Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

2015 was a record year for Indian visits into Britain according to the International Passenger Survey from the Office of National Statistics UK. The latest figures show visits from India in 2015 are up 8 per cent, from 390,000 to 422,000, setting a new record. Indian visitors spent £433 million in Britain last year along with 9.2 million nights. These 2015 figures mean that India retains its position as Britain’s No. 1 BRIC market in terms of visitor volume and among the 20 top source markets for Britain globally. Growing outbound travel trends fuelled by increased flight connectivity into regional Britain has helped India cement its’ position with growing visitor numbers over 2014. VisitBritain Director Asia Pacific, Mid East & Africa, Sumathi Ramanathan said, “India is the top BRIC market for Britain in terms of volume and the year-on-year robust visit figures ensure our way to achieve our 2020 target of 500,000 visits. Our focussed strategy for the India market featuring the Bollywood Britain campaign, combined with our trade engagement, targeted consumer engagements and tactical offers with tourism partners will be crucial for us to deliver our tourism targets in 2016-2017.”

Tourism Ireland hosted eight key Indian travel trade agents to Ireland’s largest tourism trade fair, Meitheal 2016. Organised by Tourism Ireland, the workshop brought together over 310 overseas buyers and 455 Irish tourism businesses for two days of negotiating business deals. Nearly 12,000 face to face meetings were organised between the buyers and sellers for the 2017 season. Huzan Fraser Motivala, India Representative, Tourism Ireland, said, “India is an important market for Tourism Ireland and one that we are committed to growing. Over the last five years, we have seen a year-on-year increase of over 25 per cent in Indian visitor arrival numbers to the island of Ireland.” She also informed that the Irish Visa Applications (year to date 2016) have also seen a 43 per cent increase in visa applications compared to the same period last year. Some of the factors in favour of this growth can be identified as increased air access to Ireland, particularly by Etihad Airways and Emirates via the Middle East and the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS) which has made it easier for tourists from India who are visiting Great Britain to also visit Ireland, without the cost or hassle of applying for a separate visa.

Speaking about the importance of the India market for Chile on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Exportable products from Chile’ in Mumbai organised by the Embassy of Chile, Carolina Vasquez, Trade Commissioner, ProChile India Commercial Office, said, “India offers great potential to Chile considering that more and more Indians have started to travel abroad.” She added, “Indian visitors to Chile have shown an increase of 25 per cent in 2015 as compared to 2014, and is likely to maintain the growth rate this year. We will try and increase the number of Indian travellers traveling to Chile by participating in trade shows here so as to make Indian tour operators aware of what Chile can offer. It is important to work with them in a focused and a personalised manner to generate the awareness about our country so that later when we launch a bigger campaign, we have more travellers interested in Chile and there are sufficient people to guide and advise them.” The seminar discussed the Partial Trade Agreement (PTA) for expansion and fostering of ties between the two countries, which is under legal review.

Peru Export and Tourism Promotion Board has appointed OM Tourism as their PR representative in India from May, 2016. “We are pleased to officially begin new and focused promotional efforts in India with OM Tourism, said, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) and President of The Board of PROMPERU, Magali Silva. Looking at the vast tourism potentiality of India Market, we believe that it will certainly be a key market in helping PROMPERÚ to increase the Indian footfall.” Sanjay Sondhi, CEO, OM Tourism, said, “We are extremely happy to be assigned the task of handling marketing, sales and public relations activities for PROMPERÚ in India. He added, Peru is a land of fascinating contrasts of beautiful landscapes of desert dunes, snow capped mountains, wildlife, beaches offering thrilling outdoor adventure, Pre-Columbian heritage to vibrant traditional festivals. The discerning Indian travelers looking for luxury experience can also explore and indulge in its rich gastronomy, rejuvenating spas and river cruises. As a result of its rich history, Peru today is packed with archaeological remains and colonial architecture. Add in the country’s spectacular natural beauty, and the product is an outstanding travel destination.”

