Incredible India premiers the latest campaign in their drive to build Indian tourism from 0.64% to 1% of the world’s tourist arrivals by 2016. That’s growth of at least 8% per year to build up to over 11 million inbound tourists. It’s a surprise the figures are so low – but the ‘Megastar’ Tourism Minister has put all his flashbulb wattage behind the Find What You Seek campaign launching in December.
Incredible India invitation
Newly appointed Minister of State for Tourism, Dr K Chiranjeevi, State Tourist Ministers and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Anand Kumar attended the World Travel Market to make the presentation. The ‘Find What You Seek’ international campaign shows travel consumers that they will find whatever they are looking for from a holiday in India. Growth will also come from positioning the country as a year-round, 365 day destination.
Dr K Chiranjeevi at WTM 2012 launching Incredible India
The Minister called this approach a ‘paradigm shift.’ The colourful campaign aims to illicit ‘exclamations of delight‘ and has been drawn up by re-appointed advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather India. The campaign includes international television advertising and a huge print and electronic media campaign starting December 2012. Incredible India, the official India tourist board, has appointed destination specialists McCluskey International as the representatives for PR activity in the UK during this year’s World Travel Market.
WTA Award Presentation to India at WTM
During the Press Conference there was a presentation from the World Travel Awards – the ‘Oscars’ of travel – for Incredible India winning Asia’s Leading Tourist Board 2012, and India winning as Asia’s Leading Destination 2012.
The Incredible India campaign has a fun, fast-paced video showing a beautiful young woman travelling across India – motorcycle riding, Varanasi contemplating and Diwali colour paint-throwing and is accompanied by spectacular colour photos. Taglines for the ‘Find What You Seek‘idea include a call to ‘watch a camel race, escape the rat race or contemplate the human race.’ Appealing to what it is you want from India.
A domestic campaign to attract Indians to ‘Go Beyond‘ the usual sights and visit bird sanctuaries, temples and spectacular natural features with split screen photos showing both sides of India for example half real life tiger and half stone temple tiger statues.
Dr K Chiranjeevi addresses Incredible India Dinner at WTM 2012 – he is popularly known as “Megastar” in the Indian media
The Union Minister for Tourism affirmed the commitment to improving sanitation and infrastructure and the ambitious plans to build the number of inbound arrivals. Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in India.
The Minister is echoing The President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, who says India’s tourism potential is immense. It is a country with many exquisite locations, a diverse culture with many colourful festivals, and a rich variety of traditional arts and crafts, foods and customs. who have won the awards, and also urge the industry to look at the growth of this sector in a manner that is sustainable and holistic.
To attract more visitors India introduced “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) in January 2010 for citizens of five countries; Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. This scheme was extended for the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011.
A spectacular evening event to mark the launch of the campaign was a dinner and dance show by Kingdom of Dreams held at the Guoman Towers, London on 6th November 2012.
Incredible India Dinner, Tower Bridge London at WTM 2012
Dr K Chiranjeevi at Incredible India Evening
Guests were greeted by a metal elephant, piped in by a Rajasthani horn player, adorned with scarves, henna painted hands, jewelled head dresses, handicrafts and offered drinks and hot regional canapes.
Delicious Food at Incredible India Dinner at WTM 2012 from Ragamama – Ragasaan
The ‘Find What You Seek’ campaign was introduced to the 400 guests from the government, media, travel partners and friends of India before a series of dances culminating in full stage of beautifully adorned dancers to film music Mast Kandalar by Shankar Ehsaan-Loy and Jai Ho by A. R. from the credits of global hit Slum Dog Millionaire.
A delicious dinner of butter chicken, lamb rogan josh, palak sweet corn, allo baingan masala, dal banjara, jeera rice, raita, salads and Indian breads followed by desserts of gajar halwa, angoori rasmalai kala jamun and fruit.
After a wonderful evening it was home on the London Underground, hat still on – inspired by Incredible India.
Alan Greenhalgh at Incredible India
Incredible India Calendar launch
Read about Dr Chiranjeevi at Inauguration of World’s First Cinema Suite at 51 Buckingham Gate by ‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi
Read more here – Putting India on The Contemporary Art Map at the Kochi Biennale 12/12/12 – 13/3/13 and Bollywood Blockbuster.
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