TOURISM INDUSTRY:THE CROSS

CULRT CULTURAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Mansi Bhaskar
Table of Contents

1. Abstract ………………………………………………… 3
2. Introduction …………………………………………… 3
3. Tourism Industry ……………………………………… 4
4. Heritage Tourism ……………………………………… 6
i) Heritage and cultural tourism ……………………... 6
ii) ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN PLACE
BRANDING…………………………………………… 7
5. Case study: Brand India …………………………….. 10
i) Incredible India campaign………………………... 10
ii) Problems faced by tourism in India ……………… 11
6. Conclusion …………………………………………….. 13
7. References …………………………………………….. 14
8. Bibliography ………………………………………….. 14

List of figures
Component of heritage and cultural Industry 8

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ABSTRACT
In recent years, the interest in cultural tourism has boomed. Tourism product possess a feature which
creates a cross cultural dimensions in production and consumption both as movement between different
cultural environments is a source of different cultural experiences and on the other hand services have to
be produced according to identified consumer expectation in different cultures. Tourists discovers a
variety of benefits in tourism product, which are intended to satisfy their needs. The paper discusses the
importance of understanding cultural differences for developing tourist-host contact. The aim of this
paper is to analyse the relationship between tourism, culture and the attractiveness & competitiveness of
destinations. Further, it briefly discusses the cultural aspects of destination branding.

INTRODUCTION

Culture is like a black box where we identify its presence but can’t determine what it contains. I
choose to focus on those features of culture that contributes most to the tourism industry. As a
cultural phenomenon, tourism and culture are closely linked. Cultural tourism is one of the largest
and fastest growing global tourism markets. And the cultural and creative industries are increasingly
being used to promote destinations. The increasing use of culture and creativity to market
destinations is also adding to the pressure of differentiating regional identities and images, and a
growing range of cultural elements are being employed to brand and market regions. Culture creates
authenticity and distinctiveness in the global tourism market. In this regard, tourism experiences
that can connect people and visitors to local cultures are very important. In many cases, the
branding of destinations is linked to specific cultural events, customs or traditions which can also
play a catalyst role. today in globalized world diverse cultures are being brought together. Branding
is done to create a strong and positive image of a country or any destination to the outside world.
Branding is a method that helps a particular destination to create a distinguished and desired image,
and therefore destination branding is becoming an essential topic for the tourism industry.
Destination branding represents and distinguishes a particular place amongst several competing
places. Also, Destination brands are quite often used as a marketing instrument to attract potential
tourists in a particular place and increase awareness of that destination. Cross-cultural differences
are not only limited to language, food or dance, but are also experienced in a variety of human
interactions between international tourists and local hosts, including their non-verbal behaviour,
religious beliefs, time orientation, attitude to privacy, their manners, customs, forms of address,
body language or gestures. These cultural elements are potential grounds for cultural
misunderstanding and conflict between international tourists and locals. They can induce fear often
accompanied by stress and generate tourist dissatisfaction with a tourism product. These
experiences and feelings are culturally conditioned, subjective and dependent upon time and space.
Marketers and managers must study them to be able to learn about others and one’s own, recognize
the differences, understand how cultural factors influence the others’ behaviour, and implement
strategies that would successfully target the particular cultural group. The fully, understanding the
cross-cultural features of tourism are inevitable requirement for the development of tourism
industry.

