Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Swiss Government, and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has announced that children travelling with fully vaccinated adults will not be required to quarantine from 4th August 2021. Only children between 16 and 18 will need an RT-PCR report before boarding the plane and upon arrival. Switzerland started welcoming fully vaccinated tourists across its border starting 23rd June 2021.

UAE authorities recognised and approved vaccinations done in India. Anil Punjabi, Chairman (East), Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI) has revealed, “UAE’s National Emergency & Crisis Management Authority has informed that passengers who have taken both doses of either Covishield or Covaxin in India to fly back if they have residency permits. The only requirement is that they should have completed the vaccination at least 14 days prior to travel.” Adding that the move will help hundreds of people who were stranded in India since March.

Experience AlUla will conduct another exciting webinar for the Indian travel trade to educate and give an update on the various leisure offerings, MICE facilities, hotels and suppliers in AlUla. It will be held on Wednesday, August 18 at 3pm IST where attendees will stand a chance to win exciting prizes. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 or register here directly https://event.webinarjam.com/register/270/lxq25trq

VisitBritain along with British Educational Travel Association will conduct a Youth Travel Workshop 2021 from 19-20 October 2021. This virtual event is aimed at youth, student and educational travel professionals who are buying and selling products, programmes, itineraries and services, specifically aimed at the inbound UK youth, student and educational travel market. Registrations are open now. The event will be split into two half-day sessions.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) took its Indian travel partners on an immersive virtual tour of Singapore that is filled with fun experiences, ranging from a wildlife tour up close with animals to a mixology masterclass. The SingapoReimagine Virtual Experiences Familiarisation Day aimed to create a differentiated and immersive experience for the travel trade fraternity in India, and to reimagine and evolve their definition of travel. The event was held on the 27th July for travel agents from the South and West region and then on 31st July for travel agents from North and East India. The tour kicked off with a virtual in-flight experience of landing in Singapore on Singapore Airlines, which was a much-welcomed throwback to the days of pre-pandemic travel. The agents went on to enjoy edutainment tours that were conducted by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, getting up close virtually with the animals at the Singapore Zoo, and a virtual stroll down by the Singapore River, one that was livened up by games, quizzes and nuggets of trivia by Monster Tours. Guests were treated to a curated Singapore-themed lunch with a sumptuous spread delivered to their homes. They also toured the Brass Lion Distillery, a full-fledged working distillery known for its special Singapore dry gin. The highlight of this session was a cocktail making masterclass conducted by the Distillery’s brand ambassador and mixologist, Kino Soh, complete with specially-curated cocktail hampers delivered to the agents so that they could try their hand at mixing the drinks during the session. Said Akhil Verma, Director – Brand Solutions, Tripoto Travels, “This SingapoReimagine event was brilliantly put together and showcased how technology will pave the path for travellers in the new age. The …

Effective 2 August, 2021, Spain has re-opened its borders for tourism for fully vaccinated travellers originating from India. The last dose of the vaccine should be received 14 days prior to the departure date. Turespaña has introduced a microsite called ‘TRAVELSAFE’ within its official web site. and aims to aid international travellers with information on travel restrictions which is updated regularly.

More than 200 travel agents pan-India took part in the ‘SingapoReimagine Virtual Experiences Familiarisation Day’ organised by STB on July 27 and 31. Featuring virtual experiences by Singapore Airlines, Singapore Zoo, Monster Tours and a masterclass by Brass Lion Distillery, the full-day event set new standards of how virtual experience engagement can be presented immersively and seamlessly.

VisitBritain organised high-tea for the trade in Delhi to apprise them on the various offerings of West Midlands and Birmingham, which will be hosting the Commonwealth Games 2022. Shuja Bin Mehdi, B2B Manager – India, VisitBritain, says they will be doing promotions on the lines of the cricket World Cup. Moving forward, more promotional campaigns and familiarisation trips are on the cards for the trade.

Yas Island Abu Dhabi has launched the new marketing campaign ‘Stayin’ On Yas’, encouraging staycationers and vacationers to ‘break like you mean it’ in a brand new integrated roll-out.  Offering a glimpse of holiday promise, the campaign celebrates everything holidaymakers seek during a staycation and more; from record-breaking theme parks, racing, climbing and flying to world-class shopping, dining, golfing and luxury hotels, all packed into one 25 km2 destination. Launched across social media and digital channels, the campaign was developed by creative agency Momentum UAE, with support from Dejavu and Starcom. The new campaign, ‘Stayin’ On Yas’, features three holiday-makers channeling the Bee Gees on a staycation like no other, as they experience the wide range of activities on Yas Island in style.  The re-imagined campaign is styled in the format of music video, taking viewers on a lyrical journey with the new Yas Island anthem ‘Stayin’ On Yas’, a modern day tribute to holidays, inspired by the hit Bee Gees classic. Set against a backdrop of Yas Island’s most iconic attractions including world-class theme parks Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi, and Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi; shopping haven Yas Mall, Yas Links Abu Dhabi golf course and record-breaking adventure hub CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi, the campaign redefines what it means to be on a staycation. The campaign was inspired by a survey of 3,300 UAE residents revealed that the number one thing they were looking for in a staycation was being able to spend time with their family, with 37.1% sharing that they are seeking quality family time during their staycation.  Additionally, 42% of survey respondents stated that a great beach was a ‘must have’ during a …

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the launch of the first official Public Profile for a tourism board on leading social media platform Snapchat – giving potential travellers the chance to explore everything that the capital of the UAE has to offer in a new and immersive way. Public Profiles give brands the ability to have an organic presence on Snapchat, housing all their unique content in one discoverable place. Acting as a portal to unlock everything the region has to offer, the Visit Abu Dhabi Public Profile will provide subscribers with exclusive travel information for Abu Dhabi, showcasing the wide variety of things to do during a stay in the emirate, whilst bringing the beauty of the destination to life in an interactive new format. At a time when travel is slowly opening up, the new official Public Profile is ideal for those planning an upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi, offering a glimpse of the destination from the comfort of their own homes – and phones. There will be a wealth of content to explore, be it uncovering the beauty of Al Ain via the Highlights section or simply experiencing the capital in real-time via Stories or Community Snaps. Public Profiles were launched by Snapchat in 2020 and have had great success in bringing a brand’s story to life. The move from DCT Abu Dhabi marks the launch of the first official tourist board profile and it’s likely other tourist boards will follow suit as they look to welcome tourists back. Social channels have been a popular vehicle to engage potential travellers – inspiring wanderlust by making global destinations accessible to …