Experiencing true Australia

A group of travel operators from India enjoy the best Australia has to offer

More than 70 crave.I operators from India were invited by Tourism Australia fo r a n India Mega Faniil y and Workshop in Melbourne recently Renowned cricketer Brett Lee was roped in as an ambassador for Australian Tourism in India and he began his rol e as a 'Friend of Australia', by taking the agems on a tour of tlie Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The travel agents were in Melbourne between September 1- 6, ro experience the best of tourism attractions in Australia and ro form business relationships with Australian sellers.

Australia Arrivals from India ba\7e seen a compound annual growth rate of 1 l .9 per cent between 200 1 and 2011 According to Andrew McEvoy, Tourism Australia aims ro grow tli e Indian visitor market to Australia b y up to 300,000 potential ammal visitors by the end of this decade.

.Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson reconfirmed Australia's commitment ro the Indian marker by launching the India 2020 Strategy recentl y, which is aimed to capitalise on India's growing afAuence tli rough new consumer researcl1, a nd by identifying

Pan e llis t s a t th e d is cus sion continue making economical and techno logical contributions and invesanenrs here, speci fying that there is a huge potential of bilateral economic relationship between the two n atio ns.

Mr Vasan Srinivasan emphasized tbar community engagement is crucial i n creating strong relationships, and he urged die lndian and Australian governments ro strengthen ties between chem through the community. 1frs Tara Rajkumar meandered her way th.rough h e r own migrant ~,periences in the UK and Australia, tlltimarely conclu ding tl1at the arts must Aouris h for tlie community to feel empowered and connected. "We must bring culture very strongl y into our lives if we are ro inspire people ro contribute m ore effectively to society," she said A Q& A session followed tl, e discuss ion.

Si nc e irs economic liberalisation, India's economy has grown rapidly and consistentl y, and its future is exciti ng. Fresh thinking, innovation and a deeper understanding of India's unique cultlll'e and behaviour will l ead to realising irs potential. This discussio n was a srep in the right direction to help analyse, initiate and facilitate that change

Preeti Jabbal

A welcome event for the Indian travel Operators was organised ways to work effectively in its rourism marker. According to Minister Ferguson, ''India is already one of the world's fastest growing outbound travel mat"kers and is predicted to g row to 50 million outbound travellers

Cricke ter Brett Lee takes th e India n tour opera tors on a tour of the MC by Tourism Australia at the iconic Melbourne Aq uarium. Federal

Tourism :Minister Marrin Ferguson; V ic toria's Tourism and major events minister Louise Asher; Regional General Manager, South/ Soutl1 East Asia and Gui£; Maggie White; and To urism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy were present to address the 70 buyers from India and select sellers/ operators from Australia.

India is Australia's tenth largest tourism market. lt is a market of scrong future p o tential for by 2020." " Last year, lndia contriburedA$867 million to the Australian economy and has the potential to contribure up to A$23 billion annually b y tbe end of this decade if we successfully grow our market s hare," he added. The aunospbere was vibrant at the welcome event as guests enjoyed some Australian hospitality ac the aquarium. Agents were divided into teams named Kangaroo, Koalas and Platypus and tliey competed against each o tl1et for the coveted prize of the best ph otograph during their visit. There wer e so me o utstanding and creative contributions; however the Koalas took away the prize amidst a lot of nois y fw1. The catering ar the aquarium was tasteful and tl1e en tertainme.nt pwvided by a band wit!, ilippers on tl1eir feet was

Enjoyable In Parts

During their v is it, the travel operators from India had the opportunity to experience Australian food, wine and shopping, and were able to meet some friendly Australians. Besides vis iting the world's most liveable ci ty of Melbolll'ne, some agen ts made a trip to Sydney and tl1e Humer Region in t SW, the Gold Coast in Queen sland, and Perth and. Fremantle in Western Australia. Several agents al so visited

The Whitsundays, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and Adelaide, di e Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Us ing i ts marketing and research expertise, Tourism Australia intends to target the Indian marker where the greatest tourism growth opportunities exist. This familiarization programme was a small, yer significant srep cowards achieving that ob jective.

PRfETI JABBAL

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