India Special
The following article is based on an interview with G. Venkataraman, regional director of East Asia for India tourism, after the receiving the 6th Korea Web Award 2006 - Ed.
"I'm very happy for India Tourism to get the First Prize from the 6th Korea Web Award 2006 hosted by Hankook Ilbo in the categories of convenience and information service. It is proof that the Korean government recognized India as an IT power, since this Korea web award is sponsored by Ministry of Information and Communication," said Gopalakrishnan Venkataraman, East Asia regional director of India tourism. It was awarded the First Prize last February in recognition of many outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of developing Internet business and e-business. The Web site is created and hosted by Advicom Group in Korea, the Ad&PR Agency of India Tourism, Tokyo.
India has earned a reputation as a health and wellness destination, and is now seeing a growth in medical tourism, according to Venkataraman. Because of its developed medical science infrastructure, medical tourism in India is on the increase," he added in a recent interview. "Because it's cost-effective and affordable, many people from Britain, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia come to India for treatment, Medical tourism is a growing market in India, now worth about US$12 billion."
Medical Tourism include Ayurveda - "science of life" - which provides permanent cures for illness, which is based on 5,000-year-old ancient medicine, using herbs and roots that provide natural care, according to Venkataraman.
Not only a medical destination, more and more Korean visitors are looking to India as a cultural, spiritual, fashion and economic destination, Venkataraman said. "The world has realized that India has many things to offer, not only from a tourism point of view, but economic, science and technology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and information technology point of view," he said. "India is increasingly recognized as a destination with many facets;" the regional director pointed out.
India has become a favor destination for individual travelers. According to a survey conducted by Lonely Planet, an Australian travel guide publisher, in 2005, India ranked second in the list of 10 popular destinations for individual travelers after Australia. The United States ranked third and Japan fourth.
To promote tourism, India launched a three-year campaign called Atithi Devo Bhava(ABD) last year. Atithi Devo Bhava means "The visitor is a god" in Sanskrit. "We are looking at tourists as gods. If Korean people come to India, we treat them as gods," Venkataraman said. We have 28 world Heritage Sites approved by UNESCO and, in addition, each prefecture and each province in India has a different culture," he said. "If you go to India, you can see a world of different lifestyles."
Top IT destination in the world
"We are increasingly known as an IT destination and India Tourism launched a campaign called 'IT with Beauty' in the Far East," Venkataraman said. "The campaign combined India's IT prowess with picturesque places and beautiful people of India. India's Miss Universe and Miss World, who held the center stage for many years, have become India's brand ambassadors to enhance the country's image."
Venkataraman also said that his office packages IT tours in collaboration with IT companies in India that have started giving project-management and IT-related training to staff of companies abroad, as well as providing IT tourists with information about places of interest to visit during their stay.
"Incredible India" Brand
India is in the world market with the brand name Incredible India. South Korea is an important primary market for India. India Tourism, Tokyo launched several promotional campaigns in South Korea by participation in all travel shows held in South Korea and organizing road shows, Agent seminars, university promotion as well as working in collaboration with Airlines and organizing familiarization tours for media and travel agents.
India Tourism, Tokyo, recently launched aggressive marketing to promote destination India through electronic media such as TV channels like travel & leisure channels, subway advertisements in Seoul and Busan, LED display advertisements in Seoul.
The South Korean brands such as LG, Samsung, are house hold names in India. And India is attracting a lot of South Korean investments. Similarly, lot of Korean want discover India and walk with Buddha to have spiritual satisfaction by touring places of Buddhist importance as India is land of Buddha. Now, many Korean travelers visit Ayurveda and Yoga centers in India to sooth and pamper Body, Mind and Soul, said Venkataraman.
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