Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

The recent decision by Saudi Arabia and Oman to allow Israeli civilian overflights is a significant regional development that is already having a positive impact on the Israeli airline industry. Flights from Israel to the Far East will be much shorter as a result of the new air corridor, allowing airlines to offer more direct and efficient routes. El Al’s decision to fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman en route to Thailand is a historic moment for the Israeli national carrier, cutting the flight time from Tel Aviv to Bangkok from about ten and a half hours to just eight. This is expected to open up new opportunities for the airline in the region. El Al is expected to re-launch its route to India, which was closed during the pandemic. Arkia also announced plans to re-launch its routes to Goa and Cochin, which were closed in 2019, and is considering expanding its service to India and Sri Lanka. Israir has also announced its interest in opening a route of just five hours flight time to India. Overall, the new air corridor over Saudi Arabia and Oman is a boon to the Israeli airline industry, and it is expected to spur growth and innovation in the region’s aviation sector. The two-and-a-half-hour reduction in flight times from Israel to the Far East will also shorten flights on Israeli carriers to India, Sri Lanka, and Australia, among other destinations. This will almost certainly increase tourism and business travel to and from Israel. According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Israel has, in effect, become the main transit point between Asia and Europe. Israel is opening up to the East on an unprecedented scale.” Commenting …

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, revealed in a tweet that last year UK issued 2,836,490 visas, of which 25 per cent went to India, which is more than to any other country in the world.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, The Sultanate of Oman organized its first MICE FAM trip for the year for important MICE trade partners from all over India. The participants included representatives from travel agencies in Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, and Hyderabad. Several places in and around Muscat, including Wahiba Sands and Jebel Akhdar, were visited by a delegation of six key MICE partners. The objective of the trip was to showcase the top attractions and the hotel properties to the MICE agents, and therefore, the agenda was to do multiple inspections of hotels and the sites suitable for the Indian MICE movement. The site inspections were done in the top properties, including Al Falaj Hotel, Al Bustan Palace, Sheraton, Jumeirah Muscat Bay, W Muscat, Kempinski, Hotel Sur Plaza, DusitD2, Alila, Anantara and many more. The diversity of options for MICE in Oman which included the beaches, mountains, wadis, desert among others were discussed during the visit. The team was very happy to visit various sites of Omanؙ—Dolphin watching tour, Museums, Nizwa Fort, the famous souqs and a visit to the Mall of Oman. The trade partners were impressed with the options available in Oman for the MICE groups with a combination of luxury and budgeted properties. The agents found Oman to be a delightful place as they enjoyed the Sultanate’s hospitality, landscape, and culture. The trade partners were thrilled to see the culinary options available and its similarity with the Indian cuisine. A big thank you to our DMC partner Zahara Tours for flawlessly planning everything and hosting at the magnificent Arabian Nights Resort & Spa! On 4 February 2023, the FAM trip came to an end, leaving the guests …

The Sultanate of Oman abounds with various underwater/submerged cultural heritage, which is witness to its role as an axis of the human civilizations since the early prehistoric periods. Since several ships, coastal human settlements and aircrafts containing collectibles with cultural and economic significance sunk in the Omani territorial waters, it prompted the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) to establish a directorate for the underwater antiquities, the first unit of its kind in the GCC region. Ayyoub Nagmoush Al-Busaidi, Director, Directorate of the Underwater Submerged Antiquities, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT), said, “The underwater archaeological sites and ships are a source of precious historical information as they contain antiquities of human existence. The archaeology aims to analyze the antiquities, identify the origins and the development of civilizations.”  “Underwater archaeology is a scientific discipline that deals with the studying sites, man-made objects, human remains, and submerged landscapes. This science should be placed within its broader framework of marine archaeology, which studies human relationships with oceans, lakes, and rivers, while complementing it with navigation,” he added. In 2012, the MHT has launched a program aiming to identify the resources and components of these antiquities, enumerating them, and determining their nature, and protecting them from illegal trade/natural factors, he added. The department is now working on formulating rules for protection, management, employment, conducting surveys, excavations, restoration, preserving, documenting archaeological sites, analyzing the results, and presenting them to the local and international community. It may be noted that Oman’s maritime history dated back to the 3 BC, when commercial activity flourished in Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley. After Omanis gained good expertise in navigation in the 18th century, Muscat emerged as one of …

Christina Garcia Frasco, Secretary, Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, said that the goal of the Department is to increase cruise ship calls to various ports and islands. “Phillippines aims to be cruise hub in Asia,” she said.

Switzerland Tourism invites the trade to attend this exclusive webinar in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland Visa Section. This webinar will highlight the latest information and guidelines regarding the Swiss Schengen visa and the application process. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2024! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has commenced an official partnership with the world’s preeminent Twenty 20 cricket league, the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). An event to inaugurate the partnership was held in Mumbai today, attended by Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah, Vice President BCCI, Rajeev Shukla, and Honorary Treasurer of the BCCI, Ashish Shelar, along with representatives from the Saudi Tourism Authority, including Alhasan Aldabbagh, President of APAC. Cricket is one of the most popular sports around the world. Through this partnership, STA aims to tap into a strong fanbase between the two countries, encourage affinity and increase awareness of Saudi as a leading destination for Indian travelers, especially among young people. With more than half of its population below the age of 30, India shares a similar demographic profile with Saudi Arabia, where 58 percent of the local population is in the same age group. As part of Saudi’s tourism strategy, India represents immense potential as it is expected to be Saudi’s largest tourism source market by 2030. The partnership is a strong example of Saudi supporting the country’s Sports sector. Saudi continues to strengthen its competitive advantage in the market, and it will look to welcome more than two million visitors from India this year. IPL is one of the biggest events on the international sporting calendar and the partnership adds to a growing portfolio of STA’s global strategic relationships. Partnerships like IPL are a key pillar of Saudi’s tourism strategy as they bring fans, athletes and nations together, while sparking curiosity from those that may want to be among the first to visit Saudi as a destination. The dynamic partnership …

Singapore Tourism Board, together with six stakeholders from Singapore, engages wedding planners in Mumbai and new Delhi in order to promote the country as a wedding destination. GB Srithar, its Regional Director, says, “It is our objective to re-introduce Singapore as a wedding destination of choice in India. Indian weddings have been happening in Singapore prior to Covid, in Sentosa and other parts of the island. About 20 wedding planners in Mumbai were invited to be part of a panel discussion recently where we highlighted all the wedding destination options that can consider.”

According to data provided by STB, India has been ranked the second-largest tourist market for Singapore in 2022 after Indonesia, reporting 686,000 Indian arrivals. Indonesians, Indians and Australians were top spending tourists in the first nine months of 2022 with SGD 8.96 billion.

According to data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) till November, residents of India make up the second largest group of visitors after Chinese travellers to Singapore with a total of 612,300 visitors up to November 2022.