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West Bengal as a Tourist Destination: An empirical study Arnab Dey, Debojyoti Saha & Romit Kumar Sanyal, IMT Ghaziabad

ConQuest Online October 2009 Edition

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Destination branding “Branding Branding is perhaps the most powerful marketing weapon available to contemporary destination marketers”” (Morgan and Pritchard, 2002, p. 11) Incredible India; Kerala, God’s own country; Rajasthan, the incredible state of India – these are a few one-liners liners which pull tourists to these magnificent places. And it is not only these magical one-liners, liners, but a bundle of emotions, experiences and feelings feelings attached to these places, that attracts people from around the world. Destination branding is about combining all things associated with the 'place' (i.e., its products and services from various industries - agriculture; tourism; sports; arts; investment; investment; technology; education, etc.) that collaborate under one brand. Its aim is to capture the essence of the destination, in a unified manner, and can be consumed simultaneously at a symbolic and experiential level. It is then used to market those unique ad added values to consumer needs and sustaining its success in the face of competition. Destination branding is defined as “[the] process used to develop a unique identity and personality that is different from all competitive destinations” (Morrisons & Anderson, Ander 2002, p. 17). In order to understand the process of destination branding, it is imperative to find out how tourism destinations are characterized. A tourism destination is an amalgamation of products, facilities and services that make up the entire travel travel experience (Buhalis, 2003). Product and service marketing literature on image formation and branding (Aaker, 1996; Keller 2003; Percy and Rossiter, 1992) lay the foundations on which destination branding is based. An important task involved in destination destination branding is to create an image of the destination (Blain, 2001) which is consistent. The image built enhances the marketing efforts of a destination (Cai, 2002). Positioning a brand sustainably depends on the message delivered as well as the shared meanings anings contained in the message (Foley and Fahy, 2004). This level of consistency creates brand equity (Aaker, 1991; Keller 1993). The dynamics of branding and with it destination branding is changing. Service economy has been replaced by Experience Economy. Economy. Consumers are becoming more demanding. Tourism has undergone a radical change with the tourists becoming www.iims-conquest.in conquest.in

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More affluent, measured in disposable income per capita

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More healthy and interested in active pursuits

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More leisured in terms of hours of work and holiday entertainment, early retirement

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More travelled, for work and business as well as for holidays and leisure

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More exposed to media and information

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More computer literate

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More heterogeneous and individualistic in their demands and expectations

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More culturally lturally diverse in terms of ethnic origin as well as in their range of lifestyle choices

This all adds up to more diverse, more experienced more demanding and more quality conscious consumers for travel and tourism tourism. West Bengal West Bengal, also known as a ‘Gateway Sate’, (Gateway to the Northeastern region of the country) is a leading state in the Eastern region of India. This state is rich in culture, heritage, natural resources and industry. The total area of the state is 88,752 sq. Km. The Darjeeling Himalayan region is in the extreme north of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transits into the Ganges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the we western stern plateau and high lands. The coastal region is on the extreme south, while the Sunderban mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta. West Bengal is the only state in India which boasts of the lofty ranges of the Himalayas Himal as well as the vast bottomless blue sea. The Himalayan range is in the north in Darjeeling district, while the districts of South 24 parganas and Medinipur share the beautiful coastline. Besides, Duars, situated at the Himalayan foothills is a foreste forested d area and so are the Sunderbans, the habitat of the majestic Royal Bengal Tigers. Owing to the varying altitude from the Himalayas to the coastal plains, the flora and fauna of the state is rich and diverse. Forests make up 14% of the geographical area of the state. Protected forests cover 4% of the state area.

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The beautiful hilly forest of the Chotanagpur plateau in the west is the homeland of the Santhals with their unique cultural heritage. One of the best ways to behold Bengal's history is to sail down the river Hooghly, capturing the essence of Bengal across seven districts,

framed

with

idyllic

rural

landscapes. Sailing downstream from Murshidabad to Kolkata, along the lush green pastoral Bengal, the cruise traces the magical web of romance, adventure and heritage herita of an Fig 1: The course of Hugli

important era in history.

