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The dollar dance apparently has not affected the business down under as Tourism Australia official records have some positive notes to share. The recent figures showed encouraging growth as their June 2013 statistics revealed that there were 14,300 visitors from India during June 2013, a 20 per cent increase over June 2012, bringing the total for the year ended June 2013 to 164,000, an increase of 7.6 per cent relative to the same period previous year. The Tourism Forecasting Council predicts 176,000 arrivals from India to Australia in 2013/14, a growth of 7.3 per cent.
Tourism Australia recently completed year one of the India 2020 Strategic Plan that was launched in June 2012. Since the launch of the plan, leisure spends and arrivals from India have grown by 22 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. India is one of Australia’s fastest growing inbound markets and now sits amongst the top 10 source markets for Australian tourism. Visitor numbers to Australia from India grew 7.5 per cent in 2012, reaching 159,400 for the year, and worth AUD 786 million in overnight expenditure.
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The India Travel Mission 2013 which has held during the end of August 2013 in Goa, witnessed participation from around 50 Australian suppliers who interacted with close to a 100 buyers from across India. The mission clearly tried to reinforce its faith in the India market with an increased focus on luxury, gourmet and high end leisure experiences.
Karyn Kent, regional general manager – South/ South East Asia and Gulf Countries, Tourism Australia, was very clear when she mentioned that Australia is being promoted in a unique way focusing on experiences and introducing new untapped regions of the country. From food and wine trails to that of promoting the destination through films, they have their strategy well laid out she reiterated. “Recent arrivals from India have been extremely encouraging, especially with the consistent growth in leisure visitors. The expected airline capacity increase with the launch of Air India’s non-stop flights to Sydney and Melbourne is likely to provide a further boost to travel from India to Australia. To sustain our efforts in this market, in addition to the India 2020 strategic plan, Tourism Australia has undertaken comprehensive research initiatives for a greater understanding of our target audience in India to help us reach out to them in more effective ways. We are optimistic about India’s continued growth as one of Australia’s top 10 inbound markets,” says Kent.
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The three-day event featured scheduled appointments between each Indian buyer and Australian seller, in addition to round table networking sessions to facilitate interaction with Australia’s state tourism representatives. India Travel Mission (ITM) 2013 also witnessed increased presence from airline partners such as Singapore Airlines, Silk Air, Virgin Australia, Malaysia Airlines and Air India who shared details of their increased frequency. At the event, the Indian buyer delegates also received an audience with officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) at the Australian High Commission, to increase their understanding of the visa application process. DIAC and Tourism Australia run the ‘Preferred Agency Scheme’ (PAS) for easy facilitation of visas from shortlisted travel agencies. On June 2013, there were 108 PAS agencies in India.
Nishant Kashikar, country manager – India, Tourism Australia said, “ITM is an important aspect of our distribution strategy and provides a fantastic opportunity for Indian and Australian travel trade representatives to meet and exchange business information and opportunities. We are very pleased with the response and feedback that the event has generated. As part of our trade initiatives ITM will be supplemented by our training programme throughout six cities during September and October 2013, and our ongoing efforts to train agents through the online Aussie Specialist Program. On the consumer front our integrated brand campaign across high visibility media platforms and our co-op initiatives with travel and airline partners is expected to give Australia top-of-mind recall in the booking periods for the upcoming holiday seasons.”
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The suppliers were of the opinion that the Indian traveller is asking for more and they have to offer innovative products to cater to the demand. Nayaz Noor of Safir Travels was confident that what will sell in the future are only out of the box itineraries for the discerning Indian travellers. Sudhir Warrier of the Australian Cruise Group who has been in the business for over two decades was also highlighting the importance of product enhancement and offering new specialties as he is constantly trying to offer something new through his products. A new high-end product, which is wanting to strongly make inroads into the Indian market is the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa, which was also a part of the delegation.
Some light moments were witnessed at the opening event of ITM 2013, during which a team building cooking competition was held for all the participating delegates. The event, aptly titled OzChef, was judged by celebrity chef of Australia, Matt Moran, in his inimitable style that has been so popular on television shows such as Masterchef Australia. Moran emphasised the popularity and diversity of food and wine experiences in Australia and encouraged the Indian travel trade to send more Indian visitors to indulge in uniquely Aussie experiences including its culinary delights.
