Although the majority of Indian outbound travellers continue to holiday in nearby countries, Australia’s “wow” factor is luring a growing number from the fast-growing market to our shores.
A new Tourism Australia report by Ipsos social research institute which targeted 2,054 Indian leisure travellers from across India, found that Australia is “highly aspirational” with its major selling points including its natural landscapes, wildlife and icons such as kangaroos, Sydney and cricket.
The overall perception of Australians was largely positive with Aussies seen as “laid back and friendly”.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said the findings would inform its marketing efforts in India and assist Australia’s tourism industry in capturing a larger share of the market which currently trends towards short to medium haul travel. Australia currently has a 4% share of medium to long haul travel from India.
“We’ve significantly upped our efforts in India over the past three years and the results are evident,” he said. “Whilst overall arrivals are up a solid 7.8%, leisure visitors have nearly doubled. By getting in on the action early, we hope to reap the benefits as long haul travel becomes more common amongst India’s rapidly emerging classes.”
United Nations World Tourism Organisation forecasts have identified India as one of the world’s fastest growing travel markets to reach 50 million outbound travellers by 2020.
The market is estimated to be worth $2.3 billion by the end of the decade.
Other findings of the research highlighted the importance of recommendations from friends and family, pre-packaged holidays, online travel information to assist with planning with travel agents still the primary booking channel.
