Sustainable Tourism Development and Destination Branding in Bihar

Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Development, Destination Branding, Bihar Tourism, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Tourism, Hospitality Industry, Tourism Marketing, Eco-Tourism, Rural Tourism, Tourism Promotion, Brand Positioning, Sustainable Development, Tourist Destinations

Sustainable tourism development and destination branding is one of the most important issues in today's tourism governance: how to increase a destination's tourism economy without harming its very marketability, inherent in the notions of its heritage, culture, ecology, and community integrity. Bihar is particularly challenged by the third most-populous state in India, and is where some of the world's most important spiritual, archaeological and natural heritage is located. Bihar has all the necessary ingredients to become a world class sustainable tourism economy with the presence of UNESCO World Heritage sites of Bodh Gaya and Nalanda, the living Mithila artistic tradition, the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin sanctuary, and the choreography of one of South Asia's most visually captivating religious festivals – Chhath Puja. However, it still does not match its potential for tourism: with only 0.4% of India's international tourist arrivals, tourism GDP contribution is only 1.8% and the average tourist's stay is 1.4 nights. This research paper examines two aspects of the problem of sustainable tourism practices and a strong and effective destination brand for Bihar, and argues that these two are not mutually exclusive; rather, they are mutually constitutive: it is only when tourism development is truly sustainable can it benefit the authentic destination brand; and the authentic tourism destination brand is the very instrument which enables tourism development in ways that do not diminish the natural, spiritual, and cultural assets of Bihar. The paper, based on primary surveys (396), in-depth stakeholder interviews (36), destination sustainability audits conducted at 14 locations and secondary data from UNWTO, the Ministry of Tourism, and Bihar Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), recognises the current SD deficit in Bihar on ecological, socio-cultural and economic fronts, maps the destination brand gap and outlines a Sustainable Destination Brand Framework (SDBF) for Bihar with 14 sustainable tourism strategic recommendations and a 10-year implementation roadmap that is linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).