Name of College: IIM, Ahmedabad

Team Members: Name Gautam Dhond Siddartha Prasad E-mail p10gautamd@iimahd.ernet.in Telephone 9173660516

p10siddarthap@iimahd.ernet.in 8659265337

URL:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chattisgarh/290034501009893

Analysis of current state of tourism in Chattisgarh (CH) and way forward: Although Chattisgarh is endowed with a rich cultural heritage, natural diversity, rare wildlife, ancient monuments and many such other natural wonders the number of tourists per year is still low (only 1277 foreign tourists in 2010). Furthermore CH tourism also has all the policy framework in place which shows the positive intent of the government to promote tourism. The suggested marketing and branding strategy should be able to leverage the strengths of the CH and place it as one of the important destination on the Indian tourism roadmap. CH should also be at a competitive advantage in terms of positioning with respect to other states. Moreover in line with CH policy it should also help in creating large-scale employment opportunity and promote social integration. CH should target all kinds of customers irrespective of the strata of society both national and international. It should target people travelling for leisure, ecological survey, research survey, geological survey and such other purpose. We suggested a Hub and Spoke model to promote CH tourism. Table 1 indicates the various clusters which we suggest. It also shows the primary and secondary target. We suggest that CH should promote the primary targets very aggressively as these places are very unique in what they offer. Moreover they will also have competitive advantage when compared with other similar destination in other states. The secondary destinations can be promoted over a period of time. We expected the secondary destinations to develop over a period of time by consistent and focused government effort. The government website should have proper information about the all the location with proper historical facts, travelling options, emergency contacts. Effectively we should have a full story for all the places. We go with current positioning of Full of Surprises. This positioning encompasses the wide range of offerings unique to Chhattisgarh and is distinct from other states.

Distribution and Promotional Channel (DPC): We recommend a dual strategy based on use of public relations and advertising. PR channels: For international market: Write-ups in magazines such as Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveller, National Geographic Traveller magazine etc For domestic market: Local newspapers, travel editions of newspapers, Travel magazines (Outlook traveller) PR effort through these media will help to position Chhattisgarh in mind of consumers while

effectively countering negative vibes arising from issues such as tourism, backwardness by riding on the credibility of these sources. Advertising: Besides the usual promotion through TV ads, radio jingles and newspapers ads we recommend using unconventional media which are not being used by competitors. For instance: Youtube videos, Social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter), encouraging blog posts by travel bloggers Tie-ups: We recommend tie-ups with tour operators such as Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, Kesari Travels as well as travel operators such as Indian Railways, Bus Operators in adjoining states etc.

Operations/ Distribution Channel:

The channel should aim at both increasing the trial rate and retention rate of the tourists. In order to achieve this all the distribution channels should work in an integrated manner. The below figure highlights the various stakeholders and schemes in the proposed channel.

The other salient features of the suggested distribution and promotional channel are: Increased coordination between the private players and CH government at various levels to promote effective formulation and adherence of policies and regulations for DPC. Revenue sharing mechanism between private players and CH and also between Service Suppliers and distribution. This would help build confidence among various stakeholders. Aggressive marketing by CH government in leading newspaper, Guidebooks, Media Channels, Travel channels, Travel fairs and consumer association. Moreover inviting them to CH and exposing them to the immense diversities the state which showcases the immense potential of CH as a tourist destination. The marketing Channels which would be used are:

Database Marketing , Internet marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Word of mouth When an individual suppliers promotes CH tourism along with his own product that is referred to as Affiliate Marketing.

Risks to the proposed scheme: For the proposed scheme to be successful CH government should look to address certain socio-economic issues which the state faces. These are:

Security: CH is one of the most impacted by Naxal problem. Incidents like Dantewada hinders projects a negative image for the state which is not suited for growth of tourism. Tourism in Bastar has been severely impacted because of this.

Socio-Economic divide: The Human Development index (HDI) of 0.549 is one of the lowest in the country. For common man to fully appreciate the benefits of promoting tourism and realizing the symbiotic nature of tourism and HDI CH needs to work on improving the literacy rate, eradicating poverty, decreasing the social and cultural divide.

Pollution: Raipur is one of the most polluted state in the India. Such issues might be a hindrance in promoting sustainable and safe tourism.

B2B marketing (Indirect) Distribution

Travel agency Tour operator Internet retailers

Tourist

B2C marketing (Direct) Service Supplier

Accommodation Transport/Catering Cultural events Social events Ecological surveys Ground service agents

DMO, Tourist board Guidebooks Media Certification schemes Travel fairs Consumer associations

Promotion Promotion

Adopted from http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/WEBx0010xPA-MarketingTourism.pdf Promotional scheme can be directed to the tourist and also to the distributors to ensure high turnout of customers DMO: Destination Management organization