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TOURISM INDUSTRY
Tourism is a heterogenous sector which consists several product fields that has certain
degree of linkages. Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries that delivers a
experience, including hospitality services like transportation, accommodations, eating and
drinking establishments, entertainment services, for individuals or groups travelling away
from their home. Tourism industry is highly services driven. Tourism provide products and
services for people participating in activities in places other than their residence. Tourism is
a dynamic industry that requires ability to adapt according to the needs and desires of
customers (Tourists). Tourism is considered as a phenomenon that arises from the
movement of people from their residence to their stay in several destinations.
According to Leiper (1979), the tourism industry consists of all those firms, organizations and
facilities that are intended to serve the specific needs and wants of tourism. A more explicit
way of describing tourism is to consider it as ‘... representing the sum of those industrial and
commercial activities producing goods and services wholly or mainly consumed by foreign
visitors or by domestic tourists’.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) claims that the tourism is currently the worlds
largest industry with annual revenues of over $3trillion USD. Following are the different
subsets of tourism:
1. Adventure Travel- It involves exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly
hostile areas, where the traveler should ‘expect the unexpected’’
2. Cultural & Heritage tourism: is the branch of tourism concerned with a country’s
culture, especially its arts, cultural heritage.
3. Wildlife Tourism: Wildlife tourism is an element of many nations' travel industry
centered around observation and interaction with local animal and plant life in their
natural habitats. While it can include eco and animal-friendly tourism, safari
hunting and similar high-intervention activities also fall under the umbrella of
wildlife tourism.
4. Medical Tourism: Medical tourism (also known as medical travel or global
healthcare) is the process in which a patient travels to another destination for
medical or health and wellness services. The term medical tourism is often used in
the context of patients traveling abroad for medical care to countries such as
Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Singapore - and this is certainly true.
However, not all medical tourism is offshore based.
5. Wellness Tourism: Wellness tourism is travel for the purpose of promoting health
and well-being through physical, psychological, or spiritual activities. Wellness
tourism puts your health and well-being at the very center of your travel
experience. Trips organized around the principle of wellness tourism should
include healthy food, exercise, and opportunities to experience or expand your
spirituality and creativity.
6. Cruise Tourism: Cruise tourism is a form of travelling for leisure purposes, involving
an all-inclusive holiday on a cruise ship of at least 48 hours, according to a specific
itinerary in which thecruise ship calls at several ports or cities.

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 7. Rural Tourism: Rural tourism focuses on actively participating in a rural lifestyle. It
can be a variant of ecotourism. Many villages can facilitate tourism because many
villagers are hospitable and eager to welcome visitors.

In this research paper we’ll be focusing on the cultural and heritage tourism. Culture and
Heritage share a mutually beneficial relationship which strengthens the competitiveness
and attractiveness of regions, places and countries. Initially, we’ll examine the cultural and
heritage aspects of tourism individually and then we’ll focus on their combination. In recent
years there we have seen the substantial interest in the cultural aspects of the tourism.
Culture in its various forms has a significant impact on tourism planning and development,
management and marketing. Culture is a complex multidimensional phenomenon. There are
around 160 definitions of culture. Despite the wide variety of definitions, it generally agreed
that culture is a ‘theory’ (Kluckhohn, 1944), an ‘abstraction’ or a ‘name’ for a very large
category of phenomena (Moore and Lewis, 1952). The behavioralists and functionalists
agree that culture and behavior are inseparable because culture not only dictates how we
behave, it also helps to determine the conditions and circumstances under which the
various behaviors occur; it helps to interpret and predict behavior. Culture can be viewed
from two mind sets. One views culture as an Ideological entity that surrounds values,
customs, norms and traditions. The other views culture as a combination of ideological and
material aspects such as what and how people eat, wear and use. Tourism marketers usually
focuses either on the ideological aspects of culture or combination of ideological and its
material aspects. According to Leavitt and Bahrami (1988), culture identifies the uniqueness
of the social unit, its values and beliefs. Members of the same culture share similar thoughts
and experiences. Shared cultural norms give the members of a society a sense of their
common identity (Herbig, 1998). Culture helps to define who they are (Jandt, 1998).
However, few humans are consciously aware of their own culture. Only when one is exposed
to foreign culture and becomes uncomfortable in it does one become aware of their home
culture and the cultural differences between one’s own and a foreign culture. Culture is ‘the
instrument by which each new generation acquires the capacity to bridge the distance that
separates one life from another’ (Herbig, 1998, p. 11). There are dominant and variant
culture in a country consists of several subcultures. And these subcultures are based on
ethnicity, race, geographic region or economic or social class. Each subculture group
provides different set of values and expectations which exhibits characteristic pattern of
behavior that distinguish it from others within a parent culture.
Race refers to biological or genetic similarity among people. It recognizes the evolution of
different racial categories over time and the existence of different racial categories in
different culture e.g., white and black.
Ethnicity refers to wide variety of group of people who share common language, religion
history and identify themselves with a common nationality or cultural system. Ethnicity also
refers to the shared descent or heritage of a group as cultural ethnic traits are passed from
generation to generation. Ethnic differences can be identified by color, language, religion or
some other characteristics of common origin. For example, in former Yugoslavia Slovaks,

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Croatians and Serbians represent three ethnic groups, each with their own culture, who
lived as one nation.
Geographical region refers to geographical differences within countries or similarities
between countries. According to Schneider and Barsoux (1997), regional subcultures evolve
due to differences in geography, history, political and economic forces, language and
religion. Economic and social class differences evolve due to socio -economic standing of
people or differences in people’s income and wealth.
Cultural differences can cause problem in social interaction between participants of
different cultural backgrounds. Cultural differences in rules for social interaction influences
mutual perceptions of tourists and hosts and may create negative and positive perceptions.
For instance, the hosts of Arab states were not pleased having non-Islamic tourists, because
the woman’s dress, the use of alcohol and the mixing of the sexes were areas where tourists
broke domestic social rules Therefore, the understanding of cultural differences in
background is the key feature for identification of interaction difficulties.

