Goa Tourism is on fast track towards scaling up skill development in the tourism sector – both in the hospitality division and in providing skill development support to enterprising young local Goans seeking avenues in tourism through self-employment opportunities.

Following a slow-down in the mining sector, Goa’s economy is now surviving on tourism and the state government through the Department of Tourism, and Goa Tourism Development Corporation is opening new doors and opportunities for them. More than one-third of Goa’s population is now engaged in tourism, both directly and indirectly.

Sharing insights into how the state is catering to the industry requirements in terms of resources and skills development, Menino D’Souza, Director of Tourism, Govt. of Goa said, “We are extremely keen on encouraging more youth to venture into tourism and providing them with all the necessary training, education and knowledge on latest developments in the tourism sector. Goa Tourism is taking various initiatives in this direction which is creating a positive impact and sustainable livelihoods.”

Image source: IHM, Goa

To begin with, Goa’s Institute of Hotel Management, Porvorim offers the best of education to those aspiring to enter the hospitality sector and also to generate self employment avenues. Both degree and diploma courses, short term courses and trainings are conducted all year round. Around 500 to 600 students are availing education and training through IHM. Similarly, several professional colleges in the state are also offering courses in hospitality and food production, catering and restaurant management. Considering the increase in demand for hotel management, the Goa government is also in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art Hotel Management Institute in Goa.

D’Souza further informed that Goa Tourism is also focusing on training all stakeholders in the tourism sector to help make them local brand ambassadors for the state to further step up the tag of Goa being a warm and hospitable holiday locale. Trainings to local taxi drivers, tourist guides, language interpreters, water sports operators, shack operators, lifeguards, etc are being provided through tie-ups with experts, NGOs and institutions. Over the last one year, Goa Tourism has also provided training to its official personnel engaged in operating and managing its tourism services in the state.

Days ahead of the launch of a new taxi based app, Goa Tourism through the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, organized training sessions for drivers on etiquette, first aid, among others. Goa Tourism, however, believes that there is a need to further enhance human capital to meet new challenges every passing year and brace up to competition from other tourism destinations. By imparting knowledge through various skill certification programmes and trainings being initiated by the central ministry of tourism, they hope that these exercises will motivate the Goan youth to take to a profession in tourism.

The new Mopa airport, major tourism infrastructural projects and newer tourism products and services are all expected to open up employment opportunities and the need for skilled resources.

The post Goa Tourism focuses on scaling up skill development appeared first on TravHQ.

An ambitious INR 325-crore ‘Malanad-Malabar cruise tourism’ project was inaugurated by Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala to promote cruise tourism in the waterways of Northern Kerala and encourage tourist arrivals to the lesser-known destinations of the state. The implementation of this project is said to happen with Kerala Tourism’s association with the State Government.

The project will be spread across other parts of the state, including Vadakara and Koilandy taluks of Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Kannur and Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad. It will showcase the tourism potential of eight rivers – Mahe, Valapattanam, Kuppam, Perumba, Kavvayi, Anjarakandy, Tejaswini and Chandragiri rivers and the Lake Valiyaparamba. Around INR 53 crore has been sanctioned for construction work for 17 boat terminals.

The various types of cruises that would be available for the tourists include, the Malabar circuit that will feature cruises based on the themes of its culture, while the martial arts and Kalari cruise on Mahe River will showcase the origins of ‘Kalari’. The Pazhassi Raja and spices cruise on Anjarakkandy River will commemorate Pazhassi’s struggles. The other cruises will include Muthappan and Malabari cuisine cruise, Birds and Agri cruise, Theyyam cruise, Mangrove cruise, Music cruise, Handloom and Handicraft cruise, Water Sports and River Boating Cruise, Model Responsible Village cruise, and Yakshagana cruise. Food and accommodation duties will under the responsibility of the local public of the regional community who will receive various training programs under the guidance of the tourism department.

Under the aegis of the Tourism Department, seminars at the local level will be organised across different regions to discuss the development opportunities regarding the river cruise project.

