Karnataka Emerges as a Key Source Market for Tourism Australia With an Upsurge of 20% in Tourist Arrivals

Bangalore, Karnatka, November 9, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Tourism Australia witnessed record increase in tourist arrivals from Karnataka this year, making it the third largest tourism source market in India after Maharashtra and New Delhi. With continued double digit growth in arrivals and spends from the State, Tourism Australia organized its biggest annual trade initiative, India Travel Mission in Bengaluru today to further market the destination intensely among potential travel enthusiasts. The thirteenth edition of the trade meet received the highest-ever response from over 90 Indian travel companies spread across the country. The three day event saw participation from over 50 Australian products and experiences to strengthen business opportunities with Indian trade partners by collaborating on promoting exciting tourism offerings for Indian travelers.

ITM 2015, held from 27 to 30 August proved to be bigger and better this year. Participants at ITM included representation from hotels, attractions, Inbound Tour Operators (ITOs), state and regional tourism boards, airlines, among others. Encouraged by the growing Indian market and providing new itinerary options to the India travel trade, a varied set of Australian tourism products made their debut in the India market through the event this year. Representatives of Mt Buller Alpine Snow Resort, Oz Jet Boating Sydney, Sealink and Captain Cook Cruises, Skydive Australia Pty Ltd, Sunlover Reef Cruises, Taronga Zoo, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, among others were first time participants at this year’s event.   

As of March 2015, Karnataka recorded a 20% upsurge in tourist arrivals to Australia and a staggering increase of 44% in spends in comparison to the previous year.   

Mr. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “Karnataka has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets in India. The sustained growth from Karnataka over the years has proved it to be a strategic core market for the tourism board. As per our consumer research, travel enthusiasts from the region are investing a lot on adventure, food & wine and luxury experiences in Australia. India Travel Mission has proved to be great platform for us to fortify our travel trade engagement in the country by providing a platform for our Indian and Australian trade partners to create compelling travel solutions for Indian travelers. Tourism Australia will soon be launching an integrated brand campaign with key distribution partners across media mix to reinforce top-of mind recall as a preferred destination during the booking period for the upcoming holiday seasons.”    

Mr. Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com says, “Australia has become a much sought after destination for Indian travelers especially over the last few months. People from Bangalore have shown a special interest and we have marked a 133 percent rise in queries to Australia coming in from the city. People consider Australia as an excellent destination as it is a place which caters to all age groups. As Indians are known for the love of cricket, we saw Bangaloreans flock in large numbers to Australia during the World Cup earlier this year. The excitement grew as India reached the semi-finals and we witnessed almost 262 percent increase in the number of people traveling to Australia from Bangalore. Yatra’s yearly Summer Survey also brought forth Australia as the one of the most popular international destinations for Indian travelers.”    

Ms. Supriya Kandhari, MD, Chrysalis Holiday, Bengaluru said, “While family travel to Australia continues to grow immensely, we are also observing a steady growth in honeymooners and young travelers choosing Australia as their preferred holiday destination. Travelers from Bengaluru are opting for more experiential and activity based holidays with an increasing interest of exploring newer destinations and staying longer at single destinations rather than destination hopping.”

Australia has witnessed a continued growth trajectory in tourist arrivals from India. As per the year ended June 2015, 220,000 Indian travellers visited Australia which is an increase of 19% for the same period the previous year. For the six months to June, Australia received 122,900 visitors from India, a 24% increase relative to the same period of the previous year. India is currently Australia’s eighth largest inbound tourism market.        

 About Tourism Australia

Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australia to the world as a destination for business and leisure travel.

Tourism Australia’s purpose is to increase the economic benefits to Australia of tourism, supporting the industry’s Tourism 2020 strategy, which aims to grow the overnight annual expenditure generated by tourism to over A$ 115 billion by 2020.

The organization is active in around 30 key markets, where it aims to grow demand for the destination’s tourism experiences by promoting the unique attributes which will entice people to visit.

Tourism Australia’s activities include advertising, public relations and media programs, trade shows and programs for the tourism industry, consumer promotions, online communications and consumer research.