Canada Places India On Top Priority For Tourism Promotion

Charmaine Fernz - Mumbai

The Indian outbound is fast becoming a lucrative market for most international tourism boards, which is evident from the number of entrants into the market. Taking lead is the Province of British Columbia, who evinced keen interest in the Indian market on their recent trip to the country. Said Gordon Campbell, premier, Province of British Columbia “British Columbia has varied attractions to offer Indian tourists. There are many opportunities along the Pacific Rim that present a whole range of tourism products, be it forests, museums, landscapes or even adventure. Reminiscing, it is also noticed that there is a lot of Indian heritage existing within the Canadian population.”

Having seen the similarities, how is the British Columbia going to tap the Indian market? “In a strategic and focussed manner,” added Campbell, “We are the host of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in 2010, so we plan to promote these games as a promotional tool for tourism. To cite an example: Australia has used the Olympic as a tourism promotional tool. And, to that effect, our aim is also to double tourism figures to Canada by 2010. To further strengthen the tourism bond, Air Canada resumed its flights from India, which enhances connectivity to the destination. We are also working on a imperative promotion and marketing plan for the Indian market as we feel that consumer education is of prime necessity.”