AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Australia's 10 Year Plan to Attract More Indian Visitors

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Tourism Australia last week launched a new ten-year campaign to attract more high-spending visitors from India, a lucrative market that has been damaged by recent attacks on Indian students.

Tourism Australia's 2020 India Strategic Plan, is the latest initiative from the Australian Government aimed at repairing Australia's image and tripling the numbers of Indian visitors over the next 10 years. Tourism Australia's managing director, Andrew McEvoy, says prior to the attacks on Indian students, Australia was seen as a very welcoming nation and an incredibly attractive destination to Indians. However, the nation's image has not completely recovered.

According to media reports, there's probably around 145,000 Indians who are coming to Australia, including students and holiday makers, and business visitors. Indian travellers and temporary residents, like students, are currently contributing between AUD$800 and AUD$820 million to the Australian economy. Tourism Australia's plan is strongly expected to lure those high-spending visitors to Australia to triple this amount to AUD$2.4 billion by 2020.

McEvoy indicated that the Australian government has been working very closely in India at the diplomatic level for a number of years, but he believes the time is now right to take the efforts to the next level. "We've done a lot of work to rebuild the image and I think the High Commission has done a great job over there. So we're certainly back on track and there are big opportunities to come."

The key points of the 10-year India strategy include brand building, particularly through the use of digital and social media and access to direct non-stop flights to Australia. At present, most flights are routed through the Asian hubs, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The Australian Tourism industry is getting ready to welcome Indian travellers. "It is about understanding and giving this young upwardly mobile consumer, who is looking for great cosmopolitan cities and also a bit of adventure, a good experience, vegetarian and western food, service and culture," said McEvoy.