6 NEWS ADVERTORIAL
6 NEWS ADVERTORIAL BLUEBIZ: A FREE, BUT GENEROUS PROGRAMME DEDICATED TO SMEs Meet Air France KLM’s loyalty programme designed for small and medium enterprises. Laurent Gahnassia Director of Marketing & Communication of the National Tourism Office of Israel The Changing Face of Tourism in Israel France remains the most important source market from Europe… and for good reason! Each time an employee travels with Air France, HOP!, KLM, Alitalia, Delta, or one of their partners, the company receives Blue Credits. Blue Credits earned can be converted into award tickets, subscriber cards or other options, with a simple and transparent scale: 1 Blue Credit = €1. The BlueBiz program helps SMEs to savings on their budget travel. Membership is totally free, and it’s possible to subscribe easily online or via a travel agency. MORE BENEFITS FOR BLUEBIZ MEMBERS BlueBiz travellers are recognised as valued passengers by ground and cabin staff and receive priority services to ensure hassle-free travel. BlueBiz members can request a full name change on tickets issued by Air France or KLM on selected booking classes, provided their BlueBiz number has been inserted in the booking before issuing the ticket. The France-Europe-North Africa Pass is currently available for €299 instead of the usual €399. It offers up to 40% discount on full flexible fare on Air France and HOP! flights. The past few years have seen a rise in the number of visitors from France to Israel, with a number of new forms of tourism developing. We asked Laurent Gahnassia – Director of Marketing & Communication of the National Tourism Office of Israel how tourism is developing in general in his country. In a country that has a population of 8.5 million, we have a total of around 3.5 million tourists each year, including approximately 300,000 French visitors. France is the number three source market for Israel. The first is the USA, followed by the Russians. In Western Europe, it’s the French who are ahead of the Germans and British. What are the trending attractions at the moment? We like to put forward is the fact that Israel is a great destination for everyone! One of our slogans is that the sun shines for everyone in Israel, no matter what your motivation, no matter what your beliefs, no matter whether you love sport, opera or electro music or trekking in the desert or scuba diving or wellness… you will always find it… under the sun of Israel. We have more and more international stars coming to Israel, so we organise a lot of city breaks for artists like Lady Gaga or Justin Timberlake, essentially in Tel Aviv, gastronomic weeks, wine tourism… the list goes on. Tourism in the past was often centred on archaeology and religion, but in the past fifteen years we have found that travel agents are able to sell Israel as a “different” place to visit for people who are used to travelling regularly. It’s true that all travellers should try to visit Jerusalem at least once in their lives. The role of travel agent is thus to convince people that now is the right time! What’s the goal of your presence at IFTM Top Resa? Of course, we want to convince travel agents, but also tour operators; to incite them to include Israel in their programme and their offering. It’s also a place where the local receptive agents and the TOs and TAs present here can meet and exchange ideas, signing medium and longterm agreements. A show like this one has a “human” dimension we don’t always find in other shows, and it allows us to have a lot of valuable one-to-one meetings Tel Aviv night life, Israel © Dana Friedlander IMOT IFTM Daily • Monday 3 rd October 2016 www.iftmdaily.com
NEWS 7 Indonesia Pushes Different Destinations New government makes tourism a number one priority Nia Niscaya, Director of International Tourism Promotion, Indonesia Ministry of Tourism (left) Indonesia is more attractive than ever among European outbound markets. An increased budget for promotion, brand awareness campaigns and new destinations are among the key elements to success… “We are so happy with the result”, says Nia Niscaya, Director of International Tourism Promotion, Indonesia Ministry of Tourism, with a large smile on her face as she proudly shows the latest spot from Indonesia tourism recently broadcast on CNN. The video shows beautiful landscapes, smiling faces and majestic monuments, with the evocative voice of Louis Armstrong singing his song “What a wonderful world”. “It was an expensive budget for this TV spot on CNN, but it paid off,” says Niscaya. “It really helps us to raise awareness for our brand ‘Wonderful Indonesia’. If the brand is stronger, it becomes naturally easier to sell around the world.” With a new government coming into power in Indonesia in 2015, tourism has been made a top economic priority. Budgets are sharply up with “50% of promotion budget being affected to brand awareness, 30% for advertising and 20% for our presence at events around the world. In fact, IFTM Top Resa is a priority among travel shows in Europe as France has grown very strongly over the last decade”, adds Niscaya. 2016 might indeed turn into yet another new record year for Indonesia’s tourism. From January to July, Indonesia welcomed 6.32 million international travellers, up 7.6% over the previous year. Europe as a source market is doing even better since the beginning of the year, being one of the fastest growing inbound market segments for the country. European arrivals already reached 585,884 from January to July, up 19.4% over the same period in 2014. The UK remains the main market from Europe with 181,000 travellers - up by 21.5%; France confirms its position as Indonesia’s second largest European inbound market with 135,000 arrivals, up by 20.7% over the previous year. It is followed by Germany with 118,000 arrivals (up by 20.3%) and the Netherlands (up by 11.5%). “We are witnessing a return of Russian travellers after a few years decline. Russian numbers are up by almost 15%”, adds the Indonesian Director of International Promotion. The favourable evolution is supported by the country’s very open visa policy. Indonesia now has one of the most liberal visa regimes in the world, providing free visa on arrivals to 169 countries: a record! “This is also supported by better air connectivity. Garuda is now flying to more destinations in Europe while middle-eastern carriers provide easy one-stop connections from dozens of European cities”, says Niscaya. Within Indonesia, the government now tries to spread tourism benefits beyond Bali, Indonesia’s iconic destination which captivates 40% of all arrivals. “Our President identified 10 new tourism spots which have now absolute priority for development. This is what we call our “10 New Bali beyond Bali”, explains the Director. Among identified “New Bali” is Lake Toba in North Sumatra with its pristine waters and beautiful traditional Batak villages. “We support there infrastructure development such as a new regional airport in Silangit near the Lake”, describes Niscaya. Other new spots include Tanjung Kelitung in the province of Bangka Belitung, an island just off the coast of Sumatra. The place is considered to have some of Indonesia’s most pristine beaches. Other places identified by the Ministry of Tourism as priority destinations include Tanjung Lesung (Banten), Seribu Islands (Jakarta), Borobudur Temple (Central Java), Mount Bromo (East Java), Mandalika Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara), Komodo Island (East Nusa Tenggara), Wakatobi National Park (Southeast Sulawesi), and Morotai (North Maluku). “All these destinations have been selected for their pristine landscapes and strong cultural backgrounds. However, they often proper infrastructure to welcome tourists. And this is where the government is stepping up to improve their access and provide international standard facilities and services”, says Mrs. Niscaya. “More than ever, we consider tourism as a true asset for the well-being of all Indonesians” IFTM Daily • Monday 3 rd October 2016
