OTM Mumbai 2016 ends on a hugely upbeat note from global sellers of destinations … ·...

OTM Mumbai 2016 ends on a hugely upbeat note from global sellers of destinations in the Indian marketAfter three days of hustle and bustle on the show

floor, OTM 2016, India’s biggest outbound travel mart, ended on an upbeat note with exhibiting compa-nies armed with greater enthusiasm for a strong start to 2016 for the best of world tourism in the Indian market.

Several global destinations participated at OTM 2016 with keenness to carve a piece of India’s projected 50 mil-lion outbound pie – UAE, Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Thailand, New Zealand, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macao, Bangladesh, Philippines, Maldives, Oman, Egypt, Seychelles, Israel, Rwanda, Romania, Fiji and Greece were all in place at India’s biggest travel show.

Perfectly complementing their international counter-parts, many Indian destinations such as Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and many other states were present with large number of sellers from each, to show-case India at its best.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also eyeing big on India’s outbound tourism potential. Highly placed rep-resentatives of the UAE’s travel and tourism industry under the umbrella of National Council of Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA) discussed its India-specific tourism

promotion plans during OTM 2016 in Mumbai. For the very first time in the trade show history, the United Arab Emirates led their participation with all its seven emirates - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain - making them the largest destination exhibitor in OTM 2016.

H.E. Sultan Mohamed Bin Khadin, Acting Consul, the UAE Embassy in India, who was present on the occa-sion said, “The UAE has trade and cultural ties with India since ages. We want to strengthen these ties fur-ther and foresee a substantial growth in the number of tourist footfalls in the near future.”

Speaking about Visit UAE participation, Abdulla Al Hammadi, Director - Marketing & Overseas Promotions of NCTA (UAE) said, “OTM is a very good show. We are getting lots of enquiries. Our 30 co-participants are also getting very nice results. We are looking for more tour-ists from India to the United Arab Emirates. We plan to do big campaign in the near future and we will be par-ticipating in OTM 2017 as well.”

OTM 2016 offered a great opportunity for

international exhibitors to showcase their travel and tourism capabilities. For instance, Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen exhibited their attractions to the audi-ence. Said Peter Hoslin, Regional Director, Europe and New Markets for the Hong Kong Tourism Board: “Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen are becoming popular with the Indian travellers. Participating for the first time in OTM, the three-NTO pavilion provided us a business platform to introduce the collective strengths and the variety of experiences to our valued travel trade part-ners and Indian travellers.”

Major sponsor of OTM 2016, Wonderful Indonesia was extremely satisfied with the event turnout, espe-cially from the great exposure given to the branding of Wonderful Indonesia throughout the exhibition halls. The Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia is con-fident about an increase of tourist arrivals from India to Indonesia this year, said Rita Sophia, Deputy Director from the Ministry who led a delegation of 20 private sec-tor companies to OTM 2016.

Volume V l Issue 8 Pages 32 www.travelnewsdigest.in `50 / us $5 01-15 march 2016

Business & Luxury Travel Mart (BLTM) was officially launched at the OTM 2016, by Fairfest Media Limited.

BLTM is positioned as the first full-fledged travel mart focused on sellers from global Business and Luxury Travel segments and hundreds of hosted buyers from all over India, in addition to hundreds of qualified buyers from Delhi NCR which is arguably the biggest source market in India for these segments.

The BLTM will be hosted at the sprawling 20,000 sq ft Convention Hall of Hyatt Regency Gurgaon in Delhi NCR.

India’s Business Travel industry is maturing and Business Travel is increas-ingly seen as a specialised market with differentiated needs, in keeping with global trends.

The Indian Luxury Travel segment on the other hand is also rapidly increasing as it enters a new phase where conspicuous consumption by the affluent Indian traveller is creating huge markets globally for Luxury Travel. The Luxury Travel demand is fuelled not only by FIT but also uniquely Indian and huge markets for ‘Social’ events like weddings. Hosted Buyers will include Wedding Planners to address this market.

Destination promotion for and through film shoots is another somewhat uniquely Indian marketing opportunity that will be made available to the sellers, by way of hosted buyers in this segment, from all over India.

BLTM, to be held on October 24-25, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Gurgaon will

provide destination sellers and travel service providers, the ultimate business platform to meet hundreds of corporate MNC buyers from around the Delhi and National Capital Region, plus many qualified meeting planners and incentive travel planners hosted from other major Indian cities to the two-day event.

Business & Luxury Travel mart – BLTm launched at OTm mumbai

Posted at NDPSO, New Delhi - 110001 on 5/6 & 20/21 of every month | Date of Publication 01/02 &15/16 every month | Postal Registration No. DL(S) - 01/3404/2015-17 | RNI No. DELENG/2011/40217

Contd. on page 2

Block Your Dates

2017: Feb 21, 22, 232018: Feb 7, 8, 92019: Feb 6, 7, 82020: Feb 5, 6, 7

Bombay exhibition center, MuMBaI

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | march 2016 2 • COVER STORY

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Editorial

Editor & Publisher Sanjiv Agarwal

Editorial DirectorGazanfar Ibrahim

Marketing

advisors Abraham JohnSheila Leongassociate DirectorsRajarshi DeRaj Kapoor SinghR MaheshTarique EbrahimHema ManghnaniNitin TelangGeneral managerFatima D’CostaDeputy General managersPratiksha RajapureShreyas JainProject managersYC AnilPhilomena D’Souzaassistant Project managersDeepti V MurthyShiv Shankar DuttaRamesh ChauhanKanika Singh

Production

media DirectorJune Mukherjee

Project ExecutivesGopanjali RoyDisha Roy Choudhury

Design TeamDilip MannaRitam MaityMrityunjay KumarSuman Pramanik

Administration

Joint managing Director Rajiv Agarwal

Executive DirectorHarsh Agarwal

chief Technology OfficerRudradeb Mitra

senior manager - accounts & FinanceUma Sureka

Travel News Digest (TND) is printed and published by Sanjiv Kumar Agarwal on behalf of Fairfest Media Ltd.

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has been participating in OTM for 16 years and has never been disappointed with the return on their investments. TAT hopes to achieve 1.10 million Indian visitor arrivals to the Kingdom by the end of 2016 and an increase of tourism spending from this source market by eight percent. The special attendance of Her Excellency Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister for Tourism and Sports as OTM’s chief of guests at the inaugural ceremony underscores the firm commitment for the Kingdom’s continuous pursuit of the many untapped opportunities arising from Thailand’s second tier cities and new market segments.

While the global tourism industry is bullish on India’s growth story; off-beat des-tinations are also attempting to ride on the bandwagon believing in India’s outbound tourism potentials. For instance, a tiny country like Rwanda, which had 14,000 tour-ists from India in 2015, is now expecting about 35% increase in its Indian tourist arriv-als in the coming year. Said Joseph Kabakeza, First Counsellor & Deputy Head of Mis-sion, at the High Commission of The Republic of Rwanda: “India is the second target tourist destination after China and recognising the potential, the Rwanda Tourism Department has been promoting their offerings in India in a big way.”

Another example is Bhutan. Where 80,000 tourists visited Bhutan in 2015, the country is now expecting the footfalls to rise from 1,30,000 to 1,50,000. Romania is also expecting about 10% rise in tourist footfalls from India in 2016. Israel is also com-ing in a big way on international tourism circuits and for it, India is a promising mar-ket. With Israel’s Ministry of Tourism’s Country Office in India, Israel is leaving no stone unturned to attract tourists from India.

Participating in their first ever India travel trade show, Spanish-based RIU Hotels and Resorts and Thailand-based Travel Motivations have both reported great satis-faction on their selection of OTM 2016.

