At first glance, tourism and intellectual property seem two very disparate concepts. However, on further analysis tourism is dependent upon intellectual property. The paramount reason being that tourism as an industry heavily impacts economic growth of a nation, is one of the main sources of income for countries; especially the developing countries and is a major player of international commerce and thus aids the inflow of foreign exchange. In view of the open market economy and globalization, it becomes imperative to avail the intellectual property mechanism in order to strengthen and enhance the competitiveness of the enterprises and thereby of the economy as a whole.

More recently, branding is not only limited to consumer products and services but has extended to destinations. This concept has widely come to be known as ‘destination branding’. However, branding in isolation is not sufficient; the same needs to be epitomized by trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property mechanisms so as to protect the same from the risk of unauthorized copying. Trademarks, geographical indication (certification marks or collective marks), copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets and patents contribute towards the whole brand image and thereby helps in developing and exploiting a brand in its entirety.

Thus, having an attractive logo and a catchy tagline would not suffice in itself, it becomes incumbent upon the proprietor to get the same registered nationally or internationally which forms the bedrock of destination branding.

For example, - the eminent trademark owned by the state of New York has gained astronomical popularity and is embedded in the minds of the tourists who see the iconic skyline, cloud-piercing spires of the Empire State and Chrysler Building, Manhattan’s grid, cocktails of Manhattan, music, hip-hop, pizza and cheesecake of New York through this logo.

: the illustrious logo of Malaysia. The ‘Malaysia- truly Asia’ campaign has gained colossal popularity which captures and defines the country’s unique diversity. It sums up the distinctiveness and allure of Malaysia that make it an exceptional tourist destination.

These are just a few examples of states and nations branding themselves as a tourist destination. In essence, a destination is a composition of a diversity of elements such as its culture, history, landscapes and artefacts, and all of those experiences can be brought under the logo or tagline of a single destination brand. This concept has popularly come to be known as ‘Umbrella branding’.

For example,

The government of Australia owns this registered trademark and allows the third parties to apply this mark on goods and services of Australia as per the legal parameters and more specifically followed by the “™ Trade Mark of Tourism Australia”

Intrinsically, an umbrella brand unifies the tourism sector of a particular region or of a country and allows the trademarks of third parties including certificate marks, collective marks and geographical indications to benefit from the standing of a particular destination brand and each of these trademarks collectively contribute towards strengthening the umbrella brand.

However, destination branding is not limited to a registered fancy logo or a registered catchy tagline, there are more aspects to an effective destination branding, each of which can be granted legal protection through various intellectual property mechanisms.

A destination is also known for its various products that originate and are particular to a country or region and possess certain reputation and quality by virtue of such geographical origin. A sign or a mark on these products specifying its origin is known as Geographical Indication (GI). Geographical Indications and appellations apart from facilitating business, attract tourists.

Examples of some prominent GIs are

Bordeaux wine ,

Switzerland Gruyère cheese .

Designs of handicrafts, traditional products and merchandise particular to a specific region or country can also be protected through the Law of Industrial Designs.

Creativity and imagination in new and innovative ideas would be inefficacious if the same are not actualised to conquer the hearts and minds of the masses. Advertising, amidst the deluge of advertisements, which not only has an overwhelming impact over the audiences when they perceive it but is also remembered long enough and eloquently communicates the unique selling proposition of a destination so as to make potential tourists into actual ones, is an effective tool to put ideas into life. Nevertheless, advertising is a costly affair and consequently, it becomes imperative to protect the exclusive rights of these creations from imitations.

As culled out from various publications of WIPO, an advertisement campaign can be protected in the following ways:

  • A logo, device, image, wordmark, tagline, slogans or a combination of these can be protected by registering them as a trademark; nationally and internationally. The ceaseless development in technology has made it possible to device animated/moving image marks and smell or sound marks which can also be granted protection under the Law of Trademarks. The corresponding website of the mark can also be registered as a domain name.
  • The creative content, such as written material, slogans, photographs, graphics, art, images, the layout of an advertisement, music, sounds, audio video, the design of a website, layout of a brochure etc. can be protected under the Law of Copyrights.
  • The various advertising techniques and means of doing business can be protected under the Law of Patents.