Heritage Tourism
According to Poria etal. (2001, p. 1048) ‘Heritage tourism is a phenomenon based on
tourists’ motivations and perceptions rather than on specific site attributes ... Heritage
tourism is a subgroup of tourism, in which the main motivation for visiting a site is based on
the place’s heritage characteristics according to the tourists’ perception of their own
heritage’. In tourism the term ‘Heritage’ does not mean only landscapes, natural history,
building artefacts and the like which are metamorphically passed on from one generation to
other, but those among these things which can be portrayed for promotion as tourism
product. Sites should be differentiated in terms of types of heritage: built, natural & cultural
heritage.

Heritage and cultural Tourism

The term heritage and cultural tourism refers to that branch of tourism industry that places
special emphasis on heritage and cultural attractions. They can be broadly divided into two
categories tangible (building, paintings, monuments) and intangible heritage (traditions,
crafts, culture literature). In developed areas, heritage and cultural attraction include art
museums, plays etc. whereas in less developed areas, heritage and cultural attraction may
include traditional religious practices, handicrafts and cultural performances. The model
exhibits in fig 1 was created by Ashworth in 1994, which focuses on the components of the
heritage industry. The ‘resources’ in the model includes raw material from which the
heritage product is derived which includes artefacts, events, archaeological sites,
mythologies and so on. The ‘Interpretation ‘process entails the transformation of resources
into products through interpretation, involves the selection of resources and how they are
packaged. The model shows the function of tourism demand, while the heritage product is
the end result. The product can differ based on the market it intend to attract, there is no
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one set national heritage product. According to Ashworth, (1994, p. 27): ‘... the important
point is that different products, for quite different markets can be created from the same set
of raw materials by varying the interpretation process’.

Figure 1: Components of heritage and cultural Industry

The best suitable example of this model will be the Rajasthan - “Jane kya dikh Jaye” tourism
Campaign designed by Ogilvy and Mather. In Rajasthan Instead showing regular images of
camels and women in colorful clothes and covered heads, they decided to go deeper and
depict smaller unknown things about the state in a fascinating way. The tagline construed
the Rajasthan from the eyes of different tourists spread across different parts of Rajasthan.
The campaign’s task was to shift the needle and make the destination more youthful and
contemporary. They portray Rajasthan as seen from through the eyes of a traveler. So,
through the eyes of the Arya, it became Aryasthan, through the eyes of Meera it becomes
Meerasthan and so on. And this marketing effort has a clear impact over two years,
Rajasthan added over 1 crore new tourists, from 3.74crore in 2015 to 4.75 cr in 2017.

ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN PLACE BRANDING

Why is culture so strong and influential promotional tool? The answer is simple when we
talk about any region, place we continue to talk about art, culture and entertainment.
According to Anholt, ‘culture is more eloquent communicator of national (or destination)
image than the commercial brands, adding that it is possible 'to boo' commercial brand of a
destination, but not its culture. Therefore, Anholt (2009: 96) argues that culture can often
play a key role in the transformation of current image of country into something more
useful. It is a necessary component to image of any place to become really satisfactory,
especially in countries that suffer the consequences that their image is to a large degree or
completely based on tourism. So if particular tourist destination has a rich cultural life, it is
seen as not just a tourist destination, but also as a place with a comprehensive offer which
can be used over the all year (Anholt, 2009: 96).’

