From the viewpoint of a tourist, particularly from that of a foreign traveller, a word tantamount with India is ‘culture’. Festivals have been generating a significant amount of tourists and are being recognised as a form of cultural tourism, by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Govt. of India as well as the state tourism boards, with millions of tourists attending major Indian festivals each year. Cultural tourism is one of the significant branches of tourism. The World Tourism Organization suggests that more than 40 percent of all international tourists are “cultural tourists”.
The study of festivals and events is now an important and prolific area of tourism research enquiry. Festivals and events have flourished in recent decades and interest in understanding their significance in the tourism academy has risen accordingly, stated Arun Srivastava, Deputy Director General/Regional Director, Northern India, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, “The festivals have changed over the years. Earlier festivals were associated with key calendar moments, linked specifically to particular seasons and heritage sites. Over the last decade these have been changed and developed, and there is now a broad and diverse range of festivals and events taking place all over India through the year.”
When one observes the marketing campaigns used to promote India, the fairs and festivals of this country are some of the key contributors to the image of Incredible India. MOT is organising the 3rd Annual International Travel Mart at Shillong, Meghalaya, in October 2014 with the objective of promoting tourism from the world over, to the North Eastern region. The first edition took place in Guwahati, Assam, after which it moved to Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
Recognising the potential that this segment holds, Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said, “Festivals have the potential to extend tourist seasons, peak seasons and introduce a “new season” for a destination. Events such as festivals not only attract tourists but also help to develop or maintain a community or regional identity. Festivals constitute one of the most exciting and fastest growing forms of leisure, business, and tourism-related phenomena.”
Srivastava stated that fairs and festivals are rising in popularity and are generating demand among tourists, along with creating trends in the niche tourism segment. “Tourism boards across the world have used festivals for generating opportunities to promote tourism. It is time that India follows a similar trend and slowly makes its mark as a premier events and festival destination.”
Local festival celebrations have generated great curiosity in the domestic and inbound markets. This recent trend is turning into a big advantage for the Indian tourism industry and the major stakeholders believe that with the correct marketing and positioning of the festival or event, this particular segment may prove to be the biggest tourist pull for India.
India: The ‘Nation of festivals’
In a nation as diverse as India, several cultures have, over the centuries, made India a land of everlasting festivals. Every small occasion, from welcoming the spring or rain and the harvesting of crops, to seeing the full moon, lends itself to joyous celebrations splashed with colours, music, folk dances and songs.
The Kumbh Mela festival is the largest gathering of religious pilgrims in the world and takes place at the intersection of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers. An increasing number of foreign tourists attend the Kumbh Mela to be part of the celebrations and witness religious practices. “More than 120 million (12 crore) people visited this event, which is the largest number in any Kumbh in Allahabad so far. A tented township was set up for the pilgrims over an area of 2 hectares of land along the river. As many as five power substations, temporary police stations, hospitals and stalls were set up for providing various facilities to the visitors,” informed, Shashank Vikram, Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation.
He further added that the state tourism board has also tied up with the travel trade and set up tour packages that are suited best for international as well as domestic tourists. The Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan, which had earlier begun as a means for trade in the deserts of the state, has now been popularised as a world-famous cattle fair. Hundreds of herders descend upon Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan for the five-day annual camel fair. The festival attracts 300,000 people and up to 20,000 camels, cattle and horses. The event, which sees tough bartering over livestock, has also become a major tourist attraction in recent years with a fair football match between the locals and visitors. The festival also includes music performances and competitions such as the ‘matka phod’, ‘longest moustache’ and ‘bridal competition’. The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has been persistently promoting the Pushkar Fair, especially for the inbound market.
Sailendra Agarwal, Principal Secretary- Tourism, Rajasthan Government said, “Pushkar has now turned into a significant tourist attraction due to the footfall that the fair has witnessed. Pushkar now attracts tourists even during the non-festive season. We plan to promote this festival in international markets on a much bigger scale as we realise that we need to show the world how unique we are.”
Gujarat is state that has made its mark on the international tourism map by predominantly promoting its fairs and festivals. The Navratri festival and the Rann Utsav of Kutch are the most important and internationally renowned festivals. Gujarat has been aggressively promoting fairs and festivals in the state as there has been an increasing interest and footfall for the same in the state. “In 2013-14 the Rann of Kutch festival saw in all 2.5 lakh tourists out of which 37 per cent were international travelers,” shared Sonal Mishra , Secretary (Tourism, Devasthanam Management and Pilgrimage), Govt of Gujarat.
Other festivals gaining momentum in Gujarat include International Kite Festival (Uttarayan), Modhera Dance Festival, Bhavnath Fair, Chitra Vichitra Fair, Tarnetar Fair, Bhadrapad Ambaji Fair, Navratri Festival, Lili Parikrama Fair, Shamlaji Fair, Vautha Fair, Kawnat Fair, Rann Utsav, Tanariri Festival and Dangs Darbar Festival, Gujarat is a delight for art and culture lovers. Mishra further informed that festivals are a major part of Gujarat’s promotional campaign and will remain a USP for the state.
Festivals are now being developed with the primary motive of promoting them as tourism products and also increasing tourist footfall for the destination. The Ladakh Festival, conducted for 15 days every year, is one such festival. Apart from music, folk dancing and archery competitions, one of the festival’s main attractions are polo matches played in a dusty ground framed by the former royal palace and stark rocky ridges. Ladakh as a destination has grown in popularity, especially among domestic tourists due to the extensive promotion of festivals like the Ladakh Festival. Many tours for the Ladakh Festival have been launched in the market.
