Brand USA will commence direct consumer campaigns in the Indian market, from the current fiscal year (2015-16). These campaigns will be more “digital” in character and will focus on young travellers, said Carroll Rheem, Vice President – Research & Analytics, Brand USA.
The agency has created “video assets” for these digital campaigns and will be driven through online platforms which are frequently visited by travellers for information on US destinations. 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 informed.
Leading a roadshow of US suppliers in New Delhi, as part of Brand USA’s annual India trade mission, she added that the country is an important source market for the US, and there has been consistent growth in the long-haul share of India to the US over the years. In the last 3 years, this share has increased from 20% (2012) to 26% (2014), she said.
While the US is looking for a CAGR growth of 4.2% to achieve its target inbound figure of 100 million by 2021, the growth in Indian inbound numbers to the US holds a lot of promise with a CAGR growth of 9.6% , and is expected to continue for the next 5 years, Rheem stated. Around 9.62 lakh Indians visited the US in 2014, registering a growth of 12% over the previous year. “We expect the Indian inbound to cross the 1,000,000 mark in 2015,” she added.
Commenting on the extreme volatility in currency exchange rates, and its impact on long-haul travel, Rheem conceded that the exchange rate volatility is a challenge for destinations like the US, but, she said, there hasn’t been much impact of the Asian markets so far. “India has just crossed the 10% threshold in currency value against the US dollar, and therefore, it is too early to comment on the impact,” she said.
The Brand USA annual India trade mission recorded participation of 35 suppliers, representing 21 companies from the US. These included tourism boards like Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, San Francisco Travel Association, NYC & Company; Visit Florida, Visit Orlando, Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, and Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau; DMCs like 7M Tours, Sans Incredible Vacations, and Maxim Tours; shopping attractions like Simon Shopping Destinations, and Sawgrass Mills; and hotels like Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and The New Tropicana Las Vegas.
The roadshow was held in Chennai and Mumbai, before concluding in New Delhi.
