Goa turns focus on Festival Tourism

Expects more than 2.5 lakh tourists for Carnaval to be held from March 1-4, 2014

As part of its strategy to develop Goa as a year-round tourist destination, Goa Tourism has decided to focus on Festival Tourism and is packaging and promoting the various festivals as major tourism events. Dilip Parulekar, Minister for Tourism, Woman & Child Development, Government of Goa along with Nikhil Desai, Director Tourism, Government of Goa and Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), addressed the media in Mumbai at Bungalow 9 restaurant to outline the grand plans for this year’s edition of the popular Goa Carnaval which will take place from March 1-4 and will be celebrated in seven cities with the main parade in Panaji on the first day.

“The Carnaval is the highlight of our annual calendar and we want to ensure that this will be an unforgettable experience for locals, as well as visitors to the state. The event is Goa’s tribute to its diverse population and heritage and it aims to spread a message of peace, unity and harmony. Our vision is to see that the Carnaval here becomes as popular as the legendary Brazilian Carnaval,” stated Parulekar. The Minister added that Goa Tourism is keen on promoting the state as a destination for celebrations.

“Goa is a place that induces a contagious celebratory spirit, right from weddings to festivals everything here is celebrated with pomp and fervour. This is why we are also promoting and packaging festivals and events like the Carnaval 2014 followed by Cashew & Coconut Festival and other festivals like Shigmo, Sao Jao, Bonderam and Tirpurari Purnima which have some quaint traditions associated with it and are a testimony to Goa’s rich history. It is also our effort to preserve the heritage and cultural lineage of our state,” stated Parulekar. He said that they expect more than 2.5 lakh tourists to participate in the Carnaval this year, which recorded nearly two lakh tourists last year.

To add that element of glamour and excitement to the proceedings, a Brazilian troupe will be especially flown in for an electrifying Samba performance for the Carnaval this year. Prominent musicians including the Raghu Dixit Project, Strings and some famous home-grown bands will perform at the festival too. It is expected that a fashion show and a fire display will also be included in the celebrations.

What makes the event different this year is that it will feature street performances by musicians at various vantage points across the state, a King Momo contest and increased prize money. The upcoming movie, Youngistan is the partner for the Carnaval and the stars of the movie Jackky Bhagnani and Neha Sharma were also present at the press meet and shared their experiences of Goa and association of the movie with the Carnaval. Anselm Pereira, owner of Bungalow9 announced that the restaurant will be hosting, Carnaval Feast, a grand food festival with music and dance from February 21 to March 2, 2014 to offer a sluice of the Carnavalexperience.

Coinciding with the Goa Carnaval, the Tourism Department is also organising the Food and Culture Festival that will commence on February 28, 2014. According to Desai, the Food and Culture Festival was revived last year after a gap of nine years. Apart from local Goan dishes cuisines of 15 other states of India will also be featured in the Festival. He informed that the parade during Shigmo Festival (March 16-31) will be held in 17 towns this year.

“The Cashew and Coconut Festival is one-of-its’-kind and will be held in mid-May this year. It will be a fun event with lot of activities like cashew stomping and contests like coconut breaking, coconut tree climbing, etc. and cuisine and showcase of handicrafts made from coconut. Our efforts are to showcase the heritage and culture of the state and attract larger number of repeat visitors to the state,” stated Desai.

Goa turns focus on Festival Tourism

Jordan's tourism lure put to the test in 2013

5,388,917 tourists visited Jordan in 2013, a drop from 6,314,250 in 2012

The number of tourists who visited the Kingdom in 2013 witnessed a 14 per cent decrease compared to a year earlier, according to official figures.

An official report issued in response to a query by The Jordan Times showed that 5,388,917 tourists visited Jordan in 2013, a drop from 6,314,250 in 2012.

Figures showed that there was a 32.9 per cent drop in the number of same-day visitors, with 1,443,557 tourists coming to the country last year, compared with 2,151,883 in 2012.

There also was a 5.2 per cent drop in the number of overnight visitors in 2013, when 3,495,360 tourists came to Jordan, compared with 4,162,367 tourists a year before.

The regional turmoil is still the main reason to blame for the drop in the number of overall visitors to the Kingdom, according to Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, director general of the Jordan Tourism Board.

Arabiyat noted that the number of European tourists was lower than in previous years due to the impact of the economic crisis, citing figures issued by the UN World Tourism Organisation.

He said 80 per cent of European tourists travelled within the European zone, while only 20 per cent of tourists travelled to other continents.

Jordan, Arabiyat said, should offer more for Arab tourists to attract more visitors from the region.

“We need to provide more to the Arab market, and work on entertainment activities and family attractions to encourage tourists to extend their stay,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Only 671,599 Europeans visited Jordan last year, a 12.5 per cent drop compared to 2012, according to the figures.

