India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI: India beat Windies by four wickets to clinch series 2-1

CUTTACK: Virat Kohli anchored a tricky chase before Shardul Thakur played the most defining cameo of his short career to power India to a series-winning four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the third ODI on Sunday.

India's top three -- Rohit Sharma (63), KL Rahul (77) and Kohli (85) -- fired in unison in a 316-run chase but it got slippery in the end when the Indian captain left the scene with 30 required off 23 balls.

SCORECARD: India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI

It was then that Thakur, in the company of a composed Ravindra Jadeja (39 not out), smashed 17 runs off six balls with the help of a six and a four off Sheldon Cottrell to seal the issue in his team's favour with eight balls to spare.

This was India's 10th successive series win over the West Indies.

Tourism Trends: 13 Opportunities for The Tourism Industry

13 Tourism Trends to Watch Out For

Below you find thirteen of the most significant tourism trends right now and in the future.

1. Solo Travel

Leisure travel used to be a family affair or something that couples undertook together. While that’s still the case for many, more and more people are choosing to strike out on their own. Enjoying a solo trip is no longer so unusual and tourist trends increasingly reflect this. The needs of solo travellers are diverse. Some simply want to travel without the distraction of a companion. Others are young singles looking for social activities or to find a partner. Some widowed seniors even use long-term hotel stays or cruises as a luxurious alternative to conventional elder care. These tourism trends are set to grow and grow.

2. Eco Travel

Tourism trends are heavily influenced by the concerns and mores of the customer base. As a new generation becomes increasingly relevant in the marketplace, the ideals driving their purchasing decisions create new tourism trends. Eco travel is just one example of these tourism trends, reflecting a growing concern among today’s travellers for ethical and sustainable tourism options. Eco travel includes simple changes, such as the availability of carbon credits when booking a flight or the option to rent an electric instead of a conventional vehicle. More sophisticated examples might include tourism with a volunteer element, perhaps working on a nature reserve or engaging in conservation work.

3. Local experience

Today’s tourists don’t want to be insulated from the places they visit inside a cultural bubble. They want to engage with and participate in the local culture. From enjoying local cuisine to celebrating regional festivals and holidays, local experiences are set to become some of the top tourist trends to watch. One example of a popular local experience would be visiting Japan during a major festival, renting formal Japanese clothes to wear, consuming regional delicacies and engaging in traditional games or cultural activities. Another might be a long stay with a host family in the destination country as a means to learn more about the local culture.

4. Personalisation

You’re probably familiar with those ads that pop up on social media and certain other websites, ads related to things you’ve looked at or purchased online. This is just one example of personalisation. As well as in marketing tourism more effectively, personalisation can apply to every aspect of the tourist experience. Today’s consumers expect experiences that closely match their personal preferences, from destinations to accomodation and the kinds of activities they’ll engage in. The more closely an experience can be tailored to a client’s desires and expectations, the more likely they are to return and to use the same service again.

5. Bleisure Travel: A Millennial Tourism Trend

The concept of combining leisure and tourism with travel for business is hardly new: “bizcations” have been popular for many decades. As the tourism sector attempts to woo a more frugal customer base, however, the concept of bleisure travel has become increasingly relevant among tourism trends. Bleisure travel tourism can take many forms. Sometimes a client who is travelling for work decides to engage in tourism on their downtime; in other cases, a company may arrange for tourist activities on work trips as a perk. Another increasingly popular set of tourism trends relate to the “digital nomad” phenomenon where online workers engage in travel.

6. Robots, chatbots and automation

One of the more eye-catching examples of these particular tourism trends is Connie, the Hilton Hotel chain’s robot concierge. Other hotels have also got in on the robot-staff trend, installing interactive robots to handle certain reception duties or even having them serve food and drink to visitors. This kind of novelty application, however, is far from the only one. Many customers now book their travel and accommodation with the help of internet chatbots, specifically tailored AI who can handle queries and assist customers with useful information when human operators are unavailable.

7. Artificial intelligence

As well as the aforementioned chatbots, artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important to the tourism industry. Machine learning technology is now firmly entrenched in the marketing of the tourism sector, with AI helping to personalise the experience of finding and booking tours and trips. AI is also increasingly valuable in contexts such as smart hotel rooms, identifying the likely needs of guests and fine-tuning the environment and services to fit the guest’s needs and preferences. Artificial intelligence is finding applications everywhere, from customer service to security. Future AI tourism trends to watch out for might include self-driving vehicles and virtual guides for tourism.

