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About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound, a brand of Media India Group, is India’s only B2B travel media platform, that encompasses a print magazine, a website, an online TV channel and dynamic social media platforms, entirely dedicated to the promotion of foreign destinations and products in India. India Outbound is a niche platform not just for tourism destinations and products to promote themselves to the Indian travel industry, but also for decision makers to build/change their strategy in a context where the Indian outbound market is not only growing but changing with new dynamics. India Outbound brings to you the latest trends of the market with in depth analysis.

Thailand launches ‘Entry Thailand’ online platform for vaccinated international visitors

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched the “Entry Thailand” online platform arranging in six steps, from Certificate of Entry (COE) registration and flight bookings to quarantine and insurance, for vaccinated international visitors seeking to enter Thailand in integrated efforts by various government agencies.

Available on www.entrythailand.go.th/journey/1, the platform will enable all arrangements, specifically for international visitors who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and are eligible for a shorter mandatory quarantine period per the Thai government’s announcement, which took effect from April 01, 2021.

International visitors who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with a vaccine, approved, and registered with Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health or approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), no less than 14 days before the travelling date will be eligible for the reduction of quarantine to seven days.

Unvaccinated visitors will be subjected to no less than 10-day quarantine, while any visitors from the 11 countries with SAR-CoV-2 virus mutations and variants, as announced by the Ministry of Public Health, will be quarantined for 14 days.

Los Angeles Tourism banks on Oscars to generate traffic on the new campaign

After massive vaccination campaign in the United States, the city of Los Angeles is starting its comeback, safely reopening museums, indoor dining, theme parks and outdoor live events including spectator sports, with appropriate capacity controls and safety protocols. Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is inspiring lovers of the iconic destination to resume travelling to the city, whenever they are ready, with the launch of a new campaign.

“Our focus groups around the world have taught us that visitors view a trip to Los Angeles as a transformative experience. LA’s more than 300 days of healing sunshine, spirit-lifting champion sports teams, inspiring cultural attractions, electric new hotels and restaurants, and endless outdoor experiences are the balms that travellers seek,” stated Adam Burke, president & CEO, Los Angeles Tourism.

The creative will be featured in an IMDb Oscars sponsorship – the first-ever by a destination marketing organisation – through May 02, including a homepage takeover on April 23, timed to take advantage of Oscars-related traffic.

Talent plays an integral role in presenting an authentic Los Angeles experience, which is why Los Angeles Tourism hand-selected real Angelenos who are representative of LA’s diverse and inclusive fabric, including hip-hop artists, comedians, activists, battle rappers, orchestra players, surf & arts collectives and organisers of the annual LA Pride Parade and Festival.

OTOAI collaborates with VisitPortugal for destination update

Continuing with its efforts to find ways and means of enriching the knowledge of the members during these extremely challenging times, the Outbound Tour Operators of India (OTOAI) has collaborated with its recent member VisitPortugal, to hold a series of webinars. The main purpose of these webinars is to enrich the knowledge of OTOAI members regarding Portugal as a tourism destination, attracting visitors from all over the world and update the industry about its seven contrasting regions. Portugal is implementing a gradual opening plan since April 05.

“There are new and revised set of guidelines for people travelling to mainland Portugal, in transit or with connecting flights, regarding which we aim to apprise our members. These webinars are just one of the many initiatives that we have been taking over the last few months to help OTOAI members sail through these exceptionally challenging times,” said Riaz Munshi, president, OTOAI.

“We are a country with such heritage, diversity, inclusiveness, warm hospitality and mild weather. It is not a surprise that celebrities such as Madonna, John Malkovich, Monica Bellucci or Scarlett Johansson decided to settle in our amazing country. These webinars are a continuation of our commitment and B2B strategy in India, after opening our office in New Delhi in 2020. We find it extremely relevant to train our business partners, helping them to sell the destination better. Besides this, we look forward to organising FAM trips to gain first-hand knowledge about our country, once tourism from India to Portugal resumes,” commented Claudia Matias, VisitPortugal Director in India.

Dark Sky Month in Utah to promote astro-tourism

Famous for astro-tourism and stargazing, the American state of Utah celebrated the month of April as Dark Sky Month complementing the Red Emerald Strategic Plan, which aims to elevate life in Utah through responsible tourism stewardship. The Red Emerald Strategic Plan aims to spread out visitation throughout the state and the year, not just high season and highly visited places. Helping visitors prepare to travel responsibly is a key element. The strategy focuses on the quality of visits rather than the quantity of visitors and manages visitation consistent with local community’s priorities.

“Over the last several years we have pivoted dramatically to focus on the quality of the experience for the visitor and hosting communities. Preserving dark skies helps communities establish long-lasting tourism economies and keeps our places forever mighty. Utah State Parks, our national parks and community partners have shown tremendous leadership and vision in preserving the night sky throughout the state,” said Vicki Varela, managing director, Utah Office of Tourism.

Utah is home to some of the darkest skies on earth and currently leads the world in dark sky preservation with 23 accredited International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) places. With good planning and community support, dark sky preservation and astro-tourism is a responsible and sustainable form of tourism that encourages overnight stays, distributes visitation around the state, and educates visitors about Utah.

27 Indian tour operators expected to take part in vGTM 2021

Current trends and strategic approaches to revitalise the incoming tourism in the post-pandemic time are the lead motives of this year's Germany Travel Mart (GTM), organised by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) scheduled next week as a digital event under the title vGTM 2021. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the partner destination for vGTM 2021 and around 240 German suppliers and 460 buyers from international travel companies and online travel companies have so far accredited for the event.

“Total of 27 tour operators pan India have registered for the vGTM 2021. The Indian participants from the travel trade are not only updated on various attractions of destination Germany but also are given an opportunity to be part of one-on-one interactions with the German suppliers, along with varied panel discussion and webinars conducted to showcase and deliver regular updates on the current situation and new insights on the campaigns launched to ensure continuous brand awareness and travel inspiration for Destination Germany,” said Romit Theophilus, director of sales and marketing, German National Tourist Office, India.


India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group