Australia ranks high as a favorite destination for travelers from West Bengal

Australia ranks high as a favorite destination for travelers from West Bengal

Arrival statistics reveals West Bengal as one of the leading tourism source market from India

Australia’s soaring popularity amongst travelers from West Bengal has led to the State emerging as one of the leading tourism source market for Australia in India. For the year ended March 2015, West Bengal recorded an 18 per cent increase in tourist arrivals and a staggering increase of 49 per cent in spends into Australia. Over the years, West Bengal has emerged as an important market for Tourism Australia, with focused distribution and PR initiatives scheduled to further boost the market potential.     

 

Mr. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “West Bengal has emerged as one of the fastest growing market in India for Australia and we are committed to nurture this growth by working closely with our travel partners. Australia has a diverse range of some of the world’s best tourism experiences and we are optimistic of continuing to rank high as a preferred outbound destination for travelers from this state.  

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 per cent for the same period the previous year. For the six months to June, Australia received 122,900 visitors from India, a 24 per cent increase relative to the same period of the previous year.   

Best ranking travel agencies in the city testify to a growing interest in travel to Australia and of travelers expanding their horizon and increasing indulgence on holidays.

Mr. Rajkumar Sarrof, Director, Pristine Travels Pvt Ltd said, “The key trend observed among travellers from Kolkata includes their keenness to try new activities and visit the unexplored regions in Australia. Travellers prefer an action packed itinerary with a bit of every diverse experience on offer. Experiences such as self-drive holidays, vineyard visits, short cruises, soft adventure, world class shopping and casinos are gaining immense prominence in this market. Another interesting trend that we have observed in Kolkata is the willingness of travellers to spend more on their holiday. They are amenable to spending that extra bit, if they see a value for money experience in return.”    

Mr. Asif Alim, General Manager Sales – Outbound, Neptune Tours And Travels Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata said, “Travellers from Kolkata today are willing to spend and always eager to explore new options. We notice a trend of customers demanding for the best located hotels, best shopping locales, and best sightseeing options including helicopter rides, off beat sightseeing and destinations. During the wedding season, we see a lot of couples opting for Australia as their ultra-luxury honeymoon destination.”  

As India moved up the rankings to be the eighth largest source market for inbound arrivals into Australia, spends by Indian travelers’ in Australia has reached an all-time high. For the year ending June 2015, visitor expenditure out of India crossed AUD 1 billion mark registering a record growth of 39%. India has also improved its ranking to become the 10^th largest market for spend into Australia. For the quarter ending June 2015, India recorded visitor expenditure growth of 40%.  

On the consumer front, Tourism Australia recently launched a tactical driven media campaign in association with its key distribution and airline partners through the successful and established platform of ‘There’s Nothing like Australia’. The campaign aims at enticing travel to Australia through attractive offers by travel on broadcast and digital mediums. With the campaign featuring travel packages starting at Rs. 119,000, a high proportion of Indian travelers are expected to be Australia bound for the year-end holiday season. Tourism Australia has also collaborated with India’s national carrier, Air India, giving flyers a chance to travel to Australia at exciting fares starting from Rs. 58,000 onwards. The offer lasts until 30^th September 2015 and is valid for travel till 31st October 2015, subject to applicable terms and conditions.  

To support the distribution network, Tourism Australia runs the online destination program ‘Aussie Specialist Program’ for travel agencies. For the year ended June 2015, there was a 23% growth in number of travel agency staff on the Aussie Specialist program from Kolkata. The online program is supported by regular in-person training sessions for frontline staff of travel agencies to equip them on selling the destination more effectively.

Source for Visitor Arrivals Data - International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia

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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 organisation 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.

 

For more information visit www.tourism.australia.com | www.facebook.com/seeaustralia