Tag: Indian travellers

Indian tourist arrivals to Greece has more than doubled to 38,046 in the first nine months of the current calendar year. Around 17,376 Indian tourists visited Greece in the same period of 2017, according to a data by Greece National Tourist Office (GNTO) and Athens International Airport. “Greece as a destination has gained momentum over the years and we are glad to witness the rising interest of Indians for Greece as a popular holiday destination across the country. Our approach is to target the captive audience across various age groups simply by appealing to every kind of travel need,” said Konstantinos ... Read more

Singapore is expecting 14 per cent growth in tourist footfalls from India this year compared to 2017, and plans to tap the growing young travellers. “Last year was a record year where we received 1.27 million Indians travellers. This year, from January till September we have already received 1.08 million Indians. So looking at this growing trend we are hoping 14 per cent growth over last year,” said GB Srithar, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) regional director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa. “With the record arrivals in 2017, India has become the third highest contributor of visitor arrivals to Singapore,” ... Read more

The Republic of Turkey said it will discontinue the visa on arrival service from October 28, to a number of nationalities, including Indians. Visitors will need to take a visa before reaching Turkey as the e-visa kiosks at Istanbul airport will not generate visa from the last week of October. Citizens from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and a 100 other countries are eligible for e-visa, which needs to be obtained before you start the journey. Applicants can obtain e-visas after entering the required information for the application and making an online payment. A link to download the visa is the final ... Read more

Tourism Australia has launched a new tourism promotion campaign in India and South East Asia, targeting high value travellers in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The latest chapter in Tourism Australia’s evolving There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign, UnDiscover Australia, challenges perceptions and stereotypes of what Australia offers as a tourism destination by showcasing unusual, unfamiliar and unexpected attractions and experiences. The campaign is being backed by Australia’s state and territory tourism organisations, airlines, and a range of other key distribution partners. India is currently Australia’s fastest growing market for arrivals and spend, achieving a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth. ... Read more

The Netherlands Board Tourism & Convention (NBTC) has witnessed tremendous growth from the Indian market last year and wants to continue the momentum in 2018. Netherlands welcomed 1,65,000 Indians in 2017, with India being the second fastest emerging market along with Brazil, witnessing a 31 per cent increase over 2017. Realising the potential, Netherlands has set a target to clock 25 per cent growth this year thereby reaching the figure of two lakh Indian arrivals. NBTC has already recorded over 67,000 visitors from India until May 2018. NBTC has recently organised Holland Sales Mission 2018 in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. NBTC Holland ... Read more

Seychelles has welcomed over 13,500 visitors from India in 2017 making it the seventh largest source market for the destination. In the first half of 2018, over 8,000 Indians travelled to Seychelles showcasing a steady rise of 13.3 per cent from January to July 2018 vis-a-vis the same time period in 2017. This rise in numbers can be attributed to the India tourist office’s committed focus on promotion of the destination, interest and efforts from the hotels and DMCs to capture the Indian market, increased customer awareness due to innovative digital presence along with direct flights from Mumbai 5 times ... Read more

The last couple of months have been testing times for Indonesia as the South East Asian nation was facing good number of natural disasters. But, Nia Niscaya, Deputy Minister of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (MoTRI), said that it was Indian tourists who supported the disaster-hit nation. “Due to Mount Agung eruption last year in Bali, Indonesia has suffered a loss of over one million tourists but it was the Indian market that helped the country resurrect its position in the global tourism market. There was 30 per cent year-on-year increase in terms of Indian arrivals in 2017, ... Read more

With an aim to educate the travel trade on Qatar’s tourism offerings, Qatar Tourism Authority has recently conducted their first ever workshop at St Regis in Mumbai. Around 14 companies including DMCs and hotels participated in the half-day event. “India has emerged as a very strong market for us. We are adopting different strategies for the India market and as of now our focus will be Delhi and Mumbai. In near future we will target the Southern region of India,” said Sanal Issac, Sales Manager, Gulf Adventures. “We can meet the expectations of Indian travellers that include food as well. Qatar can ... Read more

In mid-2017, the Department of Home Affairs (HA), formerly the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, extended online lodgement of visitor visa applications to all Indian nationals. The online application process provides a more convenient option for Indians looking to visit Australia, by allowing them to apply for their Australian tourist visa within the comfort of their home, without any biometric requirement or physically submitting their passport to the Department. In an age where travellers are increasingly self-reliant in planning and booking holidays, the e-lodgement facility allows tourists greater independence when planning a trip to Australia and has proved to ... Read more

Travellers with Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France. “I’m pleased to announce that, with effect from July 23, 2018, holders of Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa (ATV) while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France,” tweeted Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India. An airport transit visa is applicable for those who are just transiting the Schengen territory and who will not leave the transit area of the airport. However, hotel accommodations are only available outside the ... Read more

As per the first six months’ reports of 2018 by the Immigration Department of Nepal, almost one lakh Indians visited the Himalayan Nation, out of the total 5,20,000 foreign tourists. Chinese came second with 71,379 visitors, while US became third 43,816 visitors during the six months. The total number of foreign visitors during this period shows an increase of 13 per cent, when compared to the same period in the previous year. Other foreigners who visited Nepal were from South Asia and European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden etc. “The number of foreign ... Read more

Singapore has received 6.1 lakh visitors from India between January to May 2018, reporting a 17 per cent year-on-year increase from 2017. In 2017 visitor arrivals from India had crossed 1 million mark for the third time in a row, showcasing the highest growth rate at 16 per cent in comparison with all markets. Also, India continues to be the top source market for visitor arrivals in the cruise segment for Singapore. Last year, 127,000 cruise passengers from India sailed out of Singapore’s shores, showing a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent from 2016. In 2017, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) ... Read more

Israel has witnessed a record breaking growth of 82 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals to the country from January to June, 2018, in the last three years. More than 40,000 Indian tourists visited Israel in the last six months as compared to the 22,000 footfall during the same period in 2015 as per the statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). Israel also witnessed a whopping 17,800 Indian arrivals with 115 per cent growth in May alone as compared to 8,300 visitors in May 2015. “We have been witnessing a steady year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals to Israel ... Read more

Sri Lanka has recorded a growth of 15.3 per cent in tourist arrivals during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year. According to the statistics from the Tourism Ministry, 1,164,647 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka between January and June. 1,010,444 tourists visited the country during the same period previous year. In June, 146,828 tourists arrived in the island country, registering 19 per cent increase from the arrivals recorded in June 2017. India remains the largest market for Sri Lanka in June, followed by China and Britain. Visitors from India grew 18.4 per cent to 32,971, and arrivals from ... Read more

More than 58 per cent of respondents remain unaffected by the dip in the rupee and continue to pursue their holiday plans, according to a survey by Yatra.com.  Looking beyond the US Dollar exchange rate, the stable Euro is attracting Indian travellers. Europe (42 per cent) has emerged as a destination of choice, closely followed by South East Asian countries, including, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia (30 per cent). The strengthening of the US dollar against Indian rupee has also adversely impacted America as a choice of destination for vacation. However, 51.5 per cent respondents are optimistic for the rupee to rise to ... Read more