Cultural Ambience Focus Of New Tourism Approach

Chandigarh-based Institute of Tourism and Fashion Technology, which has branches in different parts of the world, has evolved a new strategy to create an ambience replete with a regions historical monuments, culture-based fashion, cuisine, music and textiles.

The focus of a promotion campaign will now be on the culture of a region as a whole rather than on specific places famous only for their historical legacy or natural beauty.

The concept is a marked departure from the current practice of promoting only a particular place. Says ITFT director Gulshan Sharma, visitors to the country should not be asked to visit only the Taj Mahal or the Khajuraho temples but to experience the cuisine, dress, folklore and history of the region.

 

Instead of banking on brochures, the Institute favours attracting visitors through films that help to form the complete picture of the life in a region.

Only the place had been important till now, other aspects of India, which have the potential to attract tourists, have not been exploited, Sharma says. Little wonder then that Switzerland, a country of over six million, attracts three times the number of tourists and Spain, a state half the size of Uttar Pradesh in area, attracts 45 million tourists. Of course, the added advantage these countries have is that the infrastructure facilities are far better, he adds.

The new concept of tourism promotion was put to test at the World Tourism Day celebrations at the Chandigarh institute on September 27, where Mauritian High Commissioner Ramesh Chandra Fokeer was the guest of honour. The tourism departments of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu& Kashmir and Chandigarh administration joined hands to promote the north western region of the country in its entirety.