According to Petra Skopalov, Director of Business Development for Asia, Riu Hotels & Resorts, trade buyers and visitors have continuously visited her booth from the very start of OTM 2016 with a good number of local Mumbai-based trade pro-fessionals bussing around the show floor on the second afternoon. With 150 hotels worldwide, Riu Hotels & Resorts is making its expansion into Asia with new hotels in Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Skopalov is confident that her many business meetings conducted at OTM 2016 will help increase Riu’s brand awareness and attract eloquent Indian travellers to experience first-hand its all-inclusive 24x7 concept hospitality.

In this three-day B2B trade show, more than a thousand sellers from 50 participat-ing destinations met over 6,000 buyers on the exhibition floor. Side by side the trade exhibition, there were a host of innovative events to discuss and leverage the emerg-ing trends in the travel business: TechForum@OTM, #StartupKnockDown, Shoot at Site @ OTM, Buyer-Seller Speed Networking, India’s Top 100 Travel Producers Award, and Responsible Tourism @ OTM.

Speaking about the significance of OTM 2016, explained Sanjiv Agarwal, Chair-man and CEO, Fairfest Media Limited – the organisers of OTM, “Technology, digital marketing, and social media are enabling travel organisations more and more from tourist boards to hotels, tour operators and tourist attractions, to market to targeted

Thailand is always proud to be a part of OTM because Indian travellers to Thailand have been one of the big figures in our country. We need to be in OTM as this is the biggest hub where we can receive all the good operators and this is the best place for networking. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has participated in OTM 16 times and we keep coming back as we are planning to grow more and we believe that OTM is the right marketplace for

tourism. I think the world has turned eyes to India and the world is also paying a lot of attention to tourism - so one gets to meet everyone of this dimension at OTM.

Kobkarn WattanavrangkulMinister for Tourism & Sports

Government of Thailand

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* Minimum requirements1. You have to be an SA Specialist. IF not become one!2. Your package is for minimum nine nights, with two provinces for leisure and four nights for MICE3. You’re using a SATSA operator

10018770_SAT_India_Travel N.Digest_393.7x264.2_01 copy.indd 1 2016/02/22 2:04 PM


consumers domestically and globally. In partnership with travel-tech media plat-form, TravHQ, we have successfully created India’s first and only specialised tour-ism-based business-technology platform, TechForum@OTM, aimed at connecting technology solution providers with our colleagues in the travel industry.”

The event also saw panel discussions on important topics such as ‘How to leverage content and online influencer relationships for travel industry’. In the presence of the Head of Travel Business at Google India, venture capitalists and a corporate strategist from leading travel company Cox & Kings, the unique workshop on #StartupKnock-Down was conducted to provide promising travel start-ups, the ultimate pitch deck to increase awareness and raise funds.

Unleashing the power of Film Tourism was the theme of the Shoot at Site @ OTM session where it was reported that the film industry is a major money-spinner for des-tinations as locations. It was reported that for every dollar invested, the returns from

film-induced tourism and film-based tourism can be up to 7 to 15 dollars. Global des-tinations such as Singapore, Switzerland and Spain have reaped these benefits from recent Indian film productions shot overseas. The film industry is urging their travel colleagues to convert red tapes to red carpets for win-win policies in simplifying the process, incentivising productions and co-promotions.

Buyer-Seller Speed Networking was a huge hit with two sessions designed to facil-itate quick face-to-face matchmaking and appointments with the buyers to visit the

sellers. Visit UAE Lounge was made available for these speed networking sessions. Following the successful launch of India’s Top 100 Travel Producers Award

last year, OTM 2016 edition presented similar laurels this year. The award is based on an extensive three-month process of desk researches, industry nominations, voting and polling for the final cut of India’s Top 100 Travel Producers, with the highest buying power for outbound and domestic travel products. “Our contin-uous pursuit of India’s Top 100 Travel Producers is to give due recognition to travel producers, big or small, on or offline, from all over India – to give them the annual opportunity to celebrate their successes, but more importantly, for all of us to acknowledge the important role they have played in contributing to our indus-try,” explained Sanjiv Agarwal.

Highlighting the role of tourism in ensuring sustainability, Responsible Tour-ism @ OTM theme was introduced with an awareness stand on the exhibition floor and audience-interactive presentation at the Tech Theater by partnering organisation Open Eyes Project & Responsible Tourism in India, led by CEO & Founder, Anna Alaman Torres.

Appreciating the industry’s confidence and as a gesture of its commitment, the event organiser Fairfest Media has locked-in firm dates for the next four OTMs at Bombay Exhibition & Convention Centre.

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TAAI members’ networking session @ OTM Mumbai 2016

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | march 2016 5 COVER STORY •

Focus country uaE’s historic destination promotion at OTm

abdulla al hammadiDirector - Marketing & Overseas Promotions NCTA, UAE

OTM is a very good show. We are getting lots of enquiries. Our 30 co-participants from 7 Emirates are also getting very nice results. We are looking for more tourists from India to the United Arab Emirates. We plan to do big campaign in the near future and we will be participating in OTM 2017 as well.

Under the umbrella of National Council of Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showcased its India-specific tourism promotions at OTM Mumbai 2016. For the very first time in trade show history, the United Arab Emirates led their participation with all its 7 emirates – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain – making them the largest destination exhibitor in OTM Mumbai 2016.


Viranga BandaraAssistant Director – MarketingSri Lanka TourismPromotion Bureau

We have been participating in OTM for so many years and this time also it has worked out very well. Our 24 co-exhibitors are also very happy with the response as they have got a lot of enquiries and lot of footfalls. Looking forward to good business to be generated out from this year’s OTM Mumbai.

Ozgur aytürkCoordinatorDirectorate General of Promotion (Asia & Pacific)Ministry of Culture andTourism, Turkey

This is the 6th year that we participated in OTM and this year we are here with 25 co-exhibitors from Turkey. OTM is a great platform for us to interact with the Indian tour operators and travel agents, which I think has been very fruitful for all our co-exhibitors from Turkey. I am pretty sure our participation here would help Turkey to boost numbers from India.

rita sofiaDeputy Director Deputy Minister for International MarketingMinistry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia

We participated in OTM 2016 with more than 16 exhibitors. Our focus is to tap the Indian market and OTM is the perfect platform to increase visibility in not just big cities but also in tier two and tier three cities. Tour operators and travel agents from not just Mumbai but also from other parts of the country visited our stall during this three day event. So we are very happy with the platform that OTM has provided us and would continue our association in the future.

Turkey

sri Lanka

Indonesia


Vivek anandCountry Manager – IndiaMauritius Tourism Promotion Authority

OTM is a very good platform to network with people from the travel industry, hoteliers and activity companies and we have received very good footfalls. All my 15 co-exhibitors had a very good response and they are very happy with it.

soraya homchuenDirector (Mumbai)Tourism Authority of Thailand

We were looking to showcase Thainess at OTM 2016 and I think we did this quite effectively with our Thai pagoda style booth as well as the handicraft we brought for demonstration (it is Tapian Bai Laan or the Carp made of Palm Leaf. The craftsmen demonstrated how these are crafted), which attracted many people to our stall. The inquiries we received were mostly related to family vacations with summer vacations approaching and many queries about honeymoons since it is still wedding season. We also noticed that besides the usual Bangkok and Pattaya queries we were receiving questions about Krabi, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai.

Ismail a. hamid amerEgyptian Tourism CounsellorConsulate Arab Republic of Egypt in Mumbai

India is a big country and Mumbai is one of the key source markets for us. It has been a long time that we have started to participate in OTM and it is very important for us as we have been the strategic partner for OTM for quite a long time. We are happy and that is why we repeat. Every year we expect positive response and OTM gives us overwhelming results. The feedback from all the 11 co-exhibitors is positive and we are looking forward to participating in the upcoming OTMs also.

mauritius

Thailand

Egypt


aminath ZainaExecutive CoordinatorMinistry of Tourism Republic of Maldives

OTM has been a great platform where we got the opportunity to meet the best and the most promising travel agents and tour operators. Our 15 co-exhibitors are very happy with the response they have received. OTM also provided the opportunity to make new connections with upcoming agents, so I would say this participation has been very successful for Maldives.

