Government of India Issues Public Relations RFP

The Ministry of Tourism proposes to engage the services of a Public Relations Agency with a global presence (hereinafter referred to as P.R. Agency), for designing and implementing an effective PR communication strategy, media coordination and PR related activities in India and overseas. The endeavor of the Ministry of Tourism is to target the traditional and important source markets overseas from where the country receives a large number of tourists (USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.) as well as to tap potential markets (Russia, South Korea, the Middle East countries, South America, etc.).

Background:

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, as part of its on-going activities, annually releases global print, electronic and online media campaigns in important and potential markets overseas, under the “Incredible India” brand-line, to promote various tourism destinations and products of the country. Promotions are also undertaken through the website and Social Media accounts of the Ministry.

In addition, the India tourism Offices overseas undertake various promotional activities in source markets overseas with the objective of showcasing India’s tourism potential and increasing tourist arrivals to the country. These promotional activities include outdoor advertising, participation in travel fairs and exhibitions; organising road shows, Know India seminars & workshops; organizing and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals; publication of brochures; offering joint advertising and brochure support and inviting media personalities, tour operators and opinion makers to visit the country under the Hospitality Programme of the Ministry. At present, the Ministry has 7 offices overseas, located in New York, Frankfurt, London, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo and Beijing, with one office being opened in Moscow.

Domestic tourism plays an important role in the overall development of the tourism sector in India and growth in this sector, resulting in development of infrastructure and facilities for the domestic tourists, also forms the base for growth of international tourism in the country. The Ministry of Tourism undertakes various activities for promotion of Tourism within the country. These activities are primarily aimed at increasing awareness about tourism destinations and products including lesser known destinations and those in remote areas, with focus on priority areas like the North East and Jammu & Kashmir as well as on Niche Tourism products, spreading Social Awareness messages (including Swachhta or Cleanliness), generating awareness about initiatives and developments in the tourism sector amongst stakeholders and the public and organizing / promoting events which have tourism potential.

The Ministry of Tourism has launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0’ Campaign in the Global Media in 2017-18 which marks a shift from generic promotions undertaken across the world to market specific promotional plans and content creation. The Campaign covers the important source markets for Indian tourism and also takes into account emerging markets with significant potential. The Campaign focuses on increased digital presence through mass reach portals, specific genres and social media, whereas print media has been restricted to travel and thematic magazines for right environment. Television is part of the Campaign due to the large reach offered. Thematic creatives on different Niche products are being produced and a process of market segmentation has been undertaken to understand which tourism product would appeal to tourists in the different international source markets.

The Ministry of Tourism has engaged services of a Media Planning Agency for its media campaigns in India and overseas, a Creative Agency for production of TV commercials, creatives and collaterals and a Social Media Management Agency to handle the accounts of the Ministry on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Vimeo, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Beginning with a turn-around in 2002 when the Incredible India Campaign was first launched, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) to India have steadily grown from 2.38 million in 2002 to 10.18 million (Provisional) in 2017. In terms of Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from tourism, India earned US$ 27.69 billion in 2016 a growth of 20.8% over the previous year. In Rupee terms, the FEE during 2017 were to the tune of Rs. 180,379 Crore (Provisional), registering a growth of 17.0% over the previous year. Domestic Tourist Visits have also been growing steadily and have increased from 747.70 million in 2010 to 1613.55 million in 2016.

There is, however, great scope for further growth in tourism, for India to realise its true potential as a tourism destination. For achieving the objective of growth and projecting India as “Must Visit” destination, an effective and regular flow of communication to consumers, trade and media overseas is of crucial importance. It is also important to keep the stakeholders in the tourism industry and citizens of the country abreast with latest developments and initiatives in the tourism sector, which is a sector which can directly impact livelihoods across all segments of society.

Scope of Work:

Positioning and Strategy

• Prepare a comprehensive PR strategy for brand positioning, to boost the potential of the country in various segments, including but not limited to heritage tourism, adventure tourism, medical & wellness tourism, the MICE segment, cuisine, wildlife, etc. The roadmap should identify all the proposed activities, which would be pre-approved by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Coordinate with the travel and hospitality industry in India and each of the markets overseas for synchronizing and implementing the branding strategy.
• The PR and Branding Strategy should be integrated with and complement the Global and Domestic Media Campaigns, Social Media Promotions being undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Annual program to be submitted which should have quarterly plans which would be monitored on a monthly and quarterly basis.
• Annual measurement index on the favourability of news and perception.

