outbou n d : wa s h i ngto n 23 elliot l. fergusson ii, president & ceo, destination dc expect the trump administration to be more active on the tourism front the bonhomie between the tourism industries in india and the usa is most likely to continue under the trump administration as the newly elected government takes centerstage in a couple of months, and india and the usa gear up to celebrate 2017 as the year of tourism. elliot l. fergusson ii’s prognosis is based on the president-elect’s long-standing involvement with the hospitality industry. in an informal discussion with tf, he also asserted that washington’s tourism product entailed much more than just heritage and museums, a perception he seemed determined to change. excerpts: by shashank shekhar the larger industry perspective from both the countries has been that there needs to be more engagement and it is fairly visible as far as attempts from both the sides in augmenting travel and tourism between the two nations is concerned. now, you have the indo-us tourism year being celebrated in 2017, but do you see the momentum being continued under the trump administration as the new administration takes charge in washington in the coming months? is that an area of concern? it is not a concern yet, because i think the reality is that this is an administration, at least the president-elect, truly understands the hospitality industry. he has been a huge benefactor of the hotels and casinos that he has owned, and i think he will continue to maintain the interest in additional visitation to the united states – simply because it is an industry where he has been actively involved. so, i cannot imagine the new administra- tion will do anything…in fact, they will be more active. as a matter of fact, the us travel association has already interfaced with his administration, the incoming administration, to talk about some of our priorities. i know that the ceo of marriott international has already sent a letter to the president-elect referencing some of the priorities for the industry – and again, he owns hotels. so, i feel pretty comfortable in saying that this will remain, the indo-us relationship, very front of the line. so, you believe that broad-based advertorial consensus will continue in the longer run? as pertaining to this industry, absolutely. we benefit from this; his properties benefit from this. it just makes sense for him to continue to make sure that this is the case. you have in your presentation spoken quite extensively on how washington, d.c.’s tourism product is so much more than museums and heritage. but quite honestly, it is one of your biggest assets, and given that india has quite a repository of heritage itself, it could turn out to be a great pull for the discerning indian traveller if properly marketed here in india. absolutely, and we will. there is no doubt that when visitors are looking at coming to washington, d.c., they are looking at the american experience; they are looking at history – and we know that indian visitors are knowledge seekers. so, monuments and museums are a strong draw and we are very fortunate to have these many in our city that are free for visitors. so, that is important. but we also know that people want diversity in experience and some of these museums close at seven o’clock. so, you have to have other things; we do not want to be a city where there is nothing to do after seven o’clock, because there is so much to do and that is what we are focusing on, as well, to look at that a visitor does not come to washington just for one day, because there is so much to do and there are so many ways that you (visitor) could do it. there are other opportunities to hear what washington has to offer. this is your first foray into the indian market. what are the distribution channels you are looking at? given that he has been a huge benefactor of the hotels and casinos that he has owned, and i think he will continue to maintain the interest in additional visitation to the united states – simply because it is an industry where he has been actively involved. so, i cannot imagine the new administration will do anything…in fact, they will be more active. i know that the ceo of marriott international has already sent a letter to the president- elect referencing some of the priorities for the industry. ,, aaron wodin-schwartz elliot l. fergusson ii director public policy, brand usa president & ceo, destination dc there has been so much happening in the ota space in india in the past few years, especially, do you see yourself tying up with some of the otas to roll out specific offerings tailor-made for the indian outbound? is that a possibility in the near future? that is a possibility. we have done that with some of the other destinations, where we are marketing with some of the otas. so, the goal is you know…ipw will be our first opportunity with so many of them being in the washington, d.c.; our team already works with a lot of otas in india, now. for us, this is the first opportunity to, quite frankly, get in front of so many folks who influence travel; ironically, many of them who have never been to washington themselves. so, a