Spotlight on India
The 2015 India Road Show rolled into Toronto last Thursday (June 11) as part of a four-city North American tour stopping in Montreal, Chicago and Houston.
Presented by India Tourism and PATA India, 17 suppliers, industry partners and provincial government reps from Telangana and Tamilnadu were on hand to meet with travel trade and share information on the latest tourism products, packages and tours, as well as new developments and hotels in India.
“We’re targeting the travel agents and the tour operators the most because they’ll be the ones who will be promoting India,” Anil Oraw, director, India Tourism, Toronto, told TravelPress. “About 65 agents are here, so it’s a good number, and yesterday in Montreal there were over 40.”
With the recent shift to offer electronic India visa applications and Air Canada’s upcoming direct Toronto-Delhi route approaching, Oraw says the time was right to take the show on the road. He says more than 255,000 Canadians travelled to India in 2013, and he expects a 10-15% growth with the easier visa process.
“I’m telling you, it looks difficult to sell India in the instant, but once you sell India, you will get repeat visitors because India has a record of repeat visitors,” he says. “India is a fascinating destination.”
Pictured at the Toronto trade show event are B.P. Acharya (r), principal secretary for Tourism and Culture, Government of Telangana, India, and Oraw.
