Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Travel System, and Rail Europe have launched the Swiss Travel Pass Superstar Program 2016 to promote brand awareness and enhance knowledge of various Swiss Travel Passes among the travel agents and tour operators in India. Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director & Media Manager- India, Switzerland Tourism, said, “Swiss Travel Pass Superstar program 2016 is meant for the travel agents and tour operators. It will be a 6 month program in which, every month, agents have to answer 10 questions and also sell maximum number of travel passes to stand a chance to win exciting prizes. Also travel agents will have to upload the number of travel passes being sold by them.  At the end of every month a winner will be announced and at the end of the six months there will be a grand winner. The top 30 performers will win a week long holiday to Switzerland which includes airfares, hotel stay, sightseeing, meals etc.” Sharma revealed this during a roadshow in Mumbai recently. In 2015 the program witnessed around 850 participants and this year Switzerland Tourism along with their partners expects double the number of participants than last year. The Switzerland tourism board also recorded a 21 per cent growth in 2015. The main thrust is to encourage agents to sell more travel passes with longer durations to customers. The minimum number of days is 3-4 and with this program agents are expected to sell travel passes for eight days so people enjoy longer stay in Switzerland. Switzerland tourism along with its partners will be doing training sessions in three other cities including Chandigarh, Delhi and Ahmedabad apart from Mumbai. India is the top source market for …

As per the statistics shared by Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), 72,145 Indian tourists visited Mauritius in 2015. This is an increase of 18 per cent as compared to 61,167 tourists who visited in 2014. Speaking on this subject, Sanjay Sondhi, CEO, OM Tourism, said that the growth was due to the stupendous efforts of the MTPA India team. He further added “We are looking forward to an even better 2016.” Vivek Anand, Country Manager, said, “We have seen a remarkable rise of Indian footfalls to Mauritius from all target groups i.e. FIT, MICE, Wedding, Families and honeymooners. We expect the numbers to increase by another 20 per cent next year with more weddings and MICE groups visiting Mauritius. We will continue promoting Mauritius as a MICE, Wedding, Honeymoon, Adventure, Golf, Family and Luxury destination in 2016.”

Thailand registered 1,069,149 Indian arrivals to the country between January-December 2015, registering a growth of 14.64 per cent over the same period in 2014, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Govt. of Thailand. Speaking on the achievement, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor, Dr Yuthasak Supasorn, said “It was another remarkable year in 2015. The performance endorses the scope and effectiveness of the 2015 Discover Thainess campaign and its success in restoring travel confidence.” He adds that this year, they are targeting a growth of 10 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals and are working towards recording two million Indian arrivals by 2020. TAT recently appointed professional golfer Vani Kapoor as the Thai Golf Ambassador in a bid to promote golf tourism, among other niche segments, in India.  India is the sixth largest source market for Thailand, with China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Lao People’s Democratic Republic occupying the top five slots.

Singapore Tourism Board has announced that over 1 million Indian tourists visited Singapore in 2015 marking a year-on-year growth of 7.4 per cent in visitor arrivals. To celebrate this achievement, Singapore Tourism Board surprised all passengers flying to the country with special in-flight celebratory experiences in partnership with  Air India, Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines on December 31, 2015. Chee Pey Chang, Executive Director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa – Singapore Tourism Board, said, “2015 was a landmark year for us as Singapore celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Last year, the Singapore Botanic Gardens was accredited as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the opening of the National Gallery Singapore and Indian Heritage Centre generated great interest among Indian travellers.”

Indonesia received 262,000 Indian tourists in 2015 meeting their target for the year, stated Taufik Nurhidayat, Deputy Director – Office of the Deputy for International Marketing, Ministry of Tourism Indonesia at the sales mission organised by the Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers (VITO) India in New Delhi. He shared that they are targeting 350,000 Indian visitors this year and is optimistic after the recent regulation of a 30-day visa-free entry into Indonesia for Indian tourists. Delegates from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism will also participate in SATTE as part of their sales mission.

