Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

A 10-member delegation from the southern African country of Zambia, led by Zambia Tourism Agency, travelled to India to conduct roadshow in the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi.Felix Chaila, CEO, Zambia Tourism Agency, said, “We met around 100 outbound tour operators in Mumbai. This is the first time that Zambia has created such a dedicated marketing platform to activate our destination in this market. We have been coming to India for about three years now. India not only has a huge middle class but also more HNIs than most other countries. Our number one source market is the US followed by the UK and this shows that Zambia is an extremely safe country.” He expects to meet the same number of buyers in New Delhi as well on May 4. “This will not be the end. After the roadshow we will invite some members of the Indian outbound trade to attend the Zambia Travel Expo in early June,” Chaila said, adding that Zambia is adding 3to 5 lakh Indians coming to Zambia within three to four years for leisure and incentive segments.

The 40th annual Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), Canada’s premier tourism marketplace, took place from April 24-27, 2016, in Montreal, Québec. During the conference, international tourism buyers met with Canadian sellers at a record-breaking 26,000 face-to-face business appointments. Hosted by Tourism Québec and Tourism Montreal, and taking place in the iconic Palais des congrès de Montreal, this year’s sold-out event features 536 buyers from 28 countries and 582 Canadian sellers from coast to coast —boasting the best seller-to-buyer ratio ever with one seller for every one buyer. “With a record attendance of 1,680 delegates at this year’s RVC, buyers and sellers are working to captivate and drive more people to visit Canada,” says David Goldstein, President and CEO of Destination Canada. “With the incredible range of diverse, fun and authentic Canadian experiences showcased at RVC, we are demonstrating to the world that we’re not cold, we’re cool.” There is no better time to #ExploreCanada and that will be made evident by the quality of experiences and products showcased for buyers. With every province, territory and sector of the tourism industry represented, the ripple effect of the connections made at RVC are sure to be monumental.

After opening offices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has now opened two new sales offices in India in Mumbai and Delhi which will act as business development offices for the Indian market. Speaking on the sidelines of its India launch onboard the Seven Seas Voyager of Regent Seven Seas Cruises that was berthed at Port Ballard Pier in Mumbai yesterday (April 26), Steve Odell, Senior VP & MD (Asia Pacific), NCLH said, “These two new offices will have dedicated sales staff to support the travel industry here in India. Opening of the offices will help us to strengthen our reach in the Asian cruise market and also connect to the agents. Being face to face is critical when working with the travel agents as it helps them understand the product better. We will also be doing training programs, fam trips etc.” He added that the company will also offer high base commissions to travel agents and incentives for different products as well. NCLH also revealed that it will be investing US$ 525 million to upgrade their existing fleet to provide better service and experience to its passengers. It currently operates 22 ships which comprise more than 45,000 lower berths and visits 510 destinations across the globe.

Tourism Breaking News asked the travel industry about the effect of the Brussels terror attacks on tourism and received a mixed reaction. While some said that tourism trends will shift to other regions like South East Asia and short haul destinations, some believe that this is a short term effect and will be wiped off the traveller’s memory soon. On behalf of the international tourism community, Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, condemned the terror attacks in Brussels and expressed heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the Belgian people.

Reunion Island has recorded a growth of 110 per cent in Indian arrivals in 2015 as compared to 2014. Neha Johri, Head Destination Sales, Reunion Island, says, “People who have already been to Reunion Island have appreciated the destination. It’s a great destination for honeymooners and for people looking for adventure. We are looking at 200 per cent growth in 2016 as compared to 2015.” Johri also informs that they are working closely with the Indian travel agents and educating them about the destination. “Our motive is to share knowledge with our B2B trade partners then we will move to the consumers,” she adds.

Melbourne has witnessed 24 per cent increase in Indian visitor arrivals in 2015 over the previous year, according to its recent International Visitors Survey. “India has always been a key market for the state of Victoria and the surge in Indian visitors to Melbourne year-on-year is truly encouraging. Indian travellers are becoming more discerning and see the value in spending on quality travel experiences as the expenditure figures have reached an all-time high – this encourages us to continue to focus on this region,” Celia Ho, Regional Manager – South and South East Asia, Tourism Victoria said in a press statement. Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Victoria. The state of Victoria was rated the 2nd highest state visited by Indian tourists. In 2015, Australia registered 2,19,000 Indian visitor arrivals of which 1,03,600 (47.3%) visited Victoria. The Indian visitor expenditure also increased by 29.8% over the same period. Tourism Victoria has worked closely with Indian tour operators to help build significant interest within the market. Over the years, key campaigns have had a direct impact on the number of outbound visitors to Victoria, said the statement. Owing to the increase in outbound travel to the state from India, the tourism board will continue to invest in key campaigns for the Indian market Tourism authorities across the globe are vying to get the attention of Indians. India’s outbound travel is growing 15-20% every year. According to industry estimates, the number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise to around 50 million by 2020. (Source: Economic Times)

Bali has recorded a growth of almost 87.69 per cent in Indian arrivals in January 2016 as compared to the same period last year. This was revealed by Vineet Gopal, who heads New Delhi-based Representation World LLP – the India representative of Bali Tourism Promotion Board, on the sidelines of the OTOAI Convention that concluded in Bali recently. “We expect the same growth rate to continue after this convention, which gave the Indian travel trade a chance to get familiar with the destination. We welcomed more than 150 active members at the convention of the total 240,” he said.

Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), in association with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Jet Airways branded 200 cabs in Delhi. The inauguration of the taxi branding campaign was done by H.E. Alphonsus Stielinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India; Jos Vranken, Managing Director, NBTC; Wilco Sweijen, Director Aviation Marketing, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; and Gaurang Shetty, Senior VP, Commercial Wholetime Director, Jet Airways, at the Amabassador’s residence in New Delhi on March 21, 2016. The taxis will be running on Delhi roads for one and a half month. The campaign is part of showcasing Holland’s tourism products, and will be followed by strategic activities, which will focus on trade, press and consumers.

Oman received 299,022 Indian arrivals last year recording 17 per cent growth in 2015 over 2014. Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) released the figures from India which highlight an increase in inbound numbers. The statistics also reflect a growth of 60 per cent in Indian arrivals to Oman in the last five years. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman, said, “The increase is very encouraging and reflects all the hard work we have put in promoting and marketing the destination in India. Since 2014, we started promoting Oman as an ideal wedding destination for Indians as Muscat is close to India. Our efforts were rewarded as we witnessed several large-scale weddings take place in the last two years. Many Indians are now visiting Oman for destination weddings. MICE has also seen an increase and to attract more MICE activities this year, our efforts are aimed at increasing interactions with tour operators and corporates.”

In a network restructuring of its overseas offices, VisitBritain has decided to make Mumbai its head office in India. At present the main office is in New Delhi and while they will continue to maintain this office, they plan to increase their focus and trade relations from Mumbai. “We are looking at a refocus in India and moving our major office to Mumbai so that we are much more aligned to the travel trade and work more closely with the trade to build product knowledge,” says Patricia Yates, Strategy & Communications director, VisitBritain. In the first nine months of 2015, UK saw a 13 per cent growth in Indian visitors but the total spend was down by three per cent.