Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Malaysia announces Visa on Arrival (VOA) effective 1st June 2022 for Indian travellers arriving in Malaysia through selected entry points via Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, or Indonesia, with a valid visa from either country.   According to the Immigration Department of Malaysia (Mumbai Attaché), the VOA fee is MYR200 (USD 46) and travellers must show that they have at least USD 500 cash/ credit card/ debit card/ traveller’s cheque or any electronic money which is certified by the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia). Travellers are allowed to stay up to 15 days with a confirmed return air ticket.   Malaysia has opened its shores for quarantine-free travel and welcomes fully-vaccinated international travellers starting 1st May 2022.  Fully-vaccinated inbound travellers are no longer required to undergo pre-departure and on-arrival COVID-19 tests, including children aged 17 and below. Currently, Malaysia’s eVISA can also be applied online and more than 18,000 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, AirAsia, IndiGo, and Air India Express. India has been and remains one of the top market sources for Malaysia, contributing 735,309 arrivals (+22%) in 2019.  

Discover New Zealand’s breath-taking landscapes and undiscovered corners as the perfect place to escape in this luxury webinar to be held today at 11am. Talk to the skies, explore the oceans or hit the open road to enjoy the beauty of New Zealand first-hand through tailored excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences. New Zealand’s bespoke experiences cater to a wide range of interests and tastes ensuring you will encounter true warmth and wonder in uncompromising luxury. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Discover New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes and undiscovered corners as the perfect place to escape in this luxury webinar to be held on May 31, 2022. Talk to the skies, explore the oceans or hit the open road to enjoy the beauty of New Zealand first-hand through tailored excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences. New Zealand’s bespoke experiences cater to a wide range of interests and tastes ensuring you will encounter true warmth and wonder in uncompromising luxury. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes an order of the Ministry of the Interior that relaxes the health requirements for entry to Spain for travellers from non-EU countries, who from today will be able to show a certificate of vaccination, recovery or a certificate of negative diagnosis in the checks of entry to the country, equating to tourists from non-EU countries the same conditions as citizens of the European Union and Schengen associated countries. “The new phase of the pandemic allows us to relax health requirements for entry into Spain by equating non-EU travellers with those of the EU and Schengen Associated Countries. This excellent news, much awaited by the tourism sector, will make it easier for tourists from outside the European environment to visit us this high season guaranteeing safe mobility. Spain is becoming one of the most desired destinations in the world, as shown by the demand indicators that are approaching pre-pandemic levels month after month and this measure will accelerate the recovery of the sector by facilitating the entry of international travellers”, said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto. According to the order published in the BOE on 21-May-22, travellers entering Spain at air or sea borders, whatever their place of origin, must be provided with one of these three certificates: Vaccination certificate meeting the requirements established by the Ministry of Health. SARS-CoV-2 negative diagnostic test certificate. NAAT (PCR or similar) tests carried out in the 72 hours prior to departure to Spain or an antigen test carried out in the 24 hours prior to departure to Spain will be worth. Certificate of recovery issued by the competent authority or a medical service at …

As of midnight on May 20, 2022, testing is no longer required for anyone traveling to Israel.  The requirement to present a negative RT-PCR test prior to departure, complete RT-PCR test upon arrival followed by isolation has also been removed.  Travellers are still required to complete an entry statement (https://corona.health.gov.il/en/flights/) within the 48 hours from departure to Israel. In addition to the removal of testing requirements, as of today (May 23), the mask mandate for international flights to/from Israel has been lifted as well. Regarding the changes in entry protocols, Sammy Yahia, Director of Tourism to India & Philippines said, “This new development in Israel’s entry requirements is great step in being able to welcome visitors back to Israel.  This will make traveling to Israel simpler and more relaxing, and your vacation will begin the moment you step off the plane.  I for one am thrilled to have visitors enjoy my home country.” The revised regulations can be found here: https://corona.health.gov.il/en/abroad/arriving-foreign-nationals/ All this, against the background of a slow and consistent rise in incoming tourism to Israel post-pandemic.  207,400 tourist entries were recorded in April of this year, compared with 30,200 in April 2021 and 405,000 in April 2019. This points to a continuation of the recovery trend for incoming tourism to Israel, with a significant increase in relation to April 2021 and a decrease of about 49% in relation to April 2019. The pace of tourist entries to date represents the basis for a forecast assessment of 1.5 to 2 million tourist entries in 2022.

