Indian visitor spend in South Australia has seen a surge of 87 per cent for the year ending December 2016, reaching AU$ 28 million – AU$ 13 million more than the previous year’s figure – according to Tourism Research Australia. Whereas, the total expenditure has been growing with an average of 15.8 per cent over the last three years.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Dana Urmonas, regional director – India and Southeast Asia, South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), said, “The year 2016 has been successful for us. We have seen positive results in the activities that we have been doing in the India market. Although the footfall is down a little bit, we have observed a significant increase in tourist expenditure from India.”
SATC has been focusing on promoting its key destinations Adelaide and Kangaroo Island to drive Indian tourist footfall to South Australia. According to Tourism Research Australia, Kangaroo Island has garnered increasing interest among Indian travellers, ranking third on preferences. Urmonas stated, “We are leveraging upon Adelaide and Kangaroo Islands, which are our major tourism drivers. We are also promoting wine tourism, but we don’t want to direct all of our focus on that segment.”
Last year, SATC had announced trade collaborations with several Indian travel companies including Thomas Cook, Flight Shop, Mercury Travels and Ottila International. With an emphasis on diverse itineraries and training for frontline staff and product managers, this year too SATC will be working strongly with the travel trade. In October this year, SATC will take 10-12 Indian travel agents to Adelaide, where they will also be able to interact with on-ground tour operators, alongside experiencing Adelaide.
“Our another approach is purely marketing and awareness. We focus largely on creating awareness on digital platforms. We will also be engaging influencing personalities for destination promotion,” added Urmonas.
With India being among the top 10 source markets for South Australia, SATC is targeting segments such as families, honeymooners and independent leisure travellers in the age group of 25-45, particularly in primary markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.