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The branding of place incorporates the arts and culture into brand stories. There are several
reasons why the arts and culture are used in place branding:
1. Art and culture proffers special message for a place. Intertwining historical,
contemporary, social and geographical circumstances often makes history, heritage
and popular cultural life unique to a place. And uniqueness in the place brand is
essential in making the place stand out in competition.
2. art and culture used in the performances, exhibitions, and various cultural activities
communicate excitement, vibrancy. Whereas dull place is less likely to attract the
potential tourists,
3. Destination Branding is not just about communicating with the outside world, it is
also an internal search for a local community.
For Instance in Kenya, “cultural manyattas” were developed around the Amboseli National
Park to help marginalised groups of the Maasai community. The Maasai people earn money
from these special homesteads where tourists come to visit, hear and experience Maasai
culture. Each manyatta has a central market where people sell their craft products. The
cultural manyatta is a co-operative, and on arrival, each tourist pays an entrance fee. On
entering, the tourists are welcomed with song and dance by Maasai women. A resident
guide will then show them around the manyatta, there are demonstrations of Maasai life
and towards the end of the visit, the warriors stage a dance which the visitors are permitted
to join. The Association for Cultural Centres in the Amboseli Ecosystem (ACCA) was
established "to generate ideas and implement decisions that are favourable to the local
community with a view to improving their incomes accrued from tourism activities while
enhancing the dignity of Maasai people and protecting the ecological integrity of the
Amboseli ecosystem". Another Kenyan model is the "Bomas of Kenya" on the outskirts of
Nairobi. This cultural centre was established in 1972 as a major cultural and educational
centre for both domestic and international tourists. The centre offers cultural dances and
art performances and there are 11 model cultural villages which portray ethnic architecture,
displays and material culture from different Kenyan ethnic communities. Most domestic
tourists (89%) and international tourists (98%) stated that they had a satisfactory cultural
experience there.
Therefore, the image of a country or place is in fact a result of its geographical position,
history, its official proclamation, art and numerous other feature. Regional attractiveness
and competitiveness are directly linked with each other. Countries and regions are
competing to attract residents, visitors and inward investments. So, Kotler, Haider and Rein
(1993:14) suggested that: Every place – community, city, state, or nation- should ask itself
why anyone wants to live, relocate, visit, invest. What competitive advantage does this
place offer that others do not? In tourism while developing a marketing strategy it is
essential to answer these questions as almost everything matters for competitiveness. The
roads matter, financial market matters, traditions, customer sophistication matters, among
many other aspects of nation’s circumstances, many of which are deeply rooted in a
nation’s culture, people or institutions. Modern tourists do not seek anymore only for
beautiful beaches, and quality accommodation because today many tourists destination can

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offer it. The modern tourists have specific needs and wishes which are associated with
learning about new culture, customs and people. For instance, In Sweden where they built
hotel using ice as a main building material became a tourist hit and most famous tourist
attraction, and the islanads of Mujeres near the Mexican coast, which was on the verge of
poverty, has contributed to the successful development of the island economy in a way that
the painted all the buildings in authentic Mexican colours, which attracted a large number
of cruise ships. So, without a competitive identity it is difficult to start creating a strategy
which will help us to create unique destination brand.
Lets understand the destination branding through Singapore. Over the years, Brand
Singapore has celebrated the city’s multicultural population and has embraced the city’s
blend of the exotic East and efficient West Competition from neighboring countries such as
Malaysia, Thailand and China, however, have made the branding of Singapore more
challenging because these countries are making similar claims and have learned from the
Singaporean experience. Singapore is no longer a cheap investment destination. As a result,
the government has formulated a new ‘East+West plus’ approach to branding Singapore.
The ‘plus’ refers to unique Singaporean qualities, which include ‘the trust others have in
Singapore’s ability to get things done; its knowledge base; its global network of transport
and people links; and the high standard of living it offers to those who make their homes in
Singapore. It is critical for Singapore to position itself well in the tourism industry, especially
during the present global economic slowdown. ‘Uniquely Singapore’ - Unique is the word
that best captures Singapore, a dynamic city rich in contrast and colour where you'll find a
harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, arts and architecture. A bridge between the East and
the West for centuries, Singapore, located in the heart of fascinating Southeast Asia,
continues to embrace tradition and modernity today. Brimming with unbridled energy and
bursting with exciting events, the city offers countless unique, memorable experiences
waiting to be discovered.
Taking the advantage of cultural heritage initiates from stimulating interest in various forms
of promotion up to stimulate the promotion that shows as the most efficient in order to
create satisfaction after visiting destination. The planned strategy of cultural heritage
creates place or nation a brand that tries to motivate potential tourists to visit a particular
place. But alongside with cultural product there is a needed place for hospitality industry
who will accompany tourists’ facilities such as accommodation, local public transport, shops,
restaurant, clubs and more. A cultural attraction is not itself make a tourist product and for
that attraction needs to be embedded in whole range of facilities and services. There is no
tangible return on the investments made by tourists. What tourist receive from their
investment is an experience that provides mainly psychological benefits. The experience is
based on the subjective personal reactions and feelings experienced by tourists when they
consume tourism services. This means that heritage tourism organizations should pay
attention not only to improving the quality of service attributes, but also to improving the
emotional and psychological reactions that visitors obtain from the service experience.
For instance in India, hospitality is based on the principle of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ meaning,
the guest of God. India is a land of endless images, religion and cultures, adventures, people.

