India emerges as Australia's fastest growing market for tourism

Mumbai: India has emerged as the fastest growing market for Australian tourism.

Arrivals from India to Australia grew by 15 per cent for the year ended October 2017, with an influx of 294,000 visitors, compared to the same period last year.

This makes India the 9th largest inbound market for Australia, and inches closer towards achieving its Tourism 2020 goal of 300,000 visitors annually, three years ahead of target.

Indian visitor spend in Australia for the year ended September 2017 reached A$1.45 billion (approx. Rs 7,200Crore), an increase of 26 per cent over the previous year, making India the 8th largest market in terms of spend by tourists. With an impressive double-digit growth in arrivals and spend for the fourth consecutive year, India has emerged as Australia's fastest growing inbound market.

"It is a proud moment for us to achieve the fastest growing market status in our 50th anniversary year of marketing Australia to the world as a visitor destination. Our focus on content integration initiatives, partnerships with airlines and Aussie specialist agents, and increased digital focus have been the cornerstones for these impressive results," Tourism Australia Country Manager India and Gulf Nishant Kashikar said.

To encourage travellers from India, Tourism Australia will continue to focus on promoting nature and wildlife, alongside aquatic and coastal experiences.