Verna covar-BuensucesoDirector and Officer-in-ChargeMarket Development GroupTourism Development SectorDepartment of Tourism, Philippines

OTM 2016 has been a very good show for the Philippines, where we got the opportunity to push the fun in the Philippines here in India. OTM is an important travel trade show where all the important travel trade partners gather in one place. It’s the perfect platform to meet and establish new connections and work on possible business opportunities.

akhtaruz Zaman Khan KabirChief Executive OfficerBangladesh Tourism Board

OTM Mumbai is the largest travel trade fair in India and Bangladesh has been participating for the last couple of years. The event is important for us since Mumbai is one of the important markets for Bangladesh and also since OTM provides the platform to connect with other foreign markets. We hope to continue our association with OTM in the coming years.

maldives

Philippines

Bangladesh


Lubaina sheeraziIndia RepresentativeMinistry of TourismSultanate of Oman

OTM is an excellent platform to reach out to the trade across India in three days. The event was well organised as we had fruitful interactions with the trade and received good footfalls at our stall. The Oman delegation who participated for OTM also managed to get good number of enquiries for FIT & MICE.

Daisuke KobayashiDirector - Singapore, Malaysia & IndiaJapan National Tourism Organisation

Japan has a huge potential in the Indian market and to tap into that, OTM is the perfect platform to network and interact with the local travel agents. In this three day event we have created a lot of awareness among the visitors and the response that we have got has surpassed our expectation.

sherin NaikenChief Executive OfficerSeychelles Tourism Board

We have seen phenomenal increase in awareness and number to Seychelles in the past two years of our operation in India. There is a lot of interest for the destination currently and we together with our hotel, airline and DMC partners are aggressively working at tapping this potential. OTM was a good way to start the year where we could meet the travel trade and inform them about the new developments and products Seychelles has in store. Our partners met some quality travel trade members and could do significant business.

Japan

seychelles

Oman


Peter hoslinRegional Director - Europe and New Markets Hong Kong Tourism Board

Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen are becoming popular with the Indian travellers. Participating for the first time in OTM, the three-NTO pavilion provided us a business platform to introduce the collective strengths and the variety of experiences to our valued travel trade partners and Indian travellers.

mihaela PartecaHead (Beijing Office) Romanian National Tourist Office

This is the second year that we have participated in OTM. Our main goal is to spread awareness of Romania among Indian travellers, for which OTM is the perfect platform. Romania, we believe has a lot to offer Indian tourists and with this event we are confident that we will be able to boost the number of tourists from India.

hassan madahDirector (India Office)Israel Ministry of Tourism

Israel is an emerging destination in India and Travelgyaan provided us with a platform to showcase the destination to the travel agents at OTM. The concept of presenting the destination to the business visitors during the trade fairs is a good idea to tap the potentials at the right place and right time. We had our presentation in an open area with huge response. Overall it was a good activity.

hong Kong

romania

Israel


rohini Prasad KhanalSenior Officer, Corporate Services DepartmentNepal Tourism Board

We have been taking part in OTM for quite a long time and our participation in this fair was very much successful as all our 8 co-exhibitors are very happy with the response. We would also like to take this opportunity and tell everyone that we are already in a position to welcome the tourists and we hope our participation in OTM will help increase the number of Indians coming to Nepal.

Nepal

satish soniJoint Managing DirectorMaharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC)

On behalf of Government of Maharashtra and MTDC, I welcome a ll the exhibitors and visitors of OTM Mumbai who have come from various parts of the world. It feels great to see the congregation of travel trade stakeholders from so many countries and all India in such a large volume. We expect and wish very good business networking sessions for everyone attending OTM.


Guldeep singh sahniPresident, OTOAI (Outbound Tour Operators Association of India)

OTM is the best platform for leveraging the potential of Outbound travel. Every year hundreds of sellers from India and many countries congregate at OTM to reach out to high-quality outbound buyers and trade visitors. As the apex body for the outbound sector, OTOAI has been associated with OTM right since its inception, and we are very excited at the networking and business opportunities at OTM 2016 and going forward.

sunil KumarPresident, TAAI (Travel Agents Associationof India)

We compliment OTM for bringing in this excellent exhibition giving opportunity to buyers and sellers, serving as a great relationship building opportunity to connect. Buyer-Seller network is a huge growing activity and we see much more potential getting realised through such events. Congratulations once again to OTM Mumbai and all the very best for all future activities.

subhash GoyalPresident, IATO(Indian Association of Tour Operators)

All the travel agents, tour operators and hoteliers look forward to participate in OTM Mumbai in a big way. This year’s OTM has turned out as the biggest event with highest attendance and on behalf of the tourism industry I compliment the organisers for regularly organising this event for so many years in a very professional and successful manner. I look forward to more fruitful OTM next year.

Zakkir ahmed KalarikkalPresident, TAFI(Travel Agents Federation of India)

OTM is a great event which the travel trade look forward to every year! It is an event which specialises on outbound market, as Indian outbound travel is growing at a very fast pace and every country is looking to get the pie. It is a platform where lot of business is exchanged. On behalf of TAFI, we wish OTM the very best for all its future activities.


Indian States display their tourism potential at OTMmaharashtra Jammu and Kashmir

madhya Pradesh

uttarakhand himachal Pradesh

West Bengal

Gujarat

Odisha

Karnataka


Top Exhibitors continue to showcase emerging trends, hot deals and best offers


In order to boost tourism in the state and launch their new campaign and initiatives, J&K Tourism Department organised road shows and participated in OTM Mumbai and TTF New Delhi, for interacting with travel and tour operators as well as media persons. A high profile dele-gation of J&K Tourism officials consisting of Secretary Tourism Farooq A Shah; Director Tourism - Jammu, R K Verma; Director Tourism - Kashmir, Mahmood A Shah; CEO of Yousmarg Development Authority, Bak-shi Javid Humayun; and Financial Advisor J&K Tourism, Manav Gupta, among others were in Mumbai and New Delhi to attend OTM Mumbai and TTF New Delhi. They also participated in J&K Tourism road shows where lead-ing travel and tour operators, travel association heads, and representatives of the media attended.

The Secretary Tourism Farooq A Shah while inter-acting with the travel and tour operators announced that an aggressive 360 degree promotional campaign is being launched to create awareness about the mesmerising des-tinations of all the three regions of the state – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The Secretary Tourism, who is also the MD of JKTDC, had comprehensive brain storm-ing session with the travel trade representatives wherein he announced that as part of an aggressive marketing campaign, 10 food festivals, travel trade road shows and

golf road shows are being organised in prominent and important leisure and MICE markets of the country. Prominent citizens, media and relevant travel trade bod-ies will be invited to these road shows. The Secretary also said that the department is organising different events to attract tourists to Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Patnitop and other destinations. He said that former Chief Minister, Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision and dream to see J&K as one of the best tourism destinations in the world can be realised only when all in government and private sector in the state co-ordinate and co-operate for provid-ing best services, safe atmosphere and traditional hospi-tality to the visiting tourists, in keeping with the culture of hospitality inherent in the people of J&K.

Announcing the new slogan of J&K Tourism – See J&K in a new light, Farooq Shah invited media, travel and tour operators and general people as a whole to see J&K in a new light – as a paradise for trekking with some of the best trekking circuits in the country, a shoppers’ par-adise with world famous products like Pashmina shawl, carpets, dry fruits, saffron, paper mache and beautiful

wood carvings, and as an ultimate natural destination which can offer the domestic tourists a lifetime experi-ence. The state also has some of the best pilgrimage sites – famous Vaishno Devi shrine and other popular tem-ples in Jammu region, Muslim shrines, Gurdwaras and ancient temples in Kashmir valley, and countless mon-asteries in Ladakh.

Farooq A Shah further added that in the water bod-ies like Nageen Lake, Dal Lake and Jhelum river, possi-bility of sustainable water cruise is being explored. He elaborated on the huge potential for Golf Tourism, espe-cially when combined with conferences, conventions and events, as the state has excellent golf courses as well as convention facilities.

