Agents to tap Tier-II cities for Nevada
Brian K Krolicki, Chairman, Nevada Commission on Tourism, says that 60-70% of tourists from India to US, at some point in their journey come to Nevada, to Las Vegas.
Tourism is a US$58 billion industry in Nevada, employing more than 450,000 Nevadans and generating US$2.7 billion in tax revenue for the state. Most importantly; Las Vegas, one of the most famous destinations in the United States of America, is within Nevada.
Because of the ease of language and the brand value of Las Vegas, we think that more Indians will feature the state in their itineraries
Krolicki says, “We know that Nevada is already a top destination for Indian travellers and that can only increase as the Indian economy strengthens in 2014. Around 60-70 per cent of the Indian tourists to the US come to Las Vegas, Nevada at some point in their journey.”
Talking about the potential of the India market, Krolicki says, “With more than 50 million passport-holders in India, and a large and growing middle class with a desire to travel internationally, India is the next big market for Nevada.” Indian travellers want a destination with shopping, fine cuisine, entertainment, culture, adventure, and beauty, and Nevada has all of that and more.
Nevada plans to promote itself in India aggressively and the tourism board will be visiting India again in September for a marketing tour. Krolicki further says, “This market is very important and it’s going to be more important to the interna- tional tourism base. We want to involve tour operators, airlines, visa officers and try and get rid of any friction in the chain. We expect 50 million Indians to travel outside the country in the next 5 years. Though it’s far, the US is an attractive destination, but because of the ease of language and the brand value of Las Vegas, we think that more Indians will feature the state in their itinerary.” Talking about the strategy, Krolicki pointed out that, “You start with the larger markets and penetrate as the market grows. For this, the private sector, especially tour operators, are critical to capture and enter those markets. We are counting on smaller tour operators to bring those tourists from the Tier-II cities to US.”