Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Tourists from India and China can visit Malaysia for 15 days without a tourist visa effective January 1. Throughout 2020, they will be able to enter the country for up to 15 days by using the electronic travel registration and information system – either individually or through travel agencies in their respective countries. However, the tourists must enter and exit Malaysia only through authorised airports or entry points. According to a statement from the government, these tourists will be able to travel to Malaysia three months after registration. Upon arrival, visitors must produce proof of sufficient cash for expenses, credit card or bank card, and produce their travel itinerary in Malaysia. They should also have a valid return ticket. In addition, the 15-day period cannot be extended, and these tourists cannot apply for any other passes under the Immigration Regulations 1963.

With an objective to bring in at least two million foreign tourists to Nepal, the ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ campaign was inaugurated in Kathmandu on January 1.  The launch of the campaign took place in a glittering ceremony alongside Ministerial Conclave 2020 – a high-level gathering of international tourism ministers in Nepal. Based on the theme, Sustainable Tourism through Preservation of Natural and Cultural Heritages, the objective of the conclave was to share initiatives taken by respective countries for sustainable tourism and make joint initiatives to fight against climate change and preservation of Natural/Cultural heritages/products. The conclave was chaired by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, Yogesh Bhattarai amidst the presence of Chief Guest, Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal and KP Sharma Oli, the Prime Minister of Nepal. At the closing of the Conclave, the Kathmandu Declaration was also issued. A post-event tour was organised to showcase different destinations of Nepal. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Government of India represented India at the Ministerial Conclave 2020 and shared his views on sustainable tourism. Apart from India, tourism ministers and representatives from Nepal, China, Jamaica, Myanmar, Bhutan, Cambodia and Qatar attended the conclave. The Nepal government has committed the year 2020 to the tourism industry of the nation with a vision of making a reasonable brand picture of Nepal as travel and vacationer destination, backing up the tourism foundations of Nepal, enhance the growth of tourism industry and enhance local tourism as a supportable industry.

Welcoming 164,200 Indian visitors between January-November 2019, Japan has witnessed a 14.2 per cent year-on-year growth in terms of arrivals from India. The East Asian nation also registered a 12.3 per cent hike in the number of arrivals in November 2019 with 14,900 visitors recorded from India. The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) had set a target to receive 2 lakh visitors from India in 2019.

GB Srithar, Regional Director – India, Middle East & South Asia (IMESA), shares that they want to position Singapore as an international wedding destination. “Another segment we seek to re-establish our attractiveness in is the Overseas School Trips (OST). We have been a popular OST destination for several years and we would like to re-introduce the refreshed OST options in Singapore for the Indian students,” he says.

South African Tourism is all set to start the 17th edition of its roadshow, which will travel to three Indian cities of Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai on 13th, 14th and 15th January 2020 respectively. There will be a 48-member South African trade delegation for the latest edition of roadshows, which will educate and enable Indian trade partners to sell the destination better. In addition to experiences, representatives from accommodation establishments, destination management companies, airlines, tourism associations will display their products and engage Indian travel and trade associates. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism says, “Our 17th Annual Roadshow is yet another testament of our firm commitment to the India market, which offers tremendous potential when it comes to outbound long-haul travel. The Roadshow offers us and our in-destination partners a chance to showcase the best of South Africa, and bring it alive for the Indian travel trade – our biggest endorsers in the market. This year’s edition is slated to be even more special and exciting with the attendance of numerous South African SMMEs. We are confident that the 17th edition will be outstanding and more impactful than ever before in terms of business conversions.”

As a sign of further commitment to the India market, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has become the first US destination to open a tourism office in India in Mumbai. The newly opened office will focus on driving travel aspiration and motivate Indian visitors to increase length of stay and spend in Los Angeles. Seema Kadam serves as Los Angeles Tourism’s first Regional Director for India. Los Angeles Tourism President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. officially opened the new office alongside international delegates while in the presence of India’s tourism industry. The office will work with the travel trade to develop customised and tailored product itineraries in line with consumer and travel trade interests.   As the fourth-highest international growth market for Los Angeles, the office will develop a cohesive strategy with the travel trade to sustain growth in 2020 and beyond. The office will also develop and support existing and any new air service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Encouraged by growth indicators in India – especially the market’s vast, growing outbound travel segment – Los Angeles Tourism’s latest visitation forecast projects a year-over-year growth of 4.4 per cent in 2019 with 135,000 Indian visitors. Indian visitation to Los Angeles is expected to grow by a year-over-year average of five per cent over the next five years with nearly 165,000 Indian travelers estimated to visit by 2023.   Commenting on plans for the India market, Ernest Wooden Jr. said, “Los Angeles Tourism’s journey towards this milestone that we celebrate today began nearly three years ago when we set off on a high-octane, strategic and long-term marketing programme. Targeted trade and consumer efforts have helped establish a distinct …