Farooq A Shah also launched J&K Tourism/JKTDC Calendar for 2016, highlighting the beautiful tourism des-tinations of the state.

J&K Tourism had the biggest delegations at OTM Mumbai and TTF New Delhi, with more than 150 pri-vate stakeholders, along with the Tourism Department, JKTDC and SKICC.

J&K Tourism organises road shows on the sides of OTM Mumbai & TTF New Delhi• Launches new campaign See J&K in a new light• Biggest delegation with over 150 private stakeholders participate in OTM Mumbai & TTF New Delhi

• Host of tourist focussed events lined up• Rail & flight connectivity getting better day by day

Uttarakhand Tourism conducts road show @ OTM

In order to attract more tourists in the state, the Uttarakhand Tourism Devel-opment Board (UTDB) conducted a travel trade and media road show on the second day of OTM Mumbai. Uttarakhand Tourism participated in OTM Mumbai and TTF Delhi with a huge delegation of 44 co-exhibitors.

In the road show, Shailesh Bagauli, Secretary - Uttarakhand Tourism and CEO, UTDB invited everyone to visit Uttarakhand – the ‘Land of Gods’ or the ‘Heaven on Earth’. Bagauli informed that this year Uttarakhand is promoting home stays, adventure tourism, religious tourism, spiritual tourism and yoga tourism.

“We are going to promote home

stays in a big way. People can experi-ence the village life in a raw form with world class facilities and they can also experience the culture and traditions of the villages of Uttarakhand.”

In March, UTDB is organising an international event on paragliding in the city of Pithoragarh where 50 par-ticipants from across the world have already confirmed.

During the first week of March, an International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh is also being organised. Bagauli added that they will be pro-moting yoga in a big way and will have yoga events in Devaprayag and Rudra-prayag. “Apart from these places we are also going to promote yoga in Bin-sar and Chaukori,” he added.

Bagauli also added, “Last year dur-ing summer, Chardham had received around 60% of the number of tourists we used to receive before 2013. From this year onwards I am very sure we are going to get more tourists.” The rail and flight connectivity which is getting better day by day was also discussed.


Shoot at Site @ OTM - Housefull workshop for film shoots at destinations

Buyer-Seller Speed Networking @ OTM records high level of face-to-face interactions


This is for the first time I am visiting OTM and I must say that I am very proud to be here. With the eye catching stalls and the crowd, it is a great experience for me and I am very happy to be here. I think the workshop Shoot at Site was a very wonderful initiative taken by OTM as this has directly connected Bollywood with the state tourism bodies. This workshop will start an interaction and I am sure this will bring a lot of fruit and lot of films will now move to states where films have not been shot before.

aashish singhVice President (Production)

Yash Raj Films

OTM is one of the brilliant trade fairs where hoteliers, travel agencies and many countries come together to showcase what different countries can provide to Indians and how they can collaborate with Indian travel and tourism. Shoot at Site was one of the unique ideas and if it results into bringing the states and the tourism offices of different states and film producers together, it will be a brilliant collaboration.

utkarsh sanghviPartner (Tax & Regulatory Services)

Ernst & Young

This is the first time that OTM has organised a speed networking and so far I have found this B2B session to be excellent because there are so many buyers who are actually eagerly looking forward to meet with suppliers like us. So congratulations to the organisers for pulling it off so successfully.

syed shafat uddin ahmed TomalManaging Director

Market n-Trance

Film Tourism has now become a very big focal point for promoting destinations, and many Tourism Boards are recognising and exploiting its potential. OTM has consistently been the biggest Travel Expo in Mumbai and has shown tremendous foresight in dedicating prime time and providing the platform to make the stake holders from the Film and Travel fraternities engage in meaningful and long terms solutions and synergies.

abhijeet PatilGlobehoppers & Chairman

Raja Rani TravelsConsolidator and Line Production Support

This was my first experience in OTM Mumbai and the arrangements made here was fantastic. The networking sessions were fantastic and were very useful for us. I wish the organisers of OTM good luck.

antu V chakiathDirector

Chakiath Air Travels & Cargo

OTM is the right platform to meet pioneers of travel industry along with knowledge and networking. My experience over here was very good.

sunil NotaniManaging Director

Air Aman Travels

OTM was the best platform for the Hosted Buyer Programme. It was a very comfortable experience to have met representatives from various countries and tourism boards.

amit GargManaging Director

Garg Holidays

In OTM Mumbai, the participation of sellers was very good and the buyer-seller programme was well managed and smooth. I am very happy with the overall experience.

mandip singhSenior General Manager - MICE

Just Holidays

My experience at OTM was really good. I found it to be very well organised. The Hosted Buyer- Seller meet was a unique programme which helped exchange ideas. We have got a lot of new contacts and have found new destinations and service providers. The sellers will also be happy that they have got some genuine contacts from the forum. We eagerly look forward to the next OTM.

Indrajit sarkarManaging Director

Voyagers Club Tours

My visit to OTM helped me establish business association with many outbound DMC’s as well as Domestic tour operators. Overall we received fruitful result and I am very happy with this whole experience.

K P manjunathChief Executive

Designer Destinations

I have not seen a larger exhibition than OTM before. We are very happy that OTM has realised the potential of the collaboration between tourism sector and film industry. By organising this workshop Shoot at Site, OTM has provided a great learning platform for both the film industry and the tourism boards. We need to take this forward and build this relationship stronger, and try to create a roadmap where it is beneficial and win-win for both the sides. One should see by coming here the value and potential of the travel industry

which people are not aware of. All the best to OTM.Kulmeet makkar

Chief Executive OfficerThe Film & Television Producers Guild of India

It is my first time here in OTM and I think it is a terrific show. I was surprised to see the number of stalls here with so many great participants. It is a great idea to bring various tourism boards together so that they can learn from the experience of the others and what we are trying to share are some of the best practices across the world where each of these boards can learn from. It is a commendable exercise what OTM is trying to do and I wish them all the luck.

uday singhManaging Director

Motion Picture Association (India Office)


TechForum@OTM, showcasing cutting edge innovative tech solutions, gets tremendous praise

Content plays a very important role in inspiring the travellers and promoting travel brands. The panellists shared their learnings and observations on the content marketing trends and the key takeaways from the discussion are: a) instead of selling, inform and educate; b) format plays a major role; c) personalised content works wonders; and d) audience can spot sponsored content.

The role of online influencers has become increasingly significant in the travel & tourism industry. A number of destination marketing brands are now working with social media influencers to increase their footprint & reach. Panellists discussed how brands should work with travel influencers and how to measure success while working with influencers.

Panelists

Sesh SeshadriDirectorLonely Planet IndiaLata SubramanianEx-CMOSterlingPrashanth Rao AroorCEOIntelliStay HotelsHanisha LalwaniMulti-Property Marketing & Communications Manager Marriott International

Moderator Daksh SharmaFounding Partner, TravHQ & Iffort

Panelists

Vineet RajanFounderIndiBlogger

Kavita GnanamurthySkyscanner India

Shelly SinghFounder & CEOThursday Premiere

Moderator Daksh SharmaFounding Partner, TravHQ & Iffort

Panel Discussion: Leveraging content to inspire travellers

Panel Discussion: Leveraging Online Influencer Relationships In Travel & Tourism


Maiden Travel #StartupKnockDown by TravHQ in association with OTM gets phenomenal response from travel technology stakeholdersThe very first Travel #StartupKnockDown was conducted at OTM Mumbai in association with TravHQ and the response was phenomenal. Entries were received from some really interest-ing startups that hold great future potential. The panel of judges shared the opinion that platforms like #StartupKnockDown are a great way to give the innovators an opportunity to reach more audience.

