Growth in tourist arrivals from India to Australia reached a seven-year high in May, rising 39% y-o-y.
Figures released by Tourism Australia show that 21,700 visitors from India arrived during May 2014. This brings the 2014 year-to-date (January – May) total to 82,500, an increase of 19% relative to the same period last year.
The surge in arrivals is attributed to a number of factors. There was an increase in aviation capacity via the introduction of direct flights on the triangulated route of Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne by Air India, and partnerships with Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have also presented a boost to arrivals from India.
Marketing campaigns have also yielded success. These include Tourism Australia’s integrated brand campaign ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’, social media competitions, and media content-integration activities. Content agreement lead to showcasing Australia on the popular drama series ‘Pyar Ka Dard’ on Star Plus and Bollywood production ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’.
Nishant Kashikar, country manager for India & Gulf at Tourism Australia said: “Tourism Australia is geared up to keep the momentum going and optimistic that the impending launch of our food and wine centric ‘Restaurant Australia’ campaign, and the mega sporting fervour that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will bring, will lead to further growth in visitor arrivals from India in the coming months.”
India is one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel markets, with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) predicting 50 million outbound travellers by 2020.
The India 2020 Strategic Plan by Tourism Australia was developed to maximise the tourism potential offered by India and to set the foundation for the future, when long haul leisure travel from India becomes more common. The strategy identifies that India has the potential to be worth between AU$1.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) and AU$2.3 billion by the end of the decade.
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