Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Korea now ranks in the number one spot worldwide for global congresses hosted in 2016, according to the latest International Meetings Statistics Report released by the Union of International Associations (UIA). The result is a reflection of strong growth by established Korean meeting cities such as Seoul, as well as rising destinations like Busan, Jeju, and Incheon, contributing to the country’s increasingly diverse business events portfolio. Supporting this growth is the Korea MICE Expo that is jointly organised by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) along with its 11 Regional Convention Bureaus. The nation recently concluded the 18th edition of Korea MICE Expo 2017, its leading business events trade show that brought together 250 businesses and more than 300 buyers from around the world, including India. The expo showcased their MICE products in a two-day expo at Incheon’s Songdo Convensia between 15-16 June, 2017 that recorded a total of 3,000 attendees. This reflected a 21.6 per cent increase in attendance over the previous year. Kapsoo Kim, Executive Director, Korea MICE Bureau, says, “These latest findings are a strong reflection of Korea’s broad growth not only across the country’s meetings section, but across the country itself. Established event destinations like Seoul are continuing to show their prowess, while an increasing number of regional capitals are giving global meetings planners an increasing variety of options, and so boosting Korea’s appeal for congresses.” The findings show Korea as a country rising from 891 meetings in 2015 to 997 in 2016, reflecting almost a 12 per cent increase over the previous year. Making up the national equation, Seoul, maintained its third place city ranking and hosted 526 meetings in 2016, up from 494 in 2015. …

The Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) will conduct multi-city roadshow in India this August to continue to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel fraternity. The roadshow will be held in a networking workshop format and will commence in Mumbai on August 21 followed by Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and will conclude in Chennai on August 30. Hassan Madah, Director, IMOT, said, “We have been witnessing historical growth from India this year. We have already recorded 33 per cent increase in tourist arrivals in the period of January to May 2017 over the same period in 2016. Our aim is to receive 60,000 Indian tourists by end of 2017. This roadshow will help us in achieving our goal as it will strengthen business opportunities for the Indian travel trade who are looking to promote Israel as a tourist destination. We are confident that through the roadshow, Indian travel agents will be able to build new connections and increase their knowledge of the various tourism offerings in Israel.” Israel achieved an increase of 13 per cent in 2016 over the previous year with a record of 44,672 Indian tourists visiting the destination. The statistics released by the Israel Ministry of Tourism also revealed 42 per cent growth in Indian arrivals to Israel in the month of May 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

South Australia continues to record strong growth in the Indian market with a surge in its latest visitor and spend numbers. With the recent results, India is now the eighth-largest source market for South Australia. The International Visitor Survey results released by Tourism Research Australia indicate a 30 per cent rise in the number of Indians travelling to South Australia as of March 2017. Moreover, the Festival State also saw an additional spend of $23mn as compared to the last year, which is reflected in the steep 130 per cent rise in spends. The average year-on-year growth over the last three years, both in terms of visitor and spend figures, has been steadily increasing at a rate of 8.33 per cent and 39.7 per cent respectively. Commenting on the results, Dana Urmonas, Regional Director (India & Southeast Asia), South Australian Tourism Commission, said, “India has always been an important growth market for us and we are happy to see Indians increasingly opting to travel to South Australia. We will continue to focus on the India market and toward this we will be rolling out some exciting initiatives over the next year as well. Our target segments will continue to include families, honeymooners and independent leisure travellers in the age group of 25-45 in primary markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.” Data provided by a recent Consumer Demand Project conducted by Tourism Australia indicate that South Australia has been moving up the consideration set of Indians looking to travel to Australia for leisure purposes. According to the report, Kangaroo Island in South Australia is ranked number three on Indian traveller’s consideration list after Sydney and Melbourne. Some of the sought …

