Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and Jeju Tourism Organization recently held a joint roadshow in New Delhi and Mumbai to present the destination to travel agents. This was their second tourism presentation in India since 2015 when they made their India debut. Park Hong Bai, President, Jeju Tourism Organization, led the Korean delegation that comprised Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and three domestic businesses that were participating in the roadshow. About 100 tour operators attended the show in each city. Indian nationals do not require a visa for visiting Jeju Island. Hong Bai, said, “This roadshow is a very important first step for Jeju to tap the Indian market. Jeju will be working with Korea Tourism Organization and Hong Kong Tourism Board to boost promotion of each region in India and to increase the satisfaction of Indian travellers who plan to visit Jeju.”

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has partnered with a popular music channel to launch a music video, featuring both Indian and Singaporean talents. With this, STB becomes the first tourism board to come out with its own, cross-border collaborative English music video. India is a key traveller source market for Singapore and moved up a spot to become its third-largest visitor-arrival contributor in 2017. With an estimated 65 per cent of India’s population being 35 years and under having strong disposable income and increasingly travelling overseas, STB recognises the importance of reaching out to them. These young adults or working millennials seek immersive, unique and local experiences and Singapore presents a plethora of options. With this music video, STB forays into a different public space: the world of English music, pop culture and entertainment to connect with the young Indians, who are more adventurous and seek lifestyle experiences when travelling.

AVIAREPS has been appointed as the Sales, Marketing and PR representative in India for Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). The appointment came into effect owing to Maldives’ growing outbound demand, steady rise in visitation from India, along with surge in the length of stay and spending power of Indian travellers. Speaking after the announcement, Haris Mohamed, Acting Managing Director, MMPRC, said “Maldives’ tourism industry has been expanding over the years to provide unique experiences to its visitors whilst also catering to specific needs of the niche segments that Maldives attracts. We are delighted to have appointed AVIAREPS to represent the Maldives tourism board in India. We hope to work together with the aim of increasing the number of tourists from India, which has been a growing market and the top fifth market in terms of arrivals to Maldives. With well-planned strategies and activities targeted towards educating and inviting the Indian Market, we hope to achieve continued growth in the years to come”. “The Maldives’ is one of India’s closest neighbour with world-class resorts and tourism offerings. Our plans include working very closely with the Indian travel trade and media to reach out to the Indian consumer. Our prime focus will be on maintaining and strengthening Maldives’s positioning in India as the first choice beach and leisure destination with a myriad of tourism offerings,” commented Joseph Fernandes, General Manager—India, AVIAREPS.  

Germany emerges as one of the most favoured leisure destinations for Indian travellers again. From January-July 2018, the country received 547,402 visitor overnights making for a growth of 10.8 per cent from India compared to the same period last year. The Discover Germany roadshow – an annual event for the GNTO -flagged off in Delhi on September 25, was followed by Bengaluru on September 26, and will conclude in Mumbai on September 28. Owing to the growing interest from Indian operators, the roadshow saw the participation of two new German partners this, year namely Europamundo Vacations (Coach Tour Operator) and a&o Hotels and Hostels (A Hotel Chain). The roadshow also saw repeated participation from Maritim Hotels, Baden Baden, KD German Rhine Line, Lufthansa, Rail Europe, Vienna House, Saxony Tourism and Stuttgart & SouthWest Germany. Romit Theophilus, Director Sales and Marketing, GNTO, India, said, “Year on year, we have been noticing an increased interest from the Indian travel trade in Germany. This can be witnessed by the overwhelming participation received in our roadshows. Furthermore, we have witnessed a growth in the overall perception of Germany as a favoured leisure destination by the travellers. Additionally, the forecasted data from airline seat load factors and our overnight statistics prove that Germany is fast becoming one of the most sought after leisure destination for Indian travellers.”

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman, has successfully conducted the second leg of the multi-city roadshow in Mumbai. The event witnessed participation from around 140 companies to bridge connections between local travel agents and destination management companies in Oman. The unique interactive platform with pre-fixed meetings gave trade partners and travel agents an opportunity to interact and learn more about the diverse product offerings and experiences that Oman has to offer. Her Excellency, Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism (MOT), said, “The objective of the roadshow is to highlight the various facets of Oman as a destination and to create awareness about the new segments and offerings that the country has to offer. We see India as a promising potential market and have witnessed significant growth over a period of time. We recognise and acknowledge the demand from India and other potential markets. Hence, as part of the Sultanate’s National Tourism Strategy 2040, the Ministry of Tourism seeks to introduce the sector’s latest developments, services, projects and facilities of the tourism industry like opening the new passenger terminal at Muscat International Airport and launching the electronic visa.” Commenting on the roadshow, Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman, said, “The roadshow offers us a platform to expose the uniqueness of Oman as a holiday destination from India. From luxurious resorts and campsites to exotic scuba diving spots to rustic shopping experiences, Oman has something to offer to anyone who has a quest for adventure and thirst for a distinctive cultural experience. Oman is not only seeing a surge in MiCE travel, but is also a preferred wedding destination for many.”

