EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF TOURISM MARKETING ON TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION: AN EVIDENCE FROM INDIA

Tourism, as defined by modern books, is one of the fastest growing industries in India, which provides a significant number of job opportunities, promotes the cultural exchange and supports the economic growth.  This study questions the effect of tourism marketing on visitor satisfaction with specific reference to promotional activities, destination image, and service quality as the precursors of behavioural intentions like revisit propensity and word-of-mouth advocacy.  The primary source of data was a structured questionnaire which was given to 512 itinerants in different Indian destinations.  The analysis of interrelations between the main marketing constructs was made possible through the descriptive and frequency analysis, which was carried out using SPSS.  It has been found that effective marketing communication combined with positive destination image supports the perception of service quality, which in turn, enhances the totality of tourist satisfaction and loyalty. Although the general response of the respondents is to confirm the existence of a positive attitude towards marketing activities and allure of the destinations, the level of satisfaction, in general, is moderate, which highlights the necessity of improving the services.  In turn, tourism stakeholders and privately-owned operators will need to adopt combined marketing strategies that will combine the authentic experience products, online interactions, and reliable delivery of services. Overall, the continuation of sustainable tourism development in India depends on the alignment of marketing language with actual experiences, and the strengthening of destination brand, and the sustainable improvement of the services.