Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation for the United States’ representation in India, will be hosting a ‘Mega FAM’ for India’s travel industry this year. The selection process of agents will be through Brand USA’s online training programme and other partners. Initiated about three years ago, a total of 2,332 agents have signed up for the USA Discovery Programme, gaining detailed knowledge about the USA’s tourism offerings.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Chris Thompson, president and CEO, Brand USA, stated, “Brand USA will host a Mega Fam to give the travel industry a real life experience of all the new destinations and products. The selection process will be through our online programmes along with some other partners. The country benefited a great deal when a similar trip was organised for China and we hope to see a positive response from the India market.” He further added that Air India has shown keen interest in a partnership for the FAM as it will be launching direct flight to Washington DC this year.
India is one of the fastest growing markets for inbound international travel to the United States, with the Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) forecasting a 72 per cent increase in arrivals from 2015 to 2021. An effort ‘Partnership Year’ led by NTTO and the Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism through the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue’s Travel and Tourism Working Group. Thompson informed, “We are optimistic about our ability to attract the Indian visitors to the US. Indians are some of the most engaged visitors and we are constantly working on ways to introduce them to some new destinations. We are active in the India market with all our tools and have been taking our message directly to the consumers through our digital channels.”
“The unique thing about this year ahead is that the governments of the two states have come together and created a platform to discuss positive change in policies. We are marketing against existing visa policies, entry policies and connectivity issues and the open skies agreement. Now through this strategic commercial dialogue that was created as a result of the President’s visit last year, we are looking to mutually benefit the two economies. Our governments are looking at strategies which can lead towards a positive impact for the economy,” he stated. Commenting on arrival numbers, Thompson mentioned that 2015 witnessed a record of 1.13 million Indian arrivals making India the 11th largest source market for the US.