A study on Destination Brand Equity elements and Tourist Perceptions of Heritage Destinations in Karnataka

Abstract

Tourism in India is seeing broad expansion as a result of increased inbound tourism by the developing Indian middle class, rising intake of foreign tourists and effective government initiatives like "Incredible India" to promote tourism. Beautiful beaches, forests, wild life, and landscapes for eco-tourism; snow, river, and mountain peaks for adventure tourism; technological parks and science museums for science tourism; pilgrimage centres for spiritual tourism; and heritage, trains, and hotels for heritage tourism are among the other attractions. Tourists are also drawn to yoga, Ayurveda, natural health spas, and hill stations. Development of branding elements can also be extended to understand the importance of tourism destinations and their significant contributions towards social and economic empowerment. The destination branding may lead to the creating of vast knowledge regarding the place, tourism destination and hence branding the tourism destination is of prime importance today.