The Turkish Culture and Tourism board in India will be conducting a roadshow and destination workshop in six cities across India from October 8-13, 2018. To be held in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai, the aim of the roadshow is to interact with stakeholders, agents, policy makers and travellers in these cities on current tourism offerings of Turkey and create more awareness on destination. The roadshow will also help in positioning Turkey as a leisure, wedding and MiCE destination amongst Indian travellers. Deniz Ersöz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in India said, “India is a very important market and we are aware of the potential it holds in terms of inbound visitor traffic to Turkey. In 2017, Turkey hosted more than 32 million international tourists while from India the number was 87,000. This year, from January to July, we recorded 25 per cent increase in the number of overall tourists. That means we will be hosting 40 million international tourists by the end of 2018. When we look at figures from India, we see 95 per cent increase for the same period. If this trend continues we will be hosting almost 2 lakh Indian tourists by the year-end.” The roadshow will also witness participation from Turkish Airlines, luxury hotels and important delegates and officials from Turkey.

Dubai Business Events (DBE) has showcased the city’s capabilities and services to business event planners during a a three-city roadshow in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, attracting an attendance of approximately 490 business events and incentive buyers as well as wedding planners. DBE was joined on the roadshow by a number of stakeholders from Dubai, including Dubai Parks and Resorts, Jumeirah Hotels and Emaar Hospitality. The roadshow offered a platform for the DBE team to meet and engage with key decision makers, educate them about the services available to them, and detail how the convention bureau can support in planning their events in Dubai. Attendees were also able to discover Dubai and the world-class factors that combine to make the city a premier destination to host business events. Over the coming months, DBE and stakeholders from the city will conduct further in-market activities in UK, Sweden, Finland and Russia while also continuing to welcome business event planners for study missions from around the world to Dubai.

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman successfully conducted the first leg of its multi-city roadshow in Delhi at The Taj Mahal Hotel. Her Excellency Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqim, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism, Oman; Sunil VA, Regional Vice President, ISC, Oman Air and Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative – Ministry of Tourism, Oman along with other representatives were present at the roadshow. On the occasion, Mahrouqi said that Oman has witnessed over 31 per cent growth in Indian arrivals since 2014. “In 2017 alone, Oman received 321,161 Indian visitors with a growth of over 7 per cent in just one year. In the first six months of 2018, the country witnessed 15 per cent growth in comparison to the same period last year. Oman is a ideal for every kind of traveller but we are looking to focus immensely on MiCE opportunities from India.” Furthermore, to encourage more travellers to visit the country, Oman has recently announced a new short-term tourist visa at 5 Omani Riyal (OMR) equivalent to approximately Rs 940 to visit the Sultanate for a period of 10 days. This is in addition to the existing e-visa for Oman which is available at 20 OMR with a validity of one month.

The Wallonia Foreign Trade along with Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) recently took a tourism mission to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi. The Consulate General of Belgium, AWEX and BIE in association with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) organised the event for its members in Mumbai. Nine delegates from different tourism attractions from Brussels and Wallonia (Southern Belgium) presented its undiscovered and unique tourist attractions to the TAAI members. The delegation also visited top tour operators in the city. Peter Huyghebaert, Consul General, AWEX Team; Emmanuelle Timmermans, Trade and Investment Commissioner, and Dominique Andre from Wallonia Belgium Tourism, joined Ellona Pereira, India Director, Visit Brussels, for the roadshow. Also part of the delegation were Albert Joris from Caves of Han, Catherine Vuidar from Euro Space Center, Rodolphe Brohée from Durbuy, Malati Dasi and Martin Gurvich from Radhadesh Castle, Jérôme Aussems from Ardennes Incoming and Steven Truyman from Hey Belgium. Top tour operators from Mumbai and Pune attended this event.

Tanzania Tourist Board, with a vision to establish Tanzania as the most favourite destination globally, recently hosted a roadshow in Delhi to showcase the unmatched cultural richness of the land. “Tourism is the number one foreign currency earner in Tanzania. The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP is 17.2 per cent and is forecast to rise by 6.6 per cent in 2025. In 2017, tourism contribution to direct and indirect employment measured over one lakh jobs. This is expected to rise by 2.7 per cent in 2025” said Devota Mdachi, Managing Director, Tanzania Tourist Board. As a tourist destination, Tanzania is endowed with some of Africa’s world-class tourism assets that encompass natural, cultural, historical and archaeological sites. The state of Tanzania is home to more than 20% of the African continent’s large mammals. Tanzania has 16 National Parks, 31 Game Reserves, 44 Game Controlled Areas, 4 Ramsar Sites and 33 Wildlife Management Areas. “Tanzania offers a complete package of adventure, exploration and relaxation to the tourists. This has significantly increased the number of travellers each year. From 7 lakh travellers in 2007, it crossed 13 lakhs in 2017. We expect this number to reach over 2 million tourists by 2020” said Mdachi. Tanzania is famous for its history, impressive ruins of 14th to 16th century tombs, mosques and palaces. The diverse cultures, traditions and customs can be experienced through traditional dances, handcrafts, rock paintings and archaeological sites.