Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

The Indian travel trade welcomed nine companies from Ireland during Tourism Ireland’s India Sales Mission that concluded recently. Its aim was to facilitate the Irish industry to engage with Indian travel professionals who are currently selling the island of Ireland, or who have strong potential to sell the destination and to position Ireland as one of the most desirable destinations for travellers from India. Business links between tourism companies from Ireland and influential travel professionals in India were strengthened during the sales mission, through a busy programme of workshops, presentations and networking events. Siobhan McManamy, Director of Markets, Tourism Ireland said, “Our sales mission is a key element of our promotional programme in India. It will give our tourism partners a platform to inform and influence the Indian travel trade about what the island of Ireland has to offer and, importantly, encourage them to include the destination in their brochures and programmes. Tourism Ireland is committed to growing visitor numbers to the island of Ireland from India and our sales mission will play a significant role in helping us achieve this goal.” The workshops were held in Mumbai and Delhi with over 100 leading travel agents and tour operators in attendance. The companies who were represented at the event include Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland, Guinness Storehouse, Winterfell Castle – Game of Thrones Visitor Attraction, Stena Line, Hotel Solutions, The Savoy Hotel, Andras House Group and Irish Rugby Tours.  

As part of its global strategy, Reunion Island Tourist Board has entered into an alliance with Atout France offices in China, India and South Africa for an effective promotion of Reunion Island. Nestled in the Indian Ocean, Reunion Island is an overseas French island that holds high appeal for adventure enthusiasts, family vacations as well as couples seeking a romantic escapade. Atout France has been given the mandate to lend its expertise towards a holistic promotion of the destination. Commenting on this significant development for the Indian market, Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India said, “We are very enthused to showcase another facet of France through Reunion Island’s aesthetic beauty and its versatile experiences that will find appeal to diverse Indian travellers. Its diaspora of Indians and strong Indian and French influence as well as its proximity and visa on arrival facility (for stays less than 15 days) are sure to resonate well with our market.” Sharing her thoughts, Lydie Sangarin, Market Manager, Reunion Island Tourist Board said, “We are happy to partner with Atout France in these three overseas markets. We believe that Atout France’s professional prowess and years of experience in these overseas markets will be instrumental in the successful positioning of Reunion Island to our potential overseas visitors.” Located in the Mascarene Archipelago, Reunion Island – a French overseas department – offers travellers the exoticism of a tropical island in the Indian Ocean.  

Taiwan considers India as one of its focus markets, and from January to November 2018, it recorded 10.8 per cent growth in Indian arrivals to Taiwan, against 4.2 per cent growth in the previous year. Speaking at its recent roadshow in New Delhi, Trust HJ Lin, Director, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, said, “We feel great that we have double-digit growth from India and for the 2019-2020, we have a new strategy which is called ‘2 20:20’. In this campaign, the ‘2’ means that we focus on the top 2 per cent of higher income travellers who have the purchasing power to travel overseas. Then the first ‘20’ represents our aim to cooperate with top 20 tour operators in India, while the second ‘20’ in the campaign means that we want to reach 20 per cent growth by the year 2020.”

Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) has launched ‘Take another look’ campaign as part of its strategy to present a new portrait of the country, enhance its destination value and double the current in-bound tourism by 2023. The brand positioning and identity is an invitation to attract travellers to consider Azerbaijan from a unique point of view and discover its untold stories and secrets. With a new brand and the ‘Take another look’ promotional campaign, Azerbaijan will focus on increasing the number of tourists from a broader pool of countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, China, as well as Central and Southeast Asia. Azerbaijan Airlines, the flag carrier of Azerbaijan, has announced direct charter flights from India to Azerbaijan in 2019. Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said, “As we encourage visitors to ‘Take another look’, we are inviting them to take a more in-depth look at Azerbaijan and immerse themselves in truly genuine cultural experiences. Guests will want to dig deeper into the country’s history and rich cultural heritage as they discover pleasant surprises and hidden gems throughout the year.” Indian passport holders are eligible for e-Visa to Azerbaijan, which is processed online within 3 hours through the new simplified electronic visa procedure. The new initiatives are expected to improve Azerbaijan’s ranking among countries with a high tourism contribution towards national GDP, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council 2018 Impact Report. It is forecasted to be at 6 per cent per annum over the course of the next 10 years ranking it amongst the world’s top 20 high-potential countries.