In a bid to boost the tourism yields from India market and to expand its business, the Reunion Island Tourism Board has come up with their first-ever ‘Cash Incentive Program’ for the Indian travel agents and tour operators. Under this new scheme which is conceptualised in partnership with Representation World, the India representative of the Reunion Island Tourism Board, the agents will have to commit as well as deliver min 10 numbers of visitors from India market and upon successful completion of commitment, they are entitled to get the cash bonus which can go up to more than EUR 32,000*. This “Cash Incentive Program” is only valid post signing the official agreement with Reunion Island Tourism Board. The scheme is performance-linked and is valid with both Air Austral and Air Mauritius (flights operating from India to Reunion Island). Under the scheme, one travel agent can earn upto EUR 32,000 for 1751-2,000 pax (selling reunion Island as a standalone destination) and up to EUR 20100 for 1751-2,000 pax (in combination with any other destination) in one year. This scheme is valid from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. “India market is an important market for Reunion Island and recently we have registered a growth of 175% from this market, which are an encouraging numbers for us. We are thrilled to announce this special scheme for India as it will undoubtedly help us to strengthen our position as a preferred holiday destination for Indian travellers through our trusted travel agents’ network in India,” said William Techer – Head of Promotion & Marketing India and Indian Ocean, Reunion Island Tourism Board. Vineet Gopal, Director India, Reunion Island Tourism Board, shared, “I welcome this …

The Philippines has witnessed a growth of 28 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals during January-February, 2017, compared to the same period last year. As per the official data released by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, more than 19,000 Indians visited the Philippines in the first two months of 2017 and as a result India has now jumped to the 11th rank among the top source markets for the island nation. In 2016, more than 90,000 Indian tourists visited the Philippines and recorded 21.27 per cent of annual growth. Speaking about the growth, SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office India, said, “Over the years, we have seen a steady growth in Indian tourists to the Philippines and are confident that this trend will continue. We are extremely delighted that the year 2017 is giving us a good start and our continued efforts in targeting the Indian holiday planners through aggressive marketing initiatives will yield even better results by the year end.” In 2017, the DOT Philippines will be more focused on consumers as well as corporates to promote this beautiful archipelago as a Leisure, Luxury, Wedding and MICE destination. “We want to leverage on our tourism product offerings and attract the Indian traveller to soon achieve our target of 100,000 tourist arrivals to the Philippines,” added SanJeet.

Destination Canada has registered a growth of 33 per cent in Indian arrivals for the month of March, 2017. Destination Canada is aiming to make 2017 a roaring year for tourism. It is engaged with the trade on consistent and sustained basis through activities, workshops and networking sessions so that the travel trade stays updated about Canada and become storytellers to create required enthusiasm and excitement amongst potential travellers. Pooja Sabharwal, Account Director, Destination Canada – India, said, “This manifold rise in arrivals figures shows that all the diverse offerings of Canada are being extensively explored by Indian travellers. There has been a sharp increase in the leisure trips to Canada from India owing to the increased disposable income amongst middle and affluent class travellers. Destination Canada’s effort in showcasing the voyagers what’s hidden inside the country is a major contributor to Canada’s dynamic growth. We are hopeful that the country will be gifted with doubled visitor arrivals on its 150th birthday.”

Switzerland has created a single platform in Mumbai to represent key Swiss interests in diplomacy, trade and investment as well as tourism, along with the continuation of providing consular services to Swiss citizens. The new and integrated set-up located in Nariman Point is considered as a milestone for Switzerland’s presence in India’s financial capital. In February 2016, the visa section in Mumbai was closed and visa processing within India was centralised at the Embassy in New Delhi. Subsequently, the Consulate General was reorganised internally with allocation of additional resources to the culture and public diplomacy department within the new scope of activities. The renovation of the offices began simultaneously. After completion of the remodeling, the Swiss Business Hub India and Switzerland Tourism have come under the single roof of the Consulate General. The grand opening of the new state-of-the-art offices took place on 26 May, 2017. Consul General Martin Bienz welcomed Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud, Director, Directorate for Resources, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Andreas Baum, Ambassador of Switzerland to India, Daniel Küng, CEO of Switzerland Global Enterprise, Jodok Brunner, BBL at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new premises. The celebrations continued in the evening at the Trident Hotel followed by a music programme by musicians Sanjay Divecha and Varun Venkit. Ambassador Andreas Baum announced the new public diplomacy campaign for 2017-2018 which will be ‘70 years of Swiss-Indian Friendship, Connecting Minds Inspiring the Future’. The gala reception was attended by representatives from the diplomatic, business and culture communities in Mumbai. The Consulate General of Switzerland in Mumbai was the leading visa-issuing office within the Swiss network abroad, providing up to 80,000 visas per year.