Vienna drew a record number of 40,355 Indians in 2015, accounting for 89,628 overnight stays. While the number of Indians visiting Vienna increased by 49.5 per cent over last year, the number of overnight stays grew by 38.7 per cent, according to Vienna Tourist Board. “We are delighted at the growing number of Indian travellers, largely comprising families, youth, honeymooners and those attending business conferences,” says Isabella Rauter, Vienna Tourist Board’s Head of Public Relations and responsible for media relations with India and Italy. Vienna continued to attract more people with tourist arrivals from around the crossed the 6.6 million mark, representing an increase of 6.1 per cent. The former capital of Habsburg Empire now prepares to welcome Indian travellers in much larger numbers in 2016. According to the data, the growth in Indian visitors to Vienna was among the highest after the Arabic countries and Taiwan. During 2015 overnight stays crossed the 14 million mark for the first time, representing a healthy 5.9 per cent increase of over previous year.

Namaste Turkey has launched a brochure for 2016-17 comprising of 48 pages and includes over 15 unique itineraries for Turkey and combination of Turkey & Greece. These programmes are commissionable to the travel agents and tour operators at 10 per cent. Subhash Motwani, Director, Namaste Turkey, who was recently in Cappadocia to forge an alliance with key partners, is optimistic that Turkey will be doing exceptionally well in 2016, given that Turkish Airlines has excellent connectivity to Europe, US and Africa and with a valid Schengen, UK or US or OECD country visa, you can get a Turkey visa online instantly. Namaste Turkey has also introduced for the first time eight-day full board cruises from Bodrum and Marmaris with guaranteed departures from May until October 2016. This too is commissionable to travel agents and tour operators.

As of November 2015, more than 924,000 Indian travellers visited Singapore, registering 7.4 per cent growth, said Bridget Goh, Area Director India & Sri Lanka, Singapore Tourism Board. “India is the top five visitor market for Singapore with over 943,000 Indian travellers in 2014 and the average length of stay being 6.8 days,” she added. Singapore celebrated its Golden Jubilee last year by partnering with Tigerair for a successful marketing campaign targeting Indian travellers majorly from South India and Lucknow. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Tigerair and offer Indian travellers to start 2016 with attractive fares and indulge in spending quality time with loved ones in Singapore,” she said. As a popular destination among Indian travellers, Singapore has a multitude of experiences for a fun-filled family holiday as well as vibrant lifestyle offerings for working millennials seeking a short getaway.  

During January-September 2015, South Africa received 58,373 Indian arrivals to the country, shared Monika Iuel, General Manager-International Marketing, South African Tourism, at the Delhi leg of 4-city South African Tourism roadshow. She stated that they are hoping for exponential growth with the help of various campaigns, due for launch in 2016. Talking about the initiative, Hanneli Slabber, Country Head, South African Tourism, said that the Chalo South Africa and T20 World Cup campaigns set to launch on March 1 and March 10 respectively, will surely be beneficial in upping the tourist arrival number to the country. After Delhi, the South African Tourism roadshow moves to Hyderabad on January 21, and ends at Mumbai on January 22.

H.E. Erdal Sabri Ergen, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey, today said Turkey is in the process of changing its visa regime to make it easier for Indian travellers. Presently, Ordinary, Special and Service Indian passport holders are required to get a visa to enter Turkey. Indian travellers who have Ordinary, Special and Service passports with a valid Schengen or OECD member’s visa or residence permit may get their single entry e-Visas for Turkey valid for 30 days. Ergen said Turkey is also looking at increasing the flight frequency between the two countries. In view of the recent terror attacks in Istanbul, he said that tourism plays an important role in bringing peace in times of terrorism. Turkey boasts highest number of tourist visas issuance in Europe, at 95 per cent. He was speaking on the sidelines of IITT 2016 in Mumbai.