Call for Australia to woo Bollywood

Call for Australia to woo Bollywood
By admin


Australia needs to attract more Bollywood film productions if it is to win over the Indian and Middle Eastern markets, tourism operators have insisted.

While New Zealand has prospered on the back of Bollywood movies, Australia has missed the boat, Indian outbound operator Saltours International said.

Rajesh Nambiar, Saltours international executive vice president told Travel Today he had seen sales of New Zealand product soar on the back of a number of Bollywood movies.

“They really promoted New Zealand as a destination,’ he said. “Australia needs to do more with Bollywood.”

While Sydney and Melbourne had featured in Bollywood movies in the past, little had been down in other parts of the country, such as Darwin, thereby hindering demand, according to Nambiar.

Managing director of Dubai-based Connect World, Justin Jacob, said the issue was also affecting numbers from the Middle East.

“India has a lot of influence with Arabs,” he said. “Particularly Bollywood.”

Spain had seen traffic from both markets triple in the wake of Bollywood offering Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Only Live Once), they added.

Meanwhile, Tourism Australia said it did not have a budget for attracting Bollywood productions, claiming “there are more Bollywood flops than successes”.

“That’s why our own recent approach has been to support more established TV dramas,” the tourism body said.

It’s most recent TV venture was Bade Achhe Lagte Hain (I Love Him a Lot) which aired in November 2011.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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