Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

For the third time in a row, visitor arrivals from India to Singapore has crossed the 1 million mark in 2017, reinforcing it as one of the most preferred destinations for Indian travellers. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced that India has recorded the highest growth rate of 16 per cent among all markets. While Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore continue to remain their top VA source cities, STB’s efforts to engage travellers from Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Pune have resulted in double-digit VA growth. GB Srithar, Regional Director – SAMEA, Singapore Tourism Board, said “We thank the Indian travellers and our travel trade partners for the record 1.27 million Indian visitors to our country in 2017. We are happy that Singapore continues to be perceived as one of the must-visit destinations. This year, STB will focus on expanding partnership with travel trade partners and promoting our new brand creatively. India continued to be the top source market for VA in the cruise segment for Singapore. 127,000 cruise passengers from India sailed out of Singapore’s shores in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent from 2016. 2017 was a landmark year for STB as it unveiled the country’s new, unified brand identity ‘Passion made Possible’ in August.  

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, presented a new version and unveiled a new logo of Atout France, the online portal for destination France. The goal of welcoming 100 million tourists to France in 2020 involves bolstering the vitality of destination France and showcasing its globally renowned destination brands. A global budget of 2 million Euros was dedicated to the transformation of the digital ecosystem of France.fr. Devised to inspire the visitor and create an immediate desire to travel, France.fr currently represents a showcase of the very best of art de vivre across territories. It illustrates at once the creativity, conviviality and vitality of a France that is innovative, contemporary and cultural, constantly renewing that which it has to offer. The site places an accent on French creativity in the major sectors of touristic development, as well as on tourism knowledge hubs. The international version of the France.fr website is available in French and English. During the first quarter of 2018, the content appearing on this version will be translated into 14 other languages to meet the needs of international visitors.  

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a new campaign ‘Open to the New Shades’ headed by Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor, TAT. Set to introduce brand new products, the campaign is aimed at attracting repeat visitors and also first-time visitors. Visitors can discover new perspectives in existing attractions, or indulge in experiences at new tourist attractions. The event was attended by several senior executives from Indian travel companies, travel media and guests from the business community. Supasorn said, “India is now one of our top ten sources of visitor arrivals, a member of a small club of countries that generate more than one million visitors a year. In 2017, Thailand recorded 1.41 million visitor arrivals from India, up by 18 per cent over 2016, generating an estimated Rs 120 billion in tourism income. We are targeting a revenue growth of 12 per cent for India market in 2018. Tanes Petsuwan, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communication, TAT, outlined the broad variety of tourism products that Indian visitors will enjoy in the categories of Gastronomy, Nature and Beach, Art and Craft, Thai Culture and Way of Life. “The concept is about asking visitors to “open” their minds and hearts to deepen and widen their experiences to a new perception of attractions and experiences in Thailand.” said Petsuwan.

South African Tourism brought down a 60-member delegation for a 5-city roadshow to India, which successfully completed its Delhi-leg with back-to-back business meetings and networking with the travel trade in the city. The 15th edition of the roadshow has been held in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi and will be travelling to Ahmedabad after that. Hanneli Slabber, Regional General Manager, Asia/Australasia/Middle East, South African Tourism, said, “The Indian market has not just grown considerably since our entry in 2005, demands of Indian travellers are in a constant and rapid state of evolution even today. This makes cross sharing of insights, trends and observations between our Indian and South African partners extremely crucial. We have had South African products being tailored to suit these specific needs as a testament of the value proposition we see in the market.” Alpa Jani, Acting Hub-Head, Middle Easst/India/South East Asia, South African Tourism, said, “We have always recorded an outstanding response from the Indian travel trade and are eagerly looking forward to seeing the positive impact this Roadshow will have towards driving Indian traveller traffic to South Africa in 2018.”

The Mexico Tourism Board plans to target over 200,000 Indian outbound visitors to visit Mexico by 2022. In 2017, Mexico received 64,900 Indian visitors by nationality, a 10 per cent increase compared to 2016 and 22,431 Indian visitors by country of residence, 9.5 per cent increase compared to 2016. Melba Pria, Ambassador of Mexico in India, said, “We are happy that over the years, we are seeing a steady growth in Indian tourists and are confident that this trend will continue. We are extremely delighted in targeting the outbound tourists from India by focusing on the vibrant, multi-faceted experiences that keep visitors coming back to Mexico and its hundreds of destinations.” Guillermo Eguiarte, Regional Director – Mexico Tourism Board, shared the campaign of ‘A world of its own’- it embodies Mexico to be the world that awakens the drive to explore, to imagine, to feel. He said, “Mexico’s sustained, fast growth is testament to the incredible quality and diversity in the tourism offering, both internationally and domestically. The Indian outbound tourist is expected to be around 50 million globally, and Mexico is targeting a 4 per cent market share of this.

