Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Steven Dixon, Regional Manager-South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, said that they recorded 54,928 tourist arrivals from India for the year ending May 2017, an increase 15.2 per cent while holiday arrivals were up 10.3 per cent (26,320). He also informed that the total length of stay of Indian travellers in New Zealand for the year ending May 2017 is 48.3 days with holiday being 12.4 days. Tourism New Zealand conducted its annual travel trade event, Kiwi Link India in New Delhi, which allows one-on-one meetings for Indian travel agents, product managers and planners to interact with New Zealand operators. Tourism New Zealand introduced the new, improved version of the 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme at the event. A total of 35 tourism operators from New Zealand, four airlines, Immigration New Zealand and Indian delegates from 42 companies participated in the event. Tourism New Zealand also hosted key buyers from around India in New Delhi for the two days of the event.

Tourism New Zealand introduced a new and improved version of its 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme at Kiwi Link India 2017 in New Delhi and to celebrate is giving travel sellers the chance to win one of four holidays to New Zealand, flying Air New Zealand. The new programme aims at enhancing travel sellers’ knowledge of New Zealand while presenting an opportunity to potentially increase their sales and referrals. Speaking about the programme, Steven Dixon, Tourism New Zealand’s Regional Manager-South and South East Asia, said, “As India is a priority market for us, it is important for us to constantly educate our Indian trade partners with product knowledge and new developments taking place in New Zealand. The 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme, has evolved significantly over time. We are confident the improved programme will meet the needs of industry and are excited to be launching it today.” The new programme introduced has a Gold, Silver and Bronze tier structure, and provides specialists the opportunity to list their offerings on Tourism New Zealand’s main marketing channel – newzealand.com. Additionally, it increases credibility with clients through a certification and use of the 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist logo. By successfully completing 10 training modules, the seller is entitled to become a 100% Pure New Zealand Bronze Specialist and the status can be maintained by completing 2 additional training modules every two years. The 100% Pure New Zealand Silver Specialist can be earned by attending one TNZ led in-country or webinar training session or the Kiwi Link event, in addition to the 10 training modules. The status of the Silver programme can be maintained like the Bronze programme with the addition …

Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) announced an increase in Indian arrivals to the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2017. In comparison with the last year’s Q1 Indian arrival figures, the country recorded a growth of over 19 per cent in Indian arrivals to Holland from January to March this year, proving that India is one of the top growing markets for the destination. SanJeet, India Representative – NBTC, said, “It gives us immense pleasure to let everyone know that the Indian market continues to be one of the important contributors of international visitors to Holland. Last year, Holland came much closer to the millions of Indian travellers with Jet Airways launching daily non-stop flights from India to Holland. Business missions in 2016 have also increased the graph of Indian arrivals to Holland. With our consolidated efforts in shaping Holland as a perfect getaway destination for Indian travellers, we are hopeful of achieving a double-digit growth.” To encourage more and more Indian tourists to visit Holland, NBTC has multiple activities planned including familiarisation trips and a three-city business mission in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. To engage with travel trade on a consistent and sustained basis, NBTC is also looking to participate in various multi-city travel trade shows.

Mauritius has recorded an 8 per cent increase in visitors from India during January-June 2017, as compared to the same period last year, revealed Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority. Vivek Anand, Country Manager, MTPA India, dedicated the increase to strategic industry partnerships to boost market awareness about Mauritius as a leisure, MICE and wedding destination “Our brand positioning emphasises on Mauritius’s natural beauty, luxurious indulgence and a range of activities for different types of travellers. We are working closely with India’s leading trade stakeholders to promote the destination as an ideal choice for the discerning consumer and this activities will continue in the second half of 2017,” he added. As part of the promotional plan, MTPA India has already organised roadshows in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, and seminars for travel agents; hosted familiarisation trips for travel agents, wedding planners and media in the first half of the year. Starting July, MTPA will organise a four city roadshow in August 2017 in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. OM Tourism was set up to handle outsourced sales, marketing and media relations for luxury hotels chains and National Tourism Boards. Amongst OM Tourism’s clients are Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.

Korea now ranks in the number one spot worldwide for global congresses hosted in 2016, according to the latest International Meetings Statistics Report released by the Union of International Associations (UIA). The result is a reflection of strong growth by established Korean meeting cities such as Seoul, as well as rising destinations like Busan, Jeju, and Incheon, contributing to the country’s increasingly diverse business events portfolio. Supporting this growth is the Korea MICE Expo that is jointly organised by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) along with its 11 Regional Convention Bureaus. The nation recently concluded the 18th edition of Korea MICE Expo 2017, its leading business events trade show that brought together 250 businesses and more than 300 buyers from around the world, including India. The expo showcased their MICE products in a two-day expo at Incheon’s Songdo Convensia between 15-16 June, 2017 that recorded a total of 3,000 attendees. This reflected a 21.6 per cent increase in attendance over the previous year. Kapsoo Kim, Executive Director, Korea MICE Bureau, says, “These latest findings are a strong reflection of Korea’s broad growth not only across the country’s meetings section, but across the country itself. Established event destinations like Seoul are continuing to show their prowess, while an increasing number of regional capitals are giving global meetings planners an increasing variety of options, and so boosting Korea’s appeal for congresses.” The findings show Korea as a country rising from 891 meetings in 2015 to 997 in 2016, reflecting almost a 12 per cent increase over the previous year. Making up the national equation, Seoul, maintained its third place city ranking and hosted 526 meetings in 2016, up from 494 in 2015. …

The Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) will conduct multi-city roadshow in India this August to continue to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel fraternity. The roadshow will be held in a networking workshop format and will commence in Mumbai on August 21 followed by Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and will conclude in Chennai on August 30. Hassan Madah, Director, IMOT, said, “We have been witnessing historical growth from India this year. We have already recorded 33 per cent increase in tourist arrivals in the period of January to May 2017 over the same period in 2016. Our aim is to receive 60,000 Indian tourists by end of 2017. This roadshow will help us in achieving our goal as it will strengthen business opportunities for the Indian travel trade who are looking to promote Israel as a tourist destination. We are confident that through the roadshow, Indian travel agents will be able to build new connections and increase their knowledge of the various tourism offerings in Israel.” Israel achieved an increase of 13 per cent in 2016 over the previous year with a record of 44,672 Indian tourists visiting the destination. The statistics released by the Israel Ministry of Tourism also revealed 42 per cent growth in Indian arrivals to Israel in the month of May 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

South Australia continues to record strong growth in the Indian market with a surge in its latest visitor and spend numbers. With the recent results, India is now the eighth-largest source market for South Australia. The International Visitor Survey results released by Tourism Research Australia indicate a 30 per cent rise in the number of Indians travelling to South Australia as of March 2017. Moreover, the Festival State also saw an additional spend of $23mn as compared to the last year, which is reflected in the steep 130 per cent rise in spends. The average year-on-year growth over the last three years, both in terms of visitor and spend figures, has been steadily increasing at a rate of 8.33 per cent and 39.7 per cent respectively. Commenting on the results, Dana Urmonas, Regional Director (India & Southeast Asia), South Australian Tourism Commission, said, “India has always been an important growth market for us and we are happy to see Indians increasingly opting to travel to South Australia. We will continue to focus on the India market and toward this we will be rolling out some exciting initiatives over the next year as well. Our target segments will continue to include families, honeymooners and independent leisure travellers in the age group of 25-45 in primary markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.” Data provided by a recent Consumer Demand Project conducted by Tourism Australia indicate that South Australia has been moving up the consideration set of Indians looking to travel to Australia for leisure purposes. According to the report, Kangaroo Island in South Australia is ranked number three on Indian traveller’s consideration list after Sydney and Melbourne. Some of the sought …

In a bid to boost the tourism yields from India market and to expand its business, the Reunion Island Tourism Board has come up with their first-ever ‘Cash Incentive Program’ for the Indian travel agents and tour operators. Under this new scheme which is conceptualised in partnership with Representation World, the India representative of the Reunion Island Tourism Board, the agents will have to commit as well as deliver min 10 numbers of visitors from India market and upon successful completion of commitment, they are entitled to get the cash bonus which can go up to more than EUR 32,000*. This “Cash Incentive Program” is only valid post signing the official agreement with Reunion Island Tourism Board. The scheme is performance-linked and is valid with both Air Austral and Air Mauritius (flights operating from India to Reunion Island). Under the scheme, one travel agent can earn upto EUR 32,000 for 1751-2,000 pax (selling reunion Island as a standalone destination) and up to EUR 20100 for 1751-2,000 pax (in combination with any other destination) in one year. This scheme is valid from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. “India market is an important market for Reunion Island and recently we have registered a growth of 175% from this market, which are an encouraging numbers for us. We are thrilled to announce this special scheme for India as it will undoubtedly help us to strengthen our position as a preferred holiday destination for Indian travellers through our trusted travel agents’ network in India,” said William Techer – Head of Promotion & Marketing India and Indian Ocean, Reunion Island Tourism Board. Vineet Gopal, Director India, Reunion Island Tourism Board, shared, “I welcome this …

The Philippines has witnessed a growth of 28 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals during January-February, 2017, compared to the same period last year. As per the official data released by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, more than 19,000 Indians visited the Philippines in the first two months of 2017 and as a result India has now jumped to the 11th rank among the top source markets for the island nation. In 2016, more than 90,000 Indian tourists visited the Philippines and recorded 21.27 per cent of annual growth. Speaking about the growth, SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office India, said, “Over the years, we have seen a steady growth in Indian tourists to the Philippines and are confident that this trend will continue. We are extremely delighted that the year 2017 is giving us a good start and our continued efforts in targeting the Indian holiday planners through aggressive marketing initiatives will yield even better results by the year end.” In 2017, the DOT Philippines will be more focused on consumers as well as corporates to promote this beautiful archipelago as a Leisure, Luxury, Wedding and MICE destination. “We want to leverage on our tourism product offerings and attract the Indian traveller to soon achieve our target of 100,000 tourist arrivals to the Philippines,” added SanJeet.

Destination Canada has registered a growth of 33 per cent in Indian arrivals for the month of March, 2017. Destination Canada is aiming to make 2017 a roaring year for tourism. It is engaged with the trade on consistent and sustained basis through activities, workshops and networking sessions so that the travel trade stays updated about Canada and become storytellers to create required enthusiasm and excitement amongst potential travellers. Pooja Sabharwal, Account Director, Destination Canada – India, said, “This manifold rise in arrivals figures shows that all the diverse offerings of Canada are being extensively explored by Indian travellers. There has been a sharp increase in the leisure trips to Canada from India owing to the increased disposable income amongst middle and affluent class travellers. Destination Canada’s effort in showcasing the voyagers what’s hidden inside the country is a major contributor to Canada’s dynamic growth. We are hopeful that the country will be gifted with doubled visitor arrivals on its 150th birthday.”