To position its unique mobility solution for inter-city travel, Ola Outstation, the company partnered with seven state tourism boards in the country to take popular travel social media influencer Shenaz Treasury to 7 states re-discovering lesser known locations while propagating the theme of responsible tourism. We spoke to the Ola team to understand the influence of #GhoomoResponsibly campaign.
1. What is the key objective behind #GhoomoResponsibly campaign?
Intercity travel in India is fairly unorganized and consumers do not really have affordable or convenient personal transport solutions. Thus, customer-focused offerings such as Ola Outstation are a great fit for those who want to travel by road, plan travel at the last minute, and want convenient personal transportation where they can just sit back and enjoy the journey. Ola Outstation has been a great success across the country, well-liked by commuters and driver partners.
As a category that plays a key role in boosting tourism across the country, we launched #GhoomoResponsibly with Ola Outstation and state tourism boards of 7 states (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Assam, and Rajasthan) across India to celebrate World Tourism Day, raise awareness about responsible tourism, and promote road travel. In line with the UN’s theme for world tourism day this year, Ola, together with the tourism departments urged travelers to leave a positive impact on the places they travel to, sensitizing travelers to travel responsibly; minimize waste, be respectful of the local culture and sentiment, and promote the local economy.
Shenaz Treasury promoting #GhoomoResponsibly in Maharashtra
2. The idea behind recruiting Shenaz Treasury for the campaign.
Given the purpose behind the campaign, we were keen to rope in someone who is an avid traveller as the torchbearer of the message. Popular travel vlogger and actress, Shenaz Treasury is a passionate traveler and has travelled across the world, often taking the road less travelled to explore new places. She is someone young travellers can easily relate to and get inspired to travel. Her appeal transcends generations who have known and appreciated her as one of the most liked VJs in the early days of her career. Given her experience and passion, we thought she would best represent the campaign’s purpose. Her being the face of the campaign has helped us leverage the responsible tourism message among people of all age groups across the country.
3. In the context of India, do you think Responsible Tourism is still at a nascent stage?
India continues to be a world tourism hub given its diversity and rich cultural heritage. Indian tourism offers a potpourri of different cultures, traditions, festivals, and places, driving millions of tourists every year to visit the country. Home to over thirty plus world heritage sites, the country has a lot to offer but it is up to every single traveler to ensure that the sanctity of these places are maintained and preserved. With the birth of eco-tourism and the more environmentally sensitive millennials taking up offbeat travel, there is a visible shift in the attitude of tourists.
In the latest Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index released by the World Economic Forum in April 2017, India is ranked 40 among 136 economies across the world, up 12 places since 2015.The government has launched several key projects to boost Travel and Tourism in the last 3 years with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan being one of the key initiatives.
With the intent to promote clean and responsible tourism, Ola initiated #GhoomoResponsibly campaign, where we are promoting the importance of preserving the country’s rich cultural heritage.
4. As of now, what’s been the influence of the campaign on Social Media?
Ola’s association with Shenaz Treasury and the tourism departments has helped maximize the campaign’s reach to create large scale awareness about responsible tourism and offbeat travel. The 14-day campaign received a great response not only from the seven states Shenaz toured to but also, nationally on social media channels. Given the common goal that Ola Shared with the state tourism boards, even ministers took to social media to support the cause and spread the message. Our hashtag was trending across the country on Twitter for more than 5 hours on World Tourism Day i.e. 27th September.
Total hashtag mentions: 5145
Total hashtag impression on Twitter: 93.6 million
The campaign reached more than 5 million users on Facebook & Instagram.
Shenaz Treasury in Kerala
5. Being in the service industry, how do these campaigns help Ola in balancing the consumer sentiment for on-demand cab services viz-a-viz long-term positioning of Ola Outstation cabs in the travel space.
We are a young company and we want to be the change the country needs and inspire others to join us too. Our approach to campaigns such as the on-going #FarakPadtaHai, reflects the sentiment of our customers too. Today, many are waking up to the reality of pollution and congestion that is really affecting the quality of life in cities and are adopting smart mobility solutions such as shared commute to save time, money, and reduce the impact of vehicular emissions.
Shenaz Treasury promoting #GhoomoResponsibly in Jaipur
Ola Outstation is yet another smart mobility solution for inter-city travel, tailor-made to enable convenient and affordable road transport to deeper corners of the country, ensuring a truly unique and unforgettable experience for domestic and international tourists alike. The category currently connects 1000+ routes in the country, comes with the best fleet of cars and, trained, verified and top rated driver partners. To ensure that the customer enjoys a smooth and comfortable on-road experience, every cab on the Outstation category goes through stringent checks. With one-way trips enabled from 80+ cities already, the category is set to grow substantially over coming months.