With a track record of hosting Asia’s most prominent events, Singapore continues to deliver innovative solutions for the transfer of knowledge, ideas and connections to drive new possibilities for the MiCE sector in Singapore. Kicking off its first MiCE-focused event for 2019 in India, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) organised a MiCE thought leadership seminar in Mumbai with the theme ‘Meetings & Incentive Travel to Singapore – Forging New Possibilities’. The programme included a presentation by Gokul Bajaj, Head — Sales and Partnerships, Cvent, a cloud-based enterprise event management platform. This was followed by a panel discussion on how the MiCE industry can leverage technology to better engage audience. The panelists included Bajaj, Aikta Tyagi, Vice President & Head — Special Events, Amway India; SD Nandakumar, President & Country Head — B2B, SOTC Travel. The discussion was moderated by GB Srithar, Regional Director (South Asia, Middle East and Africa), Singapore Tourism Board. A team-building activity focusing on Lego Serious Play, conducted by Ludovic Odier, CEO, Outdoor in Asia, highlighted innovative, high-impact and experiential team engagement activities possible in Singapore for M&I travellers. The attendees were updated on new MiCE venues, incentive schemes provided by the STB and diverse and exciting array of experiences available in Singapore for M&I groups. The programme was well-attended with 150 Indian travel agents and 40 Singapore stakeholders representing hotels, airlines, attractions, Destination Management Companies (DMC) and cruise operators. Speaking on STB’s efforts to showcase Singapore as a destination of choice among the MiCE travellers, Srithar said, “India continues to be a key source market for MiCE travellers to Singapore. Thanks to the support of trade intermediaries and corporates, we have witnessed a healthy growth in …

As one of the top 10 source markets of visitor arrivals for Thailand, India generates more than one million tourists in a year, revealed Tanes Petsuwan, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, Tourism Authority of Thailand. Talking at a product briefing networking lunch in Delhi, he said, “From January to November 2018, arrivals from India were up by 12.03 per cent to 1.42 million, generating an estimated 63 billion baht in tourism income.”

The Philippines recorded a growth of 18 per cent in visitor arrivals from India in 2017, according to a report by Centre for Aviation and Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines. India is the 12th largest source market for the Philippines, based on 2017 visitor data. The other top 12 source markets all have nonstop services – South Korea, China, the US, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. There were 107,000 Indian visitors to the Philippines in 2017 and only 52,000 in 2013 (the year PAL suspended service to Delhi.). Growth has been consistently in the high double digits, including 18 per cent in 2017, 21 per cent in 2016 and 22 per cent in 2015.

Nepal Sales Mission 2019, an eight-city event, is underway and will run up till February 1, 2019, in Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Kochi, Coimbatore and Madurai. The Mission aims to bring all travel trade partners together to update them about Destination Nepal, educate them on what the country has to offer that will be of great interest to their Indian clientele and allow them to explore opportunities that lie within. Nepal recorded a growth of 25.1 per cent in visitor arrivals from India in 2017, attaining a remarkable surge over the previous year. In Lucknow, the Mission will be held at Hyatt Regency on January 10. It will then proceed to Agra on January 12 to be held at the Clarks Shiraz hotel, followed by Jaipur on January 14 at Hotel Crowne Plaza. Marriott Hotels in Bhopal, Indore and Kochi will host the Sales Mission on January 21, 22 and 28, respectively. It will proceed to Coimbatore on January 30 to be held at Le Méridien Hotel and conclude in Madurai on February 1 at the Poppys Hotel. The Nepalese delegation is looking forward to interacting with over 80 agents from each of the eight cities, where participants include destination specialists, fence sitters, and other key trade partners. Nepal Sales Mission 2019 will witness participation from several private players from Nepal, including Apoorva Tours & Travels, Kathmandu Holiday Tours & Travels, Fishtail Tours & Travels, Heritage Tours & Travels and Outdoor Expeditions.  

Blue Square Consultants has been appointed as the representative for Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) in India. It will be responsible to build and develop strong relations with key tourism and hospitality entities and trade partners to grow and strengthen the tourism potential of the destination in the Indian market. Confirming the appointment, Sevinj Zeynalli, International Market Management Director, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said, “India being an important outbound market, we’re pleased to partner with a highly reputed organisation like Blue Square Consultants that has a strong foothold across different cities in India. Owing to their successful track record, we are confident that their expertise will help us gain greater visibility and we look forward to welcoming more Indians on their holiday to Azerbaijan”. Lubaina Sheerazi, COO, Blue Square Consultants, stated, “We are delighted to represent the magnificent country of Azerbaijan and drive it as a preferred leisure destination for Indian travellers. The strategy is to tap into the growing outbound market and change perceptions to showcase the tourism prospects of Azerbaijan. We have the requisite knowledge and an excellent track record in managing various tourism boards and the recent appointment is a reaffirmation of our proficiency in the travel sector”.

In a bid to lure Indian tourists, the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in association with Om Tourism organised a roadshow in Delhi on the theme ‘Vietnam- A charming destination for Indian tourists’. HE Pham Sanh Chau, Ambassador of Vietnam to India, Nepal & Bhutan, revealed that around 110,000 Indian tourists travelled to Vietnam in 2017. He affirmed that the number is estimated to increase in the coming years. “Vietnam is home to eight UNESCO world heritages, well preserved historic relics and beautiful beaches. Indian travellers can find the affulence of Indian culture in Vietnam through Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh or at the My Son sanctuary with an abundance of Indian restaurants,” he added. The event proceeded with a product presentation by the five Vietnamese partners namely, Victoria Tour, Hello Asia Travel, Go Indo China Tours, Melia Hotels International and Orchid Global. The event witnessed an active participation from several trade partners and tour operators around the city.