THE European Quartet – comprising Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – has come together to promote the four countries as one tourist destination in India with a series of road shows conducted in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi earlier this month.
The “European Quartet – One Melody” joint marketing strategy stems from the cultural and historical similarities as well as the good road, rail and air connectivity between these four countries, revealed Emilia Kubik, project leader – department of marketing planning, Poland Tourism Organisation in a press statement.
“Czech Republic is very famous worldwide for its culinary offerings, especially for its beer. There has also been a significant rise in MICE tourism in Prague in the past few years,” said Klára Vysloužilová, marketing and communications manager for international markets, Czech Tourism Board. “Hence, our primary concentration will be on these segments.”
Hungary will promote its MICE, educational and leisure offerings through fam trips and study tours for the Indian travel trade, according to Krisztina Bacsa, international market development manager, Hungarian National Tourist Office. She added: “We will also open a consulate to facilitate visa issuance in Mumbai next year.”
Tatjana Radovic, congress manager, Ljubljana Convention Bureau, said: “India is a high potential country for outbound congresses. We can combine post tours to neighbouring countries including Croatia and Austria to make the destination offering more attractive.”
Welcoming the Europe Quartet’s interest to woo Indian travellers, Anil Guptaa, director of Mumbai-based Anjali Travel & Tours, said: “Eastern Europe has elicited good interest, especially to Prague and Budapest in the last two to three years. The leisure numbers have doubled each year and we expect exponential growth from 2014 onwards. The multi-country itineraries are proving attractive.”
