Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs has announced the suspension of entry for travelers arriving from red list countries, namely – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Bahraini citizens and residency visa holders are not subject to the suspension but will have to present an approved PCR test certificate conducted no more than 48 hours prior to boarding and undertake another PCR test on arrival and on the tenth day of stay.

One of the global leaders of Safe Tourism, Turkey is ready for 2021 summer season with heightened safety measures. Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) hosted the ambassadors of foreign missions, in the Safe Tourism event held in Antalya, Turkey from May 21 to 23. Indian Ambassador to Turkey also graced the event with his presence and experienced the measures on-site. The ministry aims to ensure that all safe tourism measures are experienced directly by the representatives of foreign missions to Turkey. Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, talked about the preparations for the 2021 summer season and stated in his speech that,  “As a leading country in safe tourism, Turkey welcomed more than 16 million guests in 2020, and we are looking forward to 2021 to be a year of heightened safety in tourism season. We are ready for the Summer  2021  season with  more than 10,000 certified tourism facilities across Turkey.” While addressing the ambassadors during the event, Minster Ersoy also mentioned that, “Tourism safety has been our top priority over the last year and we had a successful season of certification program that has become one of the best practices worldwide. In our national vaccination program, more than 27 million doses of vaccine have been applied to Turkish citizens to date. The vaccination program, in which we prioritize tourism workers, will continue to accelerate in June,” added Minister Ersoy. Launched by Turkey in June 2020, Safe Tourism Certificate certifying compliance with global safety standards for tourist spots,  accommodation facilities and airports. The Certificate have been awarded to more than 9,800 businesses as it enters its second …

A breath test designed to detect Covid-19 and give accurate results within a minute has been approved for use in Singapore. The test, developed by National University of Singapore spin-off startup Breathonix, works like a standard breathalyzer test. A person blows into a one-way valve mouthpiece, and compounds in the person’s breath are compared by machine learning software against the sort of breath signature that would be expected from someone who is Covid-positive.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) Philippines has proposed the possibility of setting up a Green Lane that will facilitate the entry of foreign visitors who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as part of the national government’s effort to reopen the economy. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that she is optimistic about the prospect. “The Green Lane will pave the way for the reopening of our tourist destinations to leisure travellers who are now fully vaccinated,” she added. The Green Lane will make it easier for such travellers to visit the country for leisure as quarantine rules are being relaxed with the progress of the vaccination worldwide.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has appointed Buzz Travel Marketing as its new Indian representative. HE Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “ As we repurpose our strategy on the road to recovery post-COVID-19, we look forward to working with Buzz to increase the number of visitors and drive growth for Abu Dhabi’s Indian operations across different target segments of Leisure and MICE.” The three-year partnership will support stakeholders and further enhance Abu Dhabi’s long-standing involvement with the Indian market and reinvigorate Abu Dhabi’s trade and marketing strategies with a brand-new outlook as part of the emirate’s upcoming plans for the tourism sector. Nikhil Jeet, Director, Buzz Travel Marketing said, “We are delighted to represent DCT Abu Dhabi in India and I am confident that together we will successfully strengthen the destination’s reach in the Indian market. With a widespread network and a team of dynamic professionals, Buzz Travel Marketing will ensure that Abu Dhabi’s wide range of tourism offerings reaches every travelling Indian. We eagerly look forward to working with DCT Abu Dhabi to implement their renewed strategy in the Indian market.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the 3-day networking platform Virtual ATB 2021, Petra Stolba, CEO, Austrian National Tourist Office, said, ““Right now tourism faces many questions. Short-term ones, such as what Covid means for the coming summer season as well as long-term about the future of travel and opportunities through digitalisation. With the Austrian Tourism Days right at the restart of tourism in Austria, we are giving the industry valuable assistance and orientation.” The programme will focus on sales, innovation, safe holidays and the future of travel.

Turespaña has launched a new feature within the TRAVEL SAFE microsite of the official Spanish tourism portal www.spain.info, whereby international tourists who wish to go to Spain can consult the travel restrictions due to COVID-19 in the country, as well as the entry and exit requirements for their respective countries. TRAVEL SAFE microsite has included an information system, permanently updated on travel restrictions due to COVID-19, which allows to consult the information necessary to make any trip from 50 countries, including India, to Spain.

Winner of Amazon voucher on participating in all the webinars organised by the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai recently, Sonal Swamy, MD, Syrisa Travels, says, “The webinars were amazing, interactive, incredibly interesting, very useful and packed with great content. I enjoyed every bit of it especially the part of Seville which got back pleasant memories of my trip around the coast of Spain. I can’t wait to get back to Spain!”

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has introduced AlUla in Saudi Arabia as a heritage and cultural destination to the Indian market. Melanie de Souza, Executive Director, Destination Marketing, said, “We see great potential in promoting tourism to AlUla from India. Besides high-value, leisure travellers, we will promote AlUla as an extension to an Umrah tour.” Sharing details of their promotional strategy, she adds, “We have started our promotional activities with trade to promote and showcase AlUla as a leisure and MICE destination through our India partner, Beautiful Planet Destination Marketing. We have been working with travel trade to create awareness and interest in AlUla and build visitation. We have been engaging with travel trade through webinars, trainings and presentations. We will closely work with key travel trade partners on joint promotional activities. In addition, we will continue to participate in trade shows to showcase the destination. Furthermore, we will continue to disseminate monthly newsletters to travel agents across India to keep them updated about AlUla. Once the borders open, we will implement roadshows and travel trade famils.”  

Nepal has suspended all domestic flights from 3rd May midnight and all international flights from 6th May midnight until May 14 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. “The decision on flight restrictions are in place until May 14. However, charter flights will be allowed,” said the Himalayan nation’s Health Minister, Hridayesh Tripathi. Nepal has also made quarantine mandatory for everyone arriving in the country.