MARKETING CULTURAL TOURISM IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY SETTINGS: THE CASE OF MURSHIDABAD, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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.