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Responsible Tourism as tool for branding and marketing is slowly dulling in the background with too many cases of greenwashing and/or boring technical achievements in sustainable practices. It’s time to sharpen your marketing edge and liven up the way you tell your story without compromising on credibility and the great business practices you have adopted. Find out how others have told their story and what travellers are really looking for.
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Great Himalaya Trail: A Case Study
Robin Boustead
Brief history of the GHT
• First steps in 1980-81.• Expanding the network of trails from
Arunachal Pradesh to Pakistan.• Stable borders in Nepal from 2003.• The GHT development project.• Goal of combining public and private sectors.• A multi-adventure route through 6 countries.
Why is the GHT different?
• Is the GHT different from other trekking and adventure products?
• Asia’s first long distance walking/adventure route.
• Iconic status of the Himalaya region.• Long distance and GHT trekkers embrace
responsible tourism.• Reaching out to remote communities.
First steps for the GHT.
• Initial interest in the GHT relied on creating relevant media exposure:– Range of stories and issue to target specific media– Working with TV, magazines, etc to identify key
stories– Word of mouth in the adventure travel industry– Developing GHT products for both international
and domestic operators
FAQs about the GHT
• How many trekkers is too many?• Authenticity vs economies of scale?• Deliverable promises in the field?• Accountability and responsible tourism?• How much does it cost and where can I go?
• Critical to have clear answers.
What has worked? (1)
• Production of large amounts of resource information: books, maps, websites
• Identifying new trekking areas that minimised operational risks.
• Iconic ‘High Route’ across the top of the world.
• Pitching an ‘old idea’ as a ‘new product’.
What has worked? (2)
• Savvy local trekking and travel companies joined the media buzz.
• FIT trekkers, especially the long distant walking segment.
• Dove tailing with development agenda.• Creating the ‘GHT’ brand.
What next? (1)
• Expanding the scope and range of the GHT: – More adventures to include watersports, climbing,
horse riding, mountain biking, etc.– More routes to link trails through communities
(cultural trails) or wilderness areas.– To expand the GHT into a regional initiative.– Soft travel and pilgrimages to appeal to a broader
audience.
What next? (2)
• Tailor products to emerging markets, especially Asia.
• Make GHT information more accessible to both travellers and travel organisations.
• Highlighting local entrepreneurship through the development program.
• Focus on measurable deliverables.
Key Deliverables
• Initiate 300 pro-poor micro-enterprises by 2016 across Nepal.
• Itinerary development for international and local trekking businesses.
• Promotional media campaign (both print and online) until 2016.
• Value analysis for all activities.• Local management of the GHT.