Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai Continuing its activities in the Indian market after having appointed Aviareps as its Representative here just over a year ago, the Utah Office of Tourism is keen on tapping the VFR segment, and leisure travellers while creating destination awareness nationwide.
Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Zach Fyne, Global Markets Specialist, Utah Office of Tourism, said, “Utah is a relatively new entrant in the Indian market, and our first big initiative was to partner with Aviareps as our India Representative a year and half ago. We are still in the awareness phase across different states, and showcasing the destination first hand.”
Leading a larger part of their messaging is the Mighty Five National Parks, and close connectivity via Las Vegas International Airport, and the newly built Salt Lake City International Airport. “We are surrounded by incredible beauty on all sides, and one of the best ways to explore Utah is through a road trip. The Mighty Five National Parks are a big highlight of visiting Utah.”
Due to the huge visa issue crisis currently, Utah Tourism is focusing on travellers with valid US visas or repeat visitors. “For years, we have been focused on China as our top Asian market. However, we had foresight of not putting all eggs in one basket, and it took us 5-7 years to get marketing budget approved for India from the State Legislature. Prior to that, India ranked on no 7 of top 10 international source markets without any marketing activity here.”
Moreover, Utah Tourism will be launching an online training programme ‘Utah Specialist Academy’. “After 18 months of planning and development, Utah Specialist Academy will debut in a month. It is very image and video focused learning, direct to the point.”
