Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Sharing plans for the India market, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, says, “The fact that we are seeing a huge uptake for travel with forward bookings is evidence of the potential India has. To tap into the millennial market and families, we have some high-end activations in the pipeline.” The NTO will conduct its first-ever virtual roadshow from Oct 20-22, 2021.

Under the banner of AlUla Moments, AlUla’s events calendar published today highlights four festivals including Winter at Tantora which is back by popular demand and celebrates heritage, AlUla Skies, AlUla Arts and AlUla’s Wellness Festival.  The festivals will offer curated experiences of art, culture, music, nature, wellness, equestrian, gastronomy and astronomy. The events will include free and ticketed experiences, with tickets and information available at experiencealula.com. The four distinct festivals will commence on 21 December and run through to 30 March against the backdrop of AlUla’s many timeless wonders. Musical performances will also be back in AlUla with Maraya taking centre stage again as the venue for regional and international acts starting from this October. Winter at Tantora, the very first music and arts festival in the Kingdom returns – now in a six-week format. A stunning Candlelit Symphonic Concert at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra will set the tone for the festival season as the opening event.  Equestrian events will include the eagerly awaited new haute couture horse fashion event, Ikmah Fashion Calvary, the return of the competitive Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Race and the oh-so-chic AlUla Desert Polo. A new Citrus Festival will celebrate AlUla produce and the Harrat Observation Deck with Back to Black restaurant will offer stunning sunrise and sunset views of AlUla from the top of the Harrat Uwayrid. Archaeology and cultural workshops will be introduced at the heritage sites, there will be live immersion shows at AlUla Old Town and in the oasis. Winter at Tantora will run from 21 December to 12 February. From February 2021, the AlUla Arts festival will bring together exhibitions and encounters created by …

UK has given a nod for Covishield being accepted as approved vaccine for inbound travellers to the country. Under a new set of guidelines, UK Govt has accepted a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in some countries. “Formulations of the 4 listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines,” it said. The guideline says, “From 4am Monday 4 October, you will qualify as fully vaccinated if you are vaccinated either under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas or with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan or the United Arab Emirates (UAE). You must have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England.”

Tourism Australia has relaunched its Aussie Specialist Program to make it easier for travel sellers to gain the skills they need to better promote and sell Australia. The Aussie Specialist Program has been given a new look and feel in its 32nd year and the new program has greater personalisation, faster qualifying times and shorter more interactive training modules. The investment comes after many frontline travel sellers turned to the Aussie Specialist Program over the past 18 months to learn and position themselves as champions for Australian travel once borders re-open. Improvements to the Aussie Specialist Program were made in conjunction with more than 400 stakeholders and 1,000 existing Aussie Specialist agents.

South African Tourism is all set to kick off the last quarter of 2021 with its maiden virtual roadshow. Titled ‘VirtuallyYoursSouthAfrica’ the roadshow aims to showcase unique offerings from South Africa starting from October 20 to 22, 2021. It will have a delegation of approximately 100 suppliers from South Africa who will meet 1,000 Indian buyers from across India. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, said, “This roadshow is a testament of our unwavering commitment to the Indian market. We expect mutually beneficial partnerships and impactful business conversions between South African exhibitors and Indian buyers to stem from our first virtual roadshow.”

In the final week of #ThailandBetterTogether campaign, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) India offices will highlight luxury and wellness. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT, New Delhi, shares, “For the final week, our theme will be luxury and wellness in Thailand, and our team will bring you up to the northern part of Thailand, where we’ll be learning about Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which are the two charming provinces in the Northern part of Thailand. Chiang Mai is regarded as the Rose of the North because of the charm of its people, culture and nature. One can do a lot of things in Chiang Mai from eco-tourism, adventures, shopping, local experiences, learning about cooking, and last but not the least is spa, Thai massage and the hospitality of the people in the Northern part of Thailand. Going up a little bit is Chiang Rai, which is very nice and charming and its highlight is that it’s a place of art. There is a very beautiful temple, called White Temple or Wat Rong Khun, as well as another temple called Blue Temple or Wat Rong Suea Ten. These two temples represent the craft and art of the Thai people. Apart from this, there are a lot of adventures and other activities that one can do in Chiang Rai as well.”

The resumption of short-stay entry visa processing for Ireland has been announced and has come into effect from 13 September, 2021. Indians fully vaccinated with COVISHIELD can now apply for short-stay entry visas to Ireland. There are no quarantine requirements for fully-vaccinated Indians with COVISHIELD or recently recovered travellers to Ireland. Travellers must fill out a Passenger Locator Form before departure.

In a recent webinar, Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism, revealed that the island nation has launched a US$12 (Rs890) mandatory insurance for a policy of US$50,000 (Rs37 lakh) valid up to one month. “We are using this opportunity to shift gears in tourism. Despite COVID, 2021-2030 has been declared as the tourism decade for Sri Lanka and we see this as a time to do things we did not do in the past. We are creating a strategic development plan.”

Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi is organising a webinar titled ‘Reunite #InAbuDhabi’ webinar, dedicated to leisure travel today at 3pm IST. Participants will learn about luxury experiences, iconic sights and instagrammable locations. To register email Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 96501 96532.

On his recent visit to Nepal, Sadhguru met Dhananjay Regmi, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board, and shared his experience of Kailash Darshan from Nepal. He said, “Nepal can be Switzerland of Asia for its natural beauty while all kinds of diversities add further value and importance as tourist destination,” and stressed the urgency of earmarking Nepal’s tourism industry as a prioritised sector by the government. Regmi also updated Sadhguru about NTB’s efforts of promoting Nepal in Indian markets as spiritual destination, and the destination for the holistic health of body, mind and soul.