Imagine hiring a Brand Ambassador to promote a Destination, or taking a group of influencers to expire a country first-hand or even flying in a local Chef to give a feel of the native cuisine to a group of travel enthusiasts. These are just a handful of ideas deployed to familiarise a destination among the consumers.
However, the changing preferences of the Indian traveller have also impacted the promotion strategies for destination marketing, leading to newer ideas and concepts for brand positioning. The use of social media is profound in outreach and it will only be amplified in the times to come. The traditional methods no longer serve the purpose or aren’t as relevant as they were in the past.
Trends are changing, methods of promotion are changing and competition is only getting fierce with each passing day. This has made it imperative for destination marketers to gain edge over their counterparts with out of the box ideas and innovative campaigns in a highly potential market like India where disposable incomes are driving bookings. The result of this has been the expansion of players in the representation space that offer local expertise and are specialised in tourism promotion on the B2B and B2C fronts.
According to Paramjit Bawa, Founder & Principal, Auxilia Networks, the core concept of destination marketing will never change – in simple terms it is meant to inform potential visitors about the destination and all that it offers in a way that enthuses and motivates them to visit.
“The messaging can be different for different target segments – business travellers, MICE groups or leisure visitors. As markets develop and mature, messaging will need to change to ensure that it remains relevant and in sync with current traveller trends.”
Simmi Pai, Founder, TAWI LUSH has seen destination marketing move from simply creating awareness to creating relevance and conversion.
“Indian travellers are far more informed today, with social media, better air connectivity and a much wider choice of destinations and hotels. We are also seeing a strong shift towards customised travel. A honeymoon, family holiday or celebration trip is no longer sold as a standard package. Travellers want experiences designed around them.”
For Komal Seth, Founder & Director, Linkin Reps, there has been a clear shift from the traditional way of working. “Today, clients are not just coming to us with a brief and asking us to execute it. They expect us, as an agency, to suggest how they should move forward with their promotions and campaigns. This is where our market understanding and experience really add value. The role of an agency today is much more strategic than it was earlier.”
What Brought About this Change?
The maturing of the Indian traveller and exposure to newer destinations and ideas has been a game-changer. No longer does a cookie-cutter concept works for a varied set of travellers that are keen to explore, indulge and influence. Behaviours like slow travel have also aided to the idea of experiencing a destination at a pace hitherto unheard of.
The experience-led concept has been the biggest trend impacting travel decisions. Bawa shares, “In the leisure segment, there has been a noticeable consumer shift from location-based travel to experiential. Earlier the destination was the main focus and experiences and attractions were considered subsequently. Increasingly now, the reverse is happening. Theme-based travel has a lot to do with this – sports, wellness, culinary, soft adventure, etc. Messaging is adapting accordingly, moving from “Come to our country/city” to “Come and enjoy this bucket list experience which you’ll find nowhere else”.
This has led to the destination marketing and representation companies crafting concepts that reach the consumer in ways that creates meaningful impact.
“India is not one market. Preferences, spending patterns and booking behaviour differ significantly between cities and regions. Competition is also intense, with destinations constantly competing for the Indian traveller’s attention.
For outbound tourism, another challenge is making India’s vast offering easier to understand and sell internationally. Consistent communication, pricing, connectivity and trade support are equally important,” states Pai.
India is a diverse market, and understanding the right audience for the right destination is one of the biggest challenges, states Seth. “There is also a lot of competition between destinations. The challenge is not just creating awareness, but converting that awareness into enquiries, bookings and actual arrivals.”
Growth of Representation Companies
The complexity of the Indian tourist and the fragmented tourism market in India has led to a steady surge in representative agencies offering expertise to drive tourist numbers. The role of these agencies has now expanded to include PR, Communication, Sales, Marketing and in-Market Representation.
As a representation and advisory agency with many years presence in the Indian outbound market, Auxilia keeps pace with changing landscapes in how consumers in different parts of India react to different kinds of messaging, booking trends and other aspects of the leisure traveller’s behaviour.
“Therefore we are well placed to advise our clients on current trends, evolving consumer behaviour and preferences and what messaging works best for trade or consumer recipients. This kind of local expertise coupled with a global mind set is really the most important factor for overseas entities to make use of to optimise their messaging for optimal effect in the market,” Bawa informs.
“At TAWI LUSH, our role goes beyond sales. We work on positioning, trade relationships, training, PR, marketing, distribution and, importantly, bringing market feedback back to the destination. The representative of the future will be more of a strategic commercial partner than a traditional sales representative,” Pai says.
Today, representative agencies are playing a much more hands-on role in the B2B ecosystem. “At Linkin Reps, we are part of multiple WhatsApp groups with the travel trade, conduct regular B2B sessions, support partners with bookings and organise destination training sessions. We also try to make engagement more convenient for travel agents by integrating calls and interactions into their existing schedules, so they don’t always have to separately meet us. It helps us stay connected, build relationships and understand their requirements more closely,” Seth informs.
Staying Relevant
Concepts that are quirky and connect easily with the audience, and lead to conversions are important to stay relevant in the representation business. “The trick for a destination marketer is to make the messaging crisp, clear and give it a longer shelf-life in the mind of the consumer than the competition’s messaging,” says Bawa. Over the next five years, I see strong growth in luxury and experiential travel, regional markets, personalised holidays, digital marketing and specialised B2B representation.
“The representative of the future will be more of a strategic commercial partner than a traditional sales representative. Ultimately, it is no longer about selling a destination to everyone. It is about finding the right traveller, the right trade partner and the right story, opines Pai.
“I strongly believe AI and destination marketing have to go hand in hand. The future will be about using AI to understand travellers better, personalise communication, identify opportunities and measure conversions. But the human element will remain equally important. The destinations that can combine technology with strong market relationships will be the ones that succeed in India.”
The Road Ahead
Destination marketing is clearly moving beyond visibility and awareness to influence, engagement and conversion. As Indian travellers become more discerning and experience-driven, destinations will need to offer more than a compelling brochure or a familiar brand name. The winning proposition will be the ability to identify the right audience, understand what motivates them and present a destination through experiences that resonate.
For destination marketers and representation companies, this means constantly reinventing the way they communicate and engage with the market. Data, digital platforms, social media and AI will increasingly shape how campaigns are conceived, targeted and measured, while strong relationships with the travel trade will continue to remain critical for converting interest into bookings.
The next phase of destination marketing, therefore, will be less about selling a place and more about selling a reason to travel. In an increasingly crowded marketplace, destinations that can combine compelling storytelling, personalised experiences, technology and strong local market understanding will have the edge.