Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

In an effort to bring momentum to tourism growth and encourage more travellers to visit the country, the Royal Oman Police has recently announced a new short-term tourist visa at 5 Omani Riyal (OMR) to visit the Sultanate for a period of 10 days. Indians who hold a valid visa to any one of these countries – United States of America, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan and Schengen States can avail the Oman visa through an e-visa process by logging on to https://evisa.rop.gov.om/ and make the 5 OMR payment on checkout, while other Indian travellers can get a sponsored visa by paying 5 OMR plus processing fee through their tour operators. This is in addition to the existing e-visa for Oman which is available at 20 OMR with a validity of one month. The amendments include dividing tourist visas into three sections: 10 days, one month and one year. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “Along with FIT, we have seen an increase in MiCE tourism with the recent launch of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in Muscat that supports international and local organisations in hosting large events. Also, many new international hotel chains that have recently opened in Oman have increased the number of rooms and venues in the country. Oman being a short-haul destination from India, with excellent air connectivity from major Indian cities, world-class hotels and easy availability of Indian food, is also becoming a preferred wedding destination. The reduced visa fees, new e-visa system, along with the newly opened Muscat International Airport will definitely be a boon for Oman’s tourism.” With a total of 3 million and 300 thousand tourists visiting last …

The first direct air service between Vietnam’s most populous Ho Chi Minh City and New Delhi is likely to commence by the last quarter of this financial year. This was announced by Nguyen Le Thanh, Deputy Chief of Mission at Vietnam Embassy. Stating that out of 20 million Indians travelling overseas every year, only 90,000 visit Vietnam. “India has a very important place in our foreign policy and we have a comprehensive strategic partnership. The bonding will strengthen further with more people to people contact and this can been be boosted through tourism,” Thanh said. She said Vietnam has seen a rapid rise in tourist inflow from the other parts of the world with an average 25 to 30 per cent increase in numbers every year compared to the previous year. “From just 2.5 lakh overseas tourists in 1990, Vietnam has registered 13 million tourist arrivals in 2017,” she said. Thanh said that the country has a great heritage with a 4000-year-old history. With a very long coastline, the S-shaped country has 125 beaches including the popular Nha Trang, Da Nang and Phu Quoc island, she said. She said the country is peaceful and safe with friendly people and boasts of an exquisite cuisine. Source: PTI

The Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) has announced a four-city roadshow in July and August in India in alignment with its plan to increase Indian arrivals to the country. The Ministry will begin with its maiden roadshow in Nashik on July 19, followed by Ahmedabad on August 27, Kolkata on August 29 and concluding in New Delhi on August 30. The events will start off with a destination presentation leading to an interactive workshop followed by a press conference with the IMOT team. The Israeli delegation will be led by Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines along with Judah Samuel, Director – Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India and will include representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel. Hassan Madah said, “Israel is an emerging destination for the Indian traveller and tourist arrivals have been growing progressively over the last couple of years. 2017 was a record breaking year for us with close to 60,000 Indian tourists visiting Israel, and we are constantly striving to increase destination awareness among consumers, Indian travel trade and MICE agents. Besides the source markets, we are looking to focus on cities like Nashik that has immense potential and recently conducted maiden roadshows in Guwahati and Lucknow as well. The plan is to organize 11 roadshows in different cities of India by end of 2018 and successfully introduce and reinforce the varied tourism offerings of Israel.”

The High Commission of Malaysia in association with Tourism Malaysia recently celebrated Eid Ul Fitr Open House. Diplomats from various embassies along with the travel trade attended the event. Authentic Malaysian cuisine was served to the invitees. Eid Ul Fitr Open House is a casual affair, where visitors mingle with other people and relish sumptuous Malaysian food together. In Malaysia, Eid is more commonly known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Hari Raya means Celebration Day. In Many part of Malaysia, pelita (oil lamps) are lit up and placed outside around homes as decoration. Special dishes like Ketupat (packed rice in leaf pouch), Rendang (slow cooked meat with spice and coconut milk), Lemang (glutinous rice cake cooked in bamboo), etc are served on this day.

The total visitor arrivals from India to New Zealand have doubled from 33,000 to 66,000 in the past four years, with more Indians visiting the country than ever before. In recognition of this incredible growth, Tourism New Zealand is expanding its annual travel trade event, Kiwi Link India, this year. The new format will see the organisation and partners hosting key buyers from around India in Mumbai from July 9-10, followed by frontline training in Bangalore and New Delhi from July 12-13 respectively. Kiwi Link serves as a platform for Indian travel agents, product managers and planners to interact with New Zealand operators and understand the new developments and market insights in the tourism sector. Kiwi Link 2018 will see participation from record 40 New Zealand operators, along with three airlines – Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, Immigration New Zealand and 72 Indian delegates from 49 travel companies. More than 50 Indian participants are expected to attend the frontline training programme which will be conducted in the Bengaluru and New Delhi markets. Steven Dixon, Regional Manager-South and South-East Asia, Tourism New Zealand said, “The record number of New Zealand operators visiting India to participate in Kiwi Link this year is a real reflection on the value we place on the market. This event provides an opportunity for both new and experienced tourism operators to develop an alliance with vital travel decision makers, thus enabling them to drive sales out of India.”

