Trends

Star-struck tourism

NTOs have used our Bollywood brigade to help increase tourist flow into their countries - a means that has worked wonders for them. Sadly, Indian tourism boards have so far looked past the stardust. Preeti Kannan checks out some reel truths

When not shooting for a potboiler, Indian celebrities from the tinsel world are probably promoting exotic foreign locations, endorsing tourism of every other country except their own.

After wooing Bollywood and other production units to shoot in their countries, NTOs have now gone a step forward and are looking at Indian actors to endorse their countries, and in the process entice Indians to come visiting. Consequently, actors have created considerable visibility for different international destinations, making them appealing to a large section of the Indian market by uncovering the excitement, adventure, diverse and distinct beauty of each place innovatively. Whether or not these advertisements have directly influenced the Indian traveller’s mind is anybody's guess. But each of these countries has recorded a marked increase of Indian tourists over the years.

The story so far…

In 2001, Mauritius undertook a print campaign with model Malaika Arora Khan, fashion diva Ritu Beri and later Miss India, Amrita Thapar to give tourism a boost after the September 11 attacks. It was an unusual celebrity postcard campaign, with the women penning down their experiences in Mauritius.

After Thapar visited the island, her location photographs were used for more print campaigns. The thematic advertisements, explains Rajeev Nangia, associate director of operations for Trac Representation, which represents various tourism boards in India, was in the form of letters and postcards to highlight what they felt about the island.

South Africa had different plans when it took Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor as a brand ambassador. It was his close relationship with the country over the last decade, besides being easily identifiable among the large Indian population that made him the natural choice. Lance Littlefield, country head in India for South African Tourism, explains, "Anil is one of the few Bollywood actors who has shot five movies in South Africa. He has been visiting the country for more than a decade now for business and leisure."

South Africa wants its association with its global ambassador to go beyond advertisements. "Given his vast repertoire of work, he will help us establish ties with newer audiences both in India and overseas. Till date no campaigns with him have been executed. However, the actor does have plans to use the beautiful locales of South Africa for his forthcoming movies," adds Littlefield. The board hopes to build a rapport with both Indian film directors and Indian audiences through Kapoor's films in South Africa.

About two months ago, Singapore Tourism Board came up with a few testimonials with a cross-section of Indian actors, including Malaika Arora Khan, model-cum-actress Yana Gupta (advertisement telecast in North India) and South Indian heartthrob Madhavan (telecast in South India). These advertisements were part of the second phase of the 'Uniquely Singapore' campaign in India and were specifically targeted at key consumer segments, with Yana Gupta appealing to the yuppie crowd with her shopping experiences. Malaika Arora Khan was seen enjoying herself with her family in Singapore and Madhavan showcased the adventurous side of the country by scuba diving. The area director of Singapore Tourism Board (Western India) Rebecca Lim avers that the reason behind the choice of these stars was because they are considered opinion leaders. "We are not restricting ourselves to getting actors to talk about their experiences in Singapore. We would like to cater to different segments and for this, we are open to different strategies," she opines. The board is now conducting a study to ascertain the impact of these advertisements that were aired.

Hong Kong is not too far. Looked upon as the 'Hollywood of the East', Hong Kong Tourism Board had arranged martial art expert and actor Akshay Kumar to meet with Jackie Chan. Later, model Diana Hayden hosted Hong Kong Bollywood Movie Odyssey, a project developed by AXN Asia showcasing glimpses of the country featured in famous Bollywood movies.

From reel to real

Evidently, NTOs have taken complete advantage of the fact that Bollywood is a force to reckon with in India. So why are the State Tourism Boards (STBs) in India not cashing in on the celebrity appeal of these big stars?

Six months back Orissa was said to have clinched a deal with dusky beauty Nandita Das to take tourism forward. But the deal remained confined to talks. Santosh Kumar Sarangi, director of Orissa Tourism board, says, "She has agreed in principal to be our brand ambassador but we haven't finalised anything. We have now appointed a media management company to study whether the state needs a brand ambassador or not."

Similarly, there have been murmurs in the market that actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai would be endorsing God's Own Country. But ask Kerala Tourism Board and they are mum about it. Sources in the board say that nothing has been finalised yet and with the change in guard, the decision might take a little longer. Only time will determine if Kerala will pioneer yet another idea for innovative branding.

Going beyond glam

However, joint secretary of tourism, Amitabh Kant, is of the opinion that Brand India is not about getting actors to showcase the diverse aspects of India, but about getting people from various segments who have contributed to the society. That is the reason, he explains, why Incredible India campaigns in Europe and other countries feature Deepak Chopra promoting ayurveda, sinuous beauty Saira Mohan talking about fashion, flying Sikh Milka Singh shown golfing and Sufi singer Zila Khan giving a lowdown on art and heritage in India. "Incredible India is a brand that can be built by people who can move destinations and these are all intellectual celebrities," says Kant.

Similarly, the Incredible India campaigns shown only in India have celebrities like Shabana Azmi, Dilip Kumar, Sania Mirza and Kapil Dev to entice Indians to travel to the lesser known destinations within the country. "We are using both Indian and international people who have excelled in their fields. We are not confining our campaigns to only to actors but also including personalities. But, when it comes to replicating this among STBs, he says it is up to each one of them to decide how they want to advertise.

Nangia concurs with Kant's view adding that it is imperative to look beyond the glam factor attached to celebrities, be it actors or sportsmen. He stresses the need for a product differentiation first before giving the product a face. But he does suggest an alternative too where the MoT could look at creating a talent pool of celebrities to promote the country at home and outside. He points out that using stars could be one of the strategies, but not the only one, to promote tourism.

The fact remains that promoting tourism requires sustained efforts to woo tourists and enhance brand recall. Whether it is Big B inviting people to visit a location or Shabana Azmi enticing travellers, tourism is about testing out new and unconventional trends and, in the process, leaving no stone unturned to promote the country.