Regional govts are marketing ‘staycations’

For many years, all tour ism advertising and promotion was handled by central government bodies. However, a few years ago, some states star ted providing bigger budgets to their own departments of tourism. Realizing that international tourism will always be seasonal, regional tourism boards made a concerted eff ort to target the expanding domestic tourism market. For instance, in Goa, foreign tourists arrive in October but during monsoon months there are few arrivals so the local government of Goa sold the “Goa in the Rains” campaign as a domestic package, where the state rolled out attractions designed specifically for Indians. The state of Kerala has also packaged the monsoon season to domestic tourists with their “Dream Season” campaign where attractions such as yoga and wellness camps appeal mainly to Indian tourists.