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It has lot to offer from Himalayan ranges in North to the sun kissed beaches in the South;
from splendid temples of East to the breath-taking beauty of the West; festivals and exotic
food. It is land of cultural mélange and religious diversity. ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ involves a
seven-point programme in hospitality and training. It is an attempt by the Indian govt to
train individuals that helps serve as catalysts to the tourism industry. It aims at the
attitudinal change of Indians towards tourists. Hospitality and Tourism a key sector of the
Indian economy, plays a key role in the growth of Brand India. The policies and changes
implemented by the Government of India have been instrumental in providing the
necessary boost to the Indian Hospitality and Tourism industry and attracting more and
more foreign tourists every year.

Case Study: Brand India

According to statistics released in 2017 by the Ministry of Tourism, India had 14.4 million
tourists visiting in 2016 including 5.77 million NRIs. While tourism in India growing by 9.7%.
India is a country with a rich history, a variety of landscapes and friendly people, which offer
comparative advantages in the development of a tourism industry. "India Shining",
"Incredible India", "Make in India", "Hamara Desh Badal Raha Hai", "Skill India," are slogans
and backed by actions of "branding" India, over the years by the Governments in power at
New Delhi, among its stakeholders in the rest of the world, as well as within the country. It
is an effort in catapulting India's transformation to a world power, within the challenges of
change, and by the contributions of the change makers and innovation champions in the
Nation.

Incredible India
The 'Incredible India' campaign, launched in 2002, was a major initiative by the
Government of India, to promote India as a tourist destination. The ‘Incredible !ndia’
brand logo should be subsumed under this particular generation of branding endeavours. V.
Sunil explains in this regard that the exclamation mark represents ‘‘the mind-boggling depth
and intensity of the Indian experience’’ (V. Sunil in Kant, 2009, p. 20). Furthermore, V. Sunil
points out: ‘‘Every aspect of India - be it its ever-accelerating GDP, extreme geography,
kaleidoscopic culture, deeprooted spirituality or even photogenic chaos, even - is summed
up by the simple yet profound exclamation mark’’. The following quote by Kant (2009) is of
main relevance: ‘‘While it is easy to position and brand single-product destinations like the
Maldives and Mauritius or a wildlife destination like South Africa, it is extremely difficult and
complex to establish a clear, precise identity for a multiproduct like India. India is a land of
contrasts, a combination of tradition and modernity – a land that is at once mystical and
mysterious. India is bigger than the twenty-three countries of Europe put together and every
single state of India has its own unique attractions. ‘Incredible India’, therefore, necessarily
had to be the mother brand with the states establishing their own brand entity and
emerging as sub-brands’’ (Kant, 2009, p. 7). The target group for campaign are average
and high-end tourists from various parts of the world. It positions itself as tourist

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destination that is full of surprises. The biggest advantage that India has from the
perspective of tourism is its diversity. Very few countries in the world have this eclectic
fusion of the traditional and the modern, the historical and the contemporary, the
mountains and the seas, the deserts and the forests, and the different religions and
communities.
The campaign consists out of national and international variant. The separate international
variant was launched in December 2012 at the ‘World Travel Market-2012’, which was held
at London (Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 2012). The name of the separate
international variant is called ‘Find What You Seek’. In a press release published by the
Indian government, the following is noted about this particular variant: “Tourists from the
world over can find the destination or product of their desire in India, be it heritage sites,
forts, beaches, backwaters, lakes, mountains, adventure, wildlife, culture, festivals, medical,
wellness, MICE, religion or shopping. India offers something for everyone and that is why we
proudly say that India is an incredible destination with a range of products as found
nowhere else. It is truly in India, you will find what you are seeking” (Press Information
Bureau, Government of India, 2012).

Analysing the structure of the ‘incredible India’ campaign, it can be concluded that it
was divided into two Phase. Phase 1 was launched in 2002 which promotes India
Internationally from the point of view of destinations. In Phase 2 paradigm was
shifted towards consumers (tourists).