(Source: Source: West Bengal Tourism Website) This entire river-line line stretch showcases one of the most beautiful examples of Hindu, Muslim and European architecture and culture at their best and epitomizes the grandeur of bygone days. Southland tours from Kolkata would include a trip to the Sunderban Wildlife Sanctuary - a designated World Heritage Site.

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Offerings Fig 2 provides a briefing on the offerings from the state. The offerings from Bengal can be broadly divided into 8 categories: •

The city of joy

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Hills of Bengal

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Beaches of Bengal

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Wildlife of Bengal

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Heritages of Bengal

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Fairs and Festivals of Bengal

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Art and Culture

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Sports and Adventure

The city of joy

• Kolkata: Gateway of Eastern India • Rich heritage, bustling streets and bewildering variety of facets

Hills of Bengal

• Breathtaking viwes of Kanchanjunga • Lush green tea gardens

Beaches of Bengal

• Wide, flat, hard beaches, a gently rolling sea, rows of casuarina forests

Wildlife of Bengal

• Dooars: foothills of Himalayas echoes with the melody of birds • Sunderbans: World Heritage site; the land of crocodiles and royal bengal tigers

Heritages of Bengal

• Murshidabad: the legacy of the Nawabs of Bengal • Bishnupur: Terracotta architecture • Shantiniketon: the abode of peace

Fairs and Festivals of Bengal

Art and culture

Sports and Adventure

• Thirteen festivals in twelve months • The pomp of Durga Puja • Handicrafts and architecture • Handlooms • Yuva Bharati Krirangan: biggest football ground in Asia • Trekking and mountaineering in the hills and forests

Fig 2: The offerings of West Bengal (Source: Own)

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Segmentation Before proceeding with the marketing strategy, it is important to segment the market and identify the target market. Market segmentation is done on the basis of Income and Interest Profiles. While income is a qualifying factor, interest profile of a person is the deciding factor in choosing a tourist spot. Targeting Our long term goal is to market brand West Bengal to the entire world. However, since brand building is a complex phenomenon, we will be dividing dividing our efforts into two phases. In the first phase, we will be targeting only Indian tourists. Our positioning will vary from region to region depending on our offering and due to the fact that the tourists’ needs differ according to geographic regions. The next phase would include attracting foreign tourists to West Bengal, which is not covered in this research paper. Demographic profiles: West Bengal is an inexpensive state compared to other tourist places. This aspect of West Bengal should be taken into account while deciding the target group. Hence Upper middle income and Lower middle income groups who cannot afford an expensive vacation form the primary target groups. Although income factor is a qualifier, it is not the decider. Whether a tourist place becomes a part of the choice set depends largely on the interest profile of the tourist which is explained further in the Psychographic attitudes section. Psychographic attitudes: West Bengal will be positioned as a mini India, a place where one can find both geographical and cultural diversity. Hence the primary target group is the Indian people who want to experience their multifaceted country. country. So, all people whose interest profile matches with this value, form the target market. Interest profile in this case would also comprise of music and literary interest profiles.

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Upper middle income and lower middle income Indians who wish to experience the he geographical and cultural diversity of India

Income

Iterest Profile

Fig 3: Segmentation and targeting (Source: Own) Once the target market is identified, it is important to validate whether the offerings of West Bengal will appeal to the target market or not. For this a market research is conducted whose objective is mentioned below. Research objective The objectives of the research are •

to identify the major functional functional and psychological attributes that drive the target consumer in choosing specific tourist destination

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to understand the image of West Bengal in those functional and psychological attributes

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to understand the awareness of West Bengal as a tourist destination destination in the minds of the target segment

Population and sample The research was conducted among two sets of samples. One of them was a sample from the target segment, Indians in the middle income group, who want to experience their multifaceted country. They were asked to rank the functional and psychological attributes in

