The latest trend shows that city specific tourism boards are slowly detaching themselves from their mother ships – the National Tourist Offices (NTO’s), and promoting their cities as individual entities in India. Be it working hand in hand with the trade, embarking on new promotional activities, or highlighting new tourism products, these Boards are leaving no stone unturned to tap the burgeoning Indian market.
For instance, the announcement of Tampa hosting the 2014 IIFA awards has provided them an opportunity to increase their sales and marketing efforts in the region, informed Shari Bailey, Director of Leisure Sales, Visit Tampa Bay, adding that 2013 was a good year for the city across all tourism markets.
New York City (NYC), on the other hand, has seen an increase among student groups covering educational tours. According to Makiko Matsuda Healy, Vice President, Tourism Development – Asia Pacific, NYC & Company, approximately 231,000 Indians visited the city in 2013 compared to 215,000 in 2012. NYC & Company has also worked diligently over the last several years to highlight family travel to the city and expects this trend of growth to continue as they engage with family ambassadors to spotlight all there is to see, do and experience, she added.
Although Visit Orlando is still awaiting final visitation numbers for 2013, early indications show that it was another great year for Orlando. “We welcome more than 57 million visitors annually from 292 countries, and are expecting continued growth in 2014. We continue to target India as one of our long-term growth markets and look forward to seeing increasing numbers of Indian visitors enjoying our destination,” opined Nancy Hahn Bono, Global Development Sr. Director, Visit Orlando.
Safe to say, India has climbed the ladder to become one of the sought-after source markets for such mono destinations.
Connecting with the travel trade
Connecting with the travel trade and marketing the destination are two aspects that a tourism board cannot overlook. Which is the reason these cities have amped up their marketing and promotional activities to strengthen their position in the market and build ties with the travel trade. Visit Tampa Bay sees a great deal of future growth opportunities in the area. “We have secured in-market representation in India, and now Tampa Bay will have a consistent presence in country. We will also be hosting a Tampa Bay sales mission in India post IIFA Awards. We have begun work with several travel trade partners and look forward to increasing our efforts in 2014 and beyond,” said Bailey.
Bono informed that the tourism board will continue to maximise great partnership with Visit Florida in India to further educate the Indian travel trade on all that Orlando has to offer.
Alefiya Singh, India Rep, Reunion Tourism shared that Reunion Island is slowing shifting their focus into tier-II and III cities. “We are starting off with the participation at Global Panoromic Showcase in Nagpur in order to target Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh. We will be participating in various roadshows, B2B platforms, trade fairs and organise familiarisation trips. We are also working very closely with Cox and Kings/Thomas Cook and Kuoni this year,” she revealed.
Through the India office, NYC & Company participate in Brand and Visit USA seminars and VUSA seminars in various cities across India, the annual Brand USA India mission as well as individual relationship building through one on one meeting with travel professionals. “We have conducted successful trade FAMs in the past years and have a few in the pipeline for 2014. We will continue to promote our NYC Travel Training Academy. We have also made significant strides in our efforts to educate the tourism community and suppliers in NYC to be aware of Indian client needs and continue to do so,” said Healy.
Displaying new products
Ask any new destination why they consider India a potential source market, and their answer will be, because Indian travellers are looking for newer places and experiences. The same holds true for these cities as well, which is why promoting new products is a big part of their annual marketing strategy. NYC & Company recently launched its Neighborhood X Neighborhood campaign, which promotes travel to lesser- known areas of New York City. “The Neighborhood x Neighborhood initiative intends to spotlight the affordability and accessibility of neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island with a particular emphasis on areas that have seen new hotel development in recent years,” shared Healy.
According to Singh, Reunion Island has always been considered a destination for the young and adventure lovers, but now even families have started travelling which is a positive sign. “We plan to showcase high-end luxury, FIT and honeymoon products, and small MICE offerings in India. Being a small island, we cannot accommodate large volumes of tourists. So, our aim is to receive about 3,000 Indian visitors over the next year or two,” she added.
Orlando continues to be a very popular destination for leisure visitors from India. Elaborating on product offerings Bono informed that their theme parks have been undergoing major expansions and will continue to be Visit Orlando’s key marketing message into 2014. “Walt Disney World Resort is in the final stages of completing the New Fantasyland, the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history. Universal Orlando Resort is in the midst of an expansion to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Expected to open in 2014, Universal Orlando Resort is also adding their fourth and largest on-site hotel, Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort, featuring 1,800 guest rooms and scheduled to open in late 2014,” he concluded.