After comparing the start-ups that pitched at the event, the judges picked Fxkart as the winner of first Travel #StartupKnockDown. The start-up addresses one of the biggest hassles travellers face when they are planning to travel internation-ally i.e. forex. There are vendors that charge huge

commissions on your currency and there are ven-dors that don’t give the impression of authentic-ity. Fxkart saves you from the trouble of filter-ing through such vendors and offers you the best exchange rates. On top of that, you can do all that from the comfort of your home and get the currency delivered to your doorstep.

Tramily was the second start-up that got high-lighted. It won the people’s choice award. Travel agents, while putting together the itineraries for their clients, need to get good hotel deals. Tramily allows them to find the best hotel deals to include in the itineraries. They can post their requirements for room nights and hotels can respond with the best deals if they fit the bill. Also the hotels can post their deals and the agents can choose while put-ting together a package. It is also available through a mobile app.

There were many other promising start-ups that

pitched at the event. Putting together the plans for a group trip is a tough job and MyTripKarma plans to simplify that by allowing multiple travellers to book together in one place. iManageMyHotel offers cen-tralised property management solutions for hotels so that they don’t have to invest in developing their own such solutions. inTRANSIT is a social plat-form that enhances your travel experience by add-ing the option to communicate with fellow passen-gers at airports. EasyGroupBook simplifies lodging for large events and GoMowgli takes more control over activities and experiences to offer a consistent travel experience.

Judges

Siddharth Dabhade Head of IndustryGoogle India

Ashish PaiCorporate StrategyCox & Kings

Sanjiv SwarupVenture Capitalist Connecting Friends

Sanjiv AgarwalChairman & CEO Fairfest / Fairtech

Moderator: Daksh Sharma, Founding Partner, TravHQ & Iffort


50+ Hotels | 15+ Cities

From Rs. 999 - 2,999/-

[email protected]

"Your client's favorite, modern hotel chain"

Congratulations to both TravHQ and OTM for creating this platform (#StartupKnockDown). Travel industry is trying to fulfil not just the needs but the dreams of the travellers and with new start-ups trying to revolutionise the whole landscape, this is a brilliant platform for them to present their ideas and get maximum attention and attraction of the entire industry. I laude the organisers of OTM for creating such a fantastic platform, which I think is a one stop shop for a travel operator of any kind.

ashish PaiInvestment Advisor

Cox & Kings

OTM Tech Theatre was a good initiative since a lot of the time B2B travel people are not aware about how the online travel industry is going and what other brands are doing so this was kind of educational for both the buyers and the sellers.

Kavitha GnanamurthySenior Marketing Manager

Skyscanner

#StartupKnockDown was a very good initiative and we are glad to have won it. I think this was the first instance where we got a platform to present our product to the right audiences. OTM has always been good platform for travel related products, so we are pleased to launch our product here.

sandeep NadreCo-Founder & COO

Tramily

Tech theatre is a novel concept and with start-ups taking off and changing the business models in travel industry, it’s a very good idea to have a start-up flavour to OTM. Compliments to both TravHQ and OTM, for organising #StartupKnockDown, which I thought was interesting. It was a good combination of audience input as well as judge’s input, which I think gave the start-ups a very good platform to showcase what they are up to. OTM has come a long way and has become a must attend event for trade partners.

siddharth DabhadeHead of Industry

Google India

OTM 2016 has been fantastic. It is the first time that we exhibited in OTM, so we were extremely excited to be here. Tech Theatre was absolutely fantastic. I think the format was very nice and the competition was really interesting. Overall it was nice new initiative.

rajat malhotraCo-Founder

EasyGroupBook.com

We love OTM, and now we love it even more because we won the #StartupKnockDown contest that was organised by TravHQ & OTM. The contest was well curated and the panel of judges was excellent. Our experience this year has been wonderful and would definitely continue our association in the future.

abdul hadi shaikhCEO

FxKart.com

OTM felicitates India’s Top 100 Travel Producers

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 22 • COVER STORY

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 23 COVER STORY •

Our continuous pursuit of India’s Top 100 Travel Producers is to give due recognition to travel producers, big or small, on or offline, from all over India – to give them the annual opportunity to celebrate their successes, but more importantly, for all of us to acknowledge the important role they have played in contributing to our industry. – Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media (Organiser of OTM)


OTM is a wonderful platform where we can showcase our product and services and reach out to a larger mass. The experience in OTM has given us a good mileage in terms of meeting up with lots of new people coming from different parts of India. We have got some good clientele which we can probably utilise in the near future. The business interactions were fantastic and we have received a good response from the people around.

amit suriManager – Western India

Air Arabia

This is the first time we have participated in OTM Mumbai and we are very pleased because there are so many potential clients and we did a great business with the potential contacts that we have developed here. OTM is a great platform to network and also to learn great new things and the response we have received was great.

Danijel PetrovicExpert Assistant, Promotion Department

Zagreb Tourist Board

This was the first time Royal Gulf Tourism forayed into a platform where we got a chance to address the travel trade and delight them with our new offerings. Dubai has so much to offer plus there are many new products and attractions coming up in the near future and thus the training workshops at OTM by TravelGyaan.com was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the same to the travel trade. We received a fantastic response through this workshop.

rumy DegamwallaDirector – Sales & Operations

Royal Gulf Tourism LLC

In my opinion, OTM 2016 has been really good. We are very happy with the footfall this year and the responses that we have got have been very positive. We will definitely like to continue this relationship with OTM in the future.

sunny augustineExecutive Director

White Sands Tours & Travel

OTM has been very nice and we have been able to make some very good contacts. The footfall and the response we got have surpassed our expectations. We have also been able find some good partners with whom we can work in the future. Overall we had a great experience in OTM 2016.

anastasia skripkaDirector of Sales & Marketing

Soleto Travel

We have been participating in OTM for many years and it has always been a pleasure being part of OTM. It is very well organised, footfalls have been good and the response that we got from agents have been positive. Hopefully we will be participating in many more OTMs in the future.

medha sampatDirector

Knack Marketing

OTM 2016 went as well as we expected. We have been participating for the last three years and it has given us a good scope in terms of exhibitors and in terms of people visiting the exhibition. We met a number of delegates during this three day event and made good amount of contacts along with some positive leads. So overall it was really a good experience for us and we are definitely participating next year.

amarpal chandokDirector of Business Development – Asia

Luxury Hotels Group

OTM 2016 has truly been a fantastic experience for us. We have been participating in OTM Mumbai for the last two years and have been getting very good mileages. The responses from this event have been very positive, so we are looking forward to next year.

Kiran ParikhAssistant General Manager

Rezlive.com

OTM is a great show and I was surprised to see the strength of more than 1,000 people gathering here to attend the show. It was good to interact with all the people with similar interest. It is an ideal place to network and I am very impressed with the response I have received from here. You should keep organising events like this as this is a great platform for all the stakeholders in travel and tourism industry to meet travel agents, hoteliers, airlines, etc. More and more events like this will provide a platform for all of us to

come closer and make profitable partnerships in future.Tejpreet singh

Manager, Passenger Sales & Marketing (India)Korean Air

I attended all three days and must say that this has been the best OTM so far. It was worth visiting and was very useful to me and for lots of others whom I met during OTM. Normally I attend just one day but the atmosphere and the placement of stalls and food provided was of top class, I continued to visit all three days.

Jagadish B raoProprietor

Travel Navigator

OTM has given us a great opportunity to interact with travel trade fraternities coming from various cities in India. I think it was important for us to understand expectations from us and how the market would react to an amazing product such as ours so I think OTM has helped in a way to give us an understanding of the market’s reaction.

Nevil D’ souzaHead – Sales

Dubai Parks & Resorts

OTM is one of the biggest travel trade show in India and this year it’s more happening than last year. We are here showcasing our products to travel agents and the response has been good. OTM is the perfect platform to network, which is why we look forward to it every year.

momin NavedDeputy General Manager - B2B Sales

Adlabs Entertainment


I have been attending OTM for quite a few years and I think it’s a very productive show where the right people attend. It is the perfect platform to meet a large number of decision makers at one go without needing to travel all over the country. OTM 2016 has been extremely productive for us as we got to do some serious business in these three days.

shoumo mukherjeeVice President – Sales & Marketing

Deltin Group

OTM has given great exposure to our brand and moreover it has been a great networking event where we got to meet a lot of new people. Our experience here has been nice and we will definitely be able to see the positive results of OTM in the coming months.

