures and destinations that the country had to offer, it failed to cater to the specific needs that most international travelers sought.
The turnaround came in the form of state-based tourism campaigns as state governments picked up the responsibility to endorse what each state had to offer, relieving the central government of the burden to promote the offerings of each location separately. What started as an attempt to attract inbound travelers, has now evolved into international campaigns to rope in foreign travelers. It is not unusual these days to catch a glimpse of Amitabh Bachchan promoting Maharashtra in television commercials with high production values on Indian TV channels.
What these state tourism campaigns are doing right is promoting the uniqueness of each state, let it be going on an adventure, sightseeing, experiencing cultural diversity, shopping, visiting medical facilities or food outlets. A very particular brand of travelers is being targeted by each campaign. The states have packed up their campaigns with their own logos and slogans for each state, examples being “God’s Own Country” for Kerala and “The Sweetest Part of India” for Bengal. Most states now have their dedicated websites and 1800-helpline numbers at the assistance of the travelers regarding any particular need. The Incredible India campaign lacked the provision of such facilities to foreign tourists, which to some extent discouraged enthusiasts having safety concerns.
Recent statistics show that the most popular states being Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, hold over 60% of the total inflow of foreign travelers. The government believes that this decentralized approach towards promoting India has prompted a competitive landscape between the states, with each trying to outperform the others, in turn benefitting the entire economy overall.
THERE HAS BEEN A GROWTH OF 10.7% IN FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS TO INDIA IN 2016, WITH THE USA ACCOUNTING FOR THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF TRAVELERS, FOLLOWED BY BANGLADESH AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.
THE BOLLYWOOD FACTOR
Indian movie stars have been spokespersons of global brands for ages. These film stars are considered to be international icons and the states have not been shy to cash-in in on their stardom to promote tourism.
Be it Maharashtra roping in Amitabh Bachchan and his mega-stardom, or the use of Shah Rukh Khan’s indefatigable charm by West Bengal, or Assam trying to take advantage of Priyanka Chopra’s fresh Mary Kom image, or John Abraham vrooming on a bike through the hilly terrains of Arunachal Pradesh, channelizing John’s adventure persona as juicy tourism carrot; each state is trying to utilize the nation’s obsession with Bollywood stars to boost tourism in their domains.
The inclusion of these stars bring in a sense of relativity for the people and provide them with something unique to remember these campaigns by. For all those who have contributed to over a million views of Shah Rukh Khan’s advertisement for Bengal Tourism, it is not only about knowing the places and the things to do there but to connect and hum along with the star as he croons Tagore’s ‘Ogo Bideshini’ in the video.
ADOPTING A DIGITAL APPROACH
Travel enthusiasts and adventure seekers loom mostly around social media platforms, seeking suggestions as to where to travel next. The states have picked up this trait and engaged themselves in a digital push to rope in younger inquisitive souls, through social media campaigns, digital launch promotions and customer engagement through blogs.
Kerala was the first to introduce the Blog Express Model, where the state invited leading bloggers from 25 countries and took then on a fortnight trip across ‘God’s Own Country’ to explore its heritage and culture. The immense success of the campaign has compelled the central government to conduct a similar activity, taking bloggers on a Heritage Wheels trip across India. Through the use of such bloggers, states have managed to appeal to their clientele through people who are heard.
WHERE INDIA HAS BEEN ENJOYING PHENOMENAL GROWTH IN ITS TOURISM SECTOR, BANGLADESH HAS SEEN A DECLINE IN FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN RECENT YEARS.
GETTING PERSONAL
There can be no doubt that state tourism campaigns are designed to provide a more personalized experience to pleasure seekers and adventure enthusiasts alike. But Rajasthan Tourism, hailing the slogan ‘Jane Kya Dikh Jaaye’, which translates to ‘You don’t know what you might see’, takes the personalized approach from the perspective of the travelers themselves.
One ad features a little girl named Meera taking a hot air balloon ride, and from her perspective she considers the hot air balloon to be hundreds of smaller balloons pulling her to the sky, similar to the floating house in the Pixar animated movie ‘Up!’. Another shows a group of travelers, stranded in the desert, witnessing a mesmerizing mirage turning out to be a six-seater motorbike coming to their rescue. The ads focus on portraying individual experiences, which are priceless to such travelers, creating an intimate bond while leaving a lasting impression.
POINTERS FOR BANGLADESH TOURISM FROM INDIA’S SUCCESS
Where India has been enjoying phenomenal growth in its tourism sector, Bangladesh has seen a decline in foreign tourist arrivals in recent years. But inbound tourism is on the rise, with new locations with tourism potential being popularized over the last few years. The Bangladesh Tourism Board can carry out division-based tourism campaigns directed at these domestic travelers, to promote newer locations. Whereas much more established sites, such as the Chittagong bearing Rangamati Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar, and Sylhet (being the tea capital of Bengal) can be pushed to international travelers.
Adoption of digital mediums and following a Blog Express Model similar to that of Kerala can help tourism in Bangladesh reach its promised potential. Such mediums can contribute to upholding the nation’s image to the world as the next hottest destination on travelers’ bucket lists. Moreover, such campaigns are needed to eradicate negative images associated with the nation regarding safety concerns in the country.
It might take time for Bangladesh to reach rates of success similar to that of India. But given the government’s interest in building the tourism sector, now is the time to act and adopt innovative tools and mediums to brand and promote Bangladesh to the world. And in doing so, we indeed have a lot to learn from our ‘Incredible’ neighbors.