Arab tourists topped the list of visitors to the Kingdom last year, with 3,083,848 visitors.

The majority of Arab tourists were from Saudi Arabia, standing at 1,079,361 visitors.

Jordan's tourism lure put to the test in 2013

Role of airports in increasing tourism

In The Terminal starring Tom Hanks, the comfort and beauty of JFK International Airport is not enough to satisfy the Krakozhian traveler Viktor Navorski who needs to get into New York city to fulfill his mission. Airports are ultimately only the gateway and not the destination.

Airports however do play an important role in bringing in the crowd and is no longer confined to providing superior infrastructure, competitive rates and extensive connections. Airports have to market the destination as well with the primary target being the airline and the secondary target the traveler.

In a playing field where destinations have to compete for any airlines’ business, the way an airport markets the destination can be a strong decider for the airline. This is clearly evident in the case of Kuala Lumpur which has had to grapple with two very strong competitors – Bangkok and Singapore, both of which are tourist getaways and business hubs.

Kuala Lumpur specifically KL International Airport has managed to hold its own largely due to joint efforts of the airports together with the tourism authority and the airlines. Total passenger volume leapt from 27.5 million in 2008 to 47.5 million in 2013. In terms of international passenger traffic KL International Airport ranked number 12 in the world with 23.8 million passengers from September 2012 to September 2013 ahead of Narita, Madrid-Barajas and John F Kennedy.

The lesson learnt from KL International Airport can be applied to satellite airports such as Kuching, the third largest airport in Malaysia in terms of passenger number with 4.85 million passengers in 2013 and poised for even greater numbers in the near future.

There is potential from both domestic and international routes. The Kuala Lumpur – Kuching sector is the second busiest route between airports in Malaysia with approximately 52,000 seats per week after Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu. The number of international flights into Kuching has increased with the addition of Xpress Air flying in from Pontianak in Indonesia in 2013 in addition to Malaysia Airlines and flights from Singapore by Silk Air, Air Asia, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Kuching is never an easy sell with the international airlines and is probably a lack of knowledge about how strategically located. For one it is in the center of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) growth triangle. It is also within a five hour flight of all the major cities in Southern China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and South East Asia, a market size of more than a billion people.

Kuching airport is probably the airport with the most advanced facilities in Borneo. Not just the airport but the ciy’s infrastructure is up to date with convention centers, hotels and road networks linking most parts of the city.

Just like how we had to tell people there actually was something in between Thailand and Singapore in the good old days, we have to do the same with Kuching. To get the airlines into the door, we provide incentives to new airlines or existing airlines such as free landing charges, office rental and funding for marketing and promotional activities. We needn’t have but we know that these small discounts go a long way. To the airlines there is a risk of a new route but we try to lessen that risk. We also advise them to start with a small number of flights and build up the capacity over time.

As for the secondary target which is the traveller, we are surprised that many do not know that Kuching has mountains, rivers beaches, national parks, caves and wildlife sanctuaries – all within an hour from the city. It is also culturally very diverse and colourful in terms of cuisine, history, architecture, music and the arts.

The recently concluded ASEAN Tourism Forum 2014 which was held in Kuching points to Kuching acting as a springboard to nature and adventure in other parts of Sarawak. What we are saying is that you don’t have to hop on to another plane from Kuching. The option is available only if you choose to do so. There is enough to do in Kuching to keep even the most intrepid traveller occupied.

In the past the promotion campaigns may have been missing some focus. It is only after testing and experimenting and working together with our partners that we feel that we have hit on the correct formula which is a strong emphasis on adventure with elements of nature and culture. We are working closely with the Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and other bodies to spread the word and it just needs time and patience on our part working with these various agencies before Kuching gets the attention it rightfully deserves.

Footnote – Kuching is preparing to host Routes Asia 2014 – the essential event for all aviation based companies who wish to conduct business to, from and within Asia – from March 9 – 11, 2014.

Role of airports in increasing tourism

Time Northern Ireland tourism learned some home truths from abroad

David McNarry believes tourism would benefit from joining forces with the rest of the UK instead of being yoked to the Republic. We’ll only flourish if we do both, says Don Anderson.

Visitors walk along the basalt rocks at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland

An old joke in the tourism business was about the man complaining how hard it was to sell Northern Ireland overseas. The answer was that he shouldn’t bother. Instead, he should try giving it away, though there was no guarantee that would work, either.

Leaving aside the self-deprecating humour, which should be part of our sales pitch, David McNarry MLA’s comments about promoting tourism are to be welcomed, because we all should be thinking about attracting more visitors and how to go about it.

There can be scarcely a soul in the province who doesn’t think that increased tourism for Northern Ireland is worthwhile.

We’ll take that for granted.

So let us talk and argue about inward tourism, rather than about some of the topics which have engaged us, nay, obsessed us for ages.

