Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) conducted its first roadshow in 2021 across three Indian cities to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel trade fraternity that focused on outbound MICE travel. The roadshows were held in the cities of Chennai on December 6, Bengaluru on December 7, and Kolkata on December 9, 2021.  The events commenced with a destination presentation which focused on key developments, tourism infrastructure in Israel as well as opening of new hotels and tourist attractions. Following the presentation was an interactive session between the Israel Tourism team and the travel partners, which concluded with light snacks. The Israeli delegation was led by Mr. Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines along with Judah Samuel, Director of Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India. Speaking about the roadshows, Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism – Israel & Philippines said, “The last two years have been extremely challenging for everyone, especially the tourism industry. With restricted number of flights and constant changes in travel policies, many Indian travellers chose domestic travels, similar to Israel. With borders opening for international travel, we are delighted to host our first roadshow since 2019. The aim was to have a concerted group of about 30 attendees in each city, with a focus on reviving interest in Israel as a destination, especially with the MICE segment. The presentation highlighted the upgrades that have been made to the tourism infrastructure in Israel, as well as new and exciting initiatives that have been implemented. It was heart-warming to meet our partners in each city and I am glad to see the enthusiastic response from the travel trade in marketing Israel …

Qatar Tourism attended ILTM Cannes 2021 with a strong Qatari delegation, to profile the new tourism projects and luxury offerings in the country. Qatar is becoming a leading destination as it expands its tourism proposition, in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Its tourism strategy puts the visitor at the heart of all new programmes and initiatives. As part of the ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’, the country has added a variety of exciting experiences, including a wave of new luxury hotels, theme parks, shops, and major leisure projects, that have recently opened, or are set to open in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM. Over 100 new hotels and serviced apartments are currently under construction which will add to Qatar’s already extensive portfolio of properties. Some of the new properties include a Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Hotel and Resort at Katara Towers, Rosewood Doha and the St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island. The hotels will broaden Qatar’s appeal to high value travellers, offering more choice to its existing 80 five and four star hotels. With the aim of raising the tourism sector to 12% GBP by 2030, Qatar will grow and improve assets and attractions, enhance the end-to-end customer experience, invest in Service Excellence and deploy a tailored marketing strategy to target point-to-point (P2P) and stopover visitors. Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: “We are continuing to expand our tourism offering and are excited to introduce guests to the best of Qatari hospitality. In 2019, we saw over two million visitors to Qatar and we hope to see similar growth trends now that we are welcoming visitors back to the country again. “We are now …

The new Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Singapore and Sri Lanka now allows fully vaccinated travellers quarantine-free access to both countries. This was highlighted for the travel trade in a webinar titled ‘Welcome Back to Singapore’, organised by STB, Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport Group. All short-term visitors and long-term pass holders are required to have a Vaccinated Travel Pass and fulfil VTL conditions in order to qualify for quarantine-free travel under the VTL.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) will conduct a “Welcome Back to Singapore” webinar for the Sri Lanka travel trade on Dec 10 at 11:30am The Singapore-Sri Lanka Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) will be launched on December 16th.  STB, SIA and CAG will conduct a webinar to provide an update to the Sri Lanka trade partners on the VTL, SIA flight operations and the passenger experience at Changi Airport and the facilities within the Jewel Changi Airport. The session will be on Friday, December 10 at 11:30am Colombo time. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 or click here https://event.webinarjam.com/register/346/xyo1rbv1

Try out our new  Destination Germany online training program designed exclusively for travel experts like you. Explore Germany through four informative modules and learn about the incredible array of things to do, vibrant hidden gems, and diversity of the destination itself. Follow the below link to register yourself: www.germanyspecialist.com

The Singapore-India Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) had been launched on November 29th.  STB, SIA and CAG will conduct a second webinar to provide an update to the Indian trade partners on the VTL, SIA flight operations and the passenger experience at Changi Airport and Jewel. The session will be on Tuesday, December 7 at 11:30am IST. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 or click here https://event.webinarjam.com/register/345/6v7qri2o

The Ministry of Culture & Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan & Kazakh Tourism Board has appointed Rohit Shorey, Founder, Kazin DMC as their M!CE Tourism Ambassador For Kazakhstan in India. Kairat Sadvakassov, Deputy Chairman of Kazakh tourism board said that Shorey, has made a significant contribution to the overall development of tourism to the country from India region, especially M!CE. In a reception held at the Marriot hotel in Nur Sultan on the 27th November 2021, the board presented Shorey with a certificate of Ambassadorship. The reception was attended by Vishal Jain, Director, Kazin International, who signed the MoU and collected the award. Rohit & Vishal remains very bullish on Kazakhstan as a destination with vast potential in the field of tourism. owning to its wide diversity of offerings for all verticals of tourism. They feel that India & middle east will become a major source market for tourism to Kazakhstan and this is one the reasons why Kazin Dmc has maintained 100% focus on this destination since 2016. Kazakh Tourism, being the country’s brand manager for tourism and a subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, serves the government’s goal of achieving an 8% contribution to GDP from tourism. The government is significantly developing the tourism infrastructure of the country by opening numerous branded hotels to cater the increasing demand of tourists. Almaty airport is going through a multi-million-dollar expansion to accommodate more airlines to serve the country. Air Astana has announced that they will resume direct flights between Almaty & Delhi effective 16 December after a 20-month hiatus. As the world is gearing towards normalcy, this announcement could not have a come at a better time.

Anna Paul, Head MICE North India, Inorbit Tours and Shailesh Patel, Proprietor, Sambhav International Travels are first week’s lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel. Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number

Consulate General of Malaysia and Tourism Malaysia Mumbai organises a Langkawi SOP briefing session to select Travel Trade Associations, Educational and MICE Operators. Taking gradual, calibrated measures to reopen international borders, Malaysia will allow the entry of fully vaccinated foreign tourists in Langkawi without quarantine.  The Malaysian government is implementing a pilot international tourism bubble project which will initially run for 3 months started from 15 November 2021. According to the SOPs issued by the Malaysian government, Malaysia will target fully vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine for the bubble projects. Travellers will also have to present a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours before departure to Langkawi. They will also be required to hold travel insurance of a minimum USD 80,000 with them. It is also necessary for foreign tourists to engage tour operators and guides licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) for the trip.  Tourists must also register on the MySejahtera app before departing or upon arrival in KLIA 1. As a way forward strategy, Tourism Malaysia will be collaborating with its Airlines and product partners for many joint promotion campaigns, which will boost Indian footfalls in Malaysia. More than 97% of Malaysia’s 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show.

Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi is organising Reunite #INABUDHABI- Luxury webinar on 26th November at 11:30am IST. Get a chance to learn more about upscale experiences, luxurious stay options, world-class dining and entertainment options. To join the webinar, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.