Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Sharing an update on where the India market stands in terms of arrivals, VisitBritain CEO, Sally Balcombe says, “At the moment India is 16th in volume and the eleventh-biggest market in terms of spend for us. But the really important thing is that you are growing fast. We know we are the second-most popular destination in Europe for the India market. Indians spend a lot of money here and stay a longer time – 56% more time than others on an average. Your growth trajectory will take you into our top 10 international markets very soon!”

The Red Sea in Saudi Arabia is the world’s most ambitious luxury tourism development, offering an exclusive experience of unparalleled diversity for discerning global travellers. The Red Sea will welcome its first guests by the end of 2022 and will attract 1 million overnight visits per year by 2030. It will be an exquisite sanctuary offering luxury experiences, customised to the needs of each visitor. Smart technology will deliver innovative, tailored services from the moment visitors begin to research their trips to the time they return home.

Switzerland Tourism has launched a special ‘100% Women’ campaign is aimed at attracting women travellers to holiday in Switzerland, especially for outdoor activities and mountain sports. Along with a six-month 100% Women Peak Challenge, the NTO will present around 230 offers and events that are geared towards women where all experiences are led by women and include mountaineering tours, different city and cultural tours, majority of which have been newly conceived, especially for this campaign.

Sunil VA, Regional Vice President, ISC and APAC, Oman Air, has shared that it’s the perfect time to have this kind of an event and it’s a great start since there are many cricket enthusiasts in the trade who have gone through a lot in the last 7-8 months. Register on http://bit.ly/VisitBritainCricketCarnival or contact Vartik Sethi on vartik.sethi@ddppl.com or +91 83684 28139.

In a bid to bring back the economy to normalcy and kick start the tourism industry, Government of Sri Lanka is thinking of allowing vaccinated travellers a hassle and quarantine free entry to the country from mid of April, according to reports. Initially, as a precaution, vaccinated travellers may be required to produce a negative PCR result obtained within 48 hours prior to landing. Such travellers might be allowed to walk out as usual. Vaccinated travellers, without a PCR result with him/her will be required to obtain a PCR test upon arrival and could be transferred to a nearby quarantine transit hotel till his/her result is out. All arriving passengers, including Sri Lankan passengers, might go through the same process. To consider as a vaccinated passenger, he or she should have had both doses of vaccine, where the type of vaccine requires two doses .

Speaking exclusively to TravTalk on the sidelines of the annual five-day global trade event ExploreGB, Sally Balcombe, CEO of VisitBritain, said, “We expect 2022 to be a stellar year. The event will see around 30 buyers from India this year and we are expecting huge numbers from India when international travel resumes. India is one of the fastest growing markets for us.”

Shuja Mehdi, B2B Manager – India, VisitBritain, shares that VisitBritain Cricket Carnival Season-1 allows travel trade to play virtual and win actual. “Prizes range from shopping vouchers to UK trips, including hotel stays across Lake District and other parts of North England. The grand prize is two tickets for India v/s England at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, in the hospitality lounge.”

VisitBritain is gearing up to host virtually its flagship global travel trade event ExploreGB from 1 to 5 March. It will bring together more than 350 global buyers to connect online with 350 tourism industry suppliers and destinations from across the UK to do business. Delegates can manage their own diaries across the five-day event with the virtual platform open daily from 06.00-23.00 GMT. Travel industry buyers from 20 countries are joining the event. More than 1000 pre-scheduled one-to-one virtual business meetings will take place during the event.

In order to showcase this new destination to the India market, the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) will be organising its first-ever roadshow for the India market virtually from March 2-3, 2021 between 8am – 8pm IST. The event titled ‘Journeys in Arabia’ will showcase the best of what Saudi has to offer and will give the trade an opportunity to meet senior representatives from up to 30 destinations, experiences and hospitality brands one-on-one. To register, visit https://www.journeysinarabia.com/india-roadshow-request/

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has announced 10 lucky winners for its Facebook campaign it had launched recently to promote its new B2B dedicated Facebook page ‘Los Angeles Tourism – Travel Trade’. The campaign drew the attention of travel agents from across the country and helped popularise the destination’s social media page among the trade. The winners are Seema Narang (Dewan Travels), Prateek Jain (Thomas Cook India), Sushmita Angolkar (Red Carpet Travel), Gagan Singh (The Holiday Planner), Abhishek Anavkar (Veenaworld), Nikita Sarrof (Pristine Travels), Srinath Telukunta (Travel world), Harjit Singh (Signature Tours), Sumit Churiwalla (Nimbus Tours), and Himmat Gori (My Dream Holidays).