India Travelers Choose USA as Top Travel Spot for Second Consecutive Year
The United States is the “favorite” travel destination among readers of Lonely Planet Magazine India – for the second year in a row.
The Lonely Planet Magazine Travel Awards, selected by the publication’s readers – were announced on May 9 at the St. Regis in Mumbai, India, with the top award for overall “favorite” destination going to the U.S., based on its hotels, resorts, and attractions and factors such as culture, romance, value, and adventure.
“We are delighted that the United States continues to be the number one choice among global destinations for travelers from India,” said Chris Thompson, Brand USA’s President & CEO. “Our mix of travel experiences and destinations – from magnificent national parks to vibrant urban centers to diverse cultural attractions – afford travelers limitless opportunities to experience this land like never before.”
Bollywood actor John Abraham presented the “favorite destination” award to Sheema Vohra and Karishma Sen of Sartha Global Marketing, the firm in India which has represented Brand USA, the destination-marketing organization for the U.S., since 2013.
Brand USA India, meanwhile, wants India travelers to keep thinking that way and encourage even more to head to the U.S. for exciting travel adventures.
To help travel agents understand all the diverse experiences awaiting their clients, Brand USA conducted a 10-city tour, offering over 900 travel agents “Discover America” educational seminars to give them the best marketing tools to sell the U.S. as a premier travel choice.
The agents, hailing from cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore and New Delhi, attended the training during which nine destination partners offered them an in-depth look the myriad of adventures India travelers can enjoy with the U.S. “Great Outdoors and Urban Escapes.” The partners focused on new products and attractions that offer the best leisure vacations in the U.S.
The tour operators offered positive indications for ongoing summer travel to the U.S. They already have recorded an increase in leisure travel into the USA from major metropolitan cities including Mumbai and Delhi as well as cities such as Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai over the previous summer.
India ranks among the top 15 source markets for inbound travel to the U.S. About 962,000 travelers from India spent a record $9.8 billion during their U.S. trips in 2014 – a 10 percent increase over 2013, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. It was the fifth year in a row that Indian visitors registered record spending in the U.S.