Tag Archives: online training programme

Atout France confident of major rebound in Indian arrivals by 2024-25

Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France, expressed optimism about the resurgence of outbound travel from India, anticipating a return to pre-COVID levels by the end of the year or early 2025.

Speaking exclusively to TravelBiz Monitor in Toulouse, Leboucher highlighted the excitement surrounding France’s hosting of the Olympics Games and Summer Paralympics, viewing these events as catalysts for tourism.

“France received 549,770 arrivals from India in 2023 vs. 700,000 in 2019, which is a deficit of around 22% of pre-Covid arrival numbers. Alongside India, Japan and China are other two key Asian markets that have still have a larger arrival deficit of around 40% and 60%, respectively, when compared to their pre-Covid arrivals. With France hosting world-class sporting events and the entire excitement around these huge tournaments, we are confident of a large number of tourists coming to witness historic moments. We are already seeing recovery from India, and our assessment is to reach the pre-Covid number of arrivals by year end or early 2025,” she said.

To support the recovery efforts and enhance engagement with trade partners in India, Atout France has implemented various initiatives. These include conducting training sessions and workshops aimed at equipping frontline staff with comprehensive destination knowledge and tools for creating tailored itineraries. Additionally, the organisation is actively promoting the ‘France Connaisseur’ online training programme in the Indian market.

By leveraging such outreach programmes and the heightened interest generated by major sporting events, Atout France aims to facilitate the resurgence of tourism from India, with the goal of returning to pre-pandemic arrival numbers by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

New York City Tourism + Conventions re-launches Travel Trade Academy with Hindi subtitles

New York City Tourism + Conventions, the official destination marketing organisation and convention and visitor’s bureau for the City of New York, has re-launched its NYC Travel Trade Academy with Hindi subtitles. This initiative aims to reinforce the destination’s position in key markets within India and enhance visibility in Tier-II and III cities in India, simplifying the understanding and knowledge of New York City products.

“We are delighted to introduce the Travel Trade Academy programme with Hindi subtitles for the Indian market, which continues to be an important – and growing – source of visitors for New York City,” said Makiko Matsuda Healy, Senior VP, Tourism Market Development, New York City Tourism + Conventions. “New York City remains committed to providing training to our industry partners. We are confident that the depth of destination information provided in the refreshed Travel Trade Academy will help the Indian travel trade better respond to consumers’ shifting demands for diverse and personalied NYC experiences.”

The Travel Trade Academy is a bespoke online training programme to empower those in the tourism space to both understand the city and act on behalf of their clients to bring them the best tourism experience NYC can offer. This self-guided online course is made up of six modules, which educate the trade on must-see locations in each of the City’s five boroughs and is divided by categories, covering geography, attractions, parks, restaurants, and hotels.

After each module, participants will take a quick quiz, leading to the award of a certificate and the exclusive title of “Destination Specialist of New York City” upon successful completion. Additionally, webinars offer language flexibility with preferred language subtitles accessible via the CC button.