An edited version of this story first appeared in DNA Money edition on Tuesday July 17, 2012.
From Hindi speaking guides at tourist spots to serving masala chai, the US city of Philadelphia is going all out to woo the over 12 million Indian outbound leisure travellers.
Having worked aggressively towards promoting education and related activities for over two years now, the honorary ambassador of Philadelphia to India, Kanika Choudhary is set to replicate the magic in the area of travel and tourism. Taking the first step in this direction, a partnership agreement has been inked with Kuoni India to design, promote and market Philadelphia to Indian tourists taking leisure travel to the United States.
A native of India, Choudhary has lived in Philadelphia for 12 years and is very confident about the huge opportunity both the nations could explore in the coming years. Commenting on the recent association with Kuoni India, she said that partnership will focus on promoting leisure tourism giving the Indian outbound leisure travellers a personalised touch.
“The approach will be extended in every aspect that Kuoni India will be working with us on. This apart, we will have the city government make a special niche for the Indian tourists visiting the city of Philadelphia,” she said.
Kuoni India on its part will now introduce Philadelphia as part of its US tour package as the city was never being launched as a standalone product earlier. In fact, Philadelphia was always a pass-through and never a one-night stay destination in Kuoni’s US itinerary earlier and all that is about to change now.
According to Rajiv Duggal, managing director, Kuoni India, while New York is iconic it is also very expensive as compared to Philadelphia, which is 25% cheaper and still offers the tourist a culturally rich American experience. “This is very unique to the city. The government is very receptive to suggestions and quick in adapting as per the needs and requirements of the tourists visiting the destination. We are in the process of putting together a strategy on bringing Philadelphia and India come closer.
“Brainstorming is also being done to see quality tourism whether groups, FIT, MICE etc moving into Philadelphia and that was the main purpose behind my recent visit there. It is a new, interesting destination for us and we will be putting a lot of effort in promoting the place in the coming months and years,” said Duggal.
Kick-starting the awareness exercise a couple of years ago promoting Philadelphia’s educational institutions and universities with the aspirants across India, Choudhary is working aggressively towards putting Philadelphia on the itinerary of Indian leisure travellers to the US. While the arrivals into Philadelphia from China is huge followed by Asia and Europe, outbound traffic from India has started picking up gradually. And now with Kuoni India by their side, Choudhary is confident that the numbers will shore up significantly in the coming years.
“Philadelphia might be most famously known as the birthplace of American democracy, but you'll find it's an ideal destination for discovery as you explore its colourful neighbourhoods, learn more about its rich history and delve into its spectacular sites and attractions. We are putting together a host of offerings for the Indian market and are confident of welcoming 3,000 to 5,000 tourists this year,” she said.
Emphasising on the fact that it is not a one way traffic, Choudhary added, “We are not just pushing them to come to Philadelphia and we are certainly not here to ask or to make deals. Making friends, allies / contacts with the people of India and assisting them build deep relationships with Philadelphia is what we are focusing on. We want them to have the real American experience.”
Citing an example of what a real American experience was all about, Choudhary said, Philadelphia is where the United States (US) was born (on July 4, 1776), with the signing of the Declaration of Independence – a document separating the 13 colonies from England. This apart, it is also known as the city of birth, with the oldest ice cream maker, the oldest departmental store, the largest shopping mall and so on.
With a fairly decent size of Indian population of around 10,000 in the state of Pennsylvania, the destination currently offers huge opportunities in sectors like education, medicine, research and development, life sciences, biotech etc. One of the very unique aspects about Philadelphia is that it is situated between New York and Washington, DC, and can be reached easily in an hour and a half via flight.
Among other responsibilities on Choudhary is to enhance the trade and investment relationships with India. While Pennsylvania as a state has already initiated efforts through an office in Bangalore, the city of Philadelphia will put in place a process to building trade and investments related relationships with Indian companies. “I have met several top officials from the chamber of commerce and as a matter of fact we are planning to get a delegation down to Gujarat this year. We will be channelising more such activities with various Indian states in the near future,” said Choudhary.
