ARGENTINA is making moves to court the Indian outbound market, with the Argentinean National Institute of Tourism Promotion planning to participate at all major trade events in India this year and sponsoring a series of fam trips for key industry players.
Ten travel companies representing various Argentinean products, accompanied by their NTO chief Leonard Boto and the secretary of Tucuman tourism, Bernardo A. Racedo Aragon, showcased products at the Argentina pavilion at SATTE 2012 in New Delhi last week, a first at any trade event in India. The team will also be meeting outbound tour operators in Mumbai, where Argentina has just concluded an information workshop for travel experts.
Medha Sampat, head of Knack Marketing, the country representative of Condor Travel, the largest DMC in Argentina, Peru and Chile, is bullish about the growth of Indian outbound to Argentina. “The attractions in Argentina are huge, including Patagonia, Iguassu and Buenos Aires itself, with trips to glaciers and vineyards,” he said.
Ashwini Gupta, managing partner of Amritsar-based Dove Travels, said: “Argentina needs to be packaged with say Brazil, or Chile and Peru, for a two- to three-week tour as longhaul flights from India are limited to South America and flights are expensive.”
The best connections being offered at the moment are on Emirates via Dubai, Qatar Airways via Doha or South African Airways via Johannesburg. Turkish Airlines intends to offer another link by year-end.