Tourism Ireland has partnered with Cricket Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland to promote the T20 International series between India and Ireland to be held in Malahide, Dublin. With the first T20 international match underway, the second will be held on June 29. The Indian team will show its wonders on Irish soil for the first time in over a decade, since they played an ODI in Belfast back in 2007. The match will be streamed on Sony Six at 8.30 pm IST. An interesting turning point to this tournament is the presence of the iconic cricket star Ajay Jadeja as the commentator for the matches. During his stay in Dublin, Jadeja will have the opportunity to tour around the elegant city and experience the best of the Irish hospitality. He will visit the famous iconic attractions like Malahide Castle, Ha Penny Bridge, Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens, Guinness Store House and Kilkenny Castle. Speaking on the occasion, HE Brian McElduff, Ambassador of Ireland to India, said, “This is the first-ever initiative where Tourism Ireland and Cricket Ireland have joined hands to celebrate the beautiful game of cricket and promote Ireland. We are proud to be a part of this significant event and hope this occasion will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.” Tickets for the matches are available on TicketMaster. Further details are also available on the official Cricket Ireland.

New Zealand has announced plans to introduce a tourist tax and increase other fees for international visitors to fund infrastructure development in the face of a tourist boom. Tourism numbers in the country of 4.5 million have surged by nearly a third in the past three years to 3.8 million in April this year. “This rapid growth has impacted the costs and availability of publicly-provided infrastructure,” said Kelvin Davis Tourism minister. “Many regions are struggling to cope and urgently need improved infrastructure, from toilet facilities to car parks,”Davis said. A tax of NZ$25-35 (US$17-24) would be imposed on international visitors from the middle of next year while price hikes for immigration fees and visas will take effect this November. Australians and most Pacific Island forum countries will be exempt from the new charges. Tourism is a key pillar of the New Zealand economy and the new tax is expected to raise up to NZ$80 million in its first year, which will be split between tourism infrastructure and conservation initiatives. The main opposition National Party claimed the new tax system would make New Zealand a “less attractive” destination. But Davis believed the impact on tourist numbers would be minimal. “When you’re talking about the additional cost to, say, someone coming from the United States who are already paying about NZ$1,200, an extra NZ$25-NZ$30 isn’t going to make that much of a difference,” he said. Source: AFP

India will be the third leading source market for Singapore MiCE tourism by 2021, according to a research report. The Singapore MiCE tourism market shall surge nearly US$ 2.5 billion across the 20 countries by the year end of 2021, the report said. Singapore is one of the world’s top MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions) destination. The research report titled ” Singapore Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions (MICE) Tourism Market Insights, Opportunity, Analysis, Market Shares & Forecast 2016 – 2021” provides detailed information on the Singapore MiCE Tourism Market. The report analyses market data and provides a better understanding of MiCE travellers flows and revenue to Singapore. Singapore enables a conducive environment for MiCE for world-wide travellers with its stable business environment, convenient transportation, pleasant environment and well-appointed facilities. Sightseeing, catering, entertainment, business events and exhibitions together create an integrated tourism chain for the country. Facilities for both business and leisure such as World Resort Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore, Merlion’s Park, Suntec Singapore and Singapore EXPO ensure Singapore’s position as a prime MiCE destination. China and Indonesia will be the major source market for Singapore MiCE tourism by the year end of 2021.  Singapore and Thailand holds the fifth and sixth highest share of the Singapore MiCE tourist arrivals, being followed by United States by the year end of 2021, states the report.  

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) recently organised a consolidator’s familiarisation trip to Bahrain to showcase Bahrain’s famous tourist attractions to help grow the country’s tourism industry. This year, Bahrain is looking at the growth of about 46 per cent tourists from India in 2018. Sunil Mathapati, Country Manager said, “As part of the plan to highlight Bahrain’s overall tourism offering and to tap on the high potential consumer market that India has be it Luxury travellers, adventure enthusiasts, Wedding & MICE segments; we will be proactively doing marketing activities and trips to attract tourism and make a traveller aware about the destination which is rich in history and culture and has various adventure activities, which is just four hours from India.” Some places where delegation visited were Bahrain International Circuit, historical forts, cultural sites in the old capital Muharraq, beaches, The Al Fateh Grand Mosque, and The National Museum. They also visited five-star hotels to review and understand their offerings. They further went to check out the island flavor, exploring varieties of food options. The trip also showcased new tourist attraction like Jarada Islands and the group was taken to new hotel Jumeirah Royal Saray Bahrain as well for inspection.

The Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is all set to kick start its five-month long promotional campaign in the high-potential domestic markets. Kerala Tourism has plans to conduct 15 B2B meets across domestic markets in order to attract the maximum number of domestic travellers to its various destinations. The phase I of the ambitious promotional campaign 2018-2019 would commence with the Travel & Tourism Fair in Kolkata from July 6-8, followed by the tourism partnership meets in Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) on July 10 and 12, respectively. Kerala Tourism would tap the Karnataka market with IITM Bengaluru (July 27-29) and Gujarat with three partnership meets in Ahmedabad (July 31), Vadodara (August 1) and Surat (August 3) each.  Further, it would organise partnership meets in Lucknow (August 14) and Indore (August 17), followed by trade fair – TTF Ahmedabad (September 7-9). Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala, stated, “Following the ambitious promotional campaign, the Tourism Department aims to promote the state’s tourism across potential domestic markets. Simultaneously, Kerala Tourism would continue to keep focusing on exploring the tourism potential of pristine Northern Kerala. Through domestic B2B meets, we are hopeful to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the state across the country.” Additionally, Kerala Tourism has plans to promote its tourism potential in Maharashtra through conducting partnership meets in Nagpur (October 3), TTF Mumbai from October 5-7 along with partnership meets in Pune (October 9) and Mumbai (October 12).  The first phase of the domestic B2B meets would culminate with IITM Hyderabad (November 23-25), tapping the Telangana market.