India has become the fifth-largest inbound tourism source market for Australia for the year ending in August 2024, up from its position as the seventh-largest in 2019. This has spurred Tourism Australia to intensify its efforts to further boost Indian arrivals, starting with a high-level trade engagement earlier this week.
Tourism Australia led a delegation of 15 CEOs representing all of its state and territory tourism organisations, including convention bureaus, to Delhi and Mumbai from November 11 to 14. They met with airline partners, Air India and IndiGo, as well as key distribution partners like MakeMyTrip and Thomas Cook to reinforce Australia’s commitment to the Indian market.
The NTO also unveiled a new four-part social content this week starring former Australian cricketer David Warner, who has a strong fan base in India. The series produced for Tourism Australia’s Instagram account @australia showcases some of Warner’s favourite holiday destinations and experiences in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. This comes just before Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), a cricket tournament scheduled to begin from November 22. Cricket tournaments involving India have long attracted a large number of Indian spectators.
“We have significant ambitions for the Indian market. Politically and economically, our two countries have never been closer. Since 2019, direct flights between India and Australia have increased from eight to 25. The upcoming BGT will feature a five-match series across Australia, culminating on New Year’s Eve. We view this sporting event as a prime opportunity to capture India’s attention on Australia. During this period, our aim is to showcase Australia’s story beyond the stadiums,” said Phillipa Harrison, managing director, Tourism Australia during a press conference in New Delhi.
Harrison shared that the 2024 BGT has five times the number of bookings compared to that in 2019.
She also revealed that the second edition of Come & Say G’day campaign in India will feature local Indian talent.
Tourism Australia is expecting a 15 per cent increase in Indian tourist arrivals in the next 12 to 13 months. Presently, 59 per cent of Indian tourist arrivals to Australia come from the VFR segment while 15 per cent have stated holidays as their purpose of travel.
