Pacific brings Puglia to India

Pacific Travels has been appointed the India Representative for Discovery Puglia. Nasir Zaidi, Managing Partner, Pacific Travels, shares the company’s plans for 2018 on marketing and promotion of the destination, which is popular among honeymooners, FIT travellers and also suitable for MiCE and group travellers.

Ankita Saxena

Discovery Puglia is a destination management company which covers entire Puglia and its focus is on providing the travellers with an experiential holiday. “We offer our clients a huge selection of personally inspected and cherry-picked properties and activities,” informs Concezio Natale, Owner, Discovery Puglia.

He believes that Puglia is an upcoming, upmarket destination. It has been well-positioned among the American and British high-end travellers as they are shifting focus from the Amalfi Coast to Puglia as it is more authentic and undiscovered. Talking about tourism assets of the destination, Natale says, “We have many authentic accommodations like the Masseria, which are quintessential properties of Puglia; 15th century houses turned boutique hotels. The USP of the destination is its three UNESCO sites, which also make it a popular destination for culture and history. In terms of niche experiences, Puglia is one of the only countries which produces wine in the city limits. This way, we can offer a gourmet experience to travellers who want to experiment with food.”

“We have many authentic accommodations like the Masseria, which are quintessential properties of Puglia”

The destination is popular among the honeymooners, FIT travellers and is also suitable for MiCE and group travellers. Natale further explains that Puglia offers unique event spaces. He says, “The organisers could rent entire villages or towns in Puglia for their conferences and the spaces can hold from 250-1000 pax.” The suggested average duration of stay is 3-5 nights. Natale believes that Puglia is a value for money destination in comparison to its competing destination as it suits all types of budgets.

Pacific Travels is responsible to increase awareness about the destination in India, market and promote it to grow Indian visitor numbers to the destination. Zaidi informs that the company will be targeting mature travellers from India along with the destination wedding segment. “Since Puglia also has a very spiritual vibe to it, we are looking at tie-ups with some renowned leaders to host their events at this destination. We believe in showcasing the product portfolio at the right platforms and will be partnering with potential travel trade and organisations to leverage the growth across segments,” says Zaidi. In terms of connectivity, Puglia is only three hours away from Rome. From the Bali Airport, it is connected to all the major European airports in the world. It has a very efficient rail network and road transfers.