Nevada casinos seek gamblers from India

Nevada casinos are pushing to make India a major source of tourist arrivals.

The Nevada Division of Tourism says India is currently in the top-10 countries from which Vegas visitors descend but the state is determined to elevate India into the top-five. Nevada began a similar push to attract Chinese travelers a dozen years ago, and China has since attained the desired top-five status.

The state welcomed 63k tourists from India in 2014, 33% more than the previous year. That’s around 10% of the Indians who visit the US each year. An estimated 50m Indian citizens currently hold passports.

Nevada opened a representative office in India last October and Division of Tourism chairman Mark Hutchinson – who’s also the state’s Lt. Governor – is currently in New Delhi to attend the SATTE 2016 travel trade show.