Journalist
John Bell has been part of popular news channels such as BBC in London and CNN
and has been hosting a travel show for the past 25 years. A producer of travel
shows for radio and television, he is the former Chairman of the British Guild
of Travel Writers and the Vice Chairman of his London Tourist Board where he
developed the low cost marketing tools which he uses when working with tourism
bodies, the government and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO). An expert in his field, he is also a visiting lecturer in tourism
marketing.
“According
to me, there is a difference between a tourist and a visitor. Every visitor
wants to have a golden moment, one moment that stood out throughout their
vacation,” says John who has been visiting India regularly. “Plans to promote
tourism should be changed according to the market. Earlier in Goa, the huge
move was towards the beaches, to enjoy the sun, but now visitors are looking
for a different experience like education or courses in cookery, music and
languages.”
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Citing
the example of Kenya and how their promotion for tourism has changed towards
the better, John explains, “In Kenya, they want to promote their own culture
through tourism so they offer coast food or Kenyan food to give tourists the
complete experience. This should be done in Goa too. Goa is Goa; it is not like
the rest of India. It has a different feel to the place because of the
Portuguese influence. Abroad, Indian tourism is sold beautifully through the
Incredible India initiative but where should one go to when they come to India?
Kerala is promoting their state and most of the tourists who arrive in India
prefer that as their destination.”
Jacob
Crawfurd is the owner of Crawfurd Media in Denmark and has been touring the
world specially to shoot music festivals including Sufi Sutra in Dhaka, Goa and
Kolkata. He is the official photographer for the annual World Music Expo
(WOMEX) since 2009 and was nominated for Danish Music Awards – World Special
Award 2011 and 2013 as African Ambassador of the year, Denmark 2008 (Celebrate
Africa). Besides photography, he also enjoys making music videos and
documentaries for developmental projects in Africa and was formally the
co-organiser of Miss Africa Denmark workshops.
“I have
been a freelance photographer for the past ten years and I specialise in music
photography. It took time to settle down in photography as I was more
interested in web designing and TV Productions and radio shows,” says Jacob.
What
attracts Jacob to music photography? “I try to capture the feel of the music
through my pictures. When you feel like you can hear the music by just looking
at the musicians’ expressions, I know I’ve got a good photograph,” says Jacob
as he scrolls through some of his photos. “I check the set up at least ten
minutes before the performance to see the angles, lighting and how I can go close
to the musicians and singers without disturbing the audience. I also enjoy
music festivals because I come across so many musicians from different
countries and it is great for cultural exchange,” says Jacob who calls his
camera his musical instrument.
