Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

South African Tourism on Friday concluded the third leg of its 10th edition of the ‘Learn South Africa’ workshop in Kochi, following successful events in Chandigarh and Nagpur. This initiative aimed to engage key travel trade partners across India, particularly focusing on the growing interest from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Over 100 travel trade partners from Kochi participated in the event, offering beyond its well-known destinations like Cape Town and Johannesburg and helping them to gain insights into South Africa’s hidden gems such as Eastern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal India remains one of the largest source markets for South Africa, with increasing interest from smaller cities like Kochi. Indian travellers are on the lookout for diverse experiences that range from thrilling adventures to rich cultural explorations. In response to this demand, the workshop equipped travel partners with the necessary knowledge and tools to create customized itineraries tailored for travellers in India. The objective of South African Tourism is to position the Rainbow Nation as a premier choice for leisure and MICE travel. Commenting on the event in Kochi, Gcobani Mancotywa, Regional General Manager for Asia, Australasia, and the Middle East at South African Tourism, stated: “We have witnessed notable trends among Kochi travellers, such as a growing preference for experiential travel, wellness tourism, and adventure activities. Further, travellers from this region are rapidly emerging as a significant market for South African tourism, we have seen a notable increase in inquiries from local travellers seeking unique and offbeat experiences in H1 2024. Our collaboration with local trade partners has been exceptionally positive, reinforcing our belief that this will drive more Indian travellers to explore the lesser-known regions of South Africa. …

Sharing his views on the future of the traditional travel agent, Vishal Bhatia, Country Manager – India, VisitBritain, says, “Many debate whether the agent should now provide support or not, depending on their experience. Few have helped and won the client back, few have helped only to have the client book online again. Eventually, it comes down to the relationship and trust between both. Both OTAs and traditional travel agents are here to stay as long as they adopt the use of technology and grow their reach. Time is money! A client can either spend time to research and book online or get an agent to do it for him.”

Atout France – France Tourism Development Agency organised the sixth edition of the very prestigious Ambassador’s Travel Awards in Mumbai on 12th December after a hiatus of 5 years and under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Thierry Mathou. These awards were instated in 2015 under the high patronage of the Ambassador of France to India and powered by VFS Global for all its subsequent editions.  The objective behind the awards is to recognise and reward a selection of travel companies across India for their exemplary efforts in showcasing France as a travel destination both from the destination showcase, visa perspective and the prolific penmanship of a journalist who, through articles, has essayed a versatile presentation of destination France. Our jury members consisted of eminent luminaries that included His Excellency Thierry Mathou, the Ambassador of France to India, and Claude Sarre General Manager Air France-KLM. This year for the first time, a new category of awards was announced to felicitate a travel professional who has successfully completed Atout France’s global certified e-learning programme, France Connaisseur. The winners for this year’s awards were: 1: Visa Category – awarded to Veena World for its exemplary endeavour towards qualitative visa submissions Destination Showcase Awards: 1: Gold – Best Showcase of France as an Incentive Destination – Winner: Thomas Cook (India) 2: Diamond – Best Showcase of France as an Indulgent Destination – Winner: N.Chirag 3: Platinum – Best Showcase of France as an Experiential Destination – Winner: Harmony-Tours 4: France Connassieur E-learning Award: Awarded to one travel professional for having successfully completed Atout France’s e-learning programme France Connaisseur. Winner: Noopur Shukla, Holidays & More Sharing her thoughts, Ms Sheetal Munshaw – Director Atout …

South Africa will be hosting the T20 World Cup in 2027 and expected to welcome a huge number of Indian cricket enthusiasts. For this, they will set up a dedicated team that can process visa applications for cricket fans. In terms of cultural events, the country will share its calendar of sports and culture events for 2025 with India so that both countries can work together.

In a significant move to strengthen tourism ties with India, South Africa has come up with a newly gazetted Trusted Tourist Tour Operator System Scheme which will take effect on 20 January 2025. Aimed specifically at the Indian and Chinese markets, it will allow for bulk visa processing for group travellers. 23 Indian tour operators applied in the first phase.

