Visit California recently organised educational seminars for the travel trade in Bengaluru and Chennai. Over 250 travel agents attended these seminars to learn more about diverse options available for Indian travellers to California. The training topics incorporated the five brand pillar experiences of California: luxury, culinary, adventure, family and culture. Additionally, the attending members of travel trade learned about California’s communities and offerings beyond the major gateway cities. Introducing a range of appealing experiences in the Golden State, these seminars furthered the goal to extend and build the Indian market’s understanding of California as a travel destination.
India is among the fastest growing travel markets for California, and Visit California has been actively promoting in India since 2009. Last month, Visit California participated in the annual Brand USA India Mission for the fifth consecutive year. The India Mission 2013 promoted increased travel to California and the United States through focused meetings of the visiting California delegates with Indian tour operators, hospitality professionals, travel agents and members of media. California had a projected 208,000 visitors from India in 2012, up 7 per cent over 2011. This growth outpaced the 3 per cent growth rate projected for overseas visits to California as a whole. Since 2002, the numbers of Indian visitors to California have risen by 139 per cent. California also recorded an estimated 29 per cent market share of the total 724,000 Indian visitors to the United States in 2012. According to Visit California’s spring 2013 forecast from Tourism Economics, the state should also see an increase of 7 per cent in 2013 and 38 per cent growth between 2012 and 2016.
