Day 5 of the “a Message a Day” campaign
Subject: Day 5 of the “a Message a Day” campaign
15th January 2016
To All Members,
Dear Members:
Today is Day 5 of the “a Message a Day” campaign. Details for the process are restated below. Today you need to send your 5th and final message to our PM. Please share this initiative with your staff, your suppliers and other partners & friends in the industry. We need to create a volume in our responses. The clock is ticking fast for the India Tourism Industry and the government needs to act very fast.
Today’s topic for your message is – Friday Jan 15 2016 – “No marketing of India Tourism”
• The Incredible India brand is Incredible. It is old and needs major revamping
• Our India Tourism overseas tourist offices have been left without the heads for months and some years
• Limited expenditure powers to do any promotional activity.
• Recent cut in Tourism Ministry’s budget and reduced expenditure on promotions
• The lack of any visibility or presence of the Indian Tourism Brand has hurt Inbound Tourism.
• All our competing neighboring destinations are far more aggressive in their branding and overseas marketing. We are losing business to those destinations that appear more attractive in the eyes of the completion.
• There has been no real marketing campaign or overseas promotion for a long time. Only sporadic marketing attempts
• There is inadequate and limited marketing support to the industry – both Indian and Foreign Tour Operators. Whatever financial support is given, the payments are always delayed and the treatment of the stakeholder is poor. Be it MDA refunds or payments for brochure support, India’s reputation as a partner is very very poor.
• E-Tourist Visa Introduction to 138 countries and no major promotions and publicity is being done in these countries, hence it could not help in growth of International Tourist Arrivals to India.
• There are no B2C promotions by the Government hence demand is not created for Indian Tourism Board.
Our branding and overseas marketing effort is a subject all our members have strong and valid opinions on. This is something we have been talking about for years.
Please send your opinion on the matter to Mr Modi and his team.
• To write to Prime Minister Modi, please go to http://pmindia.gov.in/en/interact-with-honble-pm/
• Select “Write to the Prime Minister”
• In the field of Grievance Category, please select “Other Central Government Related”
• If you want, you can in addition write to the below powerful ministers-
• Nirmala Sitharaman – Minister of Commerce & Industry - nsitharaman@nic.in
• Arun Jaitely, Minister of Finance – ajaitley@sansad.nic.in
• Rajnath Singh, Home Minister - 38ashokroad@gmail.com
We will also be taking this messaging to the mainstream media. We want to spread the news that we are desperate and we need immediate action on the ground otherwise the clock would have ticked too far to be turned back for some of us. If you have any contacts in the media, please share the information with them and connect them to us. We can give them a full brief on our campaign.
Every mail must end with the following “Sir, the inbound tourism industry of India needs an appointment with you. Tourism is your passion and we need help before it is too late!”
Please reach out to your IATO office bearers if you have any questions or additional thoughts. We need to be together as one voice to win this battle.
Regards,
Gour Kanjilal
Executive Director