Focus Canada – India by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) was attended by more than 65 representatives from top DMCs, hotels, resorts, tour agencies and entertainment products from Canada who met with 59 key Indian travel agents and tour operators for an intense three days of networking, relationship building and sharing market intelligence, also witnessed the focused approach adopted by the Canadian Government to draw more Indian visitors to Canada.
The event in Jaipur was attended by Maxime Bernier, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, Canada; Michele McKenzie, President & CEO, CTC; Siobhan Chretien, Regional Managing Director, Americas & Asia, CTC; Stewart G Beck, Canadian High Commissioner to India; Sidney Frank, Minister and Immigration Program Manager, Canadian High Commission; Charles McKee, Vice President, International, CTC; and Sanjeet, Managing Director, Buzz Marketing – India Representative, CTC among others.
Inaugurating the event, Bernier said that Canada and India have long-standing bilateral relations built upon shared values of democracy and pluralism. “In 2012, a record number of Indian travellers came to Canada, and this milestone is a demonstration of the increasingly close relationship between the two countries,” he opined. Bernier said that Canada has made significant improvements in the visa process.
Bernier informed that his meeting with Indian Tourism Minister was quite fruitful. “We have decided to sign a MoU on tourism cooperation. We will work together on the MoU to share common experiences and I hope we will be able to sign it as soon as possible,” he said and added that CTC’s strategy in India is focused on developing a strong relationship with local wholesalers and retailers. He opined that India is one of the fastest growing outbound markets and the government is committed to making the country more attractive for Indians. He stated, “Today’s record number of visas issued will be tomorrow’s benchmark, and it is expected that visits to Canada will continue to increase in the years to come.”
McKenzie said that India is a key market for Canada. “India is a relatively new tourism market for the CTC, but it’s already one of our strongest in terms of future growth and investment potential. At present, we receive high-end leisure travellers from India. However, our plan is also to tap the potential of the Indian MICE market,” she added. She was very about the quality of the buyers and sellers that participated in Focus Canada India this year. “Both sides seem ready and eager to learn and make the deals that are going to help Indian consumers chose Canada as their next travel destination,” she said. She revealed that the budget to spend on marketing in India is now between one and two million Canadian dollars which will be increased to four million.
“We are spending nearly 80 per cent of our budget this year on trade advertising, business events, trade FAMs, and travel agent education sessions like the ones CTC and its partners hosted in Delhi and Mumbai recently,” Chretien said. Canada received a total of 162,900 overnight travellers in 2012, an 8.7 per cent increase over the previous year, who spent nearly US$ 161 million.
CTC will also launch its Signature Experiences Collection (SEC) in India by April 2013. The SEC includes a group of tourism products in Canada that provide authentic, once-in-a-lifetime and exotic experiences of the country. CTC had a soft launch of the product in New Delhi last year.