8. Recognition technology

Recognition technology is one of those increasingly important travel and tourism trends that’s starting to creep into a multitude of different areas. One of the most familiar applications of recognition technology for a frequent traveller is the bank of automatic gates at some borders. The gates are capable of reading the data on the traveller’s passport or ID card and matching it to their face using a camera and facial recognition technology. Recognition technology is one of the big tourism trends in the hospitality industry too, with voice recognition becoming more and more popular as a method of control in smart hotel rooms.

9. Internet of things (IoT)

The IoT is relevant to many tourism trends. IoT devices are gadgets equipped with a microprocessor and some form of digital connectivity, allowing them to connect to, and be controlled from, the internet. IoT devices include heating and cooling systems, entertainment systems and other items often found in a hotel room, giving rise to “smart” hotel rooms. The IoT is also used to integrate services in a hospitality setting, for example by allowing guests to book activities (a session in the hotel’s spa, swimming in the pool, training in the gym etc) or request such things as room service or extra linen via a hub or a smartphone application.

10. Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) technology offers many opportunities for tourism management. Tourism trends involving VR include high-end entertainment applications, some of them combining physical elements like controllers or movable seating and platforms. Sports simulators are increasingly popular, ranging from virtual baseball and other familiar sports to extreme sports such as skiing or snowboarding. Many extreme activities can also be simulated using VR, such as hang-gliding and other adventures. VR can also allow tourists to “visit” destination that are too fragile for physical tours, such as archeological sites: structures can be recreated in VR and tourists can enjoy the experience of walking around them unimpeded.

11. Augmented reality (AR)

Where VR simulates entire environments and experiences, augmented reality combines real-world experiences and virtual elements. A familiar example would be the smartphone game Pokémon Go, where imaginary creatures are superimposed on real-time footage of the player’s environment. In the tourist industry, this is obviously very useful: instead of fantasy monsters. AR smartphone apps can show tourists information about the area they’re exploring. This could be historical details about buildings and landmarks, or listings and menus for entertainment venues and local eateries. Museums make increasing use of AR, allowing visitors to view artefacts with their original appearance as a virtual overlay. Other augmented reality applications might include internet-enabled virtual maps.

12. Healthy and organic food

Healthy food and the kind of fare consumed by tourists used to be antonyms in the minds of many travellers, with holidays traditionally representing a chance to break one’s diet and indulge in forbidden treats. Today’s travellers know that delicious and nutritious are not exclusive concepts. Demand for excellent cuisine with a view to better nutrition is driving new tourism trends. The modern tourist wants to know that the food they’re eating is as healthy as it is delicious. The organic food movement is also affecting tourism trends, with more eateries and hotels offering organic options. Other special diets are also represented.

13. Customer Experience

Of course, the customer experience has always been central to the tourist industry. With new technologies and an ever-broadening array of options for tourists, enhancing the customer experience has never been more vital. In the final analysis, customer experience is what will make or break your business. Fine-tuning the experience can make the difference between creating a loyal repeat customer who boosts your business via word of mouth, and one who drops out at the booking stage. Everything from the web interface where your clients book their trips to the very last day of their journey needs to be as enjoyable as possible.

7 DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS TO CONSIDER FOR 2020

What are biggest digital marketing trends for 2020? More—as in more influencer marketing, more content, more web video and more of what will get digital consumers engaged with your brand online.

Here are seven key digital marketing trends that you should consider investing your time and resources in to succeed in 2020.

1- The Ascent of Social Influencer Marketing

Influencers used to be huge celebrities or “internet celebs” with millions or hundreds of thousands of followers. But now, companies are turning to people with a much smaller social media following to leverage as influencers and reach a targeted audience with a voice they trust.

Influencer marketing has evolved into to become more personalized. As it becomes more authentic, 92 percent of people trust other consumer recommendations over corporate advertising. For this reason, marketers from a leading gaming company launched their highly successful influencer marketing campaign #Superlord on the social video app TikTok, which took Germany by storm:

Further, a mediakix study predicts that the ad spend for influencer marketing could reach $10 billion by next year. It’s clear that influencer marketing is here to stay.

2-Streaming Video Ad Engagement

Video was a digital marketing must in 2019 and it will continue to be one in 2020, according to IAB’s 2019 Video Advertising Spend Report. Marketers report digital budgets increased 25 percent year over year. Consumer viewing habits explain this budget increase—advertisers go where their customers are spending their time. Per the IAB:

• 74 percent of U.S. consumers 13 years and older watch streaming or online video at least weekly and 41 percent watch daily.
• 78 percent of digital video viewers will watch advertising in exchange for free content.
• Online video viewers pay closer attention to both content and ads when watching educational videos.