Notwithstanding his unionist credentials, David McNarry helps make the point that borders are not good for tourism — something the Scots should think about when voting in the independence referendum in September, since tourism is a significant contribution to their wealth and a goodly number of those tourists reach Scotland through England.

Not long ago, we travelled on aBelfast Telegraph holiday week-long trip to Croatia and the Dalmatian coast. Since the disastrous and bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, the territory is criss-crossed with borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia.

Croatia has extraordinary borders, with Bosnia taking a 20-mile corridor to the sea north of Dubrovnik, cutting off a corner of the country from the rest. Croatia is shaped like a boomerang with a separated broken tip.

The queues at the borders and the multiple currencies detracted from what was otherwise a delightful and still-recommended holiday. There are those who go to Dubrovnik and stay there because of the hassle with currencies alone. We should, therefore, not be surprised if the same applies to overseas visitors landing in Dublin. We can tell them that the border with Northern Ireland is scarcely discernible nowadays, but they will need to be told they have to change their money and, while any tourism pitch can downgrade this as a problem, it is not possible to eradicate it.

Consequently, a quick dart in a coach with a packed lunch to the Giant’s Causeway from over the border seems as attractive to the overseas visitor as it is unappealing to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. The quick dart is possible because Northern Ireland is small; there is no escaping this fact.

Size does matter. For many visitors to the Republic, Ireland is an island which is not large and Northern Ireland for them is a small corner which they might like to include, if time allows. It won’t be a deal-breaker if time and circumstances do not allow.

Small wonder that there is a perception that the promotion of Northern Ireland from Dublin is not as vigorous as many would like. Realistically, there are market constraints.

However, much the same constraints apply to David McNarry’s preferred solution of having Northern Ireland marketed from London and other UK capitals.

Most tourists to the UK are going to land in London, or on the south coast of England. For them, Northern Ireland is at the other end of the country and, more seriously, is on the other side of yet another sea.

We can point to the multiple means of reaching us, to the golf, the walking, the cycling, the scenery, the culture, the bonhomie, the same currency and the superb coastline, but overseas tourists will look at the added expense and effort in crossing the sea — and all-too-often decide to remain within Great Britain’s borders, where there are more than enough attractions.

And let’s be honest. The tourist-promoting authorities over there will inevitably apply the same vigour to selling Northern Ireland as does Dublin, perhaps even less.

For everywhere else on these islands, we are a place apart and it is possible that all partners will disappoint. The UK air passenger tax means Dublin is a cheaper entry and exit point to the island for many people.

This is not the counsel of despair. We have a viable tourism product, which is improving. The new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway and the Titanic attraction in Belfast alone are evidence. So is the burgeoning hotel and restaurant sector.

Accept that we are on the northern outskirts of the European continent and this imposes limits upon reasonable expectation. The answer to promoting ourselves must surely be to accept help from wherever we can. Let Dublin, London, Cardiff and Glasgow all promote us. Paris and Berlin, too, if we can talk them into it.

One last point worth emphasising again and again: try asking an internet search engine for images of Northern Ireland. You will receive wonderful pictures, but dotted among them are images of riots and flag protests. If you think they don’t impact, suggest a trip to Egypt to the next person you meet.

We don’t make things easy for anyone promoting Northern Ireland as a carefree destination — including David McNarry.

Time Northern Ireland tourism learned some home truths from abroad

Andhra issue takes the colour out of National Tourism Awards

Tourism Minister’s preoccupation with Andhra Pradesh politics and the bifurcation issue in the Parliament, literally took the colour out of the National Tourism Awards 2012-13 held at Vigyan Bhavan today.  As Dr K Chiranjeevi, the host Minister, stayed away from his Ministry’s annual show, the Chief Guest of the Award function, Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, also declined to present the annual awards. In their absence, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India, filled the gap and played the role of a saviour.

Addressing the captains of the tourism industry, who turned out in large numbers for the Awards, Tharoor urged them to promote not only the Incredible side of India but the credible side of the country also to the outside world. In spite of truly incredible natural beauty and vibrant culture, “best of tourism” is yet to happen in India, he said, citing the example of France, which receives the highest number of foreign tourists. He urged the industry to vie for country’s “rightful place” on the global tourism map. Considering the capacity of the tourism industry to generate more employment than any other sector in a given investment, Tharoor advocated “encouragement for more investments” into the sector.  He also explained the various steps taken by the government to boost tourism into the country like collective landing permits; 90-day Visa free entry for medical tourists, visa on arrival for more countries, etc.