In January 2025, VisitBritain will launch a major marketing campaign aimed at showcasing the UK’s cultural richness through the lens of popular films and TV shows. “Our Starring Great Britain campaign is all about bringing the magic of British films and TV to life. Whether you’re walking the streets of Bath like in Bridgerton or visiting locations from Peaky Blinders in Birmingham, we want visitors to feel like they’re part of these cinematic landscapes,” said Patricia Yates, CEO, VisitBritain.

With an eye to reinforce Taiwan’s post-pandemic tourism profile, Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) has announced the launch of new global brand positioning campaign, and logo, Version 3.0 titled ‘Taiwan – Waves of Wonder.’ It also launched a new series of  animated short films and Taiwan tourism promotional song to accompany the new logo. Inviting visitors to ‘engage now’ to experience Taiwan in all its colours and across four-seasons, the new campaign aims to drive demand, accelerate inbound tourism growth, fully revitalise country’s tourism sector. The campaign also aims to drive 10 million international tourist arrivals this year, eyeing a significant growth over last year’s 6.48 million tourist arrivals. The new version of the brand integrates images of Taiwan’s mountains, oceans, highways and railways, presenting a wave-like design to convey the seasonal highlights of the destination showing that Taiwan is diverse and beautiful, while emphasizing its year-round hospitality towards visitors. The logo adopts the orange tones of sunrise and morning light to not only align with the ‘warmth and vitality of the previous brand’, but also to symbolise the future development of Taiwan’s tourism industry. The campaign showcases Taiwan in all its hues, from modern tourism infrastructure and landmarks, great outdoors and activities, pristine nature, architectural and cultural heritage, to exotic cuisines and immersive culinary experiences, vibrant nightlife, shopping, music, entertainment and its vibrant festivals, among others, to position Taiwan as round-the-year destination.

Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) is pleased to announce the launch of IndiGo’s direct flight from Chennai to Penang, with the inaugural flight scheduled for the 21st of December 2024. This marks a significant step in strengthening the relationship between Penang and India. The new route further cements PCEB’s ongoing efforts to enhance connectivity and foster closer ties between the two regions.

VFS Global has crossed the 300 million applications milestone globally. It is notable that the last 100 million applications have been achieved in the past 5 years despite the pandemic-driven travel slow-down of 2020-2022. In 2023 alone, the company processed 24.1 million applications, 35% more than 2022, and between January to May 2024, it has processed approximately 100,000 applications a day. Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global Group, said, “We are very pleased and honoured with the achievement of this milestone, which is a testament to the trust 69 governments have in VFS Global, and a testament to the reliable, secure and innovative services we provide across 153 countries. We are also deeply grateful to all visa applicants using our services. Over the past year we are honoured to have won several important contracts, including becoming the exclusive overseas visa outsourcing partner for UK Visas and DHA Australia, and contracts with Germany, Finland, Portugal and Japan who have renewed their trust in us. We remain deeply committed to continuing investments in technology and human capital development to ensure continuous enhancement of our services.”

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has opened registrations for its upcoming TAFI Convention 2025 that will be held in the Ninh Binh province in Northern Vietnam from 17 to 20 January. The theme of the convention is ‘Tourism for Tomorrow: Protecting the Planet.’ Elaborating on the choice of destination and the theme, Ajay Prakash, TAFI President, said “Indian tourism is booming. While inbound numbers are still below pre-Covid levels, outbound and domestic tourism are breaking all records. But an industry that is totally people-centric and which thrives on the natural beauty and the amazing diversity in the world also has a duty to protect the Planet. Sustainability has gone beyond being a mere catchword, it is the single most important need today for the tourism industry and if we are to rethink our business models and think beyond profit, the move has to come from within the industry. As the leading travel association in the country TAFI will take the lead in sensitizing our members who in turn will guide their clients towards Responsible Tourism practices.” Anil Kalsi, Vice President added “The Provincial government of Ninh Binh has been extremely supportive, and the Department of Tourism has laid out the red carpet for TAFI delegates.” Speaking about the format of the convention, Abbas Moiz, National General Secretary, adds, “TAFI is offering members a three-night convention at an incredible price of Rs. 15,999/- per person on twin sharing. We have also negotiated great prices with DMCs for some exciting pre- and post-convention tours. Our members can contact them directly to take advantage of the special prices. Similarly, members are free to choose between the various airlines offering direct or …