California establishes presence in India

The California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC), which aims to increase Indian arrivals, will have a presence in Mumbai and New Delhi through appointed representatives Sartha Marketing Consultants.

CTTC president and CEO, Caroline Beteta, said: "India and the US have strong partnerships in technology and IT. We are happy to extend that relationship to tourism by opening our first office here. India has shown significant growth to the US in recent years.''

In 2008, Indian visitors to California numbered 179,000, constituting 30 per cent of total Indian arrivals to the US. Indian tourism spend contributed US$280 million to the state, up 27 per cent over 2007's numbers. Leisure travel is projected to increase by 14.5 per cent in 2011.

On top of leisure and business segments, the CTTC is also focusing on attracting more Bollywood films to be shot in California as it is planning to use the films as key marketing tools in India for B2C promotions.

The board will visit to India again in September, with more travel trade delegates from California.

(Sources: Anand & Madhura Katti, Mumbai)