The Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) recently visited Mumbai as part of its annual roadshow across India. Addressing the press at a briefing in the city, Christine Mukharji, Marketing Manager India, ANTO revealed that the European nation welcomed 85,000 Indian visitors in 2014, almost the same as the figures notched in 2013, and aims for a 10-15 per cent increase in these numbers in 2015. As part of its promotional strategy for the year, ANTO is launching a mobile game, “Snapshot Austria”.
The app is an interactive game which can be played both online and offline, and will feature Tirol, Salzburg and Vienna at first. The aim of designing the game was to reinvent Austria and launch a new promotion in the Indian market. This initiative has been taken by the ANTO India office, making India the first market to receive the app. The game will be available in two to three weeks time, and will thereafter be launched in the Emirates and Japan.
“We wanted to do something different this year for the Indian market, and we thought that one of the things Indians like to do most is play games on their mobile. So the game will be set against a backdrop of Austria, with settings as per Austria’s USPs, in a bid to educate the consumers and trade about the destination. When we launch we will also run a campaign “Austria Snapshot Adventure” wherein posting a snapshot of yourself from the game could stand you a chance to win a holiday to Austria. We are working together with airlines for the same, and hope to give away several tickets to Austria,” said Mukharji.
The delegation, comprising of 16 suppliers from Austria, visited Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and, for the first time, Ahmadabad. According to Mukharji, the south and west regions are strong growth markets for Austria. She further informed that Indian overnights to Austria have grown to 164,000 in 2014, and the length of stay has increased to 1.9 nights. “We expect numbers from India to increase in 2015 based on the optimism infused by the new government and depending on the exchange rate of both the Euro and the Swiss Franc,” she said.
Thomas Bachinger, Market Management, Vienna Tourist Board revealed that Indian overnights in the city grew by 18.4 per cent to 67,000 in 2014, and the destination now aims 100,000 overnights from the market. Klemens Kollenz, Sales & Marketing Manager, Salzburg added that the Salzburg recorded 16,837 overnights with an average length of stay of 1.8 days, making India among the city’s top 20 source markets.
Angela Semrajc, Marketing Manager – Denmark, UK and India, Tirol Tourist Board informed that Tirol has seen a healthy number of Indian arrivals (55,000 in 2014) owing in part to the number of Bollywood movies shot in the city. Over the last 10 years the Indian arrivals numbers have grown by 281 per cent, she added. “We get approximately 40 per cent of the share of Indian arrivals into Austria,” she added. The Board expects a further boost in numbers as the next James Bond movie is being shot partly in Tirol.
Peter Unsinn, Manager International Marketing & Media – Asia, USA and UK, Innsbruck Tourism highlighted the six Indian restaurants available in the city, as well as the option of bringing your own chef to the destination.
Christiane Gasser, Head of Channel Marketing, Swarovski Tourism Services revealed that the Swarovski Crystal World in Watten welcomed 50,000 Indians in 2014, and is set to welcome a higher numbers following its renovation that will be complete this year. The renovated attraction will be launched on 30 April 2015. The renovation, an investment of EUR 34 million, will increase the park’s space from 3.5 hectares to 7.5 hectares, add five new chambers of wonder, improve services for groups with a dedicated kiosk, a play tower for children and families, and an outdoor experience with a crystal cloud made of 600,000 Swarovski crystals with a mirror pool below. The renovation will increase the length of stay to four hours, she opined.
