India is offering her extensive network of hospitality and tourism training to South-east Asian nations, in an effort to help the region’s tourism workers brush up their skills.
At an ASEAN NTO meeting on Tuesday, D Venkatesan, deputy director general of India’s Ministry of Tourism, said: “India has offered to carry out human resource development training for ASEAN, where the countries send people to us to use our extensive network of established hotel management and tourism schools, covering many sectors, as well as our wealth of experience.”
He cited the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, the Indian Institute of Tourism and Management Training, and the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism as examples.
Added Venkatesan: “There is a lot of scope to collaborate.”
India is currently hammering out the final plans with Laos, which will be the first country from the ASEAN group to send staff to study. It is hoped this will take place this year, with other countries following suit.
Venkatesan told TTG Asia: “The finer details need to be worked out, such as how many people from each country and which category of people, and then we can get started.”
India is also pushing hard to establish direct flights with South-east Asian countries. He shared that Vietnam has submitted a proposal for a flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Delhi, with hopes it will launch this year.
Venkatesan added: “South-east Asia is a big market for India for Buddhist pilgrimages so more flights connecting us to Buddhist countries would be very welcome.”
The HSBC World Singapore Rugby Sevens is pushing beyond its sporting roots to become a family-friendly festival that hopes to pull in travellers from around Asia.
Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and government agency Sport Singapore, event organiser Rugby Singapore has been increasing outreach efforts to tie up with attractions and travel agents.
“We see the Singapore Sevens as one of the tentpole events that can bring fans and people from around the world to Singapore. We are currently in talks with agents, family-friendly attractions and retail options for partnerships”, shared David Lim, chairman of the board, Rugby Singapore.
He added that there has been a “rise in popularity” for rugby in Asia, particularly driven by Japan’s recent victories in the sport. Last year, 24 per cent of Singapore Sevens attendees were foreign visitors, and the event generated a total economic impact of S$23.5 million (US$18 million).
As the only South-east Asian host in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Singapore aims to “draw more visitors from proximity markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia”, by delivering a memorable fan experience that differs yearly, STB’s sports director Jean Ng told TTG Asia.
For the third edition this year, Rugby Singapore is stepping up the programme with the Singapore Rugby Carnival, an event with activities such as face painting, themed challenges, inflatable stations, photo booths, local bands and food.
“We want that diverse variety of activities – not just sports – that will engage and bring people (together) here. This is something we want to use to distinguish ourselves from every other stop in the World Series,” explained Lim.
The Singapore Sevens is the eighth leg – out of 10 – in the Series, and is one stop after the sell-out Hong Kong Sevens.
Agents feel that having the event as a destination lure is a plus for Singapore. General manager of Diethelm Travel, Judy Lum, described the initiative as “good news”. She said: “The organiser should consider having a dialogue with local DMCs. I am sure there are some of us who can help to promote it to overseas tour operators.”
Samson Tan, founder/CEO of GTMC Travel, suggested maximising marketing distribution by using the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore as a communication platform with agents.