Nearly a million Indians , not counting business travellers, will visit the US every year by 2015, according to Manoj Gursahani, President, Visit USA Committee, which works closely with the US Embassy/Consulate and US Commercial Service.

“Nearly seven lakh Indians visit the US, and we hope to reach the target of a million by 2015,” he told Business Line on the sidelines of Brand USA educational seminar for the travel industry.

Gursahani said while travellers to the US have been mostly from the metros, the number is increasing from tier-II cities, especially from Gujarat. Brand USA, a public-private partnership is promoting the US as a premier travel destination. It has launched a series of travel educational programmes at major Indian cities and second tier cities. Destination management companies from the US - San Francisco Travel, San Francisco International Airport, NYC & Co, The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and Qatar Airways – pitched themselves among tours and travel agents in the seminar.

High growth US Consul General Jennifer McIntyre speaking at the seminar said India is now ranked 12{+t}{+h} in terms of visitors to the US.

The number of travellers from emerging economies with growing middle classes, such as India, is expected to multiply in the coming years.

“By 2018, we anticipate the growth of Indian travellers to America to jump by 50 per cent, an impressive increase in just a few short years,” she said. McIntyre said, last financial year the US consulates in India processed over 763,000 non-immigrant visas.

The Chennai Consulate alone is ranked the 13{+t}{+h} largest non-immigrant visa adjudicating pose in the world.

“Our USS consular professionals process 97 per cent of visas within 24 hours. We are proud of our record in Chennai of keeping waiting time for visa appointments consistently below a week,” she said.

>raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in

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