A Project Report on

By
SABOOWALA SUFYAN
S.Y.BMS
Roll. No. 690
 Atithi Devo Bhava
"The perception of what tourism means to a country has to undergo a sea change if
India has to move from its current status of 3.3 million foreign tourists arrivals in 2004 to
the top10 tourist destinations in the world. People have to be sensitive and aware of the
role of tourism; otherwise we will kill the goose that lays the golden egg. When tourism
happens, prosperity increases."

- Renuka Chowdhury, Minister for Tourism, India, in January 2005.

THE CAMPAIGN:
Atithi Devo Bhavah Program”-is a nationwide campaign introduced by the
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, that aims at sensitizing key stakeholders
towards tourists, through a process of training and orientation. The endeavour is to
boost tourism in India, which in turn would act as a catalyst for India’s economic growth.
To launch a national level initiative that works at many levels to address all the above
issues.

'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a Social Awareness Campaign aimed at providing the

inbound tourist a sense of being welcomed to the country. The campaign targets the
general public as a whole, while focusing mainly on the stakeholders of the tourism
industry. The main components of the campaign are training and orientation to taxi
drivers, guides, immigration officers, tourist police and other personnel directly
interacting with the tourists, while simultaneously creating a brand equity for the trained
persons.

'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a nationwide campaign aimed at sensitising people about

India's rich cultural heritage, its preservation, cleanliness, hospitality and bringing out an
attitudinal shift among the masses towards tourists. It is a symbolic representation of
India's age old hospitality and with this campaign, the Ministry of Tourism is trying to re-
install in the stakeholders a sense of pride and responsibility towards tourists and re-
enforces the confidence of foreign tourist towards India as a preferred holiday
destination thereby positioning India as a popular tourist destination worldwide.

"Atithi Devo Bhavah" involves Sensitisation, Screening, Induction, Training &

Orientation, Certification and Feedback of key stakeholders of the Tourism industry in
India. The entire concept is designed to complement the ‘Incredible India’ Campaign.

The Ministry of Tourism is thus looking at both the macro and micro perspective
by promoting destinations on the one hand and bringing about a sea change in the
mindset and behaviour of people, on the other.
 SUCCESS REASONS:
The seven point Atithi Devo Bhavah Program:
Atithi Devo Bhavah is a 7 point program of hospitality and training

i. Samvedan Sheelta or Sensitization -

Here the government sensitizes the various sections of the tourism industry about how
each of them can contribute for the growth of the tourism industry and how they will
benefit from it.

ii. Prashikshan or Training and Induction -

This involves explaining them the needs and expectation of the tourist, how they should
respond and behave in order to satisfy their needs and meet those expectations.

iii. Prerna or Motivation -

This is motivation to participate in this program through various measures e.g. awards
for the best worker in the segment. Because when you are enthused you can do
wonders.

iv. Pramani Karan or Certification -

Certification to ensure standards shall be done at an appropriate stage in the training
program.

v. Pratipushti or Feedback -
Feedback shall be obtained from tourists about the Service they have received and the
experience they had, in order to improve the training program on a continuous basis.

vi. Samanya Bodh or General Awareness -

The mass media communication campaign is undertaken by the government to create
general awareness among the public about the necessity and the benefits of the Atithi
Devo Bhavah programme.

vii. Swamitwa or Ownership -

The Atithi Devo Bhavah program is a movement that government urges all segments of
the Indian society to adopt, and look upon as their own.
Brand Ambassador:

To add the so called

‘star’ value to their
campaign, the
government roped in
idol Aamir Khan for the
promotion of their
initiative. Known to
stand up for the right
causes, Aamir agreed
and tried his bit to help
the cause further.

Notably choosy about

his products, Khan
seems to be a good
judge of ‘value’ and ‘credibility’. He especially ensures that the brands he endorses are
stamped with the ‘certified’ mark. Also, before forming an association, Aamir leaves no
stone unturned to establish the quality of a given product or company. Aamir being
discerning, brings a sense of differentiation, embodies quality and is dignified. He also
adds a certain seriousness to the message of the brand.

The ads that we see on the television all have a simple message that is put across as
lucidly as ever so that the common Indian can understand the worth of foreigners who
visit our land. It inculcates a sense of cleanliness, hygiene and etiquette among viewers
and sensitizes not only the stakeholders, but also the common man to protect and
maintain our rich and varied heritage, behave in a courteous and polite manner with the
tourists and provide service to the tourists with honesty and integrity. Not many would
know that a visit/entry to the Taj Mahal in Agra costs an Indian a mere R.s 30, but costs
foreigners many times that amount.

ADB-Microsoft Joint Initiative:

With its popularity and global reach, Microsoft, along with Initiative, partnered with the
Ministry to produce an online advertising campaign across the MSN/Windows Live
platform that ran in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific from October 2006 to
May 2007.

After developing colorful creative that highlighted India as an exotic destination and
generating a compelling media plan that optimized the placement of the creative, the
campaign ran on MSN Homepage and MSN Channels such as Travel, News, and
Entertainment using a series of rich media banners. Opt-in e-mail newsletters were sent
to Windows Live Hotmail users who had previously expressed an interest in travel.

The India Tourism campaign was successful in reaching the right target audience and
branding India as an exciting and attractive travel destination. Microsoft provided the
Ministry with direct access to important international markets and helped improve the
performance of the overall campaign. Furthermore, the campaign enabled the Ministry
to reach out and engage directly with its target audience.

RESULTS:
Microsoft commissioned market research agency Cross-Tab to assess the effectiveness
of the India Tourism campaign on MSN/Windows Live. Results showed an increase in
favorability and travel intent towards India, positive perceptions towards the country as a
travel destination, and revealed that consumers view the Internet as a valuable tool for
planning travel.

High recall – 58 percent of those recalling the India Tourism campaign on

MSN/Windows Live were more favorable towards having a holiday in India, compared to
34 percent of those who did not recall seeing the campaign.

Positive perception - Over 75 percent of people viewing the campaign agreed that India
‘has many heritage sites’, ‘is rich in culture’, ‘has beautiful scenery/ natural environment’
and ‘is an attractive destination overall’.

Positive attitude towards advertising on Microsoft – 83 percent agreed ‘advertising on

MSN is a good way to speak to international travelers’.

Right target audience – 84 percent were decision makers for family holiday travel.
 According to figures
released by the Ministry
of Tourism (MoT),
Government of India
(GoI), in April 2007,
around 1.42 million
international tourists
visited India in the first
quarter of 2007 (Q1
2007). This was 14.4
percent higher than in
the corresponding
period in 2006. The
foreign exchange
earned in Q1 2007 was Rs.910.24 million4, representing growth of 16.8 percent over
Q1 2006. These strong growth figures raised hopes of another good year for the tourism
industry in India. The figures came on top of growth of 13.3 percent in 2006 when
around 4.43 million tourists had visited India.
 Bibliography

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