CARSON CITY - It appears Nevada may be stepping up promotional efforts in India, with hopes it will pay big dividends in tourism spending, as it did when the state began to advertise in China.
Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki, who chairs the state's tourism commission, says the commission is interested in promoting the Silver State to India's emerging middle class. It's a demographic he says is measured in hundreds of millions of people who have the means to travel internationally.
"We see a profound opportunity in advertising Nevada tourism in India, and actually have for some time," says Krolicki. "But now we're taking more concerted actions to explore further investment for Nevada in India."
With India and China both boasting populations of over one billion, and surging economies in both nations, Krolicki says the next step is to decide on the best methods of promoting Nevada. He says his office is preparing a request for a yet-to-be-determined amount of funding from the Legislature.
Krolicki adds Nevada's marketing in China, which started a decade ago, has led to a major increase in tourism to Las Vegas.
"From a volume standpoint, we know the numbers of Chinese visitors to the United States with visas has gone from the low six figures 10 years ago to perhaps 1.7 million visitors last year, so the growth is exponential."
Krolicki says the commission's marketing efforts in India would complement the promotional work already being done by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Given their growing economies and huge populations, Krolicki predicts India and China could be huge tourism markets for Nevada for decades to come.[[In-content Ad]]
