Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Tourism Ireland conducted its India Sales Mission 2017 in Mumbai and Delhi where 12 representatives from the destination interacted with over 100 leading travel agents and tour operators in each city to update them about the new offerings in Ireland. Ireland is promoting the locations where the famous movie- Star Wars and Game of Thrones television series has been shot. “Almost 70 per cent of Game of Thrones has been shot in Northern Ireland and Star Wars been shot in West Ireland. We feel these on-screen products have a good resonance in India and will drive growth to Ireland,” says Huzan Frazer Motivala, Representative-India, Tourism Ireland. David Boyce, Head-Developing Markets, Tourism Ireland, informed that Ireland recorded over 40,000 Indian arrivals up till August 2017, registering a 34 per cent growth over last year during the same period. The destination hopes to see this number touch 50,000 over the next 2-3 years. Boyce said, “These figures are not our official numbers as we get them only by the year end. However, these have been received from the destinations that Indians visit in Ireland and thus are proof to believe that the growth is robust.”

Maharashtra contributes most tourists to Australia followed by Delhi. Speaking in New Delhi, Nishant Kashikar, Country Head-India and Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “Tourism Australia first started its representation agency in Delhi before setting up their office in India. We have developed a great relationship with the travel trade in the city of Delhi and have seen great growth from this market. We have had almost over 32,000 tourists only from the state of Delhi, who travelled to Australia last year. These tourists contributed almost close to 165 million Asutralian dollars, which is an increase of 26 per cent as compared to the previous year.”

Fiji Airways will soon be appointing a full time Country Sales Manager for the India market, says Marc S. Cavaliere, Chief Marketing Officer, Fiji Airways. “As a sign of our commitment to the Indian market we will be appointing a full time Country Sales Manager for India. The announcement will be made in 2-3 weeks time and the newly appointed person will be based out of Mumbai. We see opportunity in the India market and this is the reason we would invest in having a full time Fiji Airways Country Sales Manager here. The newly appointed person will be working on a dedicated basis not only with the travel trade, tour operators, OTA’s but also working jointly with Fiji Tourism as well. We would also participate in different trade shows as well and continue to show our commitment to the India market,” he said. Fiji Airways will also continue to expand its GSA presence in the country once the country sales manager is appointed. It will be working closely with Tourism Fiji for different marketing activities to drive growth. From the year 2015-2016 Fiji Airways recorded a 19 per cent increase in air traffic between India to Fiji. Fiji Airways looks the maintain the same trajectory of growth this year as well.

Air Arabia along with Sharjah Tourism Board recently launched its inaugural service to Baku. To promote this new flight along with the various tourism products that the destination offers, Destination Azerbaijan conducted roadshows in Delhi and Mumbai to meet with the leading DMCs and hotels from Baku (Azerbaijan). The new route, aimed at boosting tourism in the country, marks Air Arabia’s entry into Azerbaijan with a fast-emerging appeal for tourism. Flights to Baku, the financial hub of Azerbaijan, will depart from Sharjah connecting to India cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Air Arabia currently operates flights to 124 destinations from five hubs across the Middle East and North Africa.

Atout France – France Tourism Development Agency, Leading Hotels of the World and bespoke travel company Destination Globe, recently collaborated for an exclusive pictorial lookbook that showcases France’s premium tourism destinations. Titled ‘Experience France’, this lookbook invites discerning travellers to discover France’s signature destinations or ‘Marques Mondiales’ such as Alsace, Alpes-Mont Blanc, Biarritz Pays Basques, Burgundy, Brittany, Bordeaux, Côte d’Azur, Corsica, Champagne, Languedoc-Mediterranean, Lyon, Normandy, Provence, Paris, Toulouse-Pyrénées and the Loire Valley, its ‘poles d’excellence’ or areas of expertise that include gastronomy, wine trails, summer in the French Alps and classic nuances of the French savoir-faire; all this coupled with glimpses of legendary French hospitality that is a hallmark of France’s  renowned art de vivre. “Experience France” was unveiled in Mumbai by M Yves Perrin, Consul General de France a Mumbai in the presence of a  select gathering of distinguished guests at a gastronomic restaurant in the first week of September. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India, shares her thoughts, “We believe that every traveller now is an experiential traveller and is looking for destinations that provide an immersive and authentic sojourn. The appeal of France lies in its versatility; the entire country is a feast for the senses and offers something for everyone- irrespective of their age or interests. Experience France is our attempt to invite the avid traveller to embark on a pictorial discovery of our signature tourism brands that already benefit from global renown and learn more about authentic experiences unique to these destinations. We hope that this endeavour inspires our readers to plan their next experiential sojourn in France”. Parul Mehta, Partner, Destination Globe, adds, “Destination Globe is synonymous with exclusivity and a service bespoke to the desires …