Berlin has recorded 6,600 Indian overnights over the first two months of 2016 corresponding to an increase of 13.2 per cent over the same period in 2015. However the number of Indian visitors declined by 2.5 per cent with only 2000 Indian guests visiting Berlin in the first two months of 2016 as compared to the same period in 2015. This was revealed by Christian Tanzler, Spokesperson and Media Relations Manager, Visit Berlin, at the 42nd Germany Travel Mart which was held from April 17-19, 2016, in Magdeburg. Tanzler said, “Though the number of guests may have reduced, they are staying for longer periods of time which means that they spend more money in Berlin, go shopping, visit the museums and explore the city more.” He informed that in 2015, Berlin witnessed 21,000 Indian visitors and 56,000 Indian overnights corresponding to a 20 per cent increase in Indian arrivals over 2014 and 15.2 per cent increase in overnights stays from India. Tanzler also added, “To promote the city we take part in several travel marts and fairs. We had also collaborated with studios in Bollywood to shoot in the city. For the travel trade we suggest that even if they cannot visit Berlin, they can do online training and learn about the city.” Romit Theophilus, Director of Marketing & Sales Office India, German National Tourist Office, said, “This year we have 21 participants from India in GTM which includes 15 tour operators and 6 journalists.”

A 10-member delegation from the southern African country of Zambia, led by Zambia Tourism Agency, travelled to India to conduct roadshow in the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi.Felix Chaila, CEO, Zambia Tourism Agency, said, “We met around 100 outbound tour operators in Mumbai. This is the first time that Zambia has created such a dedicated marketing platform to activate our destination in this market. We have been coming to India for about three years now. India not only has a huge middle class but also more HNIs than most other countries. Our number one source market is the US followed by the UK and this shows that Zambia is an extremely safe country.” He expects to meet the same number of buyers in New Delhi as well on May 4. “This will not be the end. After the roadshow we will invite some members of the Indian outbound trade to attend the Zambia Travel Expo in early June,” Chaila said, adding that Zambia is adding 3to 5 lakh Indians coming to Zambia within three to four years for leisure and incentive segments.

The 40th annual Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), Canada’s premier tourism marketplace, took place from April 24-27, 2016, in Montreal, Québec. During the conference, international tourism buyers met with Canadian sellers at a record-breaking 26,000 face-to-face business appointments. Hosted by Tourism Québec and Tourism Montreal, and taking place in the iconic Palais des congrès de Montreal, this year’s sold-out event features 536 buyers from 28 countries and 582 Canadian sellers from coast to coast —boasting the best seller-to-buyer ratio ever with one seller for every one buyer. “With a record attendance of 1,680 delegates at this year’s RVC, buyers and sellers are working to captivate and drive more people to visit Canada,” says David Goldstein, President and CEO of Destination Canada. “With the incredible range of diverse, fun and authentic Canadian experiences showcased at RVC, we are demonstrating to the world that we’re not cold, we’re cool.” There is no better time to #ExploreCanada and that will be made evident by the quality of experiences and products showcased for buyers. With every province, territory and sector of the tourism industry represented, the ripple effect of the connections made at RVC are sure to be monumental.

After opening offices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has now opened two new sales offices in India in Mumbai and Delhi which will act as business development offices for the Indian market. Speaking on the sidelines of its India launch onboard the Seven Seas Voyager of Regent Seven Seas Cruises that was berthed at Port Ballard Pier in Mumbai yesterday (April 26), Steve Odell, Senior VP & MD (Asia Pacific), NCLH said, “These two new offices will have dedicated sales staff to support the travel industry here in India. Opening of the offices will help us to strengthen our reach in the Asian cruise market and also connect to the agents. Being face to face is critical when working with the travel agents as it helps them understand the product better. We will also be doing training programs, fam trips etc.” He added that the company will also offer high base commissions to travel agents and incentives for different products as well. NCLH also revealed that it will be investing US$ 525 million to upgrade their existing fleet to provide better service and experience to its passengers. It currently operates 22 ships which comprise more than 45,000 lower berths and visits 510 destinations across the globe.

Tourism Breaking News asked the travel industry about the effect of the Brussels terror attacks on tourism and received a mixed reaction. While some said that tourism trends will shift to other regions like South East Asia and short haul destinations, some believe that this is a short term effect and will be wiped off the traveller’s memory soon. On behalf of the international tourism community, Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, condemned the terror attacks in Brussels and expressed heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the Belgian people.

Reunion Island has recorded a growth of 110 per cent in Indian arrivals in 2015 as compared to 2014. Neha Johri, Head Destination Sales, Reunion Island, says, “People who have already been to Reunion Island have appreciated the destination. It’s a great destination for honeymooners and for people looking for adventure. We are looking at 200 per cent growth in 2016 as compared to 2015.” Johri also informs that they are working closely with the Indian travel agents and educating them about the destination. “Our motive is to share knowledge with our B2B trade partners then we will move to the consumers,” she adds.