BRAND USA, an organisation responsible for promoting international travel to the US, has launched a new campaign – Discover Like Never Before – to grow inbound tourist numbers from all key source markets.
The move is a reaction to the severe downturn in arrival numbers that had seen a one per cent growth for the last three years, when the global economic slowdown had people shelving holiday plans or curbing travel budgets.
The campaign’s theme propagates two-fold initiatives – to attract first-time visitors and to rekindle the interest of the travellers who have visited the US before, by introducing them to destinations beyond the usual tourist spots.
While growth had been flat for most international source markets, Jay Gray, vice president, partnership development, Brand USA, noted that the Indian market was seeing a 12 per cent year-on-year growth, far higher than the projection of two per cent made last year.
“With India being one of the key markets for the US, Brand USA is working on a target of 1.3 million visitors from India by 2016 and close to 15-16 million by 2020,” said Gray.
Brand USA has devised a two-phase game plan for greater penetration into the Indian market. The first phase will see Brand USA and its hotel and tour operator partners meeting Indian travel players to crystallise action plans that will be deliverable over a fixed time frame. In the second phase, Brand USA will kick off a B2C campaign that utilises various media.
Mamta Panjani, general manager-east of Mercury Travels, said, “Indians travel to the US for various purposes – to visit families, and for higher studies, medical treatments, conferences and conventions, business trips and holidays. Brand USA has discovered the right formula to enhance and channel growth out of…India.”
The campaign has already started in Canada, Japan and the UK, where US$12.3 million was spent in three months.
India, China and Brazil will see the next round of promotional activities, while markets such as Australia, Germany and Italy, among others, will comprise the next phase of target markets.
Some US$2 to 3 million is expected to be spent on each market during the campaign.
