Trump may not upset tourism sector’s applecart

The policy deliberations for the US-India Travel and Tourism Partnership Year will formally kick off this week, despite the fact that the US is grappling with the transition pangs of a new administration.

Last year, the governments of the two countries had agreed to name 2017 as the year devoted to focussing on strengthening ties between the two countries in the travel and tourism sector.

Even as the government is in transition at home, Brand USA seems to be banking on the fact that the US now has a national travel and tourism policy focussed on the economic and diplomatic contributions made by the segment, which is expected to boost this sector. A delegation of officials and senior executives of the American travel sector will be meeting with the Indian government officials and travel and trade executives in the Capital soon.

Christopher L Thompson, President & CEO, Brand USA, told BusinessLine, “The focus of these deliberations will be on strengthening connectivity and ability for easier entry for visitors. The ability of the visitors between both countries to travel is based on accessibility through connectivity.” Thompson said that India is one of the fastest growing source markets for the US and has great potential for growth. “We believe by 2021, India is expected to be among the top ten source markets for the US. It has been estimated that between 2016-2021, we are likely to see an average growth of 9-10 per cent year-on-year in terms of number of Indian travellers that will visit the US,” he added.

In 2015, over one million Indians visited the US, registering a growth of 17 per cent over 2014, making India its 11th largest source market. The US is one of the top outbound destinations and one of the key long-haul travel destinations for Indians.

Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation for the US, is eyeing a bigger share of the Indian outbound travellers segment. He said that with India’s large young population, Indian visitors are highly-engaged and curious, making it a high growth potential source market for the US.