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| Kanika Choudhary |
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| Rajiv Duggal |
Having worked aggressively towards promoting education and related activities for over two years now, the honorary ambassador of Philadelphia to India, Kanika Choudhary is set to replicate the magic in the area of travel and tourism. Taking the first step in this direction, a partnership agreement has been inked with Kuoni India to design, promote and market Philadelphia to Indian tourists taking leisure travel to the United States.
A native of India, Choudhary has lived in Philadelphia for 12 years and is very confident about the huge opportunity both the nations could explore in the coming years. Commenting on the recent association with Kuoni India, she said that partnership will focus on promoting leisure tourism giving the Indian outbound leisure travellers a personalised touch.
“The approach will be extended in every aspect that Kuoni India will be working with us on. This apart, we will have the city government make a special niche for the Indian tourists visiting the city of Philadelphia,” she said.
Kuoni India on its part will now introduce Philadelphia as part of its US tour package as the city was never being launched as a standalone product earlier. In fact, Philadelphia was always a pass-through and never a one-night stay destination in Kuoni’s US itinerary earlier and all that is about to change now.
According to Rajiv Duggal, managing director, Kuoni India, while New York is iconic it is also very expensive as compared to Philadelphia, which is 25% cheaper and still offers the tourist a culturally rich American experience. “This is very unique to the city. The government is very receptive to suggestions and quick in adapting as per the needs and requirements of the tourists visiting the destination. We are in the process of putting together a strategy on bringing Philadelphia and India come closer.
“Brainstorming is also being done to see quality tourism whether groups, FIT, MICE etc moving into Philadelphia and that was the main purpose behind my recent visit there. It is a new, interesting destination for us and we will be putting a lot of effort in promoting the place in the coming months and years,” said Duggal.
Kick-starting the awareness exercise a couple of years ago promoting Philadelphia’s educational institutions and universities with the aspirants across India, Choudhary is working aggressively towards putting Philadelphia on the itinerary of Indian leisure travellers to the US. While the arrivals into Philadelphia from China is huge followed by Asia and Europe, outbound traffic from India has started picking up gradually. And now with Kuoni India by their side, Choudhary is confident that the numbers will shore up significantly in the coming years.
“Philadelphia might be most famously known as the birthplace of American democracy, but you'll find it's an ideal destination for discovery as you explore its colourful neighbourhoods, learn more about its rich history and delve into its spectacular sites and attractions. We are putting together a host of offerings for the Indian market and are confident of welcoming 3,000 to 5,000 tourists this year,” she said.
Emphasising on the fact that it is not a one way traffic, Choudhary added, “We are not just pushing them to come to Philadelphia and we are certainly not here to ask or to make deals. Making friends, allies / contacts with the people of India and assisting them build deep relationships with Philadelphia is what we are focusing on. We want them to have the real American experience.”
Citing an example of what a real American experience was all about, Choudhary said, Philadelphia is where the United States (US) was born (on July 4, 1776), with the signing of the Declaration of Independence – a document separating the 13 colonies from England. This apart, it is also known as the city of birth, with the oldest ice cream maker, the oldest departmental store, the largest shopping mall and so on.
With a fairly decent size of Indian population of around 10,000 in the state of Pennsylvania, the destination currently offers huge opportunities in sectors like education, medicine, research and development, life sciences, biotech etc. One of the very unique aspects about Philadelphia is that it is situated between New York and Washington, DC, and can be reached easily in an hour and a half via flight.
Among other responsibilities on Choudhary is to enhance the trade and investment relationships with India. While Pennsylvania as a state has already initiated efforts through an office in Bangalore, the city of Philadelphia will put in place a process to building trade and investments related relationships with Indian companies. “I have met several top officials from the chamber of commerce and as a matter of fact we are planning to get a delegation down to Gujarat this year. We will be channelising more such activities with various Indian states in the near future,” said Choudhary.
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