Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 17 OCTOBER 2019 D AY 2 TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA I T B A S I A S H O W D A I L I E S 2 and hoping that they will make lots of agreements and contracts and open up more opportunities for collaborations." Mr Gjoshev revealed that Macedonia has seen year- to-year increase of around 10% to 20% in tourist arrivals from markets such as China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, to grow the segment exponentially, collaboration among the Balkan states is needed, he said. "Here at ITB Asia, we are presenting together with Serbia and Montenegro in a joint cooperation callled 'Balkans Gates – Crossroad of Civilization'. That's three states working together to attract Asian tourists," said the Macedonian official. "The reason is simple: Asian tourists will not visit just Macedonia for seven nights. But if we come together and make it a Balkan trip including three or more neighbouring countries – three days here, a couple of days there – that will make it more attractive for Asian travellers." Marija Labovic, CEO and managing director of the National Tourism Organisation of Serbia, told Travel Weekly Asia that the allure of the Balkan states in Asia are multi-fold: They have new destinations, they offer fresh experiences, they are rich in culture and heritage, and these are what well- travelled Asians are looking for in their next adventure. "Earlier this year, at an event where we hosted 42 potential in Southeast Asia is at almost 80 million trips per year," said Mr Sengstschmid. "Travellers in the region look for more experiential travel with demand for niche tourism and new destinations on the rise. These match what Azerbaijan has to offer. "We want to use our opportunity here to work with our partners, learn from others, exchange ideas on how we can fill that gap." BEEN THERE, DONE THAT The debutants are treading on the tried-and-tested path of other European destinations when it comes to wooing Asian travellers. The Russian capital of Moscow, for one, has been there done that. It is redoubling its efforts on Asian markets as it embarks on a new era of tourism – catalysed by the arrival of new public and tourism infrastructure, and global sporting events like the 2018 World Cup. Its tourism boom last year saw the injection of more than US$13.2 billion into the country, and it has motivated the Russians to throw open its doors to welcome tourists. Moscow, which attracted the lion's share of 2.7 million visitors, is strengthening its hold on key Asian source markets this year. In its key markets China and South Korea, Moscow is conducting outreach efforts in cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul. "The potential of the Asia market is larger than what is realised right now, and we are hoping to increase the numbers moving forward," said Natalia Suvorova, deputy chairman, Moscow City Committee for Tourism. It aims to bring its Discover Moscow marketing campaign to Asian tourists, with the aim to dispel perceptions that the destination is "too far, too expensive and unsafe" for tourists. Internally, Moscow has also made efforts to become more tourist-friendly – from the introduction of multilingual signage in its public areas including metro stations, roads and museums to making airport announcements in Mandarin. Armenia, too, is wising up to the opportunities of its growing Asia source markets – such as China, Japan, India, Singapore and the Philippines – which comprise between 20- to 25% of its approximately two million visitor arrivals each year. In 2020, it is making an aggressive bid to attract visitors from China through initiatives such as a visa- free regime for Chinese visitors and a slew of digital marketing campaigns from December. HAVE YOU HEARD? GLOBAL PLAYERS WANT A SLICE OF THE ASIA PIE (CONTINUED) tour operators from 12 Asian countries in Serbia, we saw the response and immense interest shown by these agents in Serbia during their B2B meetings with our travel trade. And we decided Asia is the way to go," she said. The Chinese market aside, the tremendous potential of Southeast Asia is not to be dismissed, pointed out Florian Sengstschmid, CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board. "The outbound travel CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2. "Asian tourists will not visit just Macedonia for seven nights. But if we come together and make it a Balkan trip including three or more neighbouring countries… that will make it more attractive for Asian travellers." - NIKOLA GJOSHEV, AN OFFICIAL FROM TOURISM MACEDONIA'S DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION, MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Show models at the Discover Moscow exhibition booth showing their playful side on Day 1 of ITB Asia 2019 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

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