Marketing Cultural Tourism in a Developing Country Setting: The Case of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Many potential destinations are rich in cultural resources. As cultural tourism becomes increasingly important for communities to showcase their cultural capital, it is vital to assess how cultural tourists can be better understood and serviced through planning and marketing to attract more international visitors. The marketing funnel process can help policymakers understand the critical components of tourists’ visiting behavior. The process conceptualizes the process of how a consumer purchases a product or service from awareness through to purchase. We augment this marketing funnel process by also noting the importance of post-consumption evaluation: the likelihood to recommend. Cultural heritage tourism is an important feature of India’s tourism. Murshidabad, a district of West Bengal, India, situated on the bank of Bhagirathi River, is 220 kilometres away from the State capital, Kolkata. Murshidabad has a large number of cultural resources, both tangible and intangible. The study explores the cultural resources and their potential availability in Murshidabad. This will determine the scope of cultural heritage tourism development. This research assesses tourists’ awareness, visitation, and likelihood to recommend cultural heritage resources in Murshidabad. It also assesses residents’ perceptions towards cultural heritage tourism development as well as the community’s participation level in cultural tourism development. This research uses a quantitative method to sample both tourists and the local community. The findings reveal strong support for cultural tourism development among the local community and high willingness to recommend many cultural attractions, although promotion and awareness of some attractions can be improved.

Potentials and Constraints of Fairs and Festivals Tourism: A Study on Bangladesh

“…West Bengal is known as the land of cultural diversity where people of all religions celebrate festivals with religious harmony. This state is endowed with traditional dance, art, music, fairs, events, arts, and so on (Sinha & Murdia, 2018). Bangladesh is such a country with full of social and cultural fairs and festivals where tourists can explore the diversity of culture.…”

“…Context/Theme Explored 1 R e s e a r c h Article (Latif et al, 2017;Rahman 2012;Joseph & Udoh, 2018;Koutoulas, 2004;Quinn, 2009;Congcong, 2014;Cudny, 2013;Quinn, 2010;Turgay & Dikmen, 2013;Sinha & Murdia, 2018 Research Gap: Bangladesh is a multicultural country and people of all religions here live with harmony and peace. All religions possess unique festivals, fairs and programs celebrated across the country.…”

“…Furthermore, due to sky-culture and modern technology, fairs and festivals; the cultural tourism product, are being lost with the passage of time. Sinha & Murdia (2018) sated that lack of infrastructure (e.g. accessibility, water supply, and connectivity etc.)…”

“…Financial aid should be provided to the organizers, so that they can organize fair and festivals in a regular basis. Good infrastructural development; safe, secured atmosphere must be ensured and publicity and marketing strategies should be adopted by organizers for promoting festivals events (Sinha & Murdia, 2018). To make the fairs and festivals successful assistance from the government authorities, private sectors, and concerned stakeholders are required (Sharma et al, 2017).…”

“…Festivals, being a part of cultural tourism, play an important role to promote cultural tourism and contribute to the economic development of a region. Festivals and fairs also provide experiences about a host community as well (Sinha & Murdia, 2018).…”