Content Creation and Management

• Create high quality, experiential travel content that aligns with brand Incredible India ’s visuals, mission and market preferences. The content must be uniquely India and compelling to international
• Craft journalistic-style articles/ advertorials for the international and domestic markets, with in-depth insight which is more than research aggregated from web searches. Superior editing skills are a must.
• Prepare content for write-ups, short stories, blogs, tag-lines, short messages, press releases, newsletters, surveys, polls in English, Hindi and other international languages, as required.
• Prepare and disseminate success stories in physical and digital formats (any media buying costs involved would be borne by the Ministry of Tourism and/or its offices).
• Prepare and disseminate information on initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism and latest developments in the tourism sector, both in India and overseas (any media buying costs involved would be borne by the Ministry of Tourism and/or its offices).

Media Related Activities

• Maintaining database of key travel trade, consumer, lifestyle media, travel bloggers and other media in India and each of the identified international markets.
• Identify and build relations with the relevant media within India and the identified international markets.
• Media Liaison and engagement across markets and proactively pitching stories to key media.
• Engage with Social media influencers who write on travel, tourism.
• Dissemination of relevant communications to media through press releases/ notes (at least 4 every month in each identified market), press briefings (at least 3-4 every year in each identified market), announcements (in local languages where required).
• Countering negative media reporting on India with positive stories.
• Press Kits including E-press Kits (in local languages where required).
• Media monitoring –International and Domestic

-Tourism issues related to natural calamities, security threats, health related and others that could impact tourism for the country or specific destination

-International tourism related industry news, trends, destination marketing, promotions etc.

-India tourism related news for destinations, events, promotions etc.

• Response mechanism, news desk and content creation for press notes, releases, briefing for spokespeople, etc. across languages.
• Ability to set up workshops and briefings to sensitize the media so that they can understand and represent the news in the right context and facts across domestic and international markets.
• Identifying and liaison with Media overseas for individual and group media visits to India and follow-up to ensure returns. (Arrangements for the media visits would be made by the Ministry).
• Basic press office activities, like assessment of media requests, dealing with media enquiries, providing press material, documentation and evaluation of results.

PR Activities for Events

Including but not limited to Road Shows / Seminars/ Conferences / International Travel & Tourism Fairs. PR related work for the events would include, but not limited to the following activities

• Maintaining a detailed database of Tour Operators, Travel Agents, MICE operators in India and each of the overseas markets including those selling India and other destinations in Asia.
• Identifying key buyers/media for the events.
• Design and dispatch of e-invites.
• Following up with invitees and receiving RSVPs.
• E-mail blasts regarding the Road Shows / Seminars / Events.
• Registration at the venue.
• Preparing the schedule of meetings between buyer and seller delegates at Road Shows / Travel Marts / Conference in consultation with the India Tourism Office / Ministry of Tourism.
• Identifying and coordination with Hotel / Venue for making required arrangements (Costs involved on venue bookings and other arrangements would be borne by the Ministry of Tourism and/or its offices)
• Coordination with the concerned India Tourism office for the overall organisation of the event.
• Obtaining post-event feedback from the participants regarding the outcome/ effectiveness of the event.
• Sharing of all the information/data with the India Tourism Office.
• Coordinate PR Activitie during the major Travel Fairs & Exhibitions in which the overseas India tourism offices participate – Press Meets, Media Interviews, Press Briefs, etc.

Crisis Management

• The trust of consumers and the public is developed by how countries manage reputational risk and crisis response. The PR Agency should have the organizational capacity to manage the crisis with rapid and accurate responses and communicating the responses globally to avoid misinformation and distortion of facts.
• Issue and crisis response mechanism – ability to set up a 24×7 war room with a robust monitoring and response system. Should have the ability to media train the relevant spokespeople in the Ministry.

Review and Reporting

• Daily media reports and advisory on response to issues, clarifications etc.
• Quarterly/monthly/weekly plan for proactive engagement along with a calendar of events
• Quarterly review of news, activities and events

Other related work

• The Agency will have regular interactions with the Ministry of Tourism, which at times may be at short notice.
• The Agency will interact with the offices of the Ministry of Tourism in India and Overseas (by telephone/e-mail/fax, etc.), to obtain inputs, as and when required.
• The Agency will liaise with the Media Planning Agency, Creative Agency(ies) and Social Media Management Agency, Event Management Agency, etc. working for the Ministry of Tourism and its offices, for effective merging of the media, creative and PR strategies for Incredible India and will provide support as may be required across domestic and international markets.
• Any other minor PR related work that may be assigned by the Ministry of Tourism from time to time.

Due Date:

January 22^nd, 2019

Address:

The Deputy Director General (Publicity),

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India,

Transport Bhawan,

1, Parliament Street,

New Delhi – 110 001

Agencies with strong international arms include Edelman PR and Ketchum PR.