Adventure seekers are in for some thrill as Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is all set to launch the first phase of the longest zip line in the world at mountain Jebel Jais this December. According to Shaji Thomas, Director-Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah, this muti-million dollar flagship tourism attraction of the UAE will be longer than 28 soccer pitches. He announced on the sidelines of OTOAI’s 3rd Convention being held in Ras Al Khaimah. The tourism board also plans to open an Observation deck at 1300 metres above sea level, which will be one of the highest in the UAE. This deck will offer viewing platforms to experience the awe inspiring vistas, bird life, flora and fauna of the emirate’ Al Hajar mountain range. It will also feature a multi-purpose events arena picnic area walking paths and food trucks.  

Tourism Australia is reaping the benefits of its aggressive marketing and campaigning in India. It recorded an increase in Indian arrivals by 14.6 per cent for the year ended June 2017. This equals to a total of 271,100 visitors in the previous financial year, making India the ninth largest inbound market for arrivals for the year ended June 2017. Not only this, the purpose for holiday or visitation also increased by 21 per cent. As a result they even spent more while in Australia. For year ending June 2017, Indian visitors spent A$ 1.43 billion (Rs 7,150 crores) on their Australian trips, an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. Therefore the average per capita spend for Indian visitors was A$ 5,491. Of the total arrivals, 68 per cent of Indian visitors visited Australia for leisure (187,850). Other visitors travelled for business (31,900), employment (21,000), education (20,450) and other purposes (15,900). Leisure visitors are on holiday (74,550) or visiting friends and relatives (113,300).

The Singapore Tourism Board has unveiled to the Indian audiences the country’s unified brand, ‘Passion Made Possible’. This is the first time that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) have come together to develop a unified brand to market Singapore internationally for tourism and business purposes. The unified brand aims to communicate the country’s value proposition in addressing the needs of travellers and companies and help Singapore stand out on the international stage. G.B. Srithar, Regional Director – South Asia Middle East & Africa (SAMEA), STB, announced the official launch of the brand in India. He said, “With Passion Made Possible, STB and EDB are presenting a brand that can tell a fuller Singapore story beyond just tourism. The brand articulates what we stand for as a country and supports the telling of many stories about this destination and its people. It brings to the international audiences stories from Singapore through the voices of Singaporeans. We are happy and humbled by the fact that Singapore remains a highly popular travel destination among Indian travellers. We welcomed a record 1.1 million visitors from India in 2016. The unveiled brand will allow us to build a deeper and more personal connection between Singapore and our fans and friends in India, even when they are not actively thinking about travel. It is in line with Quality Tourism as it will appeal to the more sophisticated tourists who are seeking more aspirational value propositions in their travel.” The Passion Made Possible campaign in India Following its debut, Passion Made Possible will be unveiled in various cities worldwide through consumer launches, trade events, industry partnerships, and global marketing campaigns …

VisitBritain has announced the launch of the new VisitBritain trade website. The new website provides essential information about Great Britain for the International travel trade and UK suppliers, offering an easy way to access tools, insights and data to help to grow business, including ways to facilitate new partnerships between suppliers and buyers. The website design offers clear navigation throughout the site and has been developed in a responsive design layout, so that it can be viewed on all devices. The new website offers: new product development initiatives such as Food & Drink and Discover England fund project, themed itineraries, destination information, promotional opportunities, top level research on Great Britain, and VisitBritain’s events calendar for the year. They will also be translating the site for some key regional markets over the coming months.

Germany received 329,860 Indian visitor overnights during January-May, 2017, reflecting a 12.8 per cent growth over the same period in 2016, informed Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, German National Tourist Office (India), at the Discover Germany roadshow held in Delhi recently. “We have had a phenomenal year. We grew by 8.6 per cent year on year and recorded over 413,000 overnights last year. By the end of this year, we hope to close nearly 800,000 overnights from India to Germany. We are on track to achieve our goal of a million Indian visitors to Germany by 2020 and hopefully receive 2 million Indian arrivals by 2030,” said Theophilus. He further informed that until now, Germany had especially been very popular for MICE and business travel from India, but lately, the destination has picked up for leisure travel as well. “It is now a 50-50 split between MICE, business and leisure travellers from India, and we are hopeful that Germany will be seen as a choice destination for all segments,” he adds. The next leg of the roadshow, organised by Destination Germany, will be held in Ahmedabad on September 6 and then in Mumbai on September 8.