India has emerged as the number one international source market for Thailand. This was revealed by Cholada Siddhivarn, Director Tourism Authority of Thailand Mumbai office in a webinar organised by DDP for Akbar Holidays along with Tourism Thailand. The webinar saw 1200 registrations and focussed on the SOPs for travel to Thailand for Indian travellers. She said, “Thailand recorded 95,272 travellers from India in the period January to May 2022 making it our top source market.”

     Based on the decisions of the Supreme Committee for dealing with COVID-19, the Civil Aviation Authority has informed all passengers and aircraft operators in the Sultanate of Oman that all precautionary measures and procedures of COVID-19 in civil aviation sector of the Sultanate of Oman are lifted.

Thailand is now open and restrictions have eased for Indian visitors! To update the travel fraternity on the SOPs for travel to Thailand, Akbar Holidays along with Tourism Thailand, will conduct an exclusive webinar today at 3PM IST. The session will also focus on Thailand packages. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has signed a strategic partnership with Trip.com Group, a leading global travel service provider, in an online ceremony at Arabian Travel Market. The partnership’s social and economic initiatives will encourage and entice visitors worldwide to visit Abu Dhabi, promoting the UAE capital as a top-tier travel destination in 13 markets across Asia and Europe, including in India, China, South Korea, Japan, USA, UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The partnership marks the first time DCT Abu Dhabi has engaged Trip.com Group as a whole, rather than with its various singular entities, increasing consistent visibility across its five popular business and consumer global travel platforms. Over a period of 12 months, Trip.com Group’s primary focus is to achieve 57,000 room nights in Abu Dhabi through marketing on its five portfolio channels. These B2B and B2C subsidiaries include Trip.com, a global travel service provider with an extensive hotel and flight route network; Skyscanner, the world leader in global flight meta-search; Travix, a global OTA operating in 39 countries; Ctrip and MakeMyTrip. HE Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi said “We are very pleased to announce our global agreement with Trip.com Group, a partnership that will share Abu Dhabi’s story with international visitors – beginning with the summer season and beyond. Through strategic partnerships such as this and our ever-expanding tourism and culture offering, we are further elevating Abu Dhabi as a top-of-mind destination, providing travellers around the world with diverse, immersive and enriching experiences to discover at their own pace.” Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer at Trip.com Group said “We are pleased to announce, …

The New Zealand Government today announced further relaxations in border restrictions, allowing all fully vaccinated international travelers, including India, to travel to Aotearoa (New Zealand) from August 1, 2022. Fully vaccinated Indian visitors will be able to travel to New Zealand without self-isolation on provision of a negative pre-departure test. Negative Rapid Antigen Tests [RAT] will be required on arrival and on day 5/6. New Zealand had been progressively opening its borders from April, first to Australian visitors and then in May to visitors from visa waver countries. Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive, René de Monchy said “We look forward to welcoming manuhiri [visitors], family and friends back from August. New Zealand has plenty to offer international visitors from breathtaking landscapes, rare and remarkable wildlife to our rich culture and heritage; our people and place are what make us unique, and we look forward to sharing this with the world again”.  In 2020, Tourism New Zealand in India rolled out the “Messages from New Zealand” campaign which featured everyday New Zealanders sharing video messages of hope and care with their international whānau (family). Through this initiative New Zealand reached out in a heartfelt and genuine way by sending messages of positivity and optimism to Indian travelers. As part of efforts to prepare for the reopening of borders, Tourism New Zealand has also  been supporting travel partners with new resources such as a dedicated marketing hub, regular training sessions and most recently, the launch of a revamped travel trade website.