The research findings reflected Australia as having the highest destination brand index (DBI) among Indians, with an overall score of 100. The Destination Brand Index is computed after considering seven key behavioural and attitudinal measures, including Destination Experience Awareness, Advertising Awareness, Importance Factor Association, Destination Aspiration, Destination Intention, Past Visitation, and Destination Advocacy.
Furthermore, the research revealed that of all long destinations Australia ranked first in terms of aspiration and awareness and second in terms of travelers’ intention to visit during 2016.
Mr. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “The year 2015 has been a momentous year for us, with significant milestones such as crossing the 200,000 arrivals landmark, achieving A$1 billion in visitor spend, and improving our ranking to be the 8th largest inbound market for Australia. The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) in Australia is predicting 245,000 visitors from India for 2015-16, a 12% increase over 2014-15. We are optimistic that India will play a key role in meeting our 2020 tourism target, with spend by Indians touching A$ 1.9 billion, and arrivals reaching 300,000 annually by the end of the decade. In collaboration with our key distribution and airline partners, we aim to inspire more Indian travel enthusiasts to plan their next holiday Down Under.”
Mr. Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com, said, “Australia has become a great market for us as people are showing a marked interest in visiting the country. Travellers consider it an excellent destination due to its unique experiences, hip cities, rich culture and awesome seafood. In fact, in 2015, we observed a 117% increase in our bookings to the destination, and anticipate the number of enquiries/bookings increase by more than double in 2016 as compared to the previous year.”
According to Mr. Karan Anand, Head—Relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd., travel to Australia is expected to grow at 20 per cent compared to 2015. “Australia offers a kaleidoscope of experiences and caters to the entire family. From premier theme parks in the Gold Coast to the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, the destination has an exhaustive array of options for the Indian traveller. For the savvy traveller, self-drive options, wine tours and gourmet journeys are available across the destination. It is a destination where every option can be explored.”
Over the last two years, the exchange rate of the Australian Dollar has depreciated by 15%, adding to the destination’s allure to the price-conscious Indian traveller. Mr. Rajeev D. Kale, President & Chief Operating Officer – MICE, Domestic & Sports Tourism, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., said, “At Thomas Cook, Australia has been one of our success stories in 2015: the year started with a bang with demand inspired by the World Cup. Marcom and a depreciating Australian dollar ensured continuum and we closed the year with an impressive growth of over 35% across our outbound segments to Australia; our MICE business seeing significant uptake.”
Vishal Suri, Managing Director, Kuoni India agreed that the destination has become affordable because of the favourable cross rate of the Australian Dollar with the Indian Rupee. “We’ve witnessed a rising number of Indian travellers to the country. We saw the destination grow significantly by over 35% for us in 2015. There is also improved visibility for the destination on account of various promotional initiatives taken over a sustained period. Australia has been a land of staggering contrast and spectacular beauty. Its coastline, wildlife and island experiences attract the greatest appeal in Indian travellers and this will continue to propel immense tourism growth for the destination.”
To facilitate the increased traffic seen into Australia, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection has introduced electronic or online lodgement of tourist visa (e600) applications, an initiative that has seen tremendous success since the roll out of the pilot amongst 85 leading travel agencies during 2015.
India has moved up from its position as the 11th largest inbound market for Australia in 2014, to being the 8th largest in 2015. For the year ended November 2015, 230,000 Indian tourists visited Australia; an increase of 18% relative to the same period last year.
For the year ended September 2015, Indian visitors contributed A$ 1.1 billion (Over Rs 5,000 crores) to the Australian economy; an increase of solid 34% over the previous year.
No comments:
Post a Comment