Outbound

Poland eyes Bollywood for promotion

Reema Sisodia - Mumbai

Bollywood seems to be the golden goose for any new national tourist board entering the Indian market and the latest one to do so is Poland. The Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO) is clear on its agenda - to target the film fraternity and intends to organise FAM tours to Poland for Bollywood producers as well as host an evening for them in Mumbai to present it as one of the best countries in Central Europe to make movies in terms of locations, facilities, staff, etc. They also plan to host the Indian travel trade and media to promote the destination.

Speaking about the importance of the Indian market, Emilia Engler of the Foreign Markets Department, PTO said, "Japan and China are still top priority Asian markets for us but India is a new challenge for us. It has great potential for outbound tourism development and a reason why we want to concentrate our promotional efforts to attract more Indians. We are aware that, right now, Poland is largely an unknown destination in India."

At present, it is not planning to set up office in India but Engler added that PTO would be constantly making its presence felt by participating in trade shows and exhibitions. "One of our aims is to establish commercial relations between Polish tour operators and the Indian travel industry. Therefore, Polish companies are directly in touch with Indian travel agents and tour operators like Armaan Tour & Travels, Travelite and Minar Travels," she added.