South African Tourism (SAT) began its five-city roadshow from February 12-19 with Mumbai, followed by Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi and Ahmedabad. The 60-member strong participation from South Africa’s travel trade industry and scale is a reflection of the strong consumer demand witnessed from India. One of the key focus areas is to go create awareness about new destinations such as Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth and the Drakensberg region. Hanneli Slabber, Regional General Manager, Asia/Australasia/Middle East, SAT, said, “The demands of Indian travellers are in a constant and rapid state of evolution. This makes cross sharing of insights, trends and observations between our Indian and South African partners extremely crucial. We have had South African products being tailored to suit these specific needs as a testament of the value proposition we see in the market.” Alpa Jani, Acting Hub-Head, Middle East/India/South East Asia, SAT, said, “We have always recorded an outstanding response from the Indian travel trade and are eagerly looking forward to seeing the positive impact this roadshow will have towards driving Indian traveller traffic to South Africa in 2018. We are also focusing on customising our engagements and product offerings to suit the unique requirements from each of our target regions within India.”  

The Austrian National Tourism Office hosted a press conference in Delhi on February 9. Partners from Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zell am See-Kaprun and Swarovski Crystal World informed the media about the growth of visitor arrivals from India in 2017 and laid down the plans for 2018. Christine Mukharji, Director, ANTO, said, “Austria witnessed 177,700 arrivals from India in 2017, which was a 20.5 increase from 2016 and the overnights went up to 324,400, which is a 19.5% increase from last year.” Isabella Rauter, Public Relations Manager, Vienna Tourism Board; Andreas Reiter, Market Management, Spain, India and Arab Countries, Innsbruck Tourism; Inshvinder Maddh, India representative of Innsbruck Tourism; Klemens Kollenz, Sales and Marketing Manager, Salzburg Tourism; Christian Pfeffer, Marketing/Sales, Zell am See-Kaprun and Christiane Gasser, Head of Channel marketing, Swarovski Tourism Services, interacted with members of the press with interactive presentations on what each destination had to offer to Indian tourists.

India retained the top spot on Dubai’s list of source markets in 2017, contributing 2.1 million visitors and becoming the first country to cross the two-million mark in a single year. The country’s performance represented a 15 per cent year-on-year increase and validated, among other factors, the success of Dubai Tourism’s ongoing collaboration with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the #BeMyGuest campaign. Commenting on the annual performance, His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, said, “Under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the emirate has continued to capture share of the global outbound travel market, complemented by a significant increase in tourism-driven economic contribution to the country’s GDP.” Driven by India, the South Asia region, in the third place, contributed an 18 per cent share of over 2.8 million visitors, up a strong 10.6 per cent, followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and North and South-East Asia regions sharing the fourth position, each contributing close to 1.7 million visitors and independently commanding 11 per cent share, the former recording a 3.2 per cent increase and the latter, an impressive 23.6 per cent over 2016 visitation figures.  

The National Tourism Programme (Ministry of Economy) concluded its three-city roadshow titled ‘Visit UAE’ in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and finally Mumbai – the city that sees the maximum number of tourists visiting the UAE every year. This is the third roadshow in India in the recent few years. UAE welcomed 2.6 million Indian tourists in 2017. Abdulla Saleh Al Hammadi, Director, National Tourism Programme, said, “It gives us immense pleasure to revisit the city of Mumbai, which my country is familiar with and visits often. India is one of the most promising markets, and the UAE delegation is looking forward to build relationships and further strengthen ties with the people, especially the tourism industry, under the banner of the ‘Visit UAE’ campaign.” The ‘Visit UAE’ roadshow included a huge delegation of tourism officials, airlines, and senior members from the UAE’s tourism and hospitality industry. Local tourism departments included Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing–Dubai, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, Ajman Tourism Development Department, Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority, Dubai Police and Dubai Health Authority.

In an attempt to harness the outbound tourism potential of the Indian market, ENIT—the Italian National Tourism Board is conducting a three-city roadshow in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Italy has revived its promotional activities in India and is positioning the destination as a luxurious hot-spot. Salvatore Ianniello, Representative—India, ENIT, informs, “In 2015, Italy received 427,000 Indian visitors for more than one million nights, registering a growth of 49 per cent over 2014. We have allotted a significant budget to now position Italy among the high-end clients from India. We are looking at doing joint promotions with the tour operators and travel agencies in India; we will also be launching our own ad campaign and continue the educational training of the travel agents.”