Achievements of Ministry of Tourism during the year 2013 http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?

mincode=36

http://tourism.gov.in/TourismDivision/AboutDivision.aspx?Name=Market%20Research%20and%20S tatistics

http://www.incredibleindia.org/

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130216/jsp/northeast/story_16561742.jsp#.UtAGddIW1rs

http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/Uploaded/Tender/051720121254577.pdf

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-meghalaya-agitation-leads-to-drop-in-tourist-footfalls1912843

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredible_India

http://www.incredibleindia.org/women-safety

http://healthandcare.in/india-seems-to-be-the-most-promising-medical-tourism-destination/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India

www.forbes.com/sites/edfuller/2013/12/18/asia-global-tourisms-driving-force/

TOURISM DEPTS IN INDIA http://www.archive.india.gov.in/citizen/travel.php?id=6

Tourism Marketing in India- Have Indian States Reached Their Potential? The need of a marketing intent to reduce non uniformity in the Indian tourism industry The figures of an annual growth rate of 4.3% foreign tourists arrivals and 19.9% growth rate of domestic tourists visits to all Indian States and union territories have taken position in the top line of the latest Press Release of Ministry of Tourism, Govt.of India statistical reports on its achievement in 2013. The number of domestic tourist visits has increased more than threefold over the last decade with 309.04 million domestic tourists visiting in 2003 to 1036 million last year. According to the latest published 2012 data, out of all the twenty eight states and seven UTs in India, 84.5% domestic tourist visits and 90.1% of foreign tourists visits were concentrated to just ten states in India. (See Charts below*) The last two percentages raises a matter of concern: What is wrong with the tourism scenario in the rest eighteen states and seven UTs (union territories) which includes the likes of Lakshadweep, Andaman Nicobar Islands, the North East States and even Jammu & Kashmir? Is it just untapped tourism potential, lack of infrastructure or inadequate marketing efforts or something else? Should India be content with just the top line growth rate percentages?

*Sources: India Tourism statistics at a glance 2012 report, Ministry of Tourism,India The kind of diversity in terms of the natural beauty, flora and fauna, folk art, handicrafts that each of the states and UTs in India offer to tourists probably has no match to any other country in the world. All these diverse states put together can sum up to a huge potential tourism market in economic terms. The current tapped potential of tourism across India is just 6.6% of the total GDP. A major

chunk of this coming from states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu while the likes of Lakshadweep, Andaman Nicobar Islands, the North East States amongst many others contributing less than even 1% each to this GDP share. Some of the major reasons of this non uniformity are lack of infrastructure and awareness about these highly unexplored destinations amongst domestic and foreign tourists. There is a huge gap between tourist footfalls in India and the number of hotel rooms per capita compared internationally. Many of the tourist destinations still do not have ATM. Access to many potential tourist states and UTs is limited due to unavailability of airports and lack of good roads. A state like Sikkim which has been declared as the best region to visit in the world in 2014 by the travel guide website Lonely Planet, still has inadequate transportation infrastructure. The state is connected by Air only through Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri, West Bengal which is a more than 5 hour ride from the capital city of Gangtok. Another beautiful destination like Kullu in Himachal has just one Air India run flight from New Delhi in a day in spite of being a hotspot tourist destination throughout the year. If we look into more states more such gaps in infrastructure. This is where the private players can come in to make best use of this potential to bridge the gap in the hotel industry, the airline industry or the banking sector(ATMs) to name a few. In terms of marketing efforts, the Govt. of India did an incredible job indeed by introducing the Incredible India campaign in 2002. It is by far one of the most successful initiatives of the government in recent times. According to the data by Visa Aisa Pacific, India has been growing the fastest in the entire Asia Pacific in terms of international tourist expenditure in India. But we should not forget the huge non uniformity of distribution of tourists mentioned across India. There are as many as 33 state/UT tourism departments in India with dedicated websites, but many of them have not been updated since last couple of years to three years. The task at hand of the Ministry of Tourism is huge in terms of handling all these 33 separate departments. But by going for PPP with national, international or state private players, the collaboration can bring in much more business for tourism across all states and UTs. According to recent developments, PPP in infrastructure development to improve tourism infrastructure is a part of the annual plan of the Ministry of Tourism. One of the benefits of PPP will be tourist friendly infrastructure development the other should be identification of potential market segments. To a certain extent there is an underlying bias in terms of marketing efforts and focus of the Indian tourism industry mostly towards the foreign tourists. While there is no second thought about the fact that foreign tourists bring in huge revenues to the sector, there is negligence in marketing efforts to other domestic segments. A one night stay at the Rann of Kutch to enjoy the Kutch Festival will cost you a minimum of Rs.7000-8000 per night per person. This rate can be economical for the foreign travellers but a middle class Indian would probably have to make a five year savings plan to take his family to Kutch. Thus to offer reasonable prices to different tourists requires identification of different tourist segments to increase the inflow of tourist across all states/UTs. Four substantial and differentiable domestic market segments are the youth- the college going and young professionals, the newly married honeymoon couples, the middle aged family tourists and the aged pilgrims or medical tourists. The Indian states and UTs have something to offer to each of these tourist segments. Like a young professional planning to make an adventure trip with friends thinks

about a Jim Corbett, or water sports in Goa, or trekking in the Himachal. He/She may not be aware of paragliding at Saputara, Gujarat, trekking to Surya Top in Uttarakhand, river rafting in Sikkim, or snorkelling in Lakshwadeep. Both national or state level PPP and fully private entities can do such research for the customers and provide them with options with attractive offers. The Indian tourism sector also needs more digital marketing efforts on the internet much of which is presently being done through websites like Tripadvisor, MakemyTrip to name a few. Tying up with corporate houses to offer attractive packages to different employee segments, offering budget packages to college going students during their vacations, are a few initiatives that can be taken up by private tourist operators both at state level and national level. Medical tourism can be promoted more by collaborating with hospitals that have a national presence. The governments promotional initiatives like Atithi Devo Bhava- to promote cleanliness and safety of foreign tourists, or I Respect Women to promote safety of female tourists visiting India are good initiatives and serving the purpose they are intended to. But the non uniformity across states/UTs and higher growth will be ensured by PPP and private involvement with more marketing efforts , the rewards and returns of which will probably be far more incredible than many other countries.