Digital marketing to woo China

Ministry of Tourism is innovating its approach to tap some of the biggest outbound markets of the world, China being its focus for now. A dedicated China cell and marketing through the Chinese multipurpose digital platform, WeChat, is a move in this direction.

Nisha Verma

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism (MOT), claims that the ministry is leaving no stone unturned in promoting India as a destination for tourists around the world and adopting a region-specific approach in marketing the country. For instance, MOT uses WeChat — a Chinese messaging, social media and mobile payment App — as a marketing tool in China. Brar says, “We have a global media agency that assists us in deciding our campaign and there is a clear understanding that in the eastern part of the world, there is a lot more usage of digital platforms. Hence, we’ve tried to incorporate that as part of our strategy, as we take up the promotional campaigns this year. Though we’ve been there before, the agenda now is to increase the footprint of the digital platform far more, and I am sure that it will bring the necessary dividends.” In fact, she reveals that MOT has created a dedicated ‘China cell’ to work on strategies to get more tourists from the neighbouring country. “We went for roadshows in China in November and there have been roadshows earlier, too. China is a huge market. The Chinese are touring the world, but we are somehow not able to capture the market as much as we can. We have the potential and that’s the purpose of creating the China cell. That said, we want to focus on China and eventually create a propelling impact,” she says.

The agenda now is to increase the footprint of the digital platform far more; it will bring the necessary dividends

When asked about the launch of the global tourism campaign, Brar informs that it is at the brink of being launched and that MOT is “almost done with valuation and formalities.”

She goes on to add that 2019 was a great year for tourism not just in terms of the number of tourists arriving, but also with regard to flagging of the sector as a significant contributor to the India growth story. “The Prime Minister has often mentioned the importance of tourism in the development of the economy; he’s reminded us of the value of domestic tourism. We now have lots of expectations from 2020 and there are many miles to go,” she concludes.