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choosing the tourist destinations according to their priority. The survey was done among 53 participants belonging to the target segment, drawn by simple random sampling. The other sett of respondents were people who hail from West Bengal, or know about the state very well. They were asked to rate West Bengal on the basis of the functional and psychological parameters. The survey was done among 21 participants, drawn by simple random sampling. Measuring instruments The construct which was used for the purpose of the survey were two questionnaires which were mailed to the two sets of sample respondents. The questionnaire which was mailed to the respondents belonging to the target group was mainly framed to understand their major functional and psychological factors in choosing the tourist destinations. A few factors were listed out in the questionnaire. The factors were adapted from a study made by Charlotte M. Echtner and J. R. Brent Ritchie, Ri titled “The Meaning and Measurement of Destination Image” and published in The Journal of Tourism Studies Vol. 14, No. 1, May '03. Respondents were asked to rank the attributes. Another question asked the respondents to quote any 3 phrases that best describe West Bengal. The aim of this question was to test the unaided recall among the respondents. The last question listed a set of tourist spots in the state whose popularity ranges from easy to hard. The aim was to identify the aided recall among the respondents. The questionnaire which was mailed to the other set of respondents asked them to rate the functional and psychological factors in a 5 point Likert-type Likert type scale ranging from 1:“very poor” to 5:“very good”. Data collection Each of the respondents ts received an online questionnaire attached with a mail. The mail briefly explained the reason for the survey, how to complete the questionnaires and whom to return it. Complete confidentiality and anonymity was guaranteed.

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Results and Discussion

Fig 4: Rating of Functional Attributes given by the group having knowledge about Bengal, plotted against the ranking of the Functional Attributes given by the respondents from the target segment (Source: Own)

Fig 5: Rating of Psychological Attributes given by the group having knowledge about Bengal, plotted against the ranking of the Psychological Attributes given by the respondents from the target segment (Source: Own)

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In Fig 4, the average ranking of the functional functional attributes given by the respondents belonging to the target segment are plotted in the horizontal axis, while the ratings on those attributes as given by the respondents who are familiar with West Bengal are plotted in the vertical axis. The gradually ly downward sloping regression line clearly suggests that West Bengal has been rated higher on those attributes which has obtained higher ranks from the respondents belonging to the target segment. For e.g. the attribute “Scenery/Natural Attractions” which has been given an average rank of 1.5 has been rated as high as 3.87 on an average. Similarly the attribute “Cost/Price levels” which has been given an average rank of 2.75 has been rated as 4.66 on an average. On the other hand, attributes like “crowdedness” “crowdedness” which has been rated poorly at 2.66 also received an average rank as low as 17.96, which indicates that the target segment is little bothered about the crowdedness of the state and hence faltering on an attribute like this is not a point of concern. Similarly in Fig 5, the average ranking of the psychological attributes given by the respondents belonging to the target segment are plotted in the horizontal axis, while the ratings on those attributes as given by the respondents who are familiar with West Wes Bengal are plotted in the vertical axis. Here also, like in the earlier figure, we find a gradually downward sloping regression line, which clearly suggests that West Bengal has been rated higher on those attributes which has obtained higher ranks from the the respondents belonging to the target segment. For e.g. the attribute “Different cuisine/Food and Drinks” which has been given an average rank of 3.79 has been rated as high as 4.3 on an average. On the other hand, attributes like “opportunity to increase knowledge” which has been rated poorly at 2.27 also received an average rank as low as 7.39, which indicates that the target segment is little bothered about the opportunity to increase knowledge when they tour a state and hence faltering on an attribute like this is not a point of concern.

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Fig 6: Recall of the tourist spots in Bengal (Source: Own) The questionnaire contained 9 tourist spots in West Bengal. The 9 spots were divided into 3 classes: Easy, Moderate and Hard, according to the ease of recall. Fig 6 shows the result of the exercise which shows that the easy places were quite easily recalled recalle by most of the respondents. However even the moderately easier places to recall were not recalled by many of the respondents. The remaining 3 spots, which were categorized as hard to recall, were recalled by only a few. The overall recall considering the limitations of the number of the tourist spots considered for the research was 37.3%. This shows that most of the people belonging to the target group are not aware about the offerings of the state. Positioning After analyzing the results obtained from from the research, we can reach a conclusion that West Bengal has the potential to be an attractive tourist destination for the target segment. But the awareness is very low. Next, we proceed on to the positioning strategies and the marketing mix.

