Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Adventure seekers are in for some thrill as Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is all set to launch the first phase of the longest zip line in the world at mountain Jebel Jais this December. According to Shaji Thomas, Director-Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah, this muti-million dollar flagship tourism attraction of the UAE will be longer than 28 soccer pitches. He announced on the sidelines of OTOAI’s 3rd Convention being held in Ras Al Khaimah. The tourism board also plans to open an Observation deck at 1300 metres above sea level, which will be one of the highest in the UAE. This deck will offer viewing platforms to experience the awe inspiring vistas, bird life, flora and fauna of the emirate’ Al Hajar mountain range. It will also feature a multi-purpose events arena picnic area walking paths and food trucks.  

Tourism Australia is reaping the benefits of its aggressive marketing and campaigning in India. It recorded an increase in Indian arrivals by 14.6 per cent for the year ended June 2017. This equals to a total of 271,100 visitors in the previous financial year, making India the ninth largest inbound market for arrivals for the year ended June 2017. Not only this, the purpose for holiday or visitation also increased by 21 per cent. As a result they even spent more while in Australia. For year ending June 2017, Indian visitors spent A$ 1.43 billion (Rs 7,150 crores) on their Australian trips, an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. Therefore the average per capita spend for Indian visitors was A$ 5,491. Of the total arrivals, 68 per cent of Indian visitors visited Australia for leisure (187,850). Other visitors travelled for business (31,900), employment (21,000), education (20,450) and other purposes (15,900). Leisure visitors are on holiday (74,550) or visiting friends and relatives (113,300).

The Singapore Tourism Board has unveiled to the Indian audiences the country’s unified brand, ‘Passion Made Possible’. This is the first time that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) have come together to develop a unified brand to market Singapore internationally for tourism and business purposes. The unified brand aims to communicate the country’s value proposition in addressing the needs of travellers and companies and help Singapore stand out on the international stage. G.B. Srithar, Regional Director – South Asia Middle East & Africa (SAMEA), STB, announced the official launch of the brand in India. He said, “With Passion Made Possible, STB and EDB are presenting a brand that can tell a fuller Singapore story beyond just tourism. The brand articulates what we stand for as a country and supports the telling of many stories about this destination and its people. It brings to the international audiences stories from Singapore through the voices of Singaporeans. We are happy and humbled by the fact that Singapore remains a highly popular travel destination among Indian travellers. We welcomed a record 1.1 million visitors from India in 2016. The unveiled brand will allow us to build a deeper and more personal connection between Singapore and our fans and friends in India, even when they are not actively thinking about travel. It is in line with Quality Tourism as it will appeal to the more sophisticated tourists who are seeking more aspirational value propositions in their travel.” The Passion Made Possible campaign in India Following its debut, Passion Made Possible will be unveiled in various cities worldwide through consumer launches, trade events, industry partnerships, and global marketing campaigns …

VisitBritain has announced the launch of the new VisitBritain trade website. The new website provides essential information about Great Britain for the International travel trade and UK suppliers, offering an easy way to access tools, insights and data to help to grow business, including ways to facilitate new partnerships between suppliers and buyers. The website design offers clear navigation throughout the site and has been developed in a responsive design layout, so that it can be viewed on all devices. The new website offers: new product development initiatives such as Food & Drink and Discover England fund project, themed itineraries, destination information, promotional opportunities, top level research on Great Britain, and VisitBritain’s events calendar for the year. They will also be translating the site for some key regional markets over the coming months.

Germany received 329,860 Indian visitor overnights during January-May, 2017, reflecting a 12.8 per cent growth over the same period in 2016, informed Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, German National Tourist Office (India), at the Discover Germany roadshow held in Delhi recently. “We have had a phenomenal year. We grew by 8.6 per cent year on year and recorded over 413,000 overnights last year. By the end of this year, we hope to close nearly 800,000 overnights from India to Germany. We are on track to achieve our goal of a million Indian visitors to Germany by 2020 and hopefully receive 2 million Indian arrivals by 2030,” said Theophilus. He further informed that until now, Germany had especially been very popular for MICE and business travel from India, but lately, the destination has picked up for leisure travel as well. “It is now a 50-50 split between MICE, business and leisure travellers from India, and we are hopeful that Germany will be seen as a choice destination for all segments,” he adds. The next leg of the roadshow, organised by Destination Germany, will be held in Ahmedabad on September 6 and then in Mumbai on September 8.

