Tag Archives: Marketing

Amid visa woes, Germany has earmarked an investment of about ₹4.5 cr on marketing in India to be a preferred destination amongst Indian tourists. To address the lingering visa-related concerns, Germany is making its visa procedures smooth, and reducing the processing time which currently spans up to eight weeks.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has announced a new brand identity under the platform ‘So Sri Lanka’ which targets millennial travellers who select holiday destinations based on what they can hope to experience there. Revealed at World Travel Market in London, the new brand platform is grounded on the insight that Sri Lanka is more than just a destination, it’s a feeling. The brand platform has a contemporary, social and engaging design to reflect the heart and individuality of the country. It will roll out across all tourism promotion materials in a multi-channel, international campaign starting early next year. Madubhani Perera, Director—Marketing, SLTPB, says “There has never been a better time for a rebrand. Sri Lanka has just been named Lonely Planet’s Number One Destination for 2019. For us ‘So Sri Lanka’ symbolises our evolution with the digital revolution. The modern traveller goes online to seek inspiration and to find the next life-changing travel experience. ‘So Sri Lanka’ helps us evoke the inimitable feeling of our beautiful, vibrant, authentic and generous country through the smartphones of potential travellers.” Sri Lanka is the essence of a people renowned for their hospitality, a stunning landscape, rich biodiversity and a wealth of immersive experiences on offer for travellers. The rebrand marks the start of Sri Lanka’s fresh approach to destination marketing.    

Booking.com has partnered with Air India to offer the airline’s customers access to over 28.9 million accommodation listings, including everything from homes, apartments, villas to world-class hotels and resorts from the Air India website. Stewart Jones, Regional Director – Strategic Partnerships, APAC, Booking.com said, “Air India makes it the perfect partner for us to showcase our global online accommodation offering to their domestic and international customers. As India is poised to become the third largest aviation market by 2020 with its fast-growing outbound travel market, we are happy to combine our strengths with Air India’s to deliver the best travel experience to travellers across the country.” Madhu Mathen, General Manager – Sales and Marketing, Air India said, “Booking.com’s global reach and unique accommodation offerings is a key reason we chose the online accommodation platform as one of our first accommodation partner. As a member of the world’s largest airline alliance – Star Alliance, Air India has passengers that are globe-trotters. Partnering with Booking.com enables us at Air India to provide our customers a broad & unique variety of accommodation options in any city we fly them to.”  

One of the key takeaways from the AccorHotels Showcase 2018 was that MiCE is on the rise globally – with multiple events being held internationally, and also in India which is increasingly becoming a chosen destination for MiCE. Furthermore, with globalisation and Indian corporates opening offices around the world, the hospitality industry has seen traction for corporate travel both inbound and outbound. The AccorHotels Showcase 2018 witnessed participation from 35 hotels and resorts from the global network along with 22 hotels from India. The event was the ideal platform to discuss how to work together to benefit from the burgeoning travel market. The delegates were representing India’s topmost travel agents, wholesalers, corporate clients, tourism partners and MiCE organisers in attendance. Arif Patel, Vice President – Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels said, “By 2020, Indian outbound travel is estimated to reach 48 million and foreign tourist arrivals is forecasted to cross the 10 million mark. This annual AccorHotels Showcase gives an opportunity for our attendees to engage with AccorHotels’ representatives from around the world to see how best we can work together given the opportunities in the market.” The daylong event in Mumbai on March 21 and Delhi on March 23 was packed with networking sessions where customers discovered the group’s newest offerings and met with hotel representatives from across the region.

The 2018 AccorHotels Showcase in Mumbai and New Delhi will be held on March 21 at Sofitel Mumbai BKC and March 23 at Pullman New Delhi Aerocity respectively. The event is expected to have representatives from 15 countries representing more than 35 hotels and resorts worldwide, offering travel agents, wholesalers, corporate clients, tourism partners and MICE organisers’ an insight into the group’s new developments, products and services. Entering its 15th year, the event will provide an opportunity to discover AccorHotels’ accommodation trends, news and stunning hotels and resorts from around the world. Exhibitors from destinations such as France, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Thailand, UAE,South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, China and Singapore, representing celebrated hotels like Raffles Dubai and Saudi Arabia, RIXOS Turkey, Fairmont Ajman, SO Sofitel Bangkok Singapore, Novotel Amsterdam City and Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, and more are set to attend the event in each city. “The signature event serves as a great platform for us to interact and share knowledge with our clients and industry partners. With increased international and domestic travel, we expect this year to be the bigger and more exciting than last year, with interesting insights given our enhanced network and leadership position in the Asia Pacific region,” said Arif Patel, Vice President—Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels India. 

AccorHotels has announced a new group online booking tool— Leisure Online ( LOL)—for its travel trade partners. The digital solution provides travel professionals with real time availability and best rates guaranteed for leisure group bookings of 15 to 60 people (from 8 to 30 rooms) at more than 900 hotels and resorts worldwide, including India. Leisure Online is  user-friendly and designed like a booking engine for easy use. It is available anywhere, anytime giving bookers the flexibility to make reservations with ease and in no time. It allows bookers to consult single, double and twin room availability in real time, receive automatic access to the best available rate (rates are dynamic net rates and inclusive of breakfast) with an option to confirm instantly. Accessed via www.accorhotels.com/tourism, the Leisure Online booking tool also enables online users to pre-book directly in the hotel’s system, including additional services such as restaurant bookings and porterage at the click of a button. Further, being an online tool, Leisure Online notifies hotels in real time and they respond to requests within 24 hours. Arif Patel, Vice President Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels India, said, “Indians today have emerged as the world’s newest globetrotters, spurred by a vastly improved spending power coupled with declining airfares, improved connectivity and strong uptake for Visa on Arrival and evisas. Increasingly more Indians, especially from non-metro cities are turning to travel as the primary leisure option and the trend will continue to stronger in times to come. That said, group bookings remain a cumbersome task for tourism fraternity.”