The Catalan Tourist Board plans to start operations out of its own office in Mumbai to better cater to the Indian market. This information was provided by David Miro, Asia Pacific Regional Director, Catalan Tourist Board, on the sidelines of a three city roadshow by the Embassy of Spain Tourism Department. As part of its annual promotions, Spain led a delegation of 15 Spanish tourist companies, including state tourism boards, Spanish Heritage Cities, DMCs, tour operators and hotels to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to showcase all it has to offer.
Of the 60,000 Indians that visited Spain last year, Catalan welcomed over 55 per cent, making it among the top six source markets for the state. These numbers have prompted the region to set up shop locally. “Currently, we run our India operations out of our Singapore office, but by November we will launch our Mumbai operations and work in conjunction with the Spanish Tourism Board. We already have an office that handles investments in India. Catalan Tourism will be a part of the same. We will appoint an Indian as a Catalan representative in the Mumbai office, and we will coordinate with the office here for promotions. Our state President will visit India on November 27, and that will mark the launch of our Mumbai operations,” he said.
Revealing Catalan’s focus for the India market, Miro stated that they want to sell Catalan as a MICE destination, especially for incentives, as well as for cruising holidays as it has the most popular cruising port in Europe and the fourth busiest one in the world. Furthermore, cultural tours, culinary delights, architecture and interiors and qualitative life will all be highlighted while promoting the region. “We also want to spread the word that self drive tours and Spanish by rail are great ways to explore the destination,” he added.
Speaking about their training programmes for India, Miro stated that, once the ongoing online programme concludes, the Board will start work on an India-specific module. He further revealed that the Board will work extensively with Qatar Airways for promotions in India as a result of the partnership between the airline and the destination, as well as the strong connectivity between India and Barcelona via the airline’s hub.
Throwing light on the demand for Spain out of India, Arturo Ortiz Arduan, Tourism Counselor, of Spain Tourism Department stated that the destination has received 40,000 Indians between January and July this year, and they hope to see the numbers touch 75,000 by year end. “This past holiday season has gone quite well for us as far as Indian arrivals are concerned. The January to July period saw an increase of 20 per cent over last year. I don’t know what the lull in economy will spell for us later this year, but I don’t think it will affect demand for Spain. In fact, Spanish hotels have launched good deal as even domestic demand for Spain is weak right now, making it a value for money destination,” he revealed.
Speaking about the roadshow, Arduan mentioned that, in a bid to reach a wider market, Spain has invited agents from Kochi, Goa, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Kolkata as well to attend the roadshows in the nearest cities. In addition, the Embassy has planned a FAM for Indian agents starting at Madrid to attend a roadshow there before moving on to the heritage cities of Salamanca, Tarragona, Alcaidesa and Ibiza.
When asked about film tourism, Arduan revealed that there have been vernacular films shot in Spain, and recently a production agreement has been signed between India and Spain which allows joint productions for Indian and Spanish film companies with a guideline of how much of the movie will be shot in Spain and how much in India. “The agreement allows for both destinations to be showcased, and while it is not related to our department, it will benefit us. In fact, there is a film production festival coming up in Spain in which 10 Spanish producers are bringing proposals with the intent of finding Indian partners to co-produce a movie as per this agreement,” he concluded.
