Deepak Chhabra, Retro Branding of Khadi: A Sustainable Heritage Tourism Marketing Perspective
Dr. Deepak Chhabra, Associate Professor and Senior Sustainability Scientist in theSchool of Community Resources and Development is an awardee of the 2016 A.T Steele Travel Grant for her work on Retro Branding of Khadi: A Sustainable Heritage Tourism Marketing Perspective. Dr. Chhabra’s proposed study suggests re-branding traditional Indian handicraft (khadi, a hand spun and hand woven textile) by examining its economic potential as a heritage tourism merchandize. She will collect marketing data, in the form of interviews and content analysis of websites, from geographically dispersed khadi outlets in India. Critical analysis of data will be conducted based on a set of predetermined sustainable heritage marketing indicators. Dr. Chhabra intend s to create a smart and viable retro-branding strategy, well crafted to revive the historical essence and patriotic status of khadi while at the same time make it fashionable to appeal to the domestic and global heritage tourism markets. This study will serve as a role model for reviving waning handicrafts and facilitate rural heritage development in Asia.