BY TTT NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, 12 SEPTEMBER 2022
To tap the tourism market from India, Visit Iceland and the Embassy of Iceland have organised tourism road shows in Mumbai and New Delhi on 5 and 7 September.
Indian interest in travel to Iceland was clear during a visit by the Delegation and a good sign that there is a bright outlook for relations between the nations in tourism and trade. Deputy head of Mission, Ms. Kristín Anna Tryggvadóttir and Ms. Deepika Sachdev, the Advisor for tourism, Culture and Public Diplomacy from the Embassy as well as Mr. Thorleifur Thor Jonsson, Senior Area Manager Asia, CEE and Nordics. Thorleifur was accompanied by various members of the Icelandic tourist Industry and Gul Kripalani Honorary Consul in Mumbai at a breakfast meeting at the Sofitel hotel. About 60 people attended the meeting and listened to various presentations from the Delegation.
India is now spending more money on travel abroad than ever before, according to the UNWTO, or 596 million last year. This is expected to increase in the coming years.
The program was organized in cooperation between Visit Iceland, the Embassy in New Delhi and Vineet Gopal, Director Representation World.
Business Iceland Meets the Travel Media at the Embassy in New Delhi:
Representatives from the travel and trade media were invited for an information meeting with Business Iceland on 7th September at the Embassy in New Delhi. Kristín Anna Tryggvadóttir Deputy Chief of Mission hosted the meeting with Deepika Sachdev, the Embassy´s Representative for Culture and Travel. Director Þorleifur Þór Jónsson of the Business Iceland agency in Reykjavík introduced Iceland as a tourist destination. Almost 20 media representatives attended the meeting and showed great interest in travel possibilities.
The same evening the new Ambassador Guðni Bragason invited more than 100 representatives from the travel industry in Delhi to a reception at his residence. The reception, which was attended by travel agents, hotel managers and organizations in the travel industry, provided for a lively and informal discussion on travel possibilities in the wake of the Covid pandemic. In his welcoming words the Ambassador noted that the visit from Iceland signalled that the travel industry was back on the track. Þorleifur Þór Jónsson then introduced Iceland as a tourist destination.
“As India is the first major Asian market to open after COVID, it is most important for us to tap its potential. Travel had almost stopped during the pandemic, but now we are hoping for a swift revival. Iceland has a lot to offer for Indians as our nature is strikingly different from anything you can experience in India. There are breath-taking Glaciers, Northern Lights, Clean Air and Geothermal heated pools. Besides, Icelandic food is known for its freshness and can easily be adapted to the Indian palette. Through this Roadshow and interactions, our aim is to further promote our destination and interact with the travel agencies in India and present them with opportunities of selling Iceland while understanding the obstacles they face in doing so,” said Ambassador Guðni Bragason.
In 2019, a total of 19,852 Indians visited Iceland.
Deepika Sachdev, advisor for tourism, culture and public diplomacy in Embassy of Iceland in New Delhi said that tourism is the fastest growing connection between the two countries and in the past few years there has been a staggering 34 percent growth in tourists visits from India to Iceland and such roadshows will help further boost and growth in tourism of Iceland.
The embassy is trying to promote Iceland as an exotic tourism destination to Indians.
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