Intellectual Property Rights apart from creating exclusive rights from third party exploitation are like tangible assets to the owner and help in creating more value.

INCREDIBLE INDIA: A STEP TOWARDS DESTINATION BRANDING

Over the past few years India has seen a surge in the tourism and travel industry. In 2017, the total contribution towards GDP by the travel and tourism industry was Rs. 15.24 trillion with India ranking 7th among 184 counties in its contribution towards GDP in the said sector. This contribution is expected to more than double by the year 2028 to a sum of Rs. 32.05 trillion. Travel and tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for India. The target set by Government of India for 2020 is to achieve 20 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and increase the foreign exchange earning twofold.

The country has seen a parallel growth in Intellectual Property Rights. India is taking a lead amongst the emerging economies. It ranked 60 amongst 127 countries in the Global Innovation Index (a joint initiative by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Cornell University).

The branding and marketing initiative ‘Incredible India’, launched by The Ministry of Tourism of the Government of India and conceptualized in 2002 has provided a momentum of growth in the sector and has created a distinctive identity for the country. The mark ‘Incredible India’  is a registered trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The mark is also a registered trademark in Canada. This iconic logo, with an exclamation mark in place of ‘I’ of India created a colossal effect creating a mind boggling and intensive depth of the Indian experience, establishing India as a high-end tourist destination and creating a 16% increase in the tourist traffic right in the first year. The second year of the campaign focused on spiritual tourism. In the next few years, the campaign reached shooting heights with the campaign focusing on experiences of tourists who came to visit India and the tourists who stayed back in India to make the country their home.

Thereby, by the means of this logo, the audience were made to perceive entire India; its diversity, culture, states, languages, people, cuisines, history, cultural heritage, wildlife and nature.

Not only the Government of India, but the Government of some of the states of the Nation have taken initiatives to brand their state as a tourist destination.

The branding done by the state of Kerala with the logo

, is the tourism ‘wonderchild’ of India and is a registered trademark. The symbiosis of high mountains and seas, the verdure, Ayurveda and 100 per cent literacy made Kerala an enchanting destination for high-end tourists.

The state of Gujarat has got the logo  registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The campaign moved along with the tag line ‘Khushboo Gujarat ki’ with Amitabh Bachchan making his appearance in the advertisements aired for the campaign. The State managed to hold on to impressive growth rates in tourist footfalls.

The State of Madhya Pradesh has got the trade mark registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The Trade Mark used by the state of Madhya Pradesh includes the Trade Mark of the Country and thus can be taken as an Umbrella Brand being utilised by the state to benefit from the reputation of the trade mark and at the same time contributing towards the strengthening of the trademark of the nation.

travellers and aims to highlight some of the lesser known facets of this historic state.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In view of the changing market scenarios and a globalized economy the rules of the game have changed. In the presence of intense competition and crowded tourism market, registering and legally protecting the intellectual property gives the means to fully leverage a region or nation as a destination brand and distinguishes one country from other countries. Giving due regard to the fact that tourism as an industry is indispensable to the economy and inflow of foreign exchange, this theory is of critical importance for developing countries and transition economies as they suffer from an image which has been moulded in an earlier political and social era which can be an impediment in their development. However, perceiving the tourism industry as a collective endeavour with a spirit of collaboration rather than competition by the stakeholders present in a country, can aid in ameliorating the image of a country.

Our Nation and some of its states have taken a step towards destination branding synergistically with the Intellectual Property Mechanism. Nonetheless, there is a long way to go to reach unfathomable heights. The solution lies in primarily, articulating methods of poignant and effective advertising and branding by the nation and its states and eventually reaping the benefits of national and international intellectual property system which provides a structure and tool for protecting, managing, exploiting and enforcing the rights arising from the intangibles of a nation.