DRMumbai: Stating that India as a destination has a great opportunity to grow, Yogendra Tripathi IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism said that a wide range of attractions is driving interest in India, while infrastructure developments and the launch of e-visa is pushing the sub-continent up the world traveller’s list of priorities.
“India as a destination has a great opportunity to grow. The country currently welcomes 10 million visitors a year but this is just a drop in the ocean,” Tripathi said, while addressing the media at ITB Berlin 2019. “With the increased investment that the tourism sector is receiving from the national and State Governments of India, we can go higher. We can offer any facet of tourism you are looking for. With our investment in digital and transport, we can offer visitors a seamless experience.”
Tripathi officially launched the Incredible India pavilion featuring the the country as ‘The Land of the Festivals.’ Ravneet Kaur, CMD, ITDC; Ram Subhag Singh IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Himachal Pradesh; Meenakshi Sharma, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism and Paramita Tripathi, DCM, Embassy of India were also present.
Giving a presentation on India Tourism, Meenakshi Sharma said India accounts for 1.2 per cent of world tourism in terms of share but is getting stronger as the country’s infrastructure improves. “We have visitors coming from all over the world. Domestic tourism growth has doubled in the last six years. One positive indicator is that India’s earnings in world tourism receipts is 2.1 per cent – suggesting that visitors are spending freely once they arrive in India.”
She added that infrastructure developments are also helping to drive tourism, including an improved aviation network. Of 125 airports, 32 are international and there is a target to double the total airport count to 250 by 2020, opening up more of the country. “Our e-visa has been a game-changer, and there have also been various traveller-first policies that support our tourism industry’s growth.”
India Tourism won first prize in the category of ‘TV Cinema Spot’ at the prestigious International Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019. Promotional films and television commercials such as ‘Yogi of the Racetrack’, ‘The Reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Jones’, ‘Sanctuary in Paris’, ‘Maharani of Manhattan’ and ‘The Masala Master Chef’ produced by the Ministry as part of its Incredible India 2.0 campaign were selected for the award. The Golden City Gate Tourism Multi-media Awards are given annually in various categories related to the tourism and hospitality sectors.
VISIT MALAYSIA 2020
Datuk Musa Yusof, General Director of Tourism Malaysia said Visit Malaysia 2020 hopes to welcome a targeted 30 million international visitors to the country in 2020. “We are targeting €21.6 billion in tourism revenue – a reasonable projection,” he told mediapersons at ITB Berlin 2019. “The country wants to emphasise to Europe its ecotourism and cultural activities. But above all, we want to promote authenticity as tourists today want to experience rather than just do a simple circuit. We will also continue to promote, for example, home stays, which enable visitors to experience local life.”
According to him, Western Europe remains an important market. “From Germany, we recorded a growth of 17.4 per cent, one of the best performances from Western Europe. The creation of a non-stop scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur with Condor contributed to that performance,” Yusof said. “The success of the route was better than expected, with Condor’s load factor reaching an average 90 per cent,” the Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau said. Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) are with Condor for a continuation of the airline’s programme in Q3 2019.
ABU DHABI RISING
Visitor figures to Abu Dhabi have once again risen year-on-year as the Emirate welcomed 10 million visitors in 2018. “There are many factors driving this success; we have been greatly diversifying our tourism offering, and apart from the usual holidaymakers, placing a greater focus on developing different sub-sectors – cultural, business, medical and cruise tourism. This has been paying off. In 2018, the cruise sector provided us more than 3,50,000 visitors while Louvre Abu Dhabi, attracted more than 2.6 million people to the Emirate,” said Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, the Acting Executive Director of the Marketing and Communications Sector, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism at ITB Berlin 2019.
“December 2019 saw the addition of a jewel to Abu Dhabi’s cultural crown, with the much-anticipated launch of the Al Hosn cultural site.” According to him, Abu Dhabi has six tier I markets: the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, the United States, UK, India, Germany and China. “However, the variety and scope of the Emirate’s offerings are attracting a wide demographic of tourists from these source destinations and far beyond,” he said.
RAK’S THREE-YEAR STRATEGY
Haitham Mattar, Chief Executive Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, on the sidelines of ITB Berlin 2019 said 2018 was another remarkable year for Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in terms of achievements and milestones, primarily exceeding the target of one million visitors. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority launched its first three-year destination strategy in 2016 outlining the vision and mission for tourism in the Emirate, with the goal of attracting one million visitors to Ras Al Khaimah by 2018.
At ITB, Ras Al Khaimah showcased a virtual reality experience of Jebel Jais Flight, the world’s longest zipline, which has welcomed over 25,000 flyers since opening a year ago.
The five-day exhibition saw trade visitor numbers touching 1,13,500, a three per cent increase compared with 2017. “ITB Berlin is of great importance, particularly in times of widespread uncertainty. It is not possible for hi-tech communications to replace the confidence-building measure of face-to-face meetings and a direct exchange between business partners on issues concerning the global industry. That is why ITB Berlin functions,” said Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.
Between 6 and 10 March 2019 over 10,000 exhibitors from 181 countries and regions displayed their products and services to visitors in 26 halls. The next ITB Berlin will take place from March 4 to 8, 2020.