lot of the folks and otas say that they send people to washington all the time, but they themselves have not been to washington. and, i recog- nize the fact that they see the things that you said: the monuments, heritage and history etc. but are they able to sell the diversity of wash- ington that is? so, we are encouraged by the opportunity to meet more media, more otas in washington to really give them a chance to see how d.c. could be much more. so, it is more of a familiarization process for now, is not it? yes, it is a familiarization process, informa- tion gathering to see that when people talk about washington, in addition to going for the monuments and memorials, we want them to be able to say that you can also catch a football game while you are in the city, or you could go in this time of the year, there is the jazz festival, or the independ- ence day celebration – it is an extremely large celebration in washington. they will be able to say those things, because of the experiences of the things which they will while they are there in d.c. tirun announces longest-ever singapore season by royal caribbean with increased sailings on three of asia’s most amazing cruise ships indian families can make the most of their summer with rci’s ships sailing right through the peak holiday season asia’s magnificent cruise ships ovation of the seas, mariner of the seas, and voyager of the seas return to singapore to offer royal caribbean and tirun’s long- est-ever home porting season in asian waters. this deployment by the royal caribbean international cruise line, which will run for nine months till next june 2017 with 64 sailings, is expected to take 200,000 guests to ports in southeast asia. the sailings will increase royal caribbean’s capacity in 2017 in the region by 30 per cent over 2016. tirun’s announcement regarding the rci singapore season has been made soon after royal caribbean’s double victory at the travel weekly asia’s readers choice awards. the pioneering brand won both the ‘best cruise line - international’ and the ‘best cruise line - family’ titles, which reflects its exceptional services in the travel industry. speaking on the announcement, ratna chadha, chief executive, tirun said, “after an immensely successful semi-chartered cruise to singapore by voyager of the seas, it is great news for indian cruise enthusiasts that singapore is now going to witness the longest-ever home porting by three of royal caribbean’s most magnificent ships. this means more options, more itineraries and more choice along with well-curated indian delicacies and experiences onboard for vaca- tioners. in addition, attractions such as themed cruises will enhance the propensity of indian travel-lovers to consider cruise holidays as the ideal way to quench their thirst for exotic vacations with unbridled luxury.” the season commences with mariner of the seas hosting 41 sail- ings until next march. with three to ten nights’ cruises, the ship will sail to popular destinations such as malaysia, thailand, vietnam, hong kong and china. with recent itiner- ary additions, mariner of the seas will also feature festive cruises for christmas, new year in december, and chinese new year in january 2017. the highlights for the cruise ship also include theme cruises such as salsa cruise in december and the cosplay-styled cosfest sea cruise in february. asia’s newest and most techno- logically advanced ship ovation of the seas, which was in singapore in june, will be back in march to april 2017 with a total of 10 new sailings. this comprises three to five nights to penang, phuket, bangkok (laem chabang) and a 12-night one-way cruise to tianjin with calls at ho chi minh city (phu my) for overnight stay, hue/danang (chan may), hong kong and seoul (incheon). ovation of the seas alone is expected to add 42,000 additional guests to the singapore season, and delivering millions through in-port spend. with new generation cruise amenities, the guests will enjoy the ‘north star’, an observation capsule 90 metres over the ocean, cocktails served by robots at the ‘bionic bar’, skydiving and surfing experiences, interior virtual balconies with real- time ocean views, luxurious loft suites, and ‘seaplex’, the largest indoor activity space at sea. the cruise ship also boasts 18 restau- rants with cuisines from around the globe, including imaginative cuisine at wonderland, and jamie’s italian by celebrity chef jamie oliver, the fastest internet connection speeds at sea, and a collection of artwork valued at more than $6 million. following this, voyager of the seas will return in may 2017 to june 2017 and will offer 13 sailings of three to five night southeast asian itineraries to kuala lumpur (port klang), penang, phuket and an 8-night one-way cruise to hong kong, with stopovers at bangkok (laem chabang) for an overnight, ho chi minh city (phu my) and nha trang. the 15-deck, 3,800-guest voyager class ships mariner of the seas and voyager of the seas are also packed with entertainment and activities for guests of all ages, such as the royal promenade, ice skating rink, full-sized sports court, flow rider surf simulator, and dreamworks entertainment.