Presidential Inauguration, WorldPride and citywide conventions, meetings and sports help sustain momentum of $10.2 billion industry Major events of international interest and several notable openings present opportunities for continued growth for Washington, DC’s $10.2 billion tourism industry, according to Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organisation of the nation’s capital. DDC unveiled strategies to build on an impactful first year of its “Only One DC” campaign and leverage events, including the presidential inauguration and WorldPride 2025, at its annual Marketing Outlook Meeting at the Washington Hilton. “India continues to be a market of top importance to Washington, DC, welcoming 165,100 Indian visitors in 2023,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, President and CEO of DDC. “The market is currently the city’s second largest overseas inbound market and reflects the highest spending total at $287,400,000 USD for the year.” “DDC launched its award-winning campaign last year in India. ‘There’s Only One Washington, DC’ positions the destination as wholly unique, spotlighting a diversity of experiences that research shows India prioritises, including arts and culture, shopping, luxury amenities and a robust culinary scene. “Additional funding has allowed us to reach more potential travellers than any campaign to date. In 2025, we will continue to be more aggressive with our global advertising in the Indian market and plan to meet with Indian travel agents and media.” “Nearly 26 million visitors to Washington, DC last year directly supported more than just our hotels, restaurants, tour operators and local businesses. Over $10 billion in spending and $2 billion in tax revenue impacts the entire city, emphasising the continued importance of tourism to Washington, DC” Washington, DC welcomed a record-breaking 25.95 million total visitors in 2023, up …
Read More »Sarovar Hotels launches “Call of Majestic Mountains” campaign
Sarovar Hotels has launched the “Call of Majestic Mountains” campaign, promising exclusive discounts on their hill hotels across India. This initiative indicates travelers to indulge in the breathtaking beauty of Bhimtal, Dalhousie, Lonavala, Manali, Mussoorie, Palampur, Shimla, and Srinagar, with unbeatable deals on accommodation and dining. Under this banner, guests can enjoy a generous 25% discount on their stay with complimentary breakfast & complimentary meals for children below 6 yrs. Additionally, they can avail a tempting 15% discount on food and beverages by using the exclusive coupon code “YHYW24”. This enticing offer is valid until 30th June 2024.
Read More »Accor’s new campaign tapping domestic travellers to start from Oct 1
Puneet Dhawan, Senior VP Operations, Accor India & South Asia, has revealed that Accor will be launching a new campaign ‘For the love of travel, for the love of now’ aimed at the domestic market. “It focuses on whether someone wants to work from a hotel, a vacation package, or weekend stay. We need to understand the demands and requirements of our guests. Some of them are looking for all-inclusive packages even in city hotels, where they can just stay in the hotel, enjoy all their meals and services in the property,” he shares.
Read More »Azerbaijan launches çampaign to double inbound tourism by 2023
Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) has launched ‘Take another look’ campaign as part of its strategy to present a new portrait of the country, enhance its destination value and double the current in-bound tourism by 2023. The brand positioning and identity is an invitation to attract travellers to consider Azerbaijan from a unique point of view and discover its untold stories and secrets. With a new brand and the ‘Take another look’ promotional campaign, Azerbaijan will focus on increasing the number of tourists from a broader pool of countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, China, as well as Central and Southeast Asia. Azerbaijan Airlines, the flag carrier of Azerbaijan, has announced direct charter flights from India to Azerbaijan in 2019. Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said, “As we encourage visitors to ‘Take another look’, we are inviting them to take a more in-depth look at Azerbaijan and immerse themselves in truly genuine cultural experiences. Guests will want to dig deeper into the country’s history and rich cultural heritage as they discover pleasant surprises and hidden gems throughout the year.” Indian passport holders are eligible for e-Visa to Azerbaijan, which is processed online within 3 hours through the new simplified electronic visa procedure. The new initiatives are expected to improve Azerbaijan’s ranking among countries with a high tourism contribution towards national GDP, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council 2018 Impact Report. It is forecasted to be at 6 per cent per annum over the course of the next 10 years ranking it amongst the world’s top 20 high-potential countries.
Read More »Rajasthan launches new global marketing campaign
Rajasthan has launched a multi-year, multi-modal, multi-narrative and multi-crore global campaign to galvanise tourism in the state with a view to raise the annual tourist arrivals past the 50 million mark by 2020. Unveiling the campaign, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, said, “This campaign will herald Rajasthan Tourism 3.0. Rajasthan Tourism 1.0 of the 80s was about our landscape, the harsh terrain, and the adventures immortalized by Satyajit Ray on celluloid. The 90s saw version 2.0, with a forward looking vision which included our heritage properties. With Rajasthan Tourism 3.0 we aim to implement an integrated plan that revolves around experience, infrastructure, cleanliness, security and marketing.” The campaign will play an important role in the Government of Rajasthan’s vision of doubling the annual footfall of international tourists to from 1.5 million to 3.0 million by the year 2020. In the same period, the government also aims to increasing the domestic tourist traffic from the present 33 million to 50 million tourists annually. The evening saw the launch of a new logo and brand identity for the campaign. The campaign also includes a new website and an advertisement Print, TV and Outdoor spots which are aimed at attracting both the seasoned traveler and the youth to explore Rajasthan in a whole new way. Realizing that the tourism sector in Rajasthan has a huge potential to grow, this new campaign aims to increase the number of foreign and domestic tourists visiting the state. Shailendra Agrawal, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Art & Culture, Archeology & Museums, Government of Rajasthan said, “Global trends indicate that Asia Pacific’s share in global tourist traffic will rise from 22% to 30% in the next 10-15 years. Through our campaign, …
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