Los Angeles Expects Indian Inbound Travel to Fully Recover by 2023
25.08.2023 - 13:41
/ skift.com
/ Adam Burke
Even as visa delays continue to dog travel from India to the U.S., the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is projecting full recovery for inbound travel from India by late 2023 or early 2024. In 2019, the city received 130,000 Indian tourists. Adam Burke, CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board said the tourism board plans to continue to increase its investment in the market. “We’re proud to be the only U.S. destination with our own full-time office and team members in India, with our Mumbai office opening in 2019,” he told Skift during his recent visit to India.
Visa delay are the single biggest impediment to exponential growth in travel between the U.S. and India, said Burke. While the Los Angles tourism board chief applauded the U.S. State Department’s efforts to address the visa issue with a continued sense of urgency, he said there’s still work to do. “We’re encouraged by the significant progress thus far as recent data shows that visa wait times have dropped by almost 50 percent in India,” he said. This, according to him is attributable to several factors, including the state department designating India as one of its priority markets, adjudicating applications through consulates in other countries to increase processing capacity and waiving the interview requirement for travelers whose visas have expired in the last 36 months. Burke said he along with industry executives from across the country, recently met with legislators in Washington D.C. to highlight the pressing need to further reduce visa wait times.
Highlighting India’s emergence as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and the potential of the country’s tourism industry, Burke said India is already a top source market for Los Angeles, having welcomed 80,000 Indians in 2022. While continuing to focus on segments such as family travel, students, luxury travelers, and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions business, Burke said exciting new categories are emerging in India, with millennial and Generation Z leading the way. This adventurous travel segment seeks immersive experiences while travelling like a local, seeking out the community’s hidden gems, including eclectic culinary offerings, adrenaline-pumping outdoor activities, thriving nightlife, intimate live music venues, and shopping and fashion options.
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