And, in addition to adding videos to your social networks and on your site, live videos on Facebook Live and Instagram Live get watched 3x longer than videos that aren’t live. It’s time to take streaming and live video ads seriously in 2020.

3-Emerging Tech Rising

From 5G technology on mobile devices to advancements in AI, voice and connected TVs, how consumers engage with ads will truly transform in the coming year:

• 5G technology will transform how consumers access and use content, meaning mobile usage will dramatically increase among global audiences.
• AI tech advancements for content will enable greater personalization in digital video.
• Voice search for smart speakers will continue to expand as homes continue adopting Alexa, Siri and Google Home, and while developers continue to make improvements to accuracy.
• Advancements in connected TVs and OTT (over the top media) will enable users to interact with ads from their TV and mobile devices that lead to increased product placement within streaming video.

·         Ninety-one percent of buyers are looking for more interactive content online. In 2020, content marketing will shift its focus to give audiences more of what they want: shoppable posts, AR/VR, 360-degree video, quizzes and polls are just a few examples of interactive content.

·         Rome: A Guided City Tour is a great example of a 360-degree video:

The reason interactive content will be one of 2020’s top marketing trends is because this level of interactivity in retail is new and original—take for instance, a shoppable Free People ad on Instagram. When a user taps the photo, the dress name and price appear. When tapping the price, the user is taken to a screen with more information and the option to view the item on the Free People website. This type of ad cuts through the noise, and gives visitors a reason to stay and engage. _And it’s extremely shareable, expanding an ad’s reach even further.

Micro-moments are moments when we turn to a device—often a smartphone—to take action on whatever we need or want now. People generally make instant decisions on what to eat, which restaurant to choose, what to purchase or where to go. This tactic looks to take advantage of showing a relevant ad at the right place at the right time to the right audience.

To take advantage of micro-moments in 2020, you need to be where consumers are searching for information in the moment—as Google puts it, marketers have to “be there, be useful, be quick.”

The rise of micro-moments means that marketers must rethink the linear buyer’s journey that follows a set path: awareness, consideration and decision. Today, the customer journey is becoming more of a whirling funnel wherein people think, see or talk about something and then want to learn about it, watch it or buy it, all at an instant. Expectations are high, and patience is low.

Identify your customer’s potential “have to buy” moments, and be ready to deliver quality content in those moments of need for mobile devices, and make it easy for them to then purchase.

6-Social Media Stories Become a Marketing Mainstay

First Snapchat came out with the concept of “My Story,” then Instagram and Facebook stories were introduced, and then YouTube unveiled their own story format: Reels. Now we have the emergence of TikTok, where users create videos on the spot and behind the scenes for a less polished and more authentic look.

Since these types of stories disappear after a set period of time, this is a great opportunity for marketers to make good use of FOMO (fear of missing out).

There are several benefits to using social media stories including:

• Increased brand awareness
• Constant engagement with followers
• Cost-effective ad solution
• Increased traffic to your web page
• Opportunity to reach younger audiences

A simple way to engage users is to add Polls to your Stories. For instance, the National Basketball Association used Polls to ask their followers who they thought would win the upcoming matchups. Additionally, it was a useful tool to build anticipation around the event itself.

Consumers often use Stories to search for local businesses. For instance, on Instagram Stories, some location searches have a story icon that allows users to view recent stories that have used the particular location sticker. Additionally, the use of hashtags for places or events have a similar effect of driving user traffic to that destination to learn more. This is a great way to help your brand get discovered locally.

7-Content Experiences Will be the Face of Content Marketing

“Content experiences” are the amalgamation of content and context. This matters because every piece of content conveys an experience—both good or bad—through elements like design, placement, environment and more.

Consider Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, started in 2011 and still going strong today. Coca-Cola lovers can personalize bottles with their name or friend’s name from the Coca-Cola website or look for a name on a bottle at in a real-world store. The campaign went viral as consumers began posting pictures online with their personalized drinks.

Consumers naturally loved the ability to personalize bottles, and it became a great way for Coke to engage their audience—and get them to make a purchase.

Content experience is about addressing the whole user experience when engaging with the content. It puts control back in the hands of the marketer, while also focusing on the brand experience. It’s about thinking holistically as a marketer, an important part of considering your 2020 strategy.

