2. About the Author :- ->Amitabh Kant is a civil servant by profession. ->He worked as a joint secretary in Ministry of Tourism from 2001 to 2007. Amitabh Kant ->Kant was one of the key drivers of Tourism. Earlier, as secretary of tourism in Kerala, he had put the state on the international tourism map by imaginatively building on the God’s Own country brand. ->Currently Kant is posted as principal secretary and special commissioner(industries) Kerala.
3. The book is insightful, thought provoking, superbly researched and deftly crafted.It’s a engaging story of how he made India a tourism juggernaut. In the book, Kant talks about the infrastructure requirements for growing this untapped industry, which includes hotels, modes of transport, basic infrastructure and softer aspects such as culture, safety and security. He also advocates low-volume, high-value tourism instead of low-value backpacking travel, which perhaps does not meet the overall purpose of travel. The book provides deep insights in to the formulation of campaign and how a crisis can be converted in to a opportunity. He talks about the potential growth areas such as medical and rural tourism, and new enablers such as internet and social networks. A scholarly book that is full of personal insights into a remarkable growth story and an inspiring business case study.
4. Theme:- History of the remarkable transformation in Indian tourism in the last seven years. Tourism was down in the dumps in India. It was at the peak of this crisis that the "Incredible India" campaign to position India as a tourist destination was launched. This is the story of how that campaign triggered the take-off of Indian tourism, and how support sectors like aviation, hotels and infrastructure grew in tandem so that in 2008 India got 5.38 million visitors compared to 2.54 million in 2001.
5. Contents: -> The making of brand called Incredible !ndia -> God’s own country : A Brand ->Infrastructure : Propping up the fundamentals ->AIR TRANSPORT ->HOTELS ->E-BUSINESS ->HEALTHCARE ->POVERTY ALLEVIATION ->FUTURE OF TOURISM
6. The making of brand called Incredible !ndia -> SEVERE CRISIS -> LACK OF MEANINGFUL IDENTITY -> SLEEPING GIANT -> INDIA’S SHARE IN WORLD TOURISM -> MAJOR ENGINE -> MORE THAN MERE ADVERTISING -> AN INTEGRATED PR EXCERCISE -> ATITHI DEVO BHAVAH…!!!
7. God’s own country KERALA WHERE IT ALL BEGAN -> SUPER BRAND -> LONG ASSOCIATION WITH KERALA -> ONE OF THE 10 EXOTIC PARADISES OF THE WORLD -> MEDICAL TOURISM AND AYURVEDA -> EMPLOYMENT-12 LAKH PEOPLE -> 360’ DEGREE DEVELOPMENT
8. INFRASTRUCTURE: Propping up the fundamentals ->INTERNATIONAL IMAGE: Elimination of tourism deficiencies ->MICE HOLIDAY: More conferences ->HR DVPT: 175 institutes 6.47 lac people needed
9. Low cost carriers Potential for growth Air transport Airport infrastructure Potential growth Capacity constraints Absence of budget hotels Health care Creating room for growth E-Business Making travel and tourism click
10. Holistic healing in India Medical tourism HEALTHCARE: Crisis in health care system Cost differential POVERTY ALLEVIATION Rural Tourism SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
11. CRITICISMS: THE BOOK TALKS MUCH ABOUT KERALA. IT COMPARES THE CAMPAIGN WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. IT DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR, JAMMU AND KASHMIR. AND OTHER IMPORTANT TOURIST PLACES
Tourism is a foe of terrorism”, author Amitabh Kant quotes the former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee. Terrorism divides while tourism unites, so what can be a nobler endeavour than to promote travel and tourism?It is indeed challenging to promote a country as diverse as India. But the ‘Incredible India’ and the ‘AtithiDevoBhava’ campaigns that Kant created has huge recall value. So much so that impressed by the ‘Incredible India’ campaigns, US lawmakers are pushing for a new
In 2001-2002, after the destruction of the World Trade Centre, the war on Afghanistan and the attack on Indian Parliament,
How do you bring a magnificently diverse country –with 28 states,7 union teretories,18 official languages & 1.12 billion people-under one brand….yes these is made possible by AMITABH KANT, former joint secretary in the ministry of tourism.
CRISIS:- A CRISIS OF MASSIVE MAGNITUDE HAD GRIPPED INDIAN TOURISM IN 2001-02…6% DECLINE IN TOURIST ARRIVALS, 3% DECLINE IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE,NO CONSUMER DEMAND,FOR INDIA THE NEED OF HOUR WAS A STRONG NATIONAL POLICY OF TOURISM.UNTIL 2002 INDIA HAS 18 TOURISM OFFICES ABROAD SOME CALLED IT SPIRITUAL INDIA, UNBELIEVABLE INDIA ,IN 1999 MALAYSIA LAUNCHED IT’S CAMPAIGN TRULY ASIA….LIVE IT UP SINGAPORE IN 2000…..NOW UNIQUELY SINGAPORE..AMAZING THAILAND IN 1998…100% PURE NZ…POSITION TOURISM AS A MAJOR ENGINE OF ECO. GROWTH…MAIN VISION..TO ACHIEVE SUPER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR INDIA’S PEOPLE.INDIA IS A LAND OF CONTRAST A COMBO OF TRDITION N MODERNITY…CAMPAIGN STARTED WITH A OULAY OF 15.71 CRORE IN 2002-03….INCREASED TO 220 CR IN 2008-09…HALF SPEND ON THE INCREDILE INDIA CAMPAIGN…SOCIO ECONOMIC TRUTH N NOT AS A PRODUCT BENEFIT.AN ANCIENT COUNTRY WITH A MODERN OUTLOOK.JADE GOODY….THING…AS MANY AS 2LAC WEBSIES DISCUSSED THE LETTER.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER. WATER COLOURS BY GOD CAMPAIGN 1998…2 AWARDS, TSUNAMI EFFECT,CRISIL….KERALA T GENERATES 9126 CR FOR EXCHEQUER AND 1988 CR. AS FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNING.
INFRA SURVEYS WERE NEGATIVE:- hygiene and cleanliness ,safety n security, promotional support , affordability by synovate,tourist friendliness is low in india….restoration of work….mice:- meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions….GLOBAL MICE INDUSTRY IS ESTIMATED TO BE US 280 BILLION DOLLARS….WITH 4 LAKH MAJOR CONFERENCES HELD AROUND THE WORLD ANN. 64.7 LAC PEOPLE NEEDED….DEMAND IS MET BY 175 INSTITUTES.
INDIA OFFERS ONLY 110000 HOTEL ROOMS…FIRST CLASS TREATMENTS AT THIRD WORLD PRICES………DOWNSIDE FACTORS OF MEDICAL TOURISM…Rise of online travel mkt. FROM 300 MILLION DOLLARS IN 2005 TO 8K CR IN 2008 N 24 CR IN 2010 EXPECTED.,internet as a medium of marketing,the shift towards new media.
Tourism as a key catalyst..vibrant popular media and culture……brand asset valuator in nyork and optimor…developed by millward brown……………to conclude cricket, bollywood ,it sector are the also the major catalyst to make india a brand.