BRAND USA TO LAUNCH DIRECT CONSUMER CAMPAIGN IN INDIA

Brand USA, a public-private partnership which aims to promote the US as a travel destination, is reorienting its marketing strategy to achieve its target of attracting 100 million annual international visitors to the US by 2021. The Tourism Promotion Agency has decided to launch direct consumer campaigns in some markets including India. Brand USA aims to welcome 1.85 million Indian travelers by 2021.  “We will do a lot of social media promotion and digital marketing to reach that number. We will build enough offers in the market. It is very important to reach the people at the appropriate time. The campaign will be launched in Spring 2016,” Carroll Rheem, Vice President, Research and Analytics, Brand USA, said and added that the campaign will be customised to regional markets. For India, it would focus on nightlife, shopping and food. According to her, Brand USA has been running direct consumer campaigns in 10 overseas markets so far, and from next year, these will be expanded to 2 more markets, and India is one of them.

Rheem was in New Delhi leading a delegation of 43 participants representing 31 US companies, including destinations, attractions, hotels and receptive operators, who were part of the 4th annual India Mission.

Elaborating more on the India market, Rheem said that India is currently ranked at 11th position among top 20 tourist generating markets with approximate 1.3 percent market share in total arrivals. “We aim to see India at 9th position by 2021. The growth in Indian arrival in last 10 years has been quite up and down but it is stable from 2010. In 2013 and 2014, there was a jump of 19 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. We received 962,000 Indian visitors in 2014 and we are expecting this growth to continue to witness high single or low double digit growth this year too,” she added. In 2014, Indian visitors also ranked 7th globally in terms of money spent in the U.S., with a total spend of $9.6 billion - an increase of 7% over the previous year. The top 5 destinations in USA for Indian visitors are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and California. As of now, UK, Japan, Brazil, Germany, China and France are main source markets for USA after Canada and Mexico.

Replying to a question over the impact of depreciation of Rupee, she opined that dropping of currency rates is a challenge especially from markets like India where there is a volatility in currency. “We have observed that for every 10 per cent depreciation in currency, there is corresponding 2 per cent fall in travel number also. Indian has recently crossed 10 per cent devaluation, so there is not much impact in India as a source market,” Rheem said adding that Asia has been less impacted by currency volatility.

Talking about the performance in the European market, she said that Euopre is quite strong right now despite devaluation. “We have seen strong growth from Italy and Spain. We are seeing double digit growth from Spain and Italy, which we have not seen since a long time,” she added.

However, she expressed that if the currency continues to devalue the way it happened, it will be challenge for us to achieve the 100 million target. “However, if it stabilizes, it is achievable,” she said.

T3 spoke to some of the participants of the Mission and found that everyone was equally bullish on India. Talking to T3, Brian Said, Executive Director, Tourism Division, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that Philadelphia is probably the most affordable destination on the east coast. “India is our number 5 market. We received 50,000 Indian visitors last in 2014. Our expectation is that growth will be 3 per cent every year,” he said and added that Philadelphia receives a lot of Indian students. He informed that Philadelphia is also looking at wooing MICE from India.  The city is also known for its world-class MICE infrastructure, and offers approximately 1,000,000 sq ft of meeting space. “We have people coming from India for big pharmaceutical events. India is very important and it keeps growing with steady pace,” he added. He also informed that the Bureau is going to launch a new educational programme for travel trade in India the next quarter under Brand USA.

San Francisco Travel Association, which has been participating in the Mission since a very long time and being represented in India market from 2007 by Sartha Marketing, is also quite bullish on India. Antonette Eckert, Director - International Tourism (Asia Pacific), San Francisco Travel Association, said that there has been a consistent growth in Indian arrivals. “Last year, we had 162,000 Indian visitors, reflecting a growth of 7.8 per cent over 2013. In next 4 years, we expect 25 per cent growth to 203,000. At the Mission, we are talking about opportunities in luxury and MICE as our hotel occupancy hovers over 90 per cent making rooms quite limited. “We do get a lot of VFRs and first timers. Silicon Valley, which is at an hour drive, attracts a lot of Indian students. The city offers Indian restaurant due to the presence of the a large community of Indians,” he revealed.

Los Angeles, which is one of the favorite destinations for US bound Indian visitors, has also been witnessing good growth in Indian numbers. “In 2014, we welcomed 92,000 visitors from India, a 11 per cent growth over 2013. We believe that arrivals from India will continue to grow. We have limited resources and we have identified 12 key international source market and India is the 12th market,” Stephaine Nakasone, Senior Director - Tourism, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, said and added that there a very good airlift between India and Los Angeles. Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board also looking at appointing representative in India. “We are hoping to announce market representative to promote Los Angeles and we will be able to make announcement by 2016. For long-haul, India is our focus. We have seen growth interest in MICE side also. We are seeing increased interest among Indian travel trade promote Los Angeles,” Nakasone said. 

Mary Saunders De Hoyos, Senior Director - Business Development, Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, said that this is the 3rd year that Beverly Hills Tourism is participating in the India trade mission of Brand USA. “We see a lot of potential in the Indian market. There has been a growth of 13 per cent in 2014 to California, which is quite encouraging for us. 63 per cent of visitors to Beverley Hills are international visitors.  We have also set up a PR and Representation office (Sartha) in July in this market,” she said and hoped that the growth in the airlift through the Middle East enables Beverly Hills to present as a potential destination for meeting planners.

California welcomed 273, 000 visitors from India 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, in a press release.

This year, India Mission included participation from Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, Gray Line New York Sightseeing, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Hornblower Cruises & Events, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Marriott International Inc., Maxim Tours, Nevada Commission on Tourism, NYC & Company, NYC & Co., Papillon Helicopters & Scenic Airlines, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, San Francisco Travel Association, Sans Incredible Vacations, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, Sawgrass Mills, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Simon Shopping Destinations, Starwood Sales Organisation, The New Tropicana Las Vegas, Tours Limited LLC, Travel Oregon, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, Visit California, Visit Florida, Visit Orlando, 7M Tours and Brand USA.