Strengths of campaign

1. The campaign highlights not only the tourist places in India, but also its
cultural and historical heritage
2. The campaign managed to make a powerful visual impact on the viewers.
3. The campaign was featured sufficiently through print and TV media and
hence had a good reach
4. The Incredible India campaign along with the complementary campaign of
“AtithiDevoBhava” managed to gain popularity

Weaknesses of campaign

1. Some critics believed that the campaign was meant to appeal only to the
affluent tourist and could not appeal to the average tourist.
2. The campaign was found to be unidimensional by some people.
3. Since India is a geographically and culturally diverse country, the campaign
could not manage to cover all the aspects

Opportunities

1. The tourism industry is India is flourishing at a rapid rate and the Incredible
India campaign has a lot of potential to attract tourists.
2. Government spendings on the tourism industry are increasing gradually.

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 3. A wider campaign can be planned leveraging the diversity in India.
Threats

1. Every campaign has its shelf life and so does the Incredible India campaign.
2. If the campaign fails to innovate it will lose its appeal.
3. The neighbouring South-East Asian countries are investing a lot in the
tourism industry which can be a threat.

Problems faced by tourism in India

The ‘Incredible India’ campaign could not be sustained if the quality of experience offered to
tourists did not remain credible. There are three types of major issues for tourists visiting
India.:
1. Human Resource: Availability of skilled manpower is a major challenge faced by the
tourism industry of India. There is a vital need of trained and skilled workforce. There
is no dearth of manpower but there is a shortage of skilled manpower at all the
levels, say; entry level, managerial or supervisory level. There is a lot of talent crunch
of well-trained manpower at retail, airline, BPO and many other sectors of travel &
tourism industry
2. Marketing and promotion: Marketing and promotion of India as a foremost and
most important tourist destination is very critical for the industry. Marketing under
the ―Incredible India‖ campaign has helped India to be known as a good tourist
destination in the world. Still, this brand campaign is not able to promote new
tourism products, like; cruise tourism, adventure tourism, agri tourism, river tourism,
rural tourism, etc. There is an imperative need to change from traditional marketing
approach to competitive and modern approach.
3. Safety and Security: Security is a major concern for tourism. Terror attacks, political
unrest, riots, etc. have affected sentiments of foreign tourists. Terror attacks knock a
strong blow to tourism in the country. Apart from this, safety issues related to
tourists esp. women is also a major concern for tourists. Issues related to health and
hygiene further mars the country‘s image.
4. Lack of proper Infrastructure facilities: Infrastructure like; electricity, transportation
facilities, water supply, roads, telecommunications, accommodation (hotel) facilities,
etc. are deficient in our country. India is short of proper infrastructural facilities for
foreign tourists.

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Conclusions
A clear branding strategy is important for the success of the tourism industry. In the case of
India, India can start with Endorsed brand strategy first but once the international tourists
get familiar with brand India and its states then India can move on to building House of
brand architecture. I explored the concept of nation branding in order to understand how
India imagined itself as a tourist destination and the role of nation branding in the
commodification of people, culture and space for the affluent tourist market.. Indian tourist
market by offering services tailored to Indian cultural characteristics. The focus should be on
delivering a significantly higher level of service quality and adopting the mentality of Indian
tourists. The emphasis should be on service punctuality, professional competence and
apologetic attitude by service providers, social etiquette, customer differentiation based on
social status and age, sense of order, politeness and respect, accuracy and adequacy of
information, concern about the collectivistic needs of the Indian tourists, and binding
personal relations. This study has offered better understanding and useful insights of the
impact of culture on complaints based on a study about hotels. Thus, branding strategy
should be such that effectively communicates country‟s uniqueness‟s and about what all
the states and the country as a whole can offer Apparently, culture plays an important role
in determining how customers expect services to be delivered as well as their complaint
behaviour.

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References
1. http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Guideline_6.pdf
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309783037_Niche_Tourism_Marketing_
A_Case_Study
3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/indian-hospitality-industry-how-hotel-playing-key-
role-vikas-acharya
4. https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/46893_How-Ogilvy-Turned-Rajasthan-Into-
Rohansthan-Nehasthan-Meerasthan-Jennysthan
5. https://www.academia.edu/9428408/Indian_Tourism_Market_An_Overview_of_Em
erging_Trends_and_Development
6. https://www.slideshare.net/OgilvyWW/ogilvy-mather-crosscultural-report
7. http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/naratourismstatisticsweek/statistical/pdf/2009_Th
e_Impact.pdf

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