Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Papori Bharati has recently been appointed the official India Representative of VISIT LEVI-a pristine destination of Lapland Finland. Papori has been in the travel and tourism sphere for the last 28 years in different verticals. She says, “Levi is truly a hidden gem of the Finnish Lapland and has its own airport- Kittila. The destination is well connected with Finnair flights. It is 170 kms above the Arctic Region and Rovaniemi. More known for the ski resorts and the slopes in the winter, Levi summer is also very beautiful and the midnight sun is seen at its best and for a longer period. Keeping Levi as a base, one can easily travel to all the places around the Finnish Lapland. With vast space all around, the northern lights are more visible in the winters.” Papori will work closely with the pan India travel trade in terms of sales calls, training programmes , joint campaigns etc. and ensure all possible co-operation to have Levi as an unusual and must visit destination for those travellers keen to travel in the Nordic Region. She is accessible to come and meet agents interested in promoting this gem of a destination and sharing details of this Region, as this is truly a bucket list destination.

Speaking on the launch of Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign by NTB, Suraj Vaidya, National Coordinator, Visit Nepal 2020, says, “We will be conducting the first Nepal Tourism Investment Summit in January 2020. We are doing it as a strategy to bring Nepal back in the forefront. Also, about the Visit Nepal Year 2020- the last one was held in 2011, and since then, probably the world knows Nepal through a very negative picture. It is just not the numbers that we are looking at from India, but also the products. We want to show much more of Nepal, primarily, beyond its conventions- Mt. Everest and Lumbini.”

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) launched the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign in New Delhi on June 12. The event has been organised to help Nepal receive two million tourists by 2020. Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, Nepal Tourism Board was present at the event. Commenting on the increase of more than 25 per cent in tourist arrivals from India in 2018, SanJeet, Director, Buzz Travel Marketing India, says, “The Indian market continues to be one of the most important contributors of international visitors to Nepal. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in both MiCE and FIT movement to Nepal from India, a trend that led to the double-digit growth in arrivals in the previous year. Friendly relations between the two South Asian nations and Nepal’s growing focus on tourism from India have helped cement the bond even further.” Nepal is also set to add 4000 rooms in the four and five-star categories, in Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara. A number of international hotel chains, including Hilton and Marriott, are expected to operate properties in Nepal in the coming years. These positive developments coupled with the innovative approach of the government and the tourism board are sure to make 2020 a riveting year for tourism in Nepal!

Visitor arrivals to Mauritius from India went down -24.3% in May. Speaking to Tourism Breaking News, Vivek Anand, Country Manager- India, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), says, “The reason tourist arrivals from India has declined is because of the decrease in the number of flights flying from the various Indian cities to Mauritius. Earlier, there were 32 flights flying out, now there are only 22.” The total number of Indian visitors to Mauritius in the month of May were 10,463 compared to last year’s  13,815.

Aiming to foster closer ties between Thailand and India, ‘Namaste Thailand Online Quiz’ asked questions about Thailand covering various aspects from cuisine, culture, way of life, history, geography, to modern politics. The quiz is the longest running and most successful social media campaign by an embassy in India. After its success, seven other embassies in New Delhi have followed suit and organized similar projects. This year’s quiz was held under the theme ‘Thailand and the World’ which highlighted Thailand’s role at the international stage, today and in the past. The Award Ceremony was attended by esteemed dignitaries including H.E Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, Thirapath Mongkolnavin, Minister, Royal Thai Embassy, Thamanoon Kuprasert, General Manager, Thai Airways International, India, Aso Lori, Marketing Officer, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi Office, Embassy Diplomats, Quizcraft team and the contest’s Grand Prize Winner and amazing participants along with their families. The award ceremony commenced with a presentation of report of the Namaste Thailand Online Quiz 2019, then H.E. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, congratulated the winners and conveyed his appreciation for the interest Indians have in knowing Thailand and ASEAN. He talked about how social media, being a powerful medium, helps promote closer ties between the peoples. He hoped that from the Quiz, the participants have learned more about Thailand and realize the similarities and linkages between Thailand and India, and hoped that the students will continue to be active supporters of Thai-Indian friendship, as the people-to-people relation is an important foundation of the bilateral relations. The winners and participants were felicitated with certificates along with gifts from the Royal Thai Embassy, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Thai Airways. Sai …

The New Zealand parliament has approved a new tourist tax, which will be effective from July 1. Most international visitors entering New Zealand for 12 months or less will be charged an additional fee of $35 NZD or about $23 USD. The new tax will be collected through the immigration system, the government said. Travellers will pay the IVL alongside visa or ETA fees. The new legislation enables the collection of the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) as well as digital processing of the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA). The NZeTA—which is designed to “improve the way travellers are assessed before they arrive in New Zealand” to strengthen border security, according to the country’s immigration website—will be mandatory starting October 1. Australian citizens, permanent residents and people from many Pacific Island countries will be exempted from the IVL. In a statement, Kevin Davis, Tourism Minister, New Zealand said, “The IVL is an investment in New Zealand. It is expected to raise over $450 million over five years, funding projects to ensure our country and our people get the best from tourism growth. Our international visitors will be contributing directly to the infrastructure they use and helping to protect the natural places they enjoy.” New Zealand experienced a nearly 4 per cent jump in international arrivals last year, according to data from Tourism New Zealand.

Indian arrivals in The Netherlands grew by 22 per cent during Jan-Feb 2019 in comparison to the same period, last year. This year, 22,000 Indians visited the country as against 18,000 Indian arrivals in The Netherlands, in 2018.

The Philippines welcomed 2,204,564 foreign visitors in the first three months of 2019, reflecting a 7.59 percent rise from last year’s 2,049,094 over the same period. The Indian arrivals in the country were 36,275, registering a growth of 9.93%. For March numbers alone, the DOT reports a visitor arrival of 714,309 or an 11.13 percent growth versus the same month last year. Indian arrivals in The Philippines were 10,086, up with a 1.52 percent increase vis-a-vis 9,935 of last year. “Record-high international tourist arrivals posted in the first quarter of the year present an encouraging sign that tourism in the Philippines is on the right track,” states the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Seychelles Tourism Board recently conducted workshops in Pune, Bengaluru and Chandigarh to train potential travel trade partners and equip them with information about various offerings in Seychelles. This enabled Seychelles Tourism Board to meet many potential travel agents in the three cities and lay the groundwork for future sales visits. These workshops included a destination presentation, question and answer round followed by networking session that was attended by around 45-50 tour operators in each of the three cities. Seychelles offers visa on arrival facility and has direct flight connectivity with India. It ranks India as the top sixth source market for Seychelles.  

The German Travel Mart (GTM) inaugurated its 45th edition in Wiesbaden, Germany. Addressing the inaugural session, Brigitte Goertz-Meissner, President, Board of Directors, German National Tourist Board, says, “More than 500 key accounts from 51 countries are participating in this year’s GTM.” Petra Hedorfer, CEO, GNTB, declaring the 45th GTM open says, “Tourism is more important than ever and it serves as the perfect basement for working together, learning from each other and to make this world a better place.” According to Thomas Bareiß, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism, “Hesse and Wiesbaden reflect some of the typical strength of German tourism.”