Mayank Agarwal

Ever since Virender Sehwag happened to Indian cricket, his impact on upcoming openers in the country was immense. Some modelled their technique around him while most of them wanted to mould their style of play on similar lines. Mayank Agarwal belongs to a blend of these two categories. From his early teenage days, there was immense adulation for strokeplay and elegance that he brought to the table. A stellar performance in the U19 World Cup saw him hog the limelight for the first time and although India were disappointing in the tournament, there was a lot of hope around this man's future.

Mayank started off his domestic career in the T20 format initially in 2010, due to his dashing batsmanship and the IPL contract happened in 2011. Things were happening at a brisk pace for him and it was only a matter of doing the right things from there on. However, the performances were underwhelming to say the least in the IPL while on the domestic front, the numbers were better albeit still nowhere near his true potential. There were flashes of his caliber in display everywhere but also the frustration when he would inevitably throw away a start. Nevertheless, his white-ball game was definitely showing a steady progress.

In the 2014-15 season, Mayank got plagued with fitness issues as the management was clearly not happy with his physique. The result was more focus on training and this in turn apparently helped him up his mental game as well. Trim and in shape, Mayank seemed confident than ever before but it required a career-changing season from somewhere to spike his path forward. That happened in the 2017-18 Ranji Season when he simply went berserk, plundering over a 1000 runs and went on to top the run charts. It was a phenomenal transition to his red-ball game and needless to say, the confidence oozed into the white-ball tournaments where he was already on the rise.

All these performances didn't go unnoticed as he got picked up by the Kings XI Punjab at the 2018 IPL auctions. Many feel that the 2017-18 domestic season may have finally seen the coming of age of Mayank Agarwal. Although in this day and age, competition for spots in the Indian team, particularly in batting gets way too tough, a call up will definitely happen. More so considering the value given to domestic performances by the national selectors in the recent past. However, a one-off season won't do for Mayank, he has to keep the good work flowing and a good IPL season may help.

IPL - Through the years

What do you do when you face the great Muttiah Muralitharan for the first time? A 20-year-old Mayank Agarwal slog-swept him first ball for a six on IPL debut playing for his home franchise - Royal Challengers Bangalore - in 2011. That’s how the flamboyant Karnataka top-order batsman announced his arrival to the IPL arena. An aggressive batter, Agarwal was never afraid to go after the bowlers - even against the best in the business. He notched up his maiden fifty (at a strike-rate above 200) against a strong Mumbai Indians’ Lasith Malinga & Co, a knock which comprised six fours and four sixes. Despite possessing most of the attacking shots, one thing that’s been missing from Agarwal is consistency. It took him close to three years to register his second IPL half-century.

Mayank Agarwal represented Delhi Daredevils from 2014-2016, with his second year being the most productive for the franchise. Ahead of the 2017 season, he was traded to Rising Pune Supergiant, but he took part in just three matches and was dropped from the playing XI on the back of poor outings. Following his incredible domestic season, Kings XI Punjab roped in Agarwal during the 2018 IPL Auction. However, he couldn’t translate that success in the cash-rich league as he amassed just 120 runs in 11 matches.

Post IPL 2019

With Indian skipper Virat Kohli insisting that the performances of players playing in the IPL wasn't going to be considered in picking the World Cup squad, despite Mayank's mediocre outing for KXIP, he got rewarded purely based on merit and boarded the flight to the United Kingdom as Vijay Shankar's replacement for the later half of the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan's injury meant that KL Rahul was pushed up the order to open the batting with Rohit. Although Rahul had unconvincing numbers at the top, the team management persisted with him for the Semi-Final against New Zealand - which saw the Kiwis emerging victorious in a tense clash. As a result, Mayank Agarwal's hopes of donning the Blue jersey was quelled for the time being.

But that didn't deter Mayank from scoring runs in the longer format. After a quiet West Indies tour, he was back to his indomitable best in the home series against South Africa. The opener racked up 340 runs - which included a century and a double ton - in the three Tests and was also the second leading run-scorer for India in the series behind Rohit Sharma.

Mayank didn't stop there. With the hosts wrapping up the third Test in 4 days, Agarwal dashed back to Bangalore to join his Karnataka team for the Semi Final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The right-hand batsman dazzled against Puducherry with an unbeaten 33-ball 47 cameo helping his side chase down a target of 224 comfortably. In the final too, 'Monk' as he's fondly called among the Karnataka camp contributed for his team with a stunning knock of 69* and Karnataka pocketed the coveted Vijay Hazare Trophy for the fourth time via the VJD method. With Rahul's form deteriorating, Mayank has put his case forward for the selectors as the third-choice opener for India in the shorter formats.