Although the Tourism Minister stayed away from the awards function, the Andhra stamp writ large in the Awards. Andhra Pradesh shared the first prize for Best State for Comprehensive Development of Tourism with Madhya Pradesh, while Kerala came second, and Gujarat at the third place.  In the Best Heritage City category, Tourism Minister’s own constituency, Tirupati became the winner. Two HMV drivers of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation were picked up for this year’ s Atithidevo Bhava Award for their act of preventing a robbery on a tourist bus.  For another year in a row, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad was adjudged the Best Airport in the country. Other accolades for the state included Best maintained and disabled-friendly monument for Golconda Fort Hyderabad; Best Film Promotion Friendly state, and ‘Best standalone convention centre – Leonia International Centre for Exhibition & Conventions, Hyderabad.

Among the states of the North East and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the latter once again bagged the award for Best State for Comprehensive Development of Tourism. After a while, Kerala Tourism once again came back well to win few Awards.  Kumarakom Grama Panchayat won the Best Civic Management of Tourist Destination in Catetory ‘C’ city, while the Kerala Tourism website became the winner in Most Innovative Information Technology Website category.  The Kochi Muziris Biennale Project of Kerala Tourism was adjudged the Most Innovative Tourism Project.

In National Tourism Award 2012-13, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India ha also recognised people for their outstanding contribution to the industry through the Life Time Achievement Award.  The winners of this Award were Hugh & Colleen Gantzer, writer-photographer couple and Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg, who together played key role in heritage conservation.

Andhra issue takes the colour out of National Tourism Awards

Saudi to inject US$30.9 bn in tourism over next decade

Tourism is being ranked a top priority for Saudi tourism officials. The Saudi government is investing heavily in its tourism sector, principally to provide employment opportunities for Saudi graduates.

According to a 2013 MENA tourism and hospitality report by research consultancy aranca, investment in the travel and tourism sector is expected to increase at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of four percent to SAR 30.9 billion over a 10-year period from 2013-23.

The number of tourists visiting KSA is estimated to increase at a CAGR of two percent to 21.3 million over the period 2013 – 23. Revenues will total SAR 60.9 bn by 2023 – due to an increase in number of Hajj and Umrah tourists and growth of international shopping centres.

To cope with the increasing number of visitors, the Saudi government has outlined a plan to invest more than US$30 bn in its airports by 2020, including US$ 10 bn in private investment for the sector. More than US$ 12.5 bn has already been earmarked for the country’s four main international airports in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Madinah.

Based on the expected growth of the region, the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) roadshow took off in Riyadh to deliver a presentation at the offices of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities.

“The travel and tourism sector’s direct contribution to Saudi Arabian GDP is projected to increase at a CAGR of four percent to SAR83.7 bn by 2023. Put that into perspective, it is equivalent to about nine percent of current Saudi GDP, which is a great achievement. This is solely as the Kingdom looks to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbon receipts,” said Mark Walsh, portfolio director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.

Riyadh is the final leg of the six Middle East destinations being visited by the ATM team during its roadshow which took in Bahrain, Kuwait, Beirut, Muscat and Dubai. A strong delegation from the Kingdom is expected at ATM. Led by the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities it includes, Saudia Airline, Umrah & Makarim Hospitality Group, Fursan Travel & Leisure, Hanco Rent a Car, EbreezTech, Rahhal International, and Unique Choice.

Saudi to inject US$30.9 bn in tourism over next decade

Malaysian Airlines Travel Fair offers exciting fares

The campaign, which will run until February 28, will be for the travel period between February 19 and September 30, 2014 to more than 25 destinations around the world.

Malaysia Airlines is offering exciting air fares through the Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair (MATF) campaign starting February 18. The campaign, which will run until February 28, will be for the travel period between February 19 and September 30, 2014.

Travelers booking their tickets during this campaign will enjoy discounts of up to 30 per cent to more than 25 destinations around the world, an official statement issued here said. Travelers from India can book their journey from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kochi to various Malaysia Airlines regional destinations including its latest route, the picturesque resort destinations, Krabi, in Thailand.

According to Azahar Hamid, regional senior vice president, South Asia and Middle East, Malaysia Airlines, MATF has always been very popular with all our travelers. ”We are making traveling more affordable with these amazingly low fares and there is no better time to fly Malaysia Airlines than now. We look forward to an exceptional response for these fantastic deals; hence we encourage our customers to take advantage of these value-for-money deals,” he added.

Customers can purchase return airfares from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur from Rs. 19,965 all-inclusive return. Flights to Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi from Kochi are priced from Rs. 15,287 all-inclusive return while Hyderabad to Hong Kong is priced from Rs. 21,180 all-inclusive return.

Passengers travelling from Delhi to Bangkok can enjoy all-inclusive return fares from Rs. 20,247 and Rs. 17,665 return all-inclusive for those travelling from Bangalore to Krabi. Other attractive offers include travel from Chennai to Singapore from Rs.18,705 return all-inclusive and Rs.17,709 return all-inclusive from Mumbai to Phuket, the statement added.

Malaysian Airlines Travel Fair offers exciting fares