stattimes news | Page 40

Dubai Tourism billion $ news capsule has launched an innovative new experiential marketing campaign, Here Today... TOURISM The MOU was signed by Abdulla Ghiyaz, president of MATATO and Mario Hardy, CEO of PATA, on September 10, 2016, at a special event hosted during the PATA Travel Mart 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. C aribbean Airlines emerged as the “Caribbean’s Leading Airline” at the 23rd Annual World Travel Awards 2016 for the sixth consecutive year. D ubai Tourism has launched an innovative new experiential marketing campaign, Here Today, Dubai Tomorrow, in order to give British holidaymakers a ‘live’ taste of what they could enjoy on a trip to Dubai and further boost the city’s reputation as one of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations. P I ndia’s Ministry of Tourism reported that there has been 11.8 percent growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals in August 2016 over the same period in 2015. Bangladesh accounts for highest share of Tourist arrivals followed by USA and UK in August 2016. Indonesia has joined the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) with the opening of three sustainable tourism observatories, as announced at the PATA Travel Mart 2016 in Jakarta, which position Indonesia as a regional hub for sustainable tourism practices. M aldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to extend cooperation and share opportunities and resources between the two organisations. 38 Malaysia’s tourism industry indicated signs of recovery in the first half of 2016 with latest figures showing more tourists after the slowdown in 2015. Correspondingly, tourist receipts rose by 10.7 percent, contributing RM37.4 billion to the country’s revenue against RM33.8 billion in 2015, which translates to an average per capita expenditure of RM2.869.6. The top 10 tourist generating markets to Malaysia in 2016 were Singapore (6,596,452), Indonesia (1,378,699), China (992,463), Thailand (864,453), Brunei (637,369), India (359,853), South Korea (228,023), the Philippines (220,163), the United Kingdom (206,313) and Japan (198,693). | OCTOBER 2016 ATA Global Insights Conference was held in Auckland on September 30 discussing the important thought provoking theme ‘Exploring Connectivity’ – a vital component for any destination seeking to extend its reach to influential international source markets. This year’s conference programme was designed to be even more beneficial to the industry because it takes insights to a higher, yet more practical level. Q atar Airways and Qatar Tourism Authority signed an agreement with VFS Global, a leading provider of visa processing services in the presence of Qatar’s Ministry of Interior. The agreement paves the way for an efficient and transparent tourist visa application system that caters to travellers from around the world looking to visit Qatar. Qatar announces easier entry for cruise passengers as 32 ships head to Doha port Destination prepares to offer seamless tourist experience to over 50,000 passengers this season. With a large www.stattimes.com number of cruise passengers expected to arrive at the country’s ports, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), in co-ordination with the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Ports Management Company Mwani Qatar, have announced new measures to facilitate their disembarkation and entry for a seamless tourism experience. S outh Africa has been awarded a SAFARI INDIA South Asia Travel award in the Best Safari Destination category. The awards ceremony took place in September 2016 and the award was accepted by South African Tourism representatives from India office. The recognition is a testament to the natural beauty that the country offers the world. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced the 81 finalists for the Experience Excellence, Enterprise Excellence and Customer Service categories of the 2016 Singapore Tourism Awards, Singapore's most prestigious awards for the tourism sector. The awards ceremony will be held on October 5 and 22 of these finalists will be crowned winners and hailed as amongst the industry's best in demonstrating experience and enterprise excellence. T he South Dakota Department of Tourism was presented the award for Best Print Advertising at the 2016 Mercury Awards during the US Travel Association’s annual ESTO conference, held August 27 to 30. The Mercury Awards recognise excellence in destination marketing on the state level. A judging panel of industry leaders from companies including National Geographic, Fathom, Ogilvy Public Relations, McGarryBowen, Facebook and Google selected the winners in 12 categories. The South Dakota De- Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism Authority signed an agreement with VFS Global, a leading... partment of Tourism is comprised of Tourism and the South Dakota Arts Council. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The 1st UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism held in the Kakheti region in Georgia widely discussed the link between wine tourism and culture, history and lifestyle and the contribution of this segment to the development of the sector. During two days (September 7 to 9), the event convened over 200 participants including policy makers and tourism experts from nearly 50 countries. The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Global Compact Network Spain concluded the cooperation agr