In an attempt to broaden its reach to tier- I & II cities in India, Visit California has conducted several educational seminars in various cities of India to create awareness about California’s diverse tourism products. According to the release issued by the Sartha Global Marketing which represents Visit California in India, these educational seminars were held in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Hyderabad. Over 12,000 travel agents were trained during the period of July 2012 to June 2013.
The objective of these seminars is to focus on expanding and strengthening the Indian travel industry’s knowledge on California, help in creating customized itineraries for their clients and to maintain a positive relationship and ongoing engagement with the travel trade industry.
The training topics include California’s distinctive twelve regions, attractions, beaches, lifestyle, entertainment, and shopping, self-drive and outdoor activities. The most essential strategy of these seminars was to educate travel trade that California is a year around destination with diverse experiences to offer to Indian consumers.
India is among the fastest growing emerging travel markets for California and Visit California has been active in the market since 2009. In 2011, India ranked the eighth largest overseas market by volume for California with 194,000 visitors – 5% growth over 2010 visitation.
