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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.

Tourism stakeholders plan to bring the world ‘Back to Bali’

Indonesia's most popular tourist destination Bali's tourism business stakeholders think that the time is right to ensure Bali is first and foremost in the mind of soon-to-be travellers and spearheaded by some of them, led by Finns group, the destination has pulled together the biggest tourism campaign in the history of the island - ‘Back to Bali’. Bali has been closed to tourists for almost 12 months, which has decimated its tourism industry, and it’s no secret that tourism is the lifeblood of Bali.

“With the world preparing to travel again, we believe now is the time to launch a ‘Back to Bali’ campaign where customers can buy their dream holiday for unprecedented prices and commit to future Bali travel kick-starting the revival of the tourism industry. We are thrilled that the campaign has been endorsed by Wonderful Indonesia, Bali Tourism, Bali Hotels Association and Garuda Airlines,” said Beau Whittington, the COO of Finns Bali.

The campaign’s global launch features a video that showcases the best that Bali has to offer. “The Back to Bali campaign is taking a whole island approach for all travellers whether they are couples, families or singles. With over 100 resorts, 500 villas and hundreds of activity providers and about 150 tour operators participating, we are confident this offer has something to suit every demographic on any budget,” said Whittington.

Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha launches Phuket Sandbox

General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister of Thailand, made an official visit to launch the much-awaited Phuket Sandbox programme to reopen the island to fully vaccinated international tourists from select countries.

Thai PM personally inspected the readiness and safety measures in place at a number of key tourism-related sites. This included the main entry-exit points of Phuket International Airport and Thai Chatchai Pier alongside Sarasin Bridge, which connects to the mainland, and also the ‘EOC Phuket Tourism Sandbox Operation Centre’. The Centre, in turn, is connected to the Royal Thai Government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), which is responsible for the nationwide Covid-19 control and prevention measures. The high-profile visit shows the programme’s importance to the revitalisation of the overall tourism sector in Thailand.

With the Phuket Sandbox programme in effect, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects 100,000 foreign tourists to visit Phuket in the third quarter of 2021, generating THB 8.9 billion (USD 277 million) in revenue for the local economy. A number of major airlines including Etihad, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International (THAI) are already reconnecting Phuket with world cities like London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore with direct flights.

"In the best interest of all travellers, Thailand will open up in a phased manner starting with the low & medium Covid-19 affected countries. Given that the situation in India is slowly improving; we sincerely hope India will be on the consideration list soon. Thailand is waiting and looking forward to welcoming Indian visitors to the Land of Smiles very soon," the Tourism Authority of Thailand (New Delhi) has said in a press statement.

All licensed hotels of Qatar are now ‘Qatar Clean’ certified

Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) has announced that under its Qatar Clean programme, 100 per cent of QNTC-licensed hotels are now 'Qatar Clean' certified. Launched in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in June 2020, Qatar Clean certified hotels and restaurants can operate at limited capacity and serve fully vaccinated individuals. QNTC’s Qatar Clean programme ensures the highest standards in hygiene and cleanliness, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of customers. With 100 pc hotels now fully certified, the programme is now being expanded to restaurants and can be rolled out to other sectors including transport, retail and culture.

“As we mark one year of our Qatar Clean programme, we are very pleased with its successful implementation. 100 pc of QNTC-licensed hotels have now been certified Qatar Clean, and the programme illustrates how together we are with our stakeholders and therefore have been able to innovate and adapt to the challenges of the past year. Qatar Clean is a key component of our proposition; those in Qatar can enjoy our award-winning hospitality and world-class offerings with their safety assured, and we look forward to welcoming visitors from both near and far,” said Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive and secretary-general of Qatar National Tourism Council.

AVIAREPS INDIA conducts its first-ever 3D virtual roadshow

Tourism marketing company AVIAREPS India concluded its very first 3D digital roadshow in India from June 23 to 24, 2021 with 12 partners on board representing tourism destinations like Brussels, Miami, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and hotel brands like Radisson and RoccoForte.

Over the two days of the virtual fair, a total of 250+ attendees from the Indian outbound travel fraternity ensured 350+ pre-scheduled meetings while 1,710 contacts exchanged via booth visitations as well as allowing agents to interact amongst themselves, making it an interactive platform.

“The maiden virtual edition of AVIAREPS INDIA TRAVEL CONNECT is a clear indication that it is time for us to shift gears and focus on development and continuity of business," said Ellona Pereira, head, AVIAREPS India.

“We are confident that these virtual roadshows will help Moscow attract new flows of tourists from India and present our city as a safe, vibrant and dynamic destination,” said Artur Perekhod, head of international affairs, Moscow Project Office for Tourism and Hospitality.

“St. Petersburg Convention Bureau was delighted to see such an amazing interest towards the destination among the representatives of tourism community in India and we are looking forward to further strengthen our cooperation," summarised Asya Sattarova, from the events & exhibitions department of St. Petersburg Convention Bureau.

ITB Asia 2021 to be held virtually on October 25 – 29

One of the largest travel trade shows in Asia, ITB Asia 2021 will be an all-virtual event with the physical show postponed to 2022. Messe Berlin (Singapore) has announced the complete digitalisation of ITB Asia, set to go virtual from October 25 – 29, 2021. After close observation of international developments of the Covid-19 pandemic and extensive conversations with local authorities and partners, the show organisers made the difficult decision to move the show completely virtual. The decision is made as Singapore, the permanent physical venue of the show moves to Phase III (heightened alert) where the current limit for MICE events is set at 250 attendees.

In addition, the recent surge in Covid-19 infections in the Asia-Pacific region has dimmed the outlook for the aviation sector, undermining previous optimism among travellers as regional countries tighten border controls and travel restrictions to control the spread of the virus. Therefore, after careful consideration, Messe Berlin (Singapore) concludes to postpone the physical ITB Asia to 2022 and hold this year's event virtually.

“Our team is committed in bringing a hybrid concept of ITB Asia, MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia for the travel trade industry coming October. However, global health and travel uncertainties accompanied by the rapid emergence of new Covid-19 variants had halted our efforts. The hybrid concept garnered an excellent response with over 600 confirmed exhibitors, but it has become apparent that international delegates are unable to reasonably plan their participation and travel arrangements. Therefore, with a good lead time this year we will conduct the show virtually, offering international delegates a stronger digital platform for B2B networking, learning and knowledge sharing,” said Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

Kenya to host World Rally Championship for next 5 years

Kenya has announced that it will be hosting the World Rally Championship (WRC) for the next five years - every year until 2026, after the government of Kenya secured the hosting rights from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the WRC.

This was announced during the final day of the 2021 WRC Safari rally championship and after Kenya successfully hosted the event which took place between June 24 - 27 in Naivasha. Kenya hosted the event after a 19-year break, a major milestone and significant to the destination’s history.

Drivers from around 15 countries across Europe and Africa took part in the competition with French driver Sebastien Ogier navigated by Julien Ingrassa winning the overall competition after stiff competition from other competitors.


India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group