Munich has witness strong gains in the number of Indian arrivals in February 2017, recording an increase of 40 per cent in comparison with the last year. Additionally, there is also an increase in the bed nights, which has grown to 31.46 per cent. “This huge rise in the Indian arrival figures to Munich shows that India has successfully maintained a position of one of the top source markets for the Bavarian capital. We are hopeful that through extensive promotion of the destination among the travel trade and consumers, a steady will be maintained throughout the year,” Minoti Gupta, Manager–Sales, Munich Tourism.

Flight Shop, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of FCTG, Australia, has announced a joint-partnership with Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to offer combined holiday packages to the discerning Indian traveller. As both tourism boards come together for the first time, the collaboration intends to strengthen mutual relationships and expand their presence in the Indian market. Commenting on the collaboration, Shravan Gupta, Executive Director – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions India, said, “We are extremely delighted to have collaborated with Japan and Korea Tourism boards in India. As a first-of-its-kind, the partnership aligns with our commitment to offer unbeatable escapades to our customers. The popularity of these destinations amongst Indian travellers has driven us to create the finest itineraries with exciting opportunities and unforgettable lifetime experiences. As key long haul destinations, Japan and South Korea have witnessed a robust growth of 30% in Indian outbound travelers; the joint collaboration aims to double this growth over the next few years. As both destinations bet high on India, we will focus primarily on key and emerging metros.” Byungsun Lee, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, said, “We are elated to collaborate with Flight Shop and Japan Tourism Board to promote Far-East in India as we strongly believe that the Korea-Japan combination holiday is a star-offering for Indian market this summer season. Carriers in India (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airways, All Nippon Airways) offer excellent connectivity to both the counties with bare minimum connecting times. Together, South Korea and Japan combined will offer an unmatched experience to Indian travellers, especially to families with theme parks, shopping, etc. as the focus themes.” Kenichi Takano, Executive Director, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said, “Japan is a destination for …

Tourism Australia, in partnership with Destination New South Wales, marked the 38th year of its annual travel and tourism business-to-business event – the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) at the brand new ICC (International Convention Centre) in Sydney. The event took place from May  15-18, witnessing an attendance of over 2,500 travel industry delegates from over 30 countries with participation from 20 Indian travel companies. This is also marked Tourism Australia’s 50th anniversary. Commenting on the occasion, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “ATE plays a critical role in facilitating productive links between Australia’s tourism providers and the global distribution network and has an enormous economic impact. Arrivals from India have seen a significant hike in the last few years and platforms such as the ATE play a huge role in making that happen. Over 20 buyers representing as many companies from India attended ATE17 providing them an incredible opportunity to connect with Australian tourism businesses. We believe this platform will help them curate the best of Australian holiday experiences for our Indian travel enthusiasts. We’re confident that ATE will continue to bolster Australia’s inbound tourism sector and grow visitor economy.” India is currently Australia’s ninth-largest inbound tourism market, with over 260,000 visitors spending A$ 1.24 bn as on December 2016. Companies such as Ascon Travels, Cox & Kings, Cutting Edge, Discover your World, FCM Travel Solutions, Grand Travel Planners, Pathfinders Holidays, Peekay Holidays, Pristine Travels, SOTC, Vibrant Holidays, Voyageur Lifestyles, among others, represented India at ATE17, a testimony to the growing popularity of Australia as a tourism destination for Indians. ATE is Australia’s annual business-to-business tourism travel trade event, focussed on building future tourism opportunities for …