Austrian borders to open for Indians
Christine Mukharji, Country Manager, Austrian National Tourist Office, shares that Austria is likely to open doors for tourists from March 5. However, since the country has a federal stucture, the opening in cities might not happen with the same strength. She says all Asian markets, along with India, are important for them.
Talking about the opening strategy in Austria, Christine Mukharji, Country Manager, Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO), has said that like many countries, they are also looking at opening borders on March 5. “After March 5, we are hoping to open more or less everything, so that tourists can also come to Austria. However, since our country is a federal state, the opening might not happen with the same strength in every city,” she added.
Staying afloat
When asked about surviving through the crisis, Mukharji shared, “There are two different aspects to it. One is our daily office work, which has been well managed by our head office. Our main source market by far is Germany, and even during the pandemic, we had tourists coming from Europe. We were assigned jobs to look after other aspects of ANTO. Throughout the pandemic, we managed to have webinars and organise some fun competitions, because we didn't want to bore the Indian agents. Also, we have our own B2B WhatsApp channel and that is how we kept in touch,” she added.
Indian market
She claimed that Indian and all Asian markets are important for them. “India is an important market for us. Indian tourists come and stay here during the lean period. India is also a great MICE market. The MICE market will revive despite being the last thing to be redeveloped. It is a great source of revenue for us and that is why India is so important for us,” she said. She revealed that there have been MICE queries as well as that from the film industry. “Both these requirements are for large numbers. However, in Austria it was not possible for us to accommodate these queries because of strict regulations, especially during the winter months,” informed Mukharji.
In touch with agents
Mukharji claims that they are in daily touch with all the agents selling Austria before the pandemic. “India is opening up and hence we had lots of small events, for example at our embassy. I must also add that we have a new Ambassador, who is the greatest supporter for tourism to Austria, which is a good thing. We also started and we have not stopped issuing visas since the beginning of October. Currently, Austria is going through a tough time, but for those Indians who want to come to Austria for tourism in the summer months, we have already started the process of visa, which is a good signal for the industry,” she said.
This apart, they also planned a workshop for the trade. “We decided to substitute it with webinars and online sales calls because we realised that there were just too many online workshops happening. It is my decision that we should not bore the travel industry too much. Hence, we substituted it with one-on-one interactions,” added Mukharji.
Marketing in full swing
Looking at the B2B segment, he said, “We will be looking to cooperate with online platforms and tour operators to organise events. Already our Austrian partners are keen to come to India to promote their products. We are going to have our own Austrian Travel Business Fair in May, where we will be taking Indian agents to Vienna and to Innsbruck. This will be my first offline event after a long time. In September, we are going to have our workshops.”
All about visa
Sharing information about the visa, she said, “Since I am also part of the embassy, I can say that we have a dedicated team. We have started the process and I think it is not only dependent on us, but it is also dependent on VFS. All of us need a strong restart and we have to put our power into place as the European countries are also starting their promotion. Fifty per cent of visa happening also depend on the visa facilitator. We have no hindrance and I think it should be like the pre-COVID-19 levels.”
India is also a great MICE market. The MICE market will revive despite being the last thing to be redeveloped
Women in travel
It is tough for women, Mukharji shared, “The travel industry is no exception. I think women are better in the tourism industry and look forward to join the tourism industry because the hospitality sector has made a lot of effort to promote tourism for their guests. Hence, they have started single women travelling in special cars to take women tourists around.”