Tanveer singhManaging Director

Singhotel

OTM is one of the biggest travel trade shows in India and is the perfect platform to network and do good business. The new conference sessions are a welcome addition to an already perfect event and would definitely help in the growth for all the travel partners. Overall I am satisfied with the response that we have got.

suresh K DoshiManaging Director

Classic Holidays

OTM this year has been quiet good. We interacted with a lot of agents not only from Mumbai but also from other states. OTM is a good initiative which has been growing every year and has come a long way with a lot of new buyers and sellers. Last year we benefitted a lot from OTM, so this year we are hoping for the same thing.

Naresh aroraFounder & CEO

Trulyy India Hotels and Resorts

OTM 2016 has shown a lot of potential for lucrative business especially for Rajasthan whom we are representing. The response this year has been phenomenal and we have been able to do some very good business. Overall OTM has been good for us as we were able to meet genuine people who are interested in doing business with us.

Tushar maliGeneral Manager

The Royal Retreat Resort & Spa

OTM is the perfect platform to meet potential travel agents and new businesses. The response this year has been very good and we have been able to generate some good business leads. We would definitely continue our association with OTM in the future.

rao KhushnoodCorporate General Manager - Sales & Marketing

Souvenir Hotels

OTM is a wonderful platform and a great opportunity for buyers and sellers to connect. I think the turnout has been good this year and we were able to do some good business. Overall this event has been very fruitful for us and we are satisfied with the response we got.

Bikramjit s BhangooDirector of Sales & Marketing

Taj Falaknuma Palace

We have been attending OTM for quite a long time. This is a great platform for tour operators and it has given good mileage to us. OTM provided us a good opportunity and we have been able to do some good business. We will definitely continue our association with OTM and keep coming back every year.

arijit PurkayasthaCEO

Koyeli Tours & Travels

We have participated in OTM for the last three years and are happy with the exposure that we have got. OTM is good for the tourism industry and is a great platform to promote tourism, hotels and other travel related products.

sheikh mohammad IqbalManaging Director

Hotel Pine Spring

We have been participating in OTM for the last five years. OTM is one of the best platform to introduce new travel products and is the perfect place to meet new buyers and sellers. Our experience here has been good and we have been able to get good exposure in these three days.

anwar sadathDirector

Galaxy Travel Club

OTM Mumbai was an excellent opportunity for us to engage with the travel trade and reach out to many more travel partners that may have not been exposed to the Scandinavian region. It was not only very well attended but professionally organised and we hope to be a part of such opportunities in future as well.

mohit BatraIndia Representative

Scandinavian Tourism Board

We are very pleased to be here at OTM and are happy with the response that we received. I think this is a perfect platform for people to interact with the strategic partners and the travel and trade fraternity of India. OTM is a great show and with the footfall that we have seen this year we are very much looking forward to the next year.

Kulwant singhCEO & Managing Director

Car Fare & Lama Groups LLC

[email protected]

India’s Only Global Travel Trade Newspaper

Responsible Tourism theme gets strong positive vibes at OTM Mumbai & TTF New DelhiHighlighting the role of tourism in ensuring sustainability, Responsible Tourism theme was introduced in TTF New Delhi and OTM Mumbai. There were awareness stands in the exhibitions and audience-interactive presentations by partnering organisation Open Eyes Project & Responsible Tourism in India led by CEO & Founder, Anna Alaman Torres.

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 26 • COVER STORY

OTM & TTF has been a perfect place to promote Responsible Tourism among travel trade stakeholders operating in India. OTM & TTF along with Open Eyes Project have initiated the first pavilion promoting more creative and experiential tourism in the country. Coming to OTM & TTF has opened a whole new avenue for us and a number of tourism businesses have approached our stand to customise their travel products keeping sustainability and responsibility in focus. We, at Open Eyes Project, work to make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit in India.

anna alaman Torres CEO & Founder

Open Eyes Project

24 - 25 October 2016Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, New Delhi NCR.

Announcing

Participation Package

Tariff *#Early Bird Offer *

Before 31 May'16 1 June - 31 July'16

Shell Scheme US$ 495 /sq m US$ 395 /sq m US$ 445 /sq m

- Add 10% for Corner, 20% for Peninsula and 30% for Island locations- Add 25% surcharge for extra upper floor area- Deduct US$ 10 per sq m for bare space* Service Tax extra* Payment is due at the time of booking# Early Bird Offer is strictly as per date of payment

India's definitive show on Business, MICE and Luxury TravelIndia is the fastest growing business travel market in the world.

Delhi is a major business hub of India, with decent buyer potential of

Business, MICE and Luxury Travel spending. In addition to hundreds of

buyers from the Delhi NCR, BLTM will provide you guaranteed visit of

hundreds of Hosted Buyers from all major cities in India.

Expected Growth (2012 - 2016 CAGR) in Business Travel Spend(BTS) and Current Level of BTS (Size of bubble) of Top 15 Markets

20.0%

China

India

United States

Japan

Germany

United KingdomFrance

South Korea

Brazil

Russia

Canada

Country(Arranged By Current BTS Level)

Source : GBTA Foundation, Rockport Analytics, 2012

Australia

SpainNetherlands

18.0%

16.0%

14.0%

12.0%

10.0%

8.0%

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

Limited time offer: one double room night with all meals for every sq m booked within 31 Mar '16

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 • 28INDIA

The Budget has failed to meet the expectations of the travel industry. It is not a tourism-friendly budget. Our collective efforts to echo ways and means to create a congenial atmosphere for the growth in Indian tourism Industry has gone in vain. The only silver lining is that infrastructure development in the rural areas will help boost rural tourism.

Jyoti KapurPresident, ADTOI

It is sad that travel and tourism is put behind, again – shocking. There were expectations on ‘service-tax’ reliefs; boost to tourism sector; incentives for foreign exchange earnings and these appear to have missed out. The income tax relief should have been on most classes. The focus on Voluntary Disclosure is not too strategic and may not yield good results. In fact, the new 0.5% cess is going to add liability to all. Unless the government firmly reviews the challenges of all stakeholders in this industry, it will not be able to support the growth that is available in plenty. One aspect which is of silver lining is the focus on Skill Development. Hope the details of application will cover investments to be made by our industry leaders on

deputing their personnel in skill development. All expenses related to skill development must be well subsidised by the government.

sunil KumarPresident, TAAI

The Budget seems to be very neutral. It has hardly got anything for the tourism industry. Again, the travel trade industry has a lot of service tax disputes. So, the government’s proposal on the same will make no difference to the travel industry. The government has however decided to develop non-functional airports which will add to the number of airports and flights.

Guldeep singh sahniPresident, OTOAI

Overall, the Budget was very disappointing for the tourism industry. The Prime Minister was talking about job creation and poverty alleviation, and tourism was the best engine. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the Budget that could boost tourism in the country. We wanted exemption of Service Tax on foreign exchange earnings, which didn’t happen. On the contrary, 0.5% cess component has been added, which will increase Service Tax component to 15%. The additional tax on SUVs and diesel coaches will make tourist coaches expensive.

subhash GoyalPresident, IATO

The government’s focus on developing better infrastructure by investing in national highways and non-functional airports is definitely a step in the right direction for the travel industry - making India more accessible will no doubt help boost India’s appeal as an international destination and help Indians see more of the country domestically, although the implementation of ‘Krishi Kalyan cess’ may lead to Indians spending less on travel and dining out.

