Participating 7th times in USA’s India roadshow, Visit California is now established itself as a preferred tourist destination among India outbound travelers to US. Part of the Brand USA India Mission 2015, Visit California delegates travelled to Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi to engage in full day buyer-seller meetings as well as select networking and media events.
California travel and tourism partners included in the mission were Universal Studios Hollywood, San Francisco Travel Association & San Francisco International Airport, Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism and Hornblower Cruises and Events.
According to a press release issued by the Sartha Global, India Rep for Visit California, more than 273, 000 visitors from India spent $527 million in 2014, accounting for 27.9 per cent market share of the total arrivals to the USA. These remarkable numbers demonstrate a 13.8 per cent growth in visitors over the previous year, and forecasts indicate an additional growth of 9.5 percent in 2015.
“India continues to be an important market for California, and we are delighted with the growth in visitors to our state,” said Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit California.
“The Golden State offers unparalleled diversity of unique experiences for Indian visitors, and the India mission is a strong forum for us to build on our existing relationships and continue our collaboration with the Indian travel industry,” she further added.
The Online Training Program “California Expert,” introduced last year to educate frontline travel agency staff, has more than 1700 accomplished “California Experts” in India and has proven to be yet another remarkable success in the market. Other Visit California travel trade initiatives include the Dream Big California Contest for India travel trade partners. The fun, educational contest requires agents to complete the “California Expert” program, followed by participation in a California themed, interactive crossword puzzle. Visit California India will be awarding prizes to successful applicants for three months, and the grand prize will be a trip to California.
In 2015, Visit California launched a travel trade website, trade.visitcalifornia.in.
