European Quartet aims more visitors from India
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To tap the growing potential of the Indian outbound market, European Quartet which consists of Czech Tourism, Hungarian National Tourist Office, Polish Tourist Organisation and Slovak Tourist Board recently organised a roadshow in New Delhi and Mumbai to create awareness about its composite tourism profile in India.
Emilla Kubik, Project Leader – Asian Markets, Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO), said that Poland welcomed 26,000 Indian visitors in 2015 and this number is growing. “It is not a dynamic growth but we observe more and more Indian travellers related to business coming in bigger numbers. Of course, when there is a business trip, there is a scope for leisure. We are very much looking for that kind of business relations, not only business travellers. We are very much looking forward to showcasing not only Warsaw but beyond the capital city,” Kubik said and added that direct air connectivity between India and Poland will make things easier. “Although connectivity is not a major issue, we focus on creating awareness among Indian travellers through different communication channels. We are also planning to launch training programme for Indian travel trade,” she added. She informed that PTO is keen to promote Krakow which is popular for its priceless historical monuments of culture and art and Gdansk and Mazury. The main source markets from Poland are Germany, Russia, UK, USA and from Asia it is China. “India is not in the top 20 source markets,” she said.
Karina Vitkova, International Marketing Manager – Long Haul Markets, CzechTourism, revealed that CzechTourism is going to appoint its PR and marketing agency by end of this year. “The theme for next year’s promotion will be ‘Baroque Czech Republic’. Baroque signifies the European architecture, music and art. We welcomed 40,000 Indian in 2015 and we are expecting to welcome 50,000 this year,” Vitkova added.
Hungary witnessed a growth of 70 per cent in Indian arrivals during January – June 2016. “We received 40,000 Indian tourists in 2015. We are not only receiving leisure tourists but also mid-sized groups and MICE travellers to Hungary,” Mark Kinces, International Marketing Manager, South-East Europe, Hungarian Tourism Agency, said. Slovakia is also aiming to create awareness about its tourism products in India to attract tourists, said Robert Vincze, Head-Slovak Convention Bureau, Slovak Tourism Board.