We have lift-off. The India office of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) has officially launched the Canadian Signature Experiences (CSE) collection in the giant South Asian market.
The launch took place November 26, 2013 at a networking reception at Canada House, New Delhi for CTC’s key accounts and media from various Indian cities. Siobhan Chretien, regional managing director, Emerging Markets, was CTC’s torch bearer. The launch came on the same idea as news back in Canada of new members being added to the collection.
The CSE program is an ideal way for the travel trade to sell Canada, especially in India. Its rapidly expanding affluent middle-class population is expected to pass the 500-million mark by 2025. That segment will then hold 60% of the country’s purchasing power.
Those statistics are reinforced by data from CTC’s Tourism Snapshot 2012 Year-in-review: Indian consumers spent $173 million on their Canada travels last year, a 6.4% increase.Looking ahead to 2014, the growing Indian middle class means CTC-India is now targeting cities such as Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore in marketing and sales activities, in addition to Mumbai and New Delhi. The CSE collection is a rich source of material for media looking for compelling story ideas.
“More and more of our key accounts are hearing from clients who want to visit Canada,” says Chretien. “The CSE collection will help us promote Canada by showcasingIndian travellers what they can enjoy in our beautiful country.”
Registration for Focus-Canada India Marketplace is now open. This time around all the B2B action will take place at the Crowne Plaza Cochin, Kerala, Feb. 26 to March 1. Sign up now to join more than 50 other Canadian seller organizations building networks and closing deals.