ABSTRACT
Themed routes are powerful regional development and marketing tools that attract tourists around the world. India has committed to developing multiple themed routes through the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Applying a conceptual framework of themed route marketing developed on the basis of collaboration in destination marketing and branding literature, this paper examines secondary data on themed routes in India and finds that multiple shortcomings exist. Specifically, the findings suggest unclear and potentially conflicting roles of DMOs, uncoordinated partner efforts, lack of co-marketing and missed co-branding opportunities, all of which lead to diluted branding of themed routes. The paper concludes by proposing five guidelines for marketing themed routes in India.