Speaking at the inauguration, CM Vijayan said, “This initiative will focus on improving the quality of tourism and will make sure that all the visitors will have exceptional experiences. Tourists come in hopes of exploring our land’s rich natural resources and heritage. So it is important that we maintain and keep our culture intact while also accommodating all the required modern amenities in an eco-friendly manner in accordance with sustaining traditional occupations in namely Kasargod and Kannur districts.”

Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala said, “We were unable to explore the tourism potential in North Malabar. With the commencement of this initiative that calls for an integrated plan, Malabar regions in the state will finally be able to expedite tourism opportunities. With the functioning of the Kannur International Airport, the cruise project would attract travel and adventure enthusiasts to the state. Within the last year 600 Crore has been allocated for North Malabar and a government order issued 75 crore for Kannur district and 12.5 crore for Kasargod district.”

The post Kerala Tourism gears up for grand project to promote lesser-known destinations through cruise tourism appeared first on TravHQ.

The rising trend of Indians travelling internationally is not something that can be missed easily. Outbound travel from India is growing exponentially every year; the Yatra Winter Travel Survey 2017 showed that 36% of travellers were planning an international holiday. On an overall basis, it is estimated that 25 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, which is growing a very healthy double-digit rate, setting India on the path to become one of the largest outbound travel markets in the world in the next few years.

Moreover, it is not just the lure of shopping and eating in international locations that brings travellers to foreign shores. With an increasing number of Indian travellers, especially millennials, prioritizing personal experiences over material things, it’s fueling the growth of a more experiential travel ecosystem across the world.

Latching on to this insight, VisitBritain launched its new brand campaign ‘I Travel For’ in Mumbai last month. The campaign will run across digital channels, including Facebook and website to engage with potential travellers and inspire them to book a holiday to Britain right now. Using short films and story-telling to showcase unexpected experiences, the campaign aligns the passions that motivate people to travel with experiences that can only be had in Britain, inspiring overseas visitors to book a trip right now.

Driven primarily across Facebook and Instagram, the campaign will also feature Britain’s iconic landmarks and attractions. Additionally, the films highlight common travel interests such as adventure, culinary, relaxation, culture and the undiscovered.

Still from the campaign film, of an unexplored destination in Great Britain.

Highlighting the new brand campaign, VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said, “I Travel For campaign in India will be targeting Buzzseeker travellers. This campaign aims to build on the strong growth we have seen in visits from India, showcasing that Britain is bursting with fun activities and adventure, exciting and contemporary culture and highlighting less-explored destinations. By promoting unexpected experiences, alongside globally renowned and iconic cultural landmarks and attractions, VisitBritain wants to inspire more visitors from India to book a trip to Britain right now.”

Between January and September 2017, there were a record 436,000 inbound visits from India to the UK, up 32% compared to the same period in 2016. Visits from India spent a record £355 million between January and September 2017, up 7% on same period in 2016.

In February last year, VisitBritain tapped into India’s love for Bollywood and Harry Potter by launching a marketing campaign #OMGB (Oh my Great Britain) ‘Home of Amazing Moments’, to inspire Indian travellers to visit the UK. The seven week campaign ran successfully across social platforms, highlighting unique experiences Britain can offer.

The post VisitBritain’s ‘I Travel For’ campaign targets “Buzzseeker” Indian travellers appeared first on TravHQ.

With an aim to promote Sri Lanka as a preferred destination for Indians, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, the national tourism board of the island country, will embark on a major digital marketing campaign spending $700,000 exclusively for India this year. According to Sutheash Balasubramaniam, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, they have already floated bids for the campaign and are in the process of finalising the proposals to start the digital campaign latest by April or May this year. He said that the campaign will last for at least six months and the budget will be spent on content development, media buying, social media, YouTube, among others.

India is the top source market for Sri Lanka with 3.85 lakh Indians having visited the country last year. Mr. Balasubramaniam said they want to nourish the growth that has been happening from India year-on-year through focused campaigns and marketing activities. He said that the target is to double the Indian visitations by 2020.

Talking about the favourable factors, the MD said that the geographical closeness and accessibility, with direct connectivity with 14 stations in India are some key advantages. SriLankan Airlines alone flies 135 weekly flights between different Indian cities and Colombo.

