Economic Development through Collaborative Tourism Marketing in a State Controlled Peripheral Destination: The Case Study of Tripura, India

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the struggles of State controlled tourism destinations in the peripheral areas. Governmental management of tourism makes it harder for destinations to be market oriented. Despite having a host of scintillating attractions across its territory, the State of Tripura in India is yet to come up on the international or even national tourism map. This study draws from literature and secondary data to understand destination marketing issues in Tripura and offers insights that could be generalized to similar destinations. It is observed that, the lethargy created by governmental agencies created an opportunity for nongovernmental agencies to pitch in and become change agents. A blessing in disguise here is that this has helped to create various sustainable, community oriented, social tourism ventures.