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Points of Parity: •

Natural Beauty and Serenity

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Experience

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Food and Cuisine

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Options for adventure sports

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Economy

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Accessibility

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Exclusivity

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Security

Points of Difference: •

West Bengal is the only state in India which can boost of the Himalayas, the sea, the plateau, the rivers and the forest; a state which is ‘all in one’ by itself

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West Bengal is inexpensive compared to other tourist places in India. Hence it would be a value ue for money offering.

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The unique cultural heritage and legacy

Marketing Mix Product: •

‘West Bengal as a tourist destination’ is the product that is being discussed over here. The offerings of the state as a tourist destination have already been analyzed to be in sync with the wants of the target segment.

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The Geographic and cultural diversity of West Bengal needs special mention o Geographical diversity: diversity: The state has all forms of landscapes – Himalayas, seas, plateau, rivers and forests which make the state an attractive proposition from the geographic point of view. o Cultural diversity: diversity: The rich festivals and the tantalizing taste of Bengali cuisine has always been something that needs to be experienced by all, at least once in a lifetime.

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Price: Kolkata is inexpensive compared to most of the tourist destinations in India. The travel and food expenses are remarkably low compared to most of the other states. Place: The channels to be used are Tour operators, Travel agents and most importantly, the internet. Promotion: •

Television advertising would play a major role in communications. One or two television channels need to be selected which has maximum viewership among the middle income group of the country. One of the channels could be a news channel which would ould lend credibility to the brand West Bengal

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Print ads in magazines and newspapers which are read mostly by the middle income group

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Printed brochure needs to be published which would display the offerings of the state

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Public relations in the form of organizing food festivals, trade shows

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Modifying the existing websites and making them more attractive and informative

Personnel: •

Proper training to orient or enhance the skills and motivation levels of the personnel involved. The personnel may be a hotel service boy or a travel guide. Everybody associated with the tourism industry should

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Provision of right tools and information to make their jobs easier and more effective

Procedures: Extensive use of internet from planning a tour to booking of hotels and vehicles would make life easier for the tourists. Physical Environment: West Bengal offers an atmosphere of Friendliness, Security and Accessibility which motivates the consumers to visit the state time and again

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An experiential marketing point of view Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic activities and has great potential in nurturing the growth and development by injecting wealth with a high multiplier effect. Innovative marketing practices are being employed by marketers to showcase their destinations de and capture a piece of the tourist’s time and monetary investment. In this scenario, experiential marketing becomes all the more important and gets to play an even bigger role in promoting the tourism industry. Where the objective is not just to draw tourists but provide them with an experience of a lifetime. Application of Pine and Gilmore ‘Four realms of Experience’ Model for branding West Bengal Pine and Gilmore (1999; Gilmore and Pine 2002a, 2002b) proposed the experience economy as an emerging ng paradigm for enhancing business performance across a wide range of industries, including tourism and hospitality. According to Pine and Gilmore there are four realms (or dimensions) of experience differentiated by the level and form of customer involvement ent in business offerings.

Level of customer involvement:
Absorption:: Learn, acquire or take in.
Immersion:: A state of being deeply involved and engaged in sights, sounds and smells that surround one.

Form of customer involvement:
Active: Customers play key role in creating the performance or event that yields the experience.
Passive: Customers don’t affect the performance at all. They are usually mere observers or listeners.

Herein we apply this model to show that West Bengal has offerings ranging over all the four quadrants. Thus it is capable of appealing to the different types of travelers. Also there are

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destinations that lie favorably close to the sweet spot which makes Bengal Bengal a potentially popular tourist spot.

