Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

The Sultanate of Oman has recorded a 12.37 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals with 357,147 travellers visiting the country from January to December 2018 vis-à-vis 317,844 in 2017 making India the second highest source market for Oman. This marks a remarkable growth of 39.4% over the last five years, as per the statistics released by Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The country received 1,484,063 international travelers in 2018 vis-à-vis 1,369,199 in 2017, which is significantly higher, showcasing a growth of over 8.39%. The numbers do not include regional travelers from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, who do not require a visa. Speaking about the incredible growth, Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said “2018 has been a splendid year for the Ministry of Tourism. India represents a substantial and vast market for Oman, given the high percentage of travellers willing to travel abroad and experience new destinations. We have been observing a steady year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals to Oman from India and are extremely pleased with the consistent growth. India has been an important market for us and we are delighted to say that it has been one of the best performing countries, reaching the status of second highest source market after GCC. Several initiatives have contributed to this success, such as launch of the Electronic visa, direct flight connectivity from various cities in India and opening of the new passenger terminal at Muscat International Airport, among others. With growing number of travellers each year, we are expecting double digit growth in 2019 as well.

Finland witnessed a 15 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in 2018 and over 80,000 overnights, informed Jukka Holappa, Commercial Counsellor, Country Head—India and Sri Lanka, Business Finland, at VisitFinland and India Workshop 2019 held in Delhi on February 25. Speaking at the event, he said, “The numbers from India have been growing. At our roadshows in Delhi and Mumbai, we have 10 partners from Finland and are looking at a participation of about 70-80 agents in each city. Indians usually like to explore more countries in one single visit, often going to Russia and Estonia; we are hoping to get them to stay longer in Finland.” Holappa claims that the they are committed to support, educate and grow the business for their travel partners. “It’s our role to educate the travel agents on Finland but the Indian travel trade needs to educate us to manage Indian travellers as well,” he concluded. He also informed that Lapland is very popular with Indians as they love to see the Northern Lights.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau has a new team in India based out of New Delhi and Mumbai. Representing TTB for all PR and trade relations in India are Ritushri Dhankher and Reem Khokhar. Joining them is Ruden Dias, a Senior Sales Manager based in Mumbai, handling trade relations and MICE for West and South India. Dias has 20 years of professional experience in travel and tourism. He has worked with airlines such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, tourism boards including Tourism Ireland and the Canada Tourism Commission, as well as various destination management companies. He is a specialist in sales, travel trade engagements and relationship and destination training. Ritushri Dhankher has over 21 years of experience in the field of marketing, communications, events and public relations. She began her journey in event marketing with Wizcraft International, the pioneer in event management in India. Her career in destination promotion spans 12 years at VisitBritain. Reem Khokhar has over 15 years of experience in communications, public relations and marketing. Her prior roles include working at the American Embassy in New Delhi with the US Department of Commerce. Her career in destination promotion spans 10 years across VisitBritain, VisitEngland and The Beatles Story. She is also a writer, covering travel, culture and social trends with bylines in The Times of India, The Hindu, Mint Lounge and many other publications.

Strengthening its presence in the Indian market, Austria has registered 8.6 per cent growth in the number of tourists from India in 2018. The central European country welcomed 192,000 visitors in 2018. The Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) is looking to focus on families this year. Addressing a press conference at Le Meridien, Delhi, Christine Mukherjee said that 40 million tourists from over the world travel to Austria every year. “India is very a crucial market for us. I am happy to inform that overnight stays by Indian travellers has doubled over last one year.” ANTO organised a three-city workshop in India which started in Mumbai, followed by Ahmedabad and concluded in Delhi. According to Mukherjee, 140 tour operators attended the workshop in Mumbai, while over 100 and 110 agents turned up for the workshop in Ahmedabad and Delhi, respectively. Industry partners and representatives from Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Swarovski Crystal World also attended the workshops and showcased their products to the travel trade. Thomas Bachinger, Market Management, Vienna Tourist Board; Andreas Reiter, Market Management—Spain, India and Arab Countries, Innsbruck Tourism; Klemens Kollenz, Sales and Marketing Manager, Salzburg Tourism and Christiane Gasser, Head of Marketing & Communication, Swarovski Tourism Services, interacted with members of the press on what each destination had to offer to Indian tourists.

After witnessing a 25 per cent increase in Indian arrivals in November 2018, South African Tourism now aims to cross the 100,000 mark this year. Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of its four-city roadshow, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head—Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism, said, “We want to now go over 100,000 travellers from India. India is our biggest international source market. It is our NIC market, which stands for India, China and Nigeria. India is also our largest consumer of adventure activities. Keeping this in mind, we have a new strategy for the trade for this market. We will now look at above the line marketing collaborations with price points with the trade. This means that when Indians are looking to travel to South Africa, they will first see the price and details of the tour operator with whom they can travel and book right away. We are also looking seriously at developing a mobile campaign to enable this.” The recent visit by the South Africa president to India on Republic Day led to discussions between the two countries about easing of visas and direct flight connectivity by bringing back the South African Airways direct flight between Mumbai and Johannesburg. The South African delegation will travel from Mumbai to Chennai, Kolkata and finally to Delhi for this roadshow. South African Tourism has been working closely with the Consulate General of South Africa in Mumbai to introduce an updated visa procedure. Consul General Maropene Ramokgopa said, “In an effort to ease visa procedures, the Consulate of South Africa is working in close association with South African Tourism. We are collaborating to accredit select travel agents …

Vision of Scandinavia (VOS), a 20-year old inbound tour operator and DMC for the Baltics and the Nordic Countries, based in Copenhagen, has recently opened an office in Mumbai through the appointment of Mahip Agarwal, Sales Representative & Operations Manager (India), VOS. This makes India its first Asian country to have an office. It also recently opened an office in Russia. Speaking about the company’s plans for the market, Agarwal says, “We are targeting 3,000 passengers from India this year. Our focus will be on series departures apart from FITs, specially the honeymooners. At present, Scandinavia doesn’t get much of series departures from India and we want to tap this niche. Apart from conducting one-on-one sales calls with the trade, this year will be devoted to research and gathering data. We are also listed with the Scandinavian Tourism Board – India and will be part of their annual roadshow this year.” He added that VOS is keen to take part in exhibitions and trade fairs next year in Mumbai and New Delhi. “We welcome travellers from all segments. It is a myth that Scandinavia is an expensive destination and meant only for the premium segment and we want to dispel this myth by showcasing the products in the right way,” Agarwal adds.  

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.