Secondary Markets
California’s international markets are ranked based on market potential. The following are considered secondary and emerging markets, where market growth is carefully monitored. In all its secondary markets, CTTC focuses on travel trade and public relations to influence customers, although travel trade plays a different role in each market and has shifting levels of influence. Additionally, CTTC focuses on technology in each market, as more and more consumers are going directly to the Web on a global basis. CTTC operates with smaller budgets in the secondary market areas, instead leveraging and building upon the campaigns and tools created for the primary markets.
France
CTTC identified France as a secondary and emerging market based on total California visitation (preliminary data) of 301,000 visitors in 2008. There were 192,139 port-of-entry (POE) arrivals at California airports in 2008, a 23% increase from 2007. Also, there were 1,243,942 French arrivals to the U.S. as whole, a 25% increase.
Italy
Italy is another fast-growing market, with 779,463 visitors to the U.S. in 2008 (up 22.9% over 2007), and 151,000 visitors to California (up 21.8% over 2007). Italian visitors stay an average of 8.1 nights, spending an average of $1,004 per visitor in California. CTTC is currently only focusing on public relations in the Italian marketplace, contracting with Master Consulting FL, based in Rome.
India
India is one California’s fastest growing emerging markets, with over 179,000 (+1.7%) visitors in 2008. California commands a 30% market share of all visitation to the U.S. 32 million Indians hold valid passports, and by 2011, annual outbound travel is expected to reach over 15 million.
Scandinavia
CTTC identifies Scandinavia as a secondary and emerging market based on total California visitation of 157,000 visitors in 2008 and spending of $174 million. Travel from Scandinavia grew 39% between 2005 and 2007, with California’s market share increasing from 17.0% to 19.9%. Since October 2007, CTTC contracts with Atlantic Link, a destination and product marketing company with its headquarter office in Copenhagen, Denmark, to provide limited representation services in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
South America
Collectively, visitors from South America equaled 399,000 in 2008, with an annual spend of approximately $538 million to California. Although visitation numbers to California are significantly below the peak 447,000 in 1998, 2008 saw an increase in visitation to California. CTTC has a long-term relationship with South Marketing International in Brazil and works on projects with Travel Business Marketing (TBM) in Argentina to promote California with trade, cooperative, public relations and technology initiatives.