Tag Archives: India Representative

Tourism Ireland India will have four Irish suppliers as part of its webinar today at 3.30pm IST to discuss Ireland’s offerings and its safety guidelines. Huzan Fraser Motivala, its India Representative, says, “We have an interesting line-up of Irish hotels, attractions and tours.” Contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

In an attempt to engage the travel trade and provide a platform to meet Scandinavian partners from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the Scandinavian Tourist Board organised a roadshow in Delhi with 28 Scandinavian partners and seven DMCs from the Nordic countries. The annual event will be held in Bengaluru next and conclude in Mumbai. Briefing about the development of tourism in Scandinavian countries, Mohit Batra, India Representative, Scandinavian Tourist Board said that there has been a tremendous growth in the number of Indians travelling to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. “We are closely approaching 500,000 room nights in 2018 looking at the figures we have till now. We have seen a surge in every segment, be they FITs, groups or MiCE,” he informed.  

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman successfully conducted the first leg of its multi-city roadshow in Delhi at The Taj Mahal Hotel. Her Excellency Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqim, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism, Oman; Sunil VA, Regional Vice President, ISC, Oman Air and Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative – Ministry of Tourism, Oman along with other representatives were present at the roadshow. On the occasion, Mahrouqi said that Oman has witnessed over 31 per cent growth in Indian arrivals since 2014. “In 2017 alone, Oman received 321,161 Indian visitors with a growth of over 7 per cent in just one year. In the first six months of 2018, the country witnessed 15 per cent growth in comparison to the same period last year. Oman is a ideal for every kind of traveller but we are looking to focus immensely on MiCE opportunities from India.” Furthermore, to encourage more travellers to visit the country, Oman has recently announced a new short-term tourist visa at 5 Omani Riyal (OMR) equivalent to approximately Rs 940 to visit the Sultanate for a period of 10 days. This is in addition to the existing e-visa for Oman which is available at 20 OMR with a validity of one month.

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 …

Oman Tourism along with Cox & Kings hosted a networking evening in Delhi and Mumbai recently. Around 40-45 attendees representing the top management and decision makers of various corporate entities were present for this session to discuss Oman emerging as the next big hub for corporate events and MiCE groups. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “Conducting networking session for corporate organisations gave us an opportunity to showcase to them various MiCE offerings. For this, we feel privileged to be associated with Cox & Kings who bring along their expertise. Being a short-haul destination from India, with excellent air connectivity from major Indian cities, world-class hotels and easy availability of Indian food, Oman makes an ideal MiCE destination.” Khalid Al Zadjali, Director, Oman Convention Bureau said, “With new international hotel chains that have recently opened in Oman and many more to launch soon, we are seeing a considerable increase in the number of rooms and venues in the country. The recent revision in visa regulations (granting of Visa on Arrival for non-sponsored tourist visa for certain categories), increasing number of flights from India to Oman, diversification of tourism products and the upcoming phase II of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) will bring momentum to MiCE tourism.”

Bahrain Tourism has partnered with six travel agents each in seven Indian cities along with including the Grand Prix package on their website for The Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix to be held from April 6 to 8, 2018 at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). Bahrain Tourism is doing a 360-degree promotional campaign for the same as it is one of the biggest sporting events in Bahrain. Sunil Mathapati, India representative, Bahrain Tourism, says, “We have not specifically conducted a familiarisation trip to showcase BIC but have organised an educational trip for the event to promote it to consumers. We have been constantly promoting the event on social media platforms and doing print, radio and digital campaigns as well.” He says that it is important for destinations to promote exclusive events, specially sporting events such as this to showcase the destination and rake in the numbers. “Each sport has its enthusiasts. India also has its fair share of F1 fans. It becomes extremely important for a destination to promote the same. It also gives a boost in numbers as nowdays people are looking for multiple things to do when they travel,” Mathapati adds.  

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman has launched a new promotional website ‘www.experienceoman.om’ that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all Oman Tourism related information. The website was launched under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture during a gala dinner recently hosted in Muscat on the sidelines of the 2nd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “The launch of the website comes as a part of the Ministry’s initiatives to support the development of the tourism sector in all areas, especially in the use of electronic platforms and digital marketing. Providing insights into suggested travel itineraries; list of tour operators, hotels, and services; MICE opportunities; the website also orients tourists with the latest events in Oman and can be viewed in six languages.” The Ministry aims to enhance the Sultanate’s presence in the digital world by shedding light on the most popular landmarks, creating a platform to interact with visitors and responding to their enquiries through the website. The ‘www.experienceoman.om’ will complement the existing Oman Tourism website to provide diverse information about the latter.

Scandinavia expects to record over 15 per cent growth in Indian bednights in 2017 over 2016 with 350,000 Indian bednigts recorded year-to-date. This information was given by Mohit Batra, India Representative, Scandinavia Tourist Board, during the the Delhi leg of the three-city roadshow being conducted by the tourism board. The roadshow will head to Chennai on November 15, followed by Mumbai on November 16. “We have seen a tremendous growth in interest towards Scandinavia and some markets in the region may have witnessed an upward of 20 per cent growth too. All segments have shown growth, be it leisure, honeymooners or the incentive market from India. Our focus has been Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru but we have also seen interest coming in from other cities as well.”

The third Annual Convention of Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) kicked off in Ras Al Khaimah with 180 delegates. The Convention was inaugurated by Shaji Thomas, Director-Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah; Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI; Riaz Munshi, Convention Chairman and Vice President, OTOAI; Mohamed Khater, Senior Tourism Development Manager, Government of Ras Al Khaimah; Gurdeep Gujral, Joint Secretary, OTOAI; SanJeet, India Representative, Ras Al Khaimah, and Mahendra Vakharia, Chairman-Western Chapter, OTOAI. Sahni said, “Amidst the challenges in outbound tourism, there are growth opportunities and we need to seize them by raising our game and gearing up for growth. We need to up our value proposition and rise above the competition.” Thomas informed that India is the fourth largest source market for Ras Al Khaimah with Germany being the largest followed by UK and Russia. “India is a very important market for us. Earlier Indians used to stay 1.9 nights in RAK but now they stay for 2.25 nights which means they have explored more things to do at the destination. We have become a popular destination for weddings. This year we have 17 Indian boutique weddings and we hope to increase this number steadily.”

  Destination Canada recorded a significant growth of over 37 per cent in Indian arrivals to Canada in the month of April 2017, compared to the same period last year. This rise in the growth rate substantiates the fact that a large number of Indian visitors had explored the tourism offerings of Canada in April. SanJeet, India Representative, Destination Canada, said, “The 37 per cent increase in Indian footfall to Canada is a big achievement and motivation for us. Having shown such a huge growth proves that Indians are looking at exploring Canada for its exclusiveness. From scenic beauty, shopping avenues, adventurous experiences, train journeys to self-drives, Canada has everything to offer for Indian travellers. We are optimistic about breaking our previous arrival records by the end of 2017.”