Tourism Breaking News
Tourism Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for attracting international visitors to Australia for leisure and business events, this year celebrates five decades of promoting Australia in key markets across the globe. On this occasion, Tourism Australia announced the tourism programme for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in the presence of ace shooter and former Olympic and Commonwealth Gold Medalist, Abhinav Bindra. The Games will be held in Gold Coast. To celebrate Tourism Australia’s 50-year milestone a number of key distribution partners in India have developed special the 50th Anniversary packages, offering significant value-adds to travelers.
Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan said, “Our global consumer campaigns such as ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ – most recently brought to life with its ‘Aquatic and Coastal’ and ‘Restaurant Australia’ iterations – continue to evolve to showcase some of the very best attractions, experiences and food and wine options Australia has on offer for travellers. However, Australia’s success would not be possible without the incredible support and passion of our trade partners with whom we work with across the globe. In India, we are amplifying our marketing initiatives to reach and attract our growing target audience of prospective travellers to Australia. India is currently the 8th largest inbound market for Australia, and is expected to be within the top 5 markets by 2025, with around 500,000 Indian visitors annually. The increasing visitor numbers from India confirms that we are well placed to achieve our long-term Tourism 2020 targets for arrivals and out of region market share for India, well ahead of time.”
Fanatic Sports was also present at the event which is the authorised ticket reseller for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Raghav Gupta, Founder & CEO, Fanatic Sports said, “Fanatic is proud to be the authorised ticket reseller for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. As Asia’s leading sports ticketing and experiential travel company, we aim to send hundreds of fans to Gold Coast to experience the enthralling games and exquisite destination. Our team India supporter packages (Lehera Tiranga packages) include official match tickets, bespoke travel services and unique experiences such as athlete meet and greet, player gala dinners etc.”
Leanne Coddington, CEO, Tourism & Events Queensland said, “More than 57,000 Indian travellers visited Queensland in the year ending March 2017 and we know many more will come to our state next year for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. With eight months until the Opening Ceremony, the Gold Coast is a hive of activity and Queensland is ready to welcome visitors from across the globe, not only to witness world-class sport, but to experience the very best of our tourism offerings. From the iconic Great Barrier Reef, to the beautiful Outback, to the world-heritage listed Fraser Island and our bustling cities, we encourage everyone at next year’s Commonwealth Games to stay on in Queensland.”
Australia has witnessed continued growth in tourist arrivals from India in recent years. For the year-ended May 2017, Australia welcomed 274,500 visitors from India, 15.3 per cent more than the previous year, and is set to achieve a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth from India. For the month of May 2017, Australia welcomed 31,000 visitors, recording the highest ever number of visitors in any given month from India.
Through a range of focused consumer marketing and trade development initiatives, Tourism Australia has been promoting the top tourism experiences across the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania along with the Northern Territory, and the nation’s capital – Canberra – to reach the travel trade and potential travellers in key markets globally including India.
