The re-positioning of Goa, India The state of Goa is situated in western India on the coast of the Arabian Sea. A Portuguese territory from the 16th century until 1961, Goa is the smallest state in India, but is the strongest economically with the highest GDP per capita, due mainly to its mining and tourism history. Tourism is now taking centre stage due to the collapse of the mining industry. Goa's main tourism attractions are its beaches, cultural and archaeological heritage, and natural biodiversity. In terms of destination marketing, Goa did not become actively involved until the establishment of a government tourism department in the 1960s. During 2014, the Goa Tourism Department (www.gotourism.gov.in) launched a new tourism strategy to rebrand and reposition the state, away from its image as a hippy beach destination, often associated with drug consumption, which had developed since the 1960s. Goa was synonymous with western hippies, backpackers and charter flights full of budget travellers. The repositioning campaign is part of a broader tourism development strategy by the state government that includes new infrastructure such as a new airport and cruise terminal. With the introduction of a liberalized Indian economy in the early 1990s by the then Prime Minsiter P.V. Narasimha Rao, India's middle class grew considerably and many domestic tourism destinations benefitted from this new wealth. Goa has been successful in attracting this Indian middle class travel segment, who perceive Goa as a cool destination in a country that has a much more traditional and conservative culture. For example, Indian women can wear short pants and sleeveless tops, which is not usual in other parts of the country. In this regard, Goa is seen to be safe, comfortable and relaxed. However, the Ministry of Tourism, which oversees the Goa Tourism Department, wanted to diversify the image of the destination, away from just a hippy beach holiday destination, to one featuring more of the rich Portuguese/Indian culture and heritage and nature hinterland. In conjunction with brand management company Chlorophyll, the Goa Tourism Department developed the new Kenna Campaign. Kenna is a Konkani (official local language of Goa) word that means sometimes. The aim is to showcase the destination as being multi-faceted, in that Goa can be many things for visitors. For example the taglines used with pictorial depictions to support the message include: "Kenna Fast, Kenna Slow" "Kenna History, Kenna Mystery" "Kenna Sing, Kenna Dance" "Kenna Party, Kenna Safari" "Kenna Cool, Kenna Hot" "Kenna Spicy, Kenna Mild" "Kenna Rock. Kenna Roll". Given the cost of the repositioning campaign and the recognition that changing a destination's image in the market place can only occur over a long period of time, the Goa Tourism Board intend to use the new Kenna positioning consistently in all marketing communications. The board also recognises the need to demonstrate to tourism businesses the effectiveness of the campaign over time in terms of perceptions held by consumers in key markets. To this end the board has asked management to outline how to measure perceptions of Goa in the Australian market in 2016, two years after the campaign launch. In addition to the new repositioning campaign for Goa, the Goa Tourism Board is also conscious of the need to fit under the umbrella brand of Incredible India. This is because in some international markets there is either a lack of awareness of where Goa is situated or been misconceptions Goa was an independent state, much like Hong Kong in China. Reference Michael, I., & Kotsi, F. (2016). Case study 11.1 - The repositioning of Goa, India. In Pike, S. (Ed). Destination Marketing Essentials. (2nd Ed.).Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 241-242.