Spain promotes Canary Islands

Encouraged by crossing the 100,000 arrival mark from India, the Tourism Office of Spain, along with Pullmantur Cruises, is expanding its product base, with a focus on the Canary Islands, to appeal to a larger outbound market.

HAZEL JAIN

The Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai recently conducted a workshop on the Canary Islands in association with Pullmantur Cruises for the travel agents in Mumbai. A stand-alone workshop focused on this exotic destination indicates the NTO’s desire to expand its product base and appeal to a larger audience who may be looking to explore Spain in a more offbeat way.

This is perhaps spurred by the encouraging response Spain has received from India last year as Indian tourist arrivals crossed the 100,000 mark. Ignacio Ducasse, Director and Tourism Counsellor, Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai, says, “Spain registered 105,646 Indian arrivals in 2016, an increment of almost 18 percent over the previous year. For the first time, it has witnessed more than 100,000 tourists coming from India. Our latest data indicate that their average stay was seven to eight nights, which makes it a total of approximately 780,000 nights. The year 2017 has been even better. We have figures till May and the increase is over 40 percent as compared to the same period last year. The main destinations that these Indian travellers visited were Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia and Ibiza. Now, there is some interest in new destinations as well, such as Bilbao, Mallorca and Canary Islands.”

Speaking about the Canary Islands, Ducasse adds, “We have always included the Canary Islands in our presentations and will continue to do so in similar workshops that we plan in Hyderabad and many other cities in India.” Spain Tourism will bring a big delegation of suppliers from Spain to Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai from October 4-6, 2017. The Canary Islands is a group of seven islands located in the South of Spain, about 2.5 hours from Madrid. All islands have airports and are connected by sea as well. They enjoy special tax status, with least duty and VAT in Spain.

“The main destinations that these Indian travellers visited were Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia and Ibiza. However, there is some interest in new destinations such as Bilbao, Mallorca and Canary Islands” – Ignacio Ducasse, Director and Tourism Counsellor, Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai

Horizon at Canary calling India

Vivek Jain, Managing Director, Griffon

“This winter, Pullmantur Cruises’ Horizon will be stationed at the Canary Islands from November 25, 2017, to March-end 2018. There is no extra charge for alcohol, entertainment, etc. We are promoting multiple itineraries including the seven-nighter that includes five islands but also the four- and six-nights as well as the special New Year sailings. These itineraries are new for the Indian market so we are offering special rates to the trade starting from under Rs. 40,000 per person for seven nights. We are targeting the wedding as well as the conferences and events segments. All cruises on Pullmantur are commissionable at 10 percent for FITs while groups will get a special rate and pricing depending on the size and the activities.”