Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

VisitBritain has launched the ‘GetReadyForBirmingham’ campaign with TravTalk to promote West Midlands, England region, using the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as a hook. Log on to www.GetReadyForBirmingham.com and get clicked at the virtual photo booth offering the most scenic backgrounds in West Midlands, which is playing host to the games.

Tourism & Events Queensland, in conjunction with Tourism Australia, has specially produced tutorial guides on how to capture the best ‘Night’, ‘Action’ and ‘Landscape’ photography shots. These tutorials (a series of 3 x 2mins videos) are produced in association with Queensland’s content creator Jesse Lindeman. To inject a bit of fun, the State Tourism Organisation is running a photography contest only for its India-based trade partners. The first 25 qualified entries will win a A$20 Amazon vouchers. In addition, the top three winners will also win one of Jesse’s exclusive Queensland print (framed).     The contest is open to all outbound travel trade staff based in India. However, the participant will need to register as an Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) agent in Tourism Australia’s online portal. It is easy. All the staff need to do is to login (or register if he/she is not yet an ASP agent) to learn from a few easy tips explained in the tutorials. Each participant then submit his/ her your own favorite photo(s) to Diksha Singh (dsingh@tourism.australia.com) by 28th January 2022. Participant may choose to submit his/her photo under any of the below categories (note : please indicate chosen category in their email headline): (A) Night (B) Action (C) Landscape He/she can submit up to 3 photos per category. There is also the flexibility to submit across ONE, TWO or all THREE categories. Winners will be announced at the Queensland ‘Scenic Rim – ‘Top 10 destinations to visit in 2022’ webinar on 4 February 2022 at 11am IST. Do register your seat at this webinar: Webinar Date: 4 February 2022 Time: 11 AM – 12 PM IST Register here for the webinar

Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) ordered a temporary suspension of the Thailand Pass for all new TEST&GO and Sandbox applications (except Phuket Sandbox), effective from 22 December 2021, citing the rising number of Omicron variant cases in the country. However, travelers can travel to Thailand via Phuket. Phuket remains open for Indian travelers under the Phuket Sandbox scheme. Under this program, travelers will only need to do a PCR test and wait in the hotel until the result is received. If tested negative, they can then move around in Phuket. The second RT PCR test will be done on the 5-6th day post which they can travel to other parts of Thailand after completing seven days of stay in Phuket (No Quarantine required) or return to their home country within 7 days.  Cholada Siddhivarn Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai office says we are happy to welcome Indians to Thailand. However, we have just altered the entry rules for people entering our country from different entry points except for Phuket. The step comes in after the rise in new variant cases. We believe it is better to take necessary precautions while we still are ready to welcome travelers from different parts of the world. She further added, “Travellers wanting to travel to Phuket can register for Thailand Pass under the Phuket Sandbox program and Happy Quarantine. The TAT India team will work closely with the travel trade partners to assist them with client queries and help them serve the clients better.”

Aastha Bhargava, Head – MICE Outbound Contracting, Zenith Holidays, Parth Satpathy, Director, 5D Global Travel Solutions, and Pooja Vyas Panchal, Manager, Shreeji Travels are the fourth week’s three lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel.     Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking on this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner for the travel trade. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number  

The time is opportune to know all you want about Destination Germany. The Germany Specialist program offers a tailor-made program exclusively for travel trade by German National Tourist Office (GNTO). Divided in four modules, the program will not only boost your knowledge about Destination Germany, but also help you sell it better to clients, looking for an experience of a lifetime in Germany. Register on: www.germanyspecialist.com.

Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi’s Webinar titled, ‘Reunite #InAbu Dhabi – Family’ is scheduled today at 3pm IST. Hear more about family friendly attractions, unique hotels, culture, entertainment and lots more directly from our destination partners in Abu Dhabi. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Vandana Dhingra, Partner, La Esperanza Travels, Richard John Macwan, BDM, Travelicious Trip, and Kirti Shah, Founder, The Nomads Co. are the third week’s three lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel. Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking on this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner for the travel trade. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives.     Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number  

Ravi Luthra, Director, Landmark Tours & Travels and Supriya Kandhari, Managing Director, Chrysalis Holidays, are the second week’s lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel. Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number      

Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) conducted its first roadshow in 2021 across three Indian cities to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel trade fraternity that focused on outbound MICE travel. The roadshows were held in the cities of Chennai on December 6, Bengaluru on December 7, and Kolkata on December 9, 2021.  The events commenced with a destination presentation which focused on key developments, tourism infrastructure in Israel as well as opening of new hotels and tourist attractions. Following the presentation was an interactive session between the Israel Tourism team and the travel partners, which concluded with light snacks. The Israeli delegation was led by Mr. Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines along with Judah Samuel, Director of Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India. Speaking about the roadshows, Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism – Israel & Philippines said, “The last two years have been extremely challenging for everyone, especially the tourism industry. With restricted number of flights and constant changes in travel policies, many Indian travellers chose domestic travels, similar to Israel. With borders opening for international travel, we are delighted to host our first roadshow since 2019. The aim was to have a concerted group of about 30 attendees in each city, with a focus on reviving interest in Israel as a destination, especially with the MICE segment. The presentation highlighted the upgrades that have been made to the tourism infrastructure in Israel, as well as new and exciting initiatives that have been implemented. It was heart-warming to meet our partners in each city and I am glad to see the enthusiastic response from the travel trade in marketing Israel …

Qatar Tourism attended ILTM Cannes 2021 with a strong Qatari delegation, to profile the new tourism projects and luxury offerings in the country. Qatar is becoming a leading destination as it expands its tourism proposition, in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Its tourism strategy puts the visitor at the heart of all new programmes and initiatives. As part of the ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’, the country has added a variety of exciting experiences, including a wave of new luxury hotels, theme parks, shops, and major leisure projects, that have recently opened, or are set to open in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM. Over 100 new hotels and serviced apartments are currently under construction which will add to Qatar’s already extensive portfolio of properties. Some of the new properties include a Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Hotel and Resort at Katara Towers, Rosewood Doha and the St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island. The hotels will broaden Qatar’s appeal to high value travellers, offering more choice to its existing 80 five and four star hotels. With the aim of raising the tourism sector to 12% GBP by 2030, Qatar will grow and improve assets and attractions, enhance the end-to-end customer experience, invest in Service Excellence and deploy a tailored marketing strategy to target point-to-point (P2P) and stopover visitors. Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: “We are continuing to expand our tourism offering and are excited to introduce guests to the best of Qatari hospitality. In 2019, we saw over two million visitors to Qatar and we hope to see similar growth trends now that we are welcoming visitors back to the country again. “We are now …