Italian State Tourist Board has reopened its office in Mumbai. The new office was inaugurated on May 24, 2013 by Daniele Mancini, Ambassador of Italy to India, in the presence of Dr Giampaolo Cutillo, Consul General of Italy in Mumbai; Dr Amedeo Scarpa, Director, Italian Trade Commission, New Delhi; Dr Augusto di Giacinto, Director, Italian Trade Commission, Mumbai; Dr Giorgio Imparato, Visa Officer, Mumbai; Simonetta Bartolomei, Commercial Attache from the Consulate General of Italy, Mumbai; and Murali Raghavan, COO - South Asia and CIS, VFS Global, a release stated.
Mancini said, “Undoubtedly, India today is an emerging and high-potential tourism market, and numbers from the country are only set to increase in the years to come. The growing middle class of the country certainly multiplies this potential. Since its first presence in Mumbai, way back in 2001, ENIT has been instrumental in promoting Italy among Indian tourists."
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In 2001, the number of Indian tourists to Italy stood at 69,000, which a decade later increased to 250,000, which is why tourism is a very important part of bilateral relations between Italy and India, Mancini said. "With the kind support from the Italian Ministry and VFS Global, ENIT once again looks forward to wooing Indian tourists and promoting Italy in the region," he added.
Salvatore Ianniello, India Representative, ENIT, said, “Looking back at all that has been achieved by ENIT, we are looking forward to re-strengthening our past collaborations and looking for different ways to reach out to people and adding value to our existing services and assistance.
In this regard, you will soon find us on various social media domains such as Facebook, Twitter and shortly, a dedicated website for the Indian market will also be launched.”
Raghavan said, “We feel proud to be associated with ENIT, and it is our privilege to assist them to set up their India operations. In fact, in the spirit of our long-standing partnership with the Government of Italy, VFS Global has assisted ENIT with its office space and marketing and PR support.
The re-opening of this office is a promising beginning to attract more tourists and serve the potential Indian market.”
ENIT will soon plan workshops for the travel trade, focused delegations comprising travel agents, TV crew personnel, travel and destination journalists to familiarise them with the destination. The Board is also scouting for locations for Bollywood. Some of the successful joint initiatives of ENIT in the recent past have been visible on the Bollywood front with movies like 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', 'Kambhakt Ishq', 'Housefull' and 'Rockstar'; all being filmed at several locations across Italy.