Of all the tourists visiting South Africa, Indian women have been found out to be the greatest enthusiasts in signing up for adventure activities, including bungee jumping, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking, according to the data given by South African Tourism. Hanneli Slabber, India Country Manager, South African Tourism, says, “The demand for adventure activities here is largely driven by Indian woman travellers. Indian women are the biggest participants in the adventure tourism sector in South Africa, with majority of them taking part in hardcore adventure, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking.” In fact, she said, Indians are only the second from the top nationality to bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge and the third from the top nationality to go for shark-cage diving in South Africa. Further, Indian travellers visiting South Africa buy five to six adventure activities per day, which is comparatively much higher than tourists from other nationalities. Revealing the reason for this, she says, “We pride in offering some of the most-value-for-money adventure activities coupled with top safety standards. These are two factors which play a decisive role for Indian tourists.”

Tourism Australia has appointed Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra as the first Indian woman ambassador for the ‘Friend of Australia’ (FOA) advocacy panel. The FOA recognition was presented to Parineeti by Australian Consul General, HE Tony Huber, for her contribution in promoting Australia. This appointment will help to further cement the close ties between Australia and India. The FOA programme has been devised as a way for Tourism Australia to foster mutually beneficial and long-term ‘friendships’ with those they regard as unique, positive and influential storytellers. Parineeti Chopra joins Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle as fellow Indian Friends of Australia, who have been great advocates for Australia, encouraging Indians to visit the land Down Under. Chopra is all set to visit Queensland and Northern Territory, exploring Australia’s aquatic and coastal experiences, rugged outback, unique wildlife and its incredible variety of world-class food and wine offering. Being a lover of nature and adventure, Parineeti’s trip to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ayers Rock will see her indulging in adventurous activities such as whale watching cruise, meet the dolphins, surfing, Sky point adventure climb, helicopter flight over the Ayers Rock (Uluru), Harley Davidson ride, aboriginal experiences, and witness the spectacular ‘Field of Light’ installation in the Red Centre of Australia, among many others.

In a bid to promote its products and offerings, NBTC Holland Marketing hosted its sales mission in New Delhi in association with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Jet Airways. Carola Muller, Global Travel Trade Manager, NBTC Holland Marketing, said, “ India is an important and growing market for Holland and we want it to grow further. In fact, India is pour fastest growing market and we foresee a 15 per cent rise in arrival numbers by the end of this year.” The three-city sales-mission will now go to Bengaluru and Mumbai to educate the trade about íts destination and products. Other partners for the mission include Blue Boat Company, Efteling, Henri Willig, ITO Tours and Madurodam.

Tourism Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for attracting international visitors to Australia for leisure and business events, this year celebrates five decades of promoting Australia in key markets across the globe. On this occasion, Tourism Australia announced the tourism programme for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in the presence of ace shooter and former Olympic and Commonwealth Gold Medalist, Abhinav Bindra. The Games will be held in Gold Coast. To celebrate Tourism Australia’s 50-year milestone a number of key distribution partners in India have developed special the 50th Anniversary packages, offering significant value-adds to travelers. Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan said, “Our global consumer campaigns such as ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ – most recently brought to life with its ‘Aquatic and Coastal’ and ‘Restaurant Australia’ iterations – continue to evolve to showcase some of the very best attractions, experiences and food and wine options Australia has on offer for travellers. However, Australia’s success would not be possible without the incredible support and passion of our trade partners with whom we work with across the globe. In India, we are amplifying our marketing initiatives to reach and attract our growing target audience of prospective travellers to Australia. India is currently the 8th largest inbound market for Australia, and is expected to be within the top 5 markets by 2025, with around 500,000 Indian visitors annually. The increasing visitor numbers from India confirms that we are well placed to achieve our long-term Tourism 2020 targets for arrivals and out of region market share for India, well ahead of time.” Fanatic Sports was also present at the event which is the authorised ticket reseller for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Raghav Gupta, Founder …

Vienna recorded 64,000 Indian overnights during January-June 2017, registering a 15 per cent growth over the same period in 2016. According to figures released by Vienna Tourist Board, this growth has placed India among the high growth tourist markets for Vienna along with China, Russia and Australia. Vienna continues to attract Indian families, honeymooners and young travellers looking to explore its imperial history, soak in its rich tradition of music, and experience its romantic offerings. “City breaks to Vienna continue to boom: the city established a new record in the first half of 2017, with visitor bed nights increasing 4.2 per cent to around 6,924,000,” said Norbert Kettner, Director, Vienna Tourist Board. The Austrian capital recorded almost 7 million visitor bed nights, the highest till date for Vienna between January-June 2017 registering a 4.2 per cent growth over the same period in 2016. The Board further added that the meetings industry also played an important role, accounting for 11 per cent of the total volume of bed nights in 2016. Nearly 4,000 congresses, corporate events and incentives were held in Vienna last year, another new record for the Austrian capital.