Brand USA organised its first sales mission in India after a hiatus of more than three years. The India Sales Mission which took place in Mumbai and New Delhi from March 19 to March 23, 2023, recorded a delegation of 25 exhibitors’ visiting the two cities as part of the trade initiative.
“It is the first time we are here since September 2019 and we are excited to be back. Last year, India was the number four overseas source market for us (excluding Canada and Mexico) with about 1.26 million visitors – 15 per cent down compared to 2019 visitations. Presently, we are in a post pandemic recovery stage,” said Jackie Ennis, Vice President, Global Travel Trade, Brand USA.
The NTO is focusing on segments including The Great Outdoors, Sports Tourism, Luxury and Culinary Journeys in the Indian market. It aims to utilise films, TV shows and songs that showcase various destination in the US. for tourism promotion.
“We want to promote unique experiences you can have in the US. People after the pandemic are keen to engage in outdoor activities. We have a product that can cater to such a demand. Sports tourism has also a lot of potential considering the popularity of sporting events like the NBA league in India,” shared Ennis.
The overwhelming outbound demand from India has resulted in flights to the US. being fully booked. US carriers including American Airlines and United Airlines were looking to introduce more flights to the Indian market but the Russia-Ukraine conflict resulted in the delay of their plans. Presently, seven weekly direct flights are being operated from Newark to New Delhi by United Airlines, and seven weekly direct flights from New York (JFK) to New Delhi by American Airlines. On the other hand, Air India is operating 46 weekly direct flights to the US.
With the US opening borders for international travel more than a year back, there have been reports of long delays to get visa appointments in India. However, Ennis shared the situation has improved.
“The visa delays have been mainly because of the backlog caused by the pandemic.The latest figures released at the end of February revealed 203,540 Indians travelled to the US. showing continuing strong growth in visitor arrivals,” added Ennis.
The NTO also organised special screenings in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore of Brand USA’s big-screen movie, ‘Into Nature’s Wild,’ showcases the stunning natural beauty of the destination.