Marketing India as a tourist destination in North America-challenges and opportunities

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how effective marketing can be employed by India's tourist department to attract North American tourists. It is found that Indian tourism marketers have traditionally attempted to 'sell' their services rather than market them. Seven specific steps are recommended for increasing tourism to India: (1) improving the image, (2) identifying target markets; (3) strategically locating tourist offices; (4) developing promotional themes; (5) correcting attitudinal problems; (6) improving product strategy; and (7) promoting India as a convention destination. It is concluded that the Indian Government must attend to all seven steps before being able to significantly improve their ability to attract North American tourists.