Fig 7: Application of Pine & Gilmore Model (Source: Own) West Bengal is a land of diversity. It has offerings spread over all the four realms of Education, Entertainment, Esthetics and Escapism. Education: Book Fair, Poush Mela and Cuisines lie in this segment. These provide opportunity for the visitors to increase their knowledge base through coming together of a wide variety of people and culture.

Entertainment: Durga Puja is one of the biggest events in West West Bengal which provides enough scope of entertainment. The four day long extravaganza offers a free license to unadulterated fun wherein tourists can draw pleasure from exploring the artistic pandals and brightly illuminated streets.

Esthetics: The serenee beauty of Sandakphu and thrilling forests of Sunderbans are bound to capture a tourist’s imagination so that they just love being there.

Escapism: People from far off places come to attend Gangasagar Mela which is believed to bring luck and prosperity to ones’ household. www.iims-conquest.in conquest.in

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Application of 5D Model for branding West Bengal Another emerging area of branding that relies on the use of sensory stimuli to develop a more tangible and memorable customer experience. Multi-sensory Multi sensory branding takes it a step further uses more than one stimulus simultaneously. 5D model depicts how the different elements can be used to stimulate the senses of a visitor.

Fig 8: Application of 5D Model (Source: Own)
Sight: The visual brand is the most prominent of all senses. West Bengal instigates the image of a land of greenery and festivals.


Sound: It creates the olfactory appeal and it is the sense that inspires mood, joy and sadness alike. The soothing tunes of Bengali folk music and the melody of Rabindra Sangeet can captivatee any listener.


Smell: It is connected to the memory and is one sense that you can’t turn off. It is part of the air we breathe. The aroma of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea is bound to linger in the memory for long.

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Touch: The tactical one is the tool of connection. Visitors to the state are instantaneously made to feel at home by the warmth and generosity of the local people.


Taste: Bengal is home to number of delicacies the most noteworthy among them being the Rasogollas and fish curry. Other than that a wide variety of cuisines are available at a cheap rate which surely are to tickle the taste buds of connoisseurs.

Suggestion •

A wonderful way to market Bengal art and culture is by conducting fairs for the promotion of the specialties across West Bengal like artistic leather craft of Shantiniketan, clay toys of Krishnanagar, jute goods, Darjeeling tea, Bengal silk sarees, etc.

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nother wonderful way to promote Bengal is to advertise in hoardings, newspapers Another months before the Durga Puja and encourage people to tour West Bengal during the festival to experience the festive atmosphere and in lieu of it, have a tour throughout the state.

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Collaboration with hotels to organize Food Festivals can promote the taste of Bengali cuisine

Conclusion Indian states like Kerala, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh show us how destination branding can increase tourist traffic thereby contributing to the state economy. West Bengal having both geographical and cultural diversities is a largely untapped tourism market. The research paper brings out the fact that West Bengal has huge tourism potential that has been ignored till date. The market potential study study reinforces the fact that West Bengal scores well in the functional as well as the psychological attributes that tourists consider important for choosing a destination. The low recall of most places further goes on to reveal the need for branding the state te which was once the pride of the nation.

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West Bengal should be positioned as a state with vast geographical diversity (the Himalayas, the sea, the plateau, the rivers and the forest) and rich cultural heritage. Care must be taken to ensure the all elements nts of marketing mix put forth this positioning consistently. The application of the Pine and Gilmore model highlights the offerings spread over all the four realms of Education, Entertainment, Esthetics and Escapism. The 5D model depicts how the different elements can be used to stimulate the senses of a visitor to Bengal. To sum it up, proper branding can turn around West Bengal into a “Mini India”; where people can get to experience the beauty of India at a much cheaper rate. References •

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Keller, K. L. (1993), “Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based customer brand equity”, Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 57 1-22.

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The Team ConQuest, IIM Shillong Consulting Club Conquest Online is the online edition of ConQuest which is a student driven Consulting club of IIM Shillong. Team include Bhasmang Mankodi | [email protected] Hari Krishnan | [email protected] Kannan PNV | [email protected] Shyam Krishna R | [email protected] Soumyasanta Roy | [email protected]

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