India Global Reps

Trade engagement produced tangible gains in both awareness and bookable product. The team completed 152 sales calls with 73 travel companies and trained 248 travel professionals through webinars and in-person and virtual sessions. Most notably, the product audit found 127 Travel South USA products across 28 Indian travel companies, representing growth of 82 products and 15 companies since December 2025.

Major trade initiatives reinforced this momentum. Six Indian tour operators and one media representative attended International Showcase, while the India Workshop in New Delhi attracted 55 travel agents representing luxury, FIT, GIT and MICE business. Two dedicated webinars reached another 82 advisors across Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets.

PR activity generated 75 media clippings, including 64 earned placements, centered on road trips, cuisine, outdoor experiences, heritage and culture. Four leading Indian journalists also participated in Global Media Marketplace, creating additional opportunities for future editorial coverage.

Communications included 10 e-newsletters reaching 7,000+ trade professionals and 300+ journalists, while dedicated Instagram and Facebook activity established a new always-on social presence in India.

Overall, FY25–26 demonstrated rapid market development rather than awareness alone. Significant product growth, expanding trade relationships and strong interest in experiences beyond traditional U.S. gateways position India as an increasingly important long-term opportunity for the American South.

Since the program’s launch, the market has shown encouraging early traction: 136 travel agents trained, 121 trade meetings conducted, 59 published media articles generating 61 media interactions, and a newly launched TSUSA India social media presence on Instagram and Facebook. For FY26-27, the strategy continues a three-pronged approach across travel trade, PR/media, and consumer outreach, with a particular objective of building awareness of Louisiana within the Indian market.

Trade activity centers on expanding distribution and product development across the nine participating states and ROS, educating trade on the South as a distinctive holiday choice for repeat travelers, and exploring growth segments such as road trips, outdoor recreation, culture and history, and gourmet and music-focused travel. Planned deliverables include monthly sales meetings (with quarterly in-office visits), recurring training sessions targeting outbound tour operators, three regional trade webinars across North, South, and West India, ten trade e-newsletters sent to a database of over 7,000 travel trade professionals, airline co-branded partnerships, and representation at Brand USA Travel Week India 2027. PR and media efforts follow a theme-based, digital-first strategy emphasizing strategic partnerships, immersive storytelling, and influencer and podcast opportunities, targeting mainline and business dailies, high-end lifestyle and travel magazines, wire services, trade media, and freelance luxury/lifestyle journalists; deliverables include ten monthly media e-newsletters to 300-plus contacts, ongoing media monitoring, and a proposed Travel South Experience Evening media and trade event in Delhi or Mumbai built around five destination pillars (outdoors, culinary, culture and history, music, and road trips). Consumer outreach is handled through organic content management and paid Meta promotion on the TSUSA India Facebook and Instagram pages, targeting segments including families with kids, young millennials and Gen Z, road trip enthusiasts, multi-generational family travelers, outdoor and nature explorers, and music and entertainment enthusiasts.

Recurring content themes for the year include art, culture, outdoors and diversity; the South as a year-round destination for outdoor lovers; unique food and drinks; music, entertainment and nightlife; romantic getaways for couples; and luxury road trips. An annual market overview and independently prepared product audit will be provided to Travel South USA, with each Global Partner Program state receiving a year-end report by mid-July 2027. No budget figures are included in this summary despite a detailed budget allocation appearing in the source presentation.