VisitBritain has announced its two-city sales mission in January 2020. The tourism authority will conduct its sales mission in India after a gap of three years. The sales mission is scheduled to take place in Mumbai followed by New Delhi on January 13, 2020 and January 15, 2020, respectively. Vishal Bhatia, Country Manager, India, VisitBritain, said, “For this we have the biggest ever contingent from the UK participating this time which speaks volumes about the demand they see from India and the kind of confidence we have in the market. We are looking at around 44 companies from British organisations across DMCs, DMOs, as well as UK Visas & Immigration coming in for this.” The primary focus for the participants will be leisure but there will be many suppliers who will also focus on MICE. Bhatia adds, “There will be a big contingent from north of England as well. Marketing Manchester has been working extremely closely with us over the years and we have 20-odd suppliers coming from the north who can handle big MICE groups as well – like the Lancashire Cricket Club which is where the India-Pakistan match took place in June. The trade will also be able to meet some football clubs who can host big MICE groups. We have a lot of suppliers coming in for the first time, almost 60-70 per cent are first-timers. This is possibly due to new air connections launched recently between India and the UK.” The last such sales mission was conducted in 2017 in Pune with 22 suppliers from the UK who met 90-odd hosted buyers from India.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) partnered with Zomato for Zomaland Season 2, a multicity food and entertainment carnival across ten cities in two formats – Zomaland in Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai; and Zomaland Picnics in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. This association is an integral part of STB’s efforts to engage with foodies in India through the showcasing of Singapore food and experiences through a designated “Singapore Experience Zone” at Zomaland. Over three days (13th to 15th December), attendees to Zomaland Delhi enjoyed food from the world’s first Michelin Star hawker, Liao Fan Hawker Chan’s famous Soya Sauce Chicken Rice at the “Singapore Experience Zone”. In addition to this, they will also got to savour signature dishes like Kaya toast, Char Kway Teow (Stir-fried Rice Noodles), Chicken Satay and Ice Milo by Nasi and Mee, a popular restaurant chain in India serving Singaporean dishes. Speaking about this association with Zomato, Lim Si Ting, Area Director, India & South Asia (Mumbai), Singapore Tourism Board said, “We are happy to partner with Zomato for the first time, and believe Zomaland brings us closer to the Indian audiences through a common love and passion for food. By highlighting authentic Singaporean cuisine and the varied dining options, we hope to entice more Foodies in India to visit Singapore for even more culinary delights. We are also excited to have Hawker Chan from Liao Fan Chicken Rice – the world’s first Michelin-star Hawker from Singapore, to share both his Soya Sauce Chicken Rice dish and stories about his passion as a chef with the Indian audience. We look forward to sharing more of such immersive experiences at Zomaland Delhi and the other …

In a recent update by the Indian Embassy in Beijing, Chinese nationals can apply for an e-Tourist visa (e-TV) of 5-year validity with multiple entries. The visa fee for 5-year multiple entry e-TV will be USD 80. Furthermore, it has been decided that the tourists can avail single-entry 30-day validity e-TV at a reduced visa fee of USD 25, while for a 30-day e-TV during the months of April to June, the visa fee will cost USD 10.

The Tourism Office of Spain (Turespaña) in Mumbai, India, has appointed a new director in Elisa Robles-Fraga. She has joined operations in this office with effect from September 1, 2019 and has commenced her position as the Tourism Counsellor and Director of Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai. Throughout her professional experience Robles-Fraga has been mainly working at the Spanish General Administration both at national and international levels, including European Union related matters. In a previous position as Director General of the CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial – Center for Industrial Technological Development), the Spanish Innovation Agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Government of Spain, she has had the opportunity to bilaterally work with India for several of her projects during her tenure at CDTI. Her roles and responsibilities will remain the same as the previous directors of the said office.