While the ‘Ramayana’ circuit is quite popular with the Indian market, comprising about 20% of the total Indian inbound, there has been increased traction for destination weddings, honeymooners as well as high-end private luxury getaways. Sri Lanka Tourism is also planning to tap the film production units from India, as well as corporate MICE through targeted promotions in coming years.

Speaking on the occasion, Chitranganee Wagiswara, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, proposed the idea of promoting India and Sri Lanka as dual destinations as part of a travel package. She said she had taken up the proposal during her recent meeting with India’s Tourism Minister, KJ Alphons, and added that while governments can lend support, it is the responsibility of private industry to design travel packages joining both India and Sri Lanka.

The post Sri Lanka Tourism plans to spend US$700K for digital marketing campaign in India in 2018 appeared first on TravHQ.

Virtual reality has been there for a while now. Travel space is reaping huge benefits from the new possibilities it has to offer. Enhanced guest experience is what primarily everybody is focusing in the traveller’s lifeline. 360 videos are doing a lot of round in travel space. How the power of these videos can be used to deliver information phenomenally is still under construction, but the marketers are gearing up to experiment now. Destination marketers are not far behind in the race. There have been visible instances that destinations were and are leveraging 360VR videos to their maximum benefit. Let’s take a look at them.

Australia

Tourism Australia did a really nice coverage on its Northern Territory area. The video takes the viewer to an expansive Katherine Gorge and its surrounding areas. This being a recent initiative, Tourism Australia along with Qantas has also covered Hamilton Island’s breathtaking 360 footage.

British Columbia

British Columbia did a marvelous shot back in the autumn of 2015. The video Wild Within takes the viewer into the wild corners of the country giving them a raw experience of nature.

Las Vegas

Vegas has always something interesting and insightful to show. The marketers have paired a couple of videos around the place about certain attractions that are depicted so well in the 360 video format. The shots are lit up with the grandeur of the place. One can only see it,to believe it.

Brazil

The Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur) came up with an amazing campaign in 360 videos format to capture the spirit of FIFA World Cup in 12 hosting cities. The campaign Brasil360 was highly impulsive and drew a lot of travellers to experience the first-hand experience of what they saw virtually.

South Africa

South Africa Tourism Board came up with a 360 video format initiative and created a wholesome experience. The South Africa Tourism UK posed this campaign on their Facebook page. It was immersed in reality and the experience was breathtaking.

With 360 videos making a lot of buzz, content marketing might shoot up the roof with new trends. Let’s hope to catch them soon.

The post This is how 360 video format is changing the way Destination Marketers campaign appeared first on TravHQ.

Rajasthan, the land of camels and vast deserts, is making news all over with its new video campaign. They have released a series of videos, the first one of which quickly takes the viewers through everything that Rajasthan is known for to introduce the new logo of Rajasthan Tourism Board. The other videos take a different perspective and use a character to showcase how they see Rajasthan. The videos have managed to connect very well with the audience and are being widely shared all over.

What is so special about the videos?

Watch the video once and you will know why we are talking about it. They have created various elements in sand art that can be associated with the beautiful state and then used stop motion photography to create this amazing video. From forts to camels, the video has got it all.

Like we mentioned, the other videos take a single character, a traveller, and tell a story from their perspective. They have named the videos by prefixing the traveller’s name before Rajasthan.

It is said that if your marketing activity doesn’t educate or entertain the audience, you need to go back to the drawing board. The Rajasthan Tourism videos educate the viewers about attractions in Rajasthan with some of them adding humour to the equation as well.

Rajasthan Tourism’s tagline, “Jaane kya dikh jaaye” also goes well with the videos as they present the state as a place full of surprises. The video campaign is accompanied by a very interesting new logo. Moustache has been a part of the traditional Rajasthani attire for men and camels have long been associated with deserts. The new logo very neatly blends together these two.

You can find all the videos on their YouTube channel. Do tell us what you think of these new videos by Rajasthan Tourism Board.

The post Why Rajasthan Tourism is making headlines with the new video campaign? appeared first on TravHQ.