Having received healthy response from Indian group travellers, Tuscany is now set to increase these numbers as well as attract more FITs by promoting experiences. Speaking at the sidelines of the ‘Italia Comes to You’ Exhibition in Mumbai recently, Pooja Razdan, Manager India, Tuscany Tourist Board – India, stated that the plan for the year was to promote food, wine, spas, art and culture, and shopping, rather than individual cities.
The Board has planned FAM trips for the travel trade as well as an online promotional campaign with Makemytrip.com to be launched in December 2012. Marketing plans are also in the pipeline with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. To further educate the trade about the destination, the Board has a B2B website functional, www.tuscanyindia.com. “The website is very interactive and allows Italian and Indian tour operators to connect. We encourage Indian travel agents to sign up for newsletters and updates on the destination’s activities and offers,” said Razdan
She further added that Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru remain Tuscany’s main focus as these are the major source markets for the destination. “The ENIT Italia roadshow helps us reach out to our focus cities. However, we realise that we cannot ignore any market here, and our promotions will be targeted at tier II cities as well,” she concluded.