News 07.11.13 SOUTH AMERICA
UK campaign to boost Colombia visitor numbers
PROEXPORT COLOMBIA has confirmed its new advertising campaign will be rolled out in the UK at the end of November. The “Magical Realism” campaign, which
has already launched in other markets, will kick-start on November 28 with an event at the British Museum, tying in with a new exhibition – Beyond El Dorado: Power and Gold in Ancient Colombia. Adverts will feature on London
Underground for a two-week period in mid- November, with tour operator joint-marketing to come in 2014. Travel agent online training is also scheduled to launch imminently. UK arrivals to Colombia are expected to
have increased 9.4% by the end of the year, compared to 2012, with overall arrivals around 10% up. The country has also seen huge growth in cruise arrivals in the past seven years, with 166 ships visiting Cartagena in 2012 compared to 55 in 2006. Juan Guillermo Perez, head of the UK
Proexport Office, said Colombia is finally “on the radar” for UK travellers. “People in the UK look for culture, history and nature – and that’s Colombia,” said Guillermo Perez. “In 2006, we didn’t have a single tour operator selling Colombia in the UK, and now we have 63,” he added. The country exhibited at WTM London for
the first time only three years ago, and has 22 companies exhibiting in 2013, compared to 16 in 2011.
Summer remains a challenge for Oman
Chloe Cann
OMAN’S ATTEMPTS to attract tourists in the summer has been a disaster, a tourism minister has admitted.
Ghasi Humaid Al Hashmi, assistant
director general of tourism promotion for Oman, said it was possible for people to enjoy the destination in the summer, but the message was not getting through. “After April it’s a disaster to be honest,”
he said. “Unfortunately nowadays they [tour
operators and hoteliers] take profit during peak season, so they don’t care [about low occupancy during low season].” However, Al Hashmi thinks Oman may
have come up with a solution. Two years ago Oman ran a “summer
camp” where domestic travel was encouraged during the summer season, aided by discounted hotel packages. With the cooperation of destination management companies, Al Hashmi said the idea could be rolled out to include international visitors in the winter. Travel trade manager for Oman, Suzanne Halil, acknowledged that the UK market was “very price led”. “People are comparing holidays more nowadays,” she added.
Oman’s assistant director general of tourism promotion has said summer sales had been a ‘disaster’ Oman increased its overall visitor
numbers by 15% in 2012, with an 18% increase of UK visitors. India is the biggest source market for the Middle Eastern nation, and Al Hashmi believes it is a market which can be further exploited. “We need to push on marketing ourselves in India,” he said. There are several upcoming
TOURISM CAMPAIGN
Indonesia’s ‘16.16.7’ strategy to show there’s more than just Bali
THE INDONESIAN ambassador to the UK, Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb, has admitted that Indonesia needs to do more for the tourism industry. Speaking at a press conference at WTM,
Tayeb said encouraging tourists to travel outside of Bali was high on Indonesia’s agenda. “Everybody knows Bali and goes to Bali,”
he said. Mari Elka Pangestu, minister of tourism
PHILADELPHIA FUN: On hand to promote Philadelphia on its stand at WTM are, from left: Svetlana Yazovskikh, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau; Greg Evans, Philadelphia CVB; Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia; Jack Ferguson, Philadelphia CVB President & chief executive; and Brian Said, Philadelphia CVB.
10 07.11.2013
and creative economy of Indonesia, announced the 16.16.7 strategy, a programme which the ministry hopes will bolster the aim of expanding tourism to other islands. The number 16 stands for the amount of major destinations the country wants to promote, such as Jakarta, as well as the 16 focus markets it will focus on, with
Singapore in the top spot. The number 7 stands for the amount of thematic tourism products Indonesia would like to highlight, including culinary, shopping and conferences among others. Cruise is pitted to become an even bigger
draw for the archipelago, with 10 ports under construction, while cruise calls for 2013 have increased by 43%. The first direct flights to Jakarta, Indonesia, will launch on May 29, 2014 with Garuda Indonesia. The tickets went on sale last week, and Erik Meijer, executive vice-president of marketing and sales for the airline, told TTG that he was 99% sure the flight schedule will go ahead, after problems at Jakarta airport led to the delay of the airline’s scheduled launch.
developments in the country, such as Muscat’s new international airport, which is due to open in 2016, as well as new hotels, many of which will be opening within the next year. However, Al Hashmi said that improving
infrastructure in Oman has been challenging. “Infrastructure is hard, because we have a lot of mountains,” he said. “It’s a challenge.”
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