Known for its elaborate carnivals, music festivals and food festivals, Goa is the ‘It’ place to visit from international as well as domestic tourists. Touted as the Rio de Janeiro of India, Goa is on everybody’s bucket list. This year Goa Tourism will only focus on promoting its festivals, carnivals and events, shared Nikhil Desai, Director, Tourism, Govt. of Goa, said. “Goa is much more than just a beach destination and moving forward we want to establish it as an events capital of India. The Carnaval is the highlight of our state and our vision is to see it become as popular as the legendary Brazilian Carnival.”
He further stated that, buoyant by the success of festivals in Goa last year, the state is also promoting and packaging festivals and events such as the Cashew & Coconut Festival, Shigmo, Sao Jao, Bonderam and Tirpurari Purnima. “We expect more than 2.5 lakh tourists to participate in the Carnaval this year, which recorded nearly 2 lakh tourists last year,” he added.
In South India, the Snake Boat Race Festival of Kerala is thronged with tourists every year. Conducted on the second Saturday of every August, the Snake Boat Race is one of the major tourist attractions in Kerala. Vijayan Thomas, Chairman, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) informed that Kerala Boat Festival is the unique feature of the backwaters, has become an icon of the state and attracts lakhs of tourists every year. “We are now going to build marketing campaigns around the festival and package it along with our other tourism products as Kerala is very rich in culture, art and history.”
The Kerala Government is also gearing up for the eighth edition of Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF). Starts from December 2014, the Season 8 – the largest shopping carnival of Kerala – will ends in January 2015. The festival, organised by the government of Kerala in association with the state’s Department of Tourism, offers 100 per cent VAT refund to tourists from outside the state who visit and shop in Kerala during the season.
New entrants cashing in on the segment
West Bengal Tourism will also focus on its festivals and religious heritage. The West Bengal government has taken several initiatives to participate in all major travel and tourism festivals across India. Needless to say, the tourism industry contributes significantly to the foreign exchange earnings, and with the changing lifestyle pattern in the garb of modernity, this sector has been an area of much importance. West Bengal takes this opportunity to usher in a new era for a domestic as well as international travel market.
“With West Bengal blessed with landmark pilgrimage sites and colourful festivals, we would like to re-emphasise West Bengal and Kolkata as a destination made famous for its cultural and religious heritage. Major festivals such as the famous Durga Puja will create added value to the marketing effort of the department,” shared Umapada Chatterjee, Director Tourism, West Bengal.
Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) organises the Sirpur National Dance and Music Festival at Sirpur near Raipur every year to showcase the cultural heritage of Chhattisgarh. This event is organised every year in the first week of January by Chhattisgarh Tourism Board in order to promote Buddhist sites in Sirpur. The Buddhist cultural heritage has a long and special history that dates back to more than 2,500 years and unites most of South, South-East and East Asia. The influence of Buddhism can be seen across all Asian countries in terms of history and culture.
Uttarakhand is all set to host an Adventure Sports Festival this month at Koti Colony, Tehri. The event will highlight the various adventure sports an adventure enthusiast would enjoy. Dinesh Dhanai, Tourism, Culture, Pilgrimage Management and Religious Fairs and Youth Welfare Minister, informed that various activities of parachute jumping, para-gliding and water sports that will be showcased by the Indian Air Force personnel. Various amusement activities will be organised at the Tehri Lake, such as laser light show, hot air balloon; boating and adventure water sports. Each of these will be showcased by experts.
A cultural programme will be organised on the first evening of the two-day event. A workshop on the adventure tourism policy as well as on the plans for developing the Tehri Lake and its surroundings will be organised.
Addressing the gathering, Dhanai stated that Uttarakhand is to be developed for tourism, adding that the 45 km long lake at Tehri offers unlimited opportunities for water sports. The entire state will benefit and its impact will be felt across India, he opined.
The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has recently started cashing in on this niche segment by developing festivals and fairs around its region all throughout the year by showcasing Maharashtra’s rich heritage through festivals. Valsa Nair-Singh, Secretary – Tourism, Govt of Maharashtra, opined “Being a new entrant in the tourism side, I am glad that the Maharashtra government has always come up with innovative and interactive tourism products for our travellers. Our new festivals such as the Elephanta Festival, the Pune festival, Ganesh Utsav, the Ellora Festival, the Kalidas Festival the Konkan and Strawberry Festivals are a part of our strategy to introduce new facets of Maharashtra to the world. The Elephanta Festival 2014 witnessed an increase of 15 to 20 per cent in foreign tourist attendance as compared with last year.
The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has also kept up with the promotional march for their cultural fairs and festival offerings. Chandana Khan, Special Chief Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Archaeology & Museums, Archives & Youth Services & Sports, NCC, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (AP), said, “Both domestically and internationally, culture is now an aspect people want to experience and understand rather just gloss over it. Festivals and fairs are the best place to participate in the cultural spectrum of our country. Both in terms of inbound and domestic travellers, there is an increasing interest due to exposure and global awareness about the cultural aspects of India.”
What more can be done?
According to Goyal, there is incredible scope for Festival Tourism as there is a lot more in this segment to travel around. The right promotion is all it will take to put Fairs and Festival Tourism on the high-popularity map in the coming years.
However, safety and awareness still remain the two roadblocks faced by tour operators. “A suitable promotional strategy with special focus on Festival Tourism is necessary to create more awareness about the fairs and festivals of this country. Another important challenge is safety of travellers, especially women travellers,” he concluded.
