Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Christina Garcia Frasco, Secretary, Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, said that the goal of the Department is to increase cruise ship calls to various ports and islands. “Phillippines aims to be cruise hub in Asia,” she said.

Switzerland Tourism invites the trade to attend this exclusive webinar in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland Visa Section. This webinar will highlight the latest information and guidelines regarding the Swiss Schengen visa and the application process. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2024! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has commenced an official partnership with the world’s preeminent Twenty 20 cricket league, the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). An event to inaugurate the partnership was held in Mumbai today, attended by Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah, Vice President BCCI, Rajeev Shukla, and Honorary Treasurer of the BCCI, Ashish Shelar, along with representatives from the Saudi Tourism Authority, including Alhasan Aldabbagh, President of APAC. Cricket is one of the most popular sports around the world. Through this partnership, STA aims to tap into a strong fanbase between the two countries, encourage affinity and increase awareness of Saudi as a leading destination for Indian travelers, especially among young people. With more than half of its population below the age of 30, India shares a similar demographic profile with Saudi Arabia, where 58 percent of the local population is in the same age group. As part of Saudi’s tourism strategy, India represents immense potential as it is expected to be Saudi’s largest tourism source market by 2030. The partnership is a strong example of Saudi supporting the country’s Sports sector. Saudi continues to strengthen its competitive advantage in the market, and it will look to welcome more than two million visitors from India this year. IPL is one of the biggest events on the international sporting calendar and the partnership adds to a growing portfolio of STA’s global strategic relationships. Partnerships like IPL are a key pillar of Saudi’s tourism strategy as they bring fans, athletes and nations together, while sparking curiosity from those that may want to be among the first to visit Saudi as a destination. The dynamic partnership …

Singapore Tourism Board, together with six stakeholders from Singapore, engages wedding planners in Mumbai and new Delhi in order to promote the country as a wedding destination. GB Srithar, its Regional Director, says, “It is our objective to re-introduce Singapore as a wedding destination of choice in India. Indian weddings have been happening in Singapore prior to Covid, in Sentosa and other parts of the island. About 20 wedding planners in Mumbai were invited to be part of a panel discussion recently where we highlighted all the wedding destination options that can consider.”

According to data provided by STB, India has been ranked the second-largest tourist market for Singapore in 2022 after Indonesia, reporting 686,000 Indian arrivals. Indonesians, Indians and Australians were top spending tourists in the first nine months of 2022 with SGD 8.96 billion.

According to data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) till November, residents of India make up the second largest group of visitors after Chinese travellers to Singapore with a total of 612,300 visitors up to November 2022.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS FRAS, CEO- China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), has said that there are big changes in the demand and expectations of Chinese outbound travellers and the tourism industry has to re-learn and to re-adapt what Chinese outbound tourism is all about.

Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) concluded its multi-city sales mission at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Hyderabad, where Young Geul Choi, Director- KTO India, said that they will be going to focus on young generation, including students and women. “Luxury is our main focus, and we will aim at premium destinations for HNIs,” he added.

Shuja Bin Mehdi, B2B Manager – India, VisitBritain, has said that they are using sports as a hook to showcase the popular destinations with Indian Experience-Seekers, such as London, Manchester, Liverpool & Lake District. “We are also keeping the spotlight on West Midlands region who were hosts to the Commonwealth Games recently, with Birmingham as the gateway to the heart of England,” he added.

Jay Saraogi of Holiday Tripster has won the Europamundo tour at the Spain webinar held on 30 November 2022. He has won a free ticket to a European destination along with a 06Nights/07 Days Europamundo tour finishing in Madrid.