The event was inaugurated by H.E. Ivan Lančarič gracing the evening by highlighting the potential of Slovakia as a destination. This was followed by speeches from Roman Berkeš – President SACKA, Riaz Munshi – President of Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) and Amit Kumar Sharma – Regional Head South Asia, VFS Global.
One of the main highlights of the event was the signing of a MOU between the President of SACKA Roman Berkeš and the President of OTOAI Riaz Munshi for their collaborated efforts in promoting the destination through various forthcoming partnerships. In addition, the keynote speech by Sameer M. Upadhyay, Line Producer of Bollywood movie ‘CHEHRE’, which had an extensive shoot schedule in Slovakia, was another highlight of the evening.
E. Ivan Lančarič shared: “Last year our Embassy has initiated campaign with intention to spread awareness of tourist attractions and opportunities to visit in our beautiful country. Thanks to these activities, we have already registered enormous interest of Indian visitors to Slovakia and moreover, I am very pleased, that for the very first time Indian producers and Bollywood megastars Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi and many other famous Indian actors discovered beauties of Slovakia.”
“In this regard just today, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi in cooperation with the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India is organising a promo event labelled “1 Lakh reasons to visit Slovakia” to further demonstrate, that thanks to many heritage sites, lush green forests and beautiful mountains, Indian tourists can find an enormous diversity, that will fulfill the expectations even of the most demanding travelers,” he said.
“Therefore, I believe that the upcoming tourist season will give us the opportunity to welcome another young people looking for urban entertainment or exciting outdoor activities, as well as families wishing to spend time at the cosy mountain resorts or just those, who want to enjoy the hospitality of our country, taste the fine Slovak wines and excellent beers,” he added.
Sameer Singh, Vice President, Representation World shares: “Our entire focus is to educate the potential agents about the varied tourism products the destination has to offer and at the same time create awareness and take the destination to the end consumer through all possible channels. With this partnership, and the response of the Destination Showcase witnessed today, we are buoyant to unravel the full potential of growing Indian outbound numbers in favour of Slovakia.”