Nikhil GanjuCountry Manager - India

TripAdvisor

This Budget has specifically focused on infrastructure across the country with a huge outlay for roads and highways, railways and reviving the unserved and underserved airports and airstrips in the country. The government realises that as the global economy wavers, domestic demand will be the key to tourism growth, especially to untapped regions like the Northeast. We see a specific focus on enhancing regional and last mile connectivity with sops for starts-ups and innovation in the passenger transport segment. In fact, increased regional connectivity will also give a fillip to outbound tourism from Tier-II and III cities due to higher accessibility. The government is adopting measures from some of the thriving global tourist

destinations, wherein public transport is critical not only for daily commuters, but also the backbone for tourist traffic. Strengthening the infrastructure across levels will definitely strengthen India as an attractive tourist destination in the global ranks.

manmeet ahluwaliaMarketing Head - India

Expedia

The Finance Minister announced that 160 non-functional airports will be developed at a cost of `50-100 crore each. This is a welcome move as it will improve connectivity within the country especially in Tier-II and beyond towns and cities and thereby, help boost the travel and tourism industry. The Budget also proposed to increase the excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 8% to 14%. The financial health of the aviation industry of the country was just beginning to stabilise but this move will have some adverse impact on the demand side for the industry. Lastly, service tax has now been increased to 15% from 14.5%. ‘Krishi Kalyan cess’ at 0.5% will be levied on all taxable services. While it is understandable

that this move is aimed towards financing initiatives for improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers, this will lead to paid services becoming dearer. Worth mentioning that service tax has been consistently increasing over the past few years, it stood at 12.36% in 2013-14. Not only service based companies but also the end consumer of the services will bear the brunt of this move.

rajesh magowCo-Founder and India CEO, MakeMyTrip

The much awaited budget has turned out to be very friendly for the Aam-Aadmi but there could have been a bit more in it for the corporate sector. The proposal to increase the tax on ATF will result in increase in airfares and dampen air passenger growth which could have been a catalyst for economic growth. However, the focus on revamping roads and airports across the country is a positive move that should provide a fillip to infrastructure and the tourism sector as it will enhance connectivity to the smaller cities and encourage people to travel to unexplored destinations. Liberalisation in public transport and the government’s plea for private investors to contribute in refurbishing highways is also

expected to create a positive ripple in the travel industry.sharat Dhall

President, Yatra

The Hospitality industry has been once again been forgotten in the Union budget 2016. No mention was made nor any benefits or incentives offered. This year, once again, India has offered its tourists to our neighbouring countries on a platter - another lost year, lost opportunities, and lost jobs for our millions; another sad day for Indian Tourism.

Bharat malkaniPresident, FHRAI

The budget had a minimal focus on aviation. The significant hike in excise duty on ATF will add to the high cost-environment for airlines in India. We do hope the government will do a better job with the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP). While the NCAP is a step in the right direction, there are areas of concern, especially where it adds costs to the industry or where it deviates from well-established global standards. We hope the government will address three priority areas – retract the two percent Regional Connectivity Fund levy, abandon the plan to auction traffic rights, and allow AERA to perform its functions independently by not enshrining any ‘Till’ for airport charges in the policy document.

conrad clifford Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, IATA

The Budget misses Tourism bus again

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 • 29ASIA

Tourism Ministry of Indonesia gears up for AEC

Tourism Authority of Thailand appoints new Director, New Delhi

Maldives aims to attract 1.5 million visitors in 2016The Maldives has embarked on a major campaign to boost its tourist arrivals in 2016. The new Visit Maldives Year 2016 has been launched with an aim to drive 1.5 mil-lion international visitors to the archipelago.

Throughout the year, the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism would celebrate the arrival of every 500,000th visitor, hopefully culminating in the 1.5 millionth arriv-als in December 2016.

In the upcoming months, Visit Maldives Year would include a series of international and national events, competitions and awareness-raising programmes.

Singapore welcomed one million tourists from India in 2015

Sri Lanka Tourism unveils its broad strategic plan for 2016

Singapore Tourism Board announced that the nation recorded over one million visitor arrivals from India in 2015, marking a year-on-year growth of 7.4% in visitor arrivals.

To celebrate this landmark achievement, Singapore Tour-ism Board surprised all passengers flying to the country on

December 31, 2015 with special in-flight celebratory experi-ences in partnership with three airlines, namely Air India, Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines. Chee Pey Chang, Exec-utive Director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa – Singa-pore Tourism Board said, “2015 was a landmark year for us as Singapore celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Last year, the Sin-gapore Botanic Gardens was accredited as a UNESCO World

Heritage site and the opening of the National Gallery Sin-gapore and Indian Heritage Centre generated great interest among Indian travellers. We wanted to thank our friends from India for their encouraging support and we continue to welcome them to experience Singapore’s cultural and her-

itage gems, diverse food experiences and vibrant nightlife interspersed amidst Singapore’s eclectic lifestyle offerings.”

In conjunction with the One Million celebrations, STB conducted a contest to thank travellers for flying on board these flights. Sahil Shroff, who was travelling to Singapore with his family on board an Air India flight, was declared the winner of ‘Singapore’s One Million Moment’ contest.

Sri Lanka Tourism has formulated a broad Strategic Marketing Plan for 2016, with the participation of pri-vate and public sector stakeholders, addressing long standing needs and the future expectations of the coun-try as a tourism destination.

Attracting a target around 2.2 million visitors with 26% annual growth, increasing average daily expendi-ture of a tourist up to $ 200 and average stay, contribut-ing to generate total tourism revenue up to $ 2.75 billion

will be the key performance measures. Uplifting Sri Lanka’s brand value up to $ 80 million through tactical marketing campaigns focusing on main product offer-ings of the country will serve as the overall goal of the promotional strategy devised for 2016.

The trade and media familiarisation tours will con-tinue to be a major component of the plan. Participating in travel fairs, conducting road shows and outdoor pro-motions, will also be carried out in each country.

Sri Lanka Tourism hopes to enter into strategic part-nerships with new and existing airlines connecting the regions, capitalising on the ‘Open Sky’ policy of the gov-ernment of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Tourism also hopes to stage internationally

acclaimed tourism related events in Sri Lanka during the year such as Arugam Bay Pro- Surf, Kiteathelon, Adventure Tourism events, etc.

The Indonesian government has taken measures to boost tourist-sector standards to welcome the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Arief Yahya, the Minister of Tourism of Indonesia said that his ministry had made preparations to welcome the advent of the AEC this year, one of which was the establishment of 28 tourist-business standards. Seven standards had already been established through a min-isterial decree, while the remaining 21 standards were still being drafted, he said.

The Minister added that the Tourism Ministry was presently facilitating a competency certification process for tourism workers, and was assisting the establishment of 12 professional certification institutions for the sector.

“Indonesia’s tourism sector has for a while now been making preparations to welcome the implementation of the AEC, especially in terms of readiness of human resources,” said Yahya.

Between 2007 and 2015, the Ministry had issued 81,627 competency certificates to tourism workers employed in 12 tourist sub-sectors.

Isra Stapanaseth has been appointed as Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi office. He takes over from Runjuan Tongrut (who was appointed as Executive Director for East Asia Mar-ket, TAT Bangkok Office). His term has started from February 1, 2016. His jurisdiction will cover north and east India as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Stapanaseth, who was previously the Director of TAT Chiang Rai office, (north of Thailand) has been working with Tourism Authority of Thailand over 20 years now, since 1994. Stapanaseth is excited and

looking forward to his stint with the Indian market. He considers India to be one of the most important tourism markets for Thailand and believes that it has tremendous potential. He will be focusing on pro-moting all sectors of tourism including Golf, Indian weddings, women travellers and adventure tourism with focus on luxury segment. Stapanaseth is keen to work closely with the Indian travel trade industry to promote newer destinations in Thailand and boost arrivals from India to Thailand in the coming years.

As Thailand’s sixth largest market globally in 2015, India obviously holds a place of importance to Thailand tour-ism stakeholders.

Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s Minister for Tourism and Sports put India’s significance into per-spective when she said, “We welcomed 1.06 million Indian travellers to Thailand during 2015, putting India at sixth position globally, up from seventh position last year. Indians spent 47,827 million baht in Thailand last year. I must thank you – our friends in the travel trade, the wedding planners who weave dreams in Thailand, Bollywood producers who tempt people to return to Thailand and corporates who reward employees with incentive travel to Thailand – for your support, without which this amazing milestone would not be possible.”

Thailand is a perfect holiday destination for Indian travellers, with a simple and convenient visa process. Along with flights from all the metros and visa process-ing centres in most key cities.

The Minister added, “We look forward to welcom-ing those of you who have visited Thailand once again in the years to come. If you have seen Bangkok and Pat-taya; Phuket, the Koh Samui archipelago Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai await you. If you have already seen those, Kanchanaburi, Koh Chang, Koh Tao and Koh Lanta await you. If you have seen all of those then Thai-land’s amazing North East is an amazing treasure that

you must explore. Just as India offers you different fla-vours, sights, sounds, customs and traditions at every state border; Thailand too offers you a new world in every new province.”

Thailand has earned a reputation as a luxury destina-tion over the last four years with India’s golf-enthusiasts flocking to its 18-hole golf courses, world-renowned ser-vice at 5-star hotels boasting either butler service or pri-vate islands or rooftop residences, complete with yacht transfers or helicopter transfers and other indulgences.

“It gives me immense joy to say that India has suc-cessfully shown a migration from just bulk of tourist numbers to a better quality of tourist experience and without having ever slowed down in growth of arriv-als. I can only encourage you to keep it up as 2016 picks up pace,” she concluded.

Thailand celebrates 1,000,000 arrivals in 2015

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 • 30global TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | mArch 2016 • 30

Chris Hemsworth chosen as the global ambassador of Tourism Australia

Malta declared third in New York Times travel catalogue

Cuba hopes to attract a record number of visitors in 2016Cuba is hopeful of welcoming a record number of tourists in 2016, particularly from the United States, since the trips have been made easier by regular flights and ferry service. Last year, Cuba exceeded 3.5 million tourist arrivals.

The number of foreign tourists increased by 17.8% in 2015, with most of them coming from Can-ada, Britain and France, and as the cruise season that runs from December to April starts, at least 14 big ships would make a total of 90 port visits.

As per the estimates made by University of Havana School of Tourism Professor Jose Luis Per-ello, cruise ships are expected to bring in about 600,000 visitors, including the 1,750 tourists who arrived in the capital recently aboard MSC Opera, the largest cruise ship ever to drop anchor in Cuban waters.

Additionally, due to the relaxation of travel restrictions by President Barack Obama, the num-ber of tourists from the U.S. increased by almost 75% in 2015 over 2014.

As part of the normalisation of bilateral relations, the U.S. Congress could lift the ban on travel by U.S. citizens and tourists to Cuba this year, a move which some analysts say could unleash a horde of three million U.S. visitors in the first year alone.

Lebanon to lure tourists in 2016 with newer trendsLebanon is expected to witness a growth equiva-lent to 2.5% in 2016 which will be higher than last year. One of the significant factors behind this growth is the tourism winter season where all ski lifts are running a swing opportunity to benefit from this leisure sport.

The International Airport of Beirut in 2015 had received a greater number of arrivals, and this trend is helping many hospitality actors to shape their business plans and invest not only on the tra-ditional sources but also on the meetings and con-ventions segment revealing to be very effective for the corporate side of business.

With gourmet tours, fashion shopping, wine tasting, and medical tourism, Lebanon can cater in tandem to archaeology and history to all niche markets, including environmental trips to hidden trails and valleys.

Forests cover 13.4% of the Lebanese land area

with a few old cedar trees remaining in pock-ets of forests. The country is actively working to conserve and regenerate the forests and has cre-ated several nature reserves that contain cedars, including the Shouf Biosphere Reserve, the Jaj Cedar Reserve, the Tannourine Reserve, the Ammouaa and Karm Shbat Reserves in the Akkar district, and the Forest of the Cedars of God near Bsharri. This Cedar Nation is a sensory delight for travellers.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, has been announced as the global ambassador for Tour-ism Australia’s new campaign, which will focus on the country’s world-class aquatic and coastal experiences.

Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan, said that whilst Australia would still be the star of its latest campaign, Chris Hemsworth would provide an authentic Australian voice to help tell the country’s story globally. “Chris truly embod-ies the Australian way of life and his love of his home country, with all its natural beauty, makes him an ideal ambassador,” he said.

“It wasn’t a hard decision to move back to Aus-tralia because this part of the world is such a special place. This is the place I want my kids to grow up – that’s the world I want them to be part of. I’m really looking forward to launching this new campaign in New York and sharing with the rest of the world just how amazing this country really is,” said Chris.

The Hollywood star launched the country’s new campaign focusing on its stunning beaches and coastal experiences, at the global premiere on Aus-tralia Day eve in New York. Dubbed ‘There’s nothing like Australia,’ the $40 million multi-platform mar-keting campaign was launched across the country’s key international markets.

The Mediterranean island of Malta, with three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, was named #3 on the prestigious New York Times ‘52 Places to Go in 2016’ list in its Sunday Travel Section. Malta’s capital, Val-letta was named the European Capital of Culture 2018.

The article described that the archipelago offered, “An affordable Mediterranean playground with a superb climate, sublime beaches, megalithic temples and a distinctive crossroads culture. There are three inhabited islands to explore – Malta, home to buzzing Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage city of stunning limestone buildings; Gozo, more tranquil and with a dramatic coastline filled with great spots for diving; and idyllic, car-free Comino, which has one hotel and few residents.”

Paul Bugeja, CEO of Malta Tourism Authority stated, “We are very pleased that Malta was named number three by such a prestigious newspaper as the New York Times. Since re-establishing a Malta Tour-ism Authority presence in the U.S. two years ago, we have seen an increase in the number of Americans vis-iting Malta. However, now with this New York Times Travel Section spotlight, we will lure even more visi-tors from the U.S. to discover the ‘hidden gem’ of the Mediterranean.”

South African Tourism kick-started the 2016 edi-tion of their travel trade engagement initiative – 13th annual road show. The road show was held recently in four cities, which started with Kolkata and thereafter moving to Delhi and Hyderabad before concluding in Mumbai. The interactive programme had been planned to increase destination awareness among travel plan-ners in India.

South African suppliers have always found the Indian market to be an open and accepting market. Encouraged by the potential of the Indian market and the tremendous growth opportunities it offers, many South African suppliers have shown keen interest and have started business operations across various regions of the country. The tourism board led the 50 member delegation of South African traders.

Commenting on the road show in India, Margie Whitehouse, Chief Marketing Officer, South African Tourism said, “We have always witnessed an over-whelming response from the Indian trade and are excited to see how this road show is going to contribute to the Tourism of South Africa. We aim to work in uni-son to mutually benefit each other with increased pro-motions and offer multiple trade options in the coun-try. India is such an incredible country and we look forward to their continued support to present tourism with a larger platform in both countries.”

Monika Iuel, General Manager: International Mar-keting, South African Tourism said, “Our synergy or

partnership with the Indian trade has reached new heights both in terms of execution and depth of engage-ment. Our partners have always been an integral part of our marketing efforts in the country and that has been the contributor to the effectiveness and success of our campaigns.”

Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South Afri-can Tourism said, “We have seen huge developments in terms of product offering as well as in the changes in the way we operate in the Indian market. We have seen a lot of refinement in the ‘made for India in South Africa’ campaign by South African products and ser-vice providers – in fact, they are so entrenched in the Indian market, that they are now getting ‘made for Ban-galore in South Africa’ and ‘made for Kolkata in South Africa’ offerings from the various South African play-ers in the market.”

South African Tourism flags off the 13th edition of its annual road show

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OTM Mumbai 2016 ends on a hugely upbeat note from global sellers of destinations … ·...

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