Destination NSW's India campaign treads safe ground

Will it be hugs all around as the new travel promotion is launched across India? lt4•,1

r~ BY \ PAWAN LUTHRA

Destination NSW has d ecid ed to pick th e low hanging frui t as i t attempts to woo Indian tourism co chis sta te.

L au nching i ts cam p aign Jbappi Time, Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase b uilt up the n eed to use the connections of the Indians in NSW to attract thdr family and friends to thi s state and its major attractio ns. Ala s, rather than seeking to reach out to the upper cla ss travel - savvy Indians, Jbappi Ti111e limi ts its campaign to those who may alread y b e sold on th e ide a of visiti n g this Australian State.

Researc h by To11rism Aus tralia Researc h ( fRA) indicates that NSW received 77,700 visitors from India for the ye ar en ded Se p t 201 3. This was an increase o f 9 4% over the previous ye ar.

Of the 77,700 visiti ng l S\'v; 38% were here co visit frie n ds and reJatives.

The Indian tourist market is growing By 2020, the U nited Nations ' World Tourism Organisation forecasts 50 milli on outbound trav elle r s from lndia In fa ct b y 2030, predicts a report by Amadeus, the 4 5 million lndian s w ho travelled to th e Asia P acific regio n in 2011 will grow to a staggering 70 million. Acco rding co research, I ndia n travel preferences are changing and the youn ger affluent Indians are keen o n exp eri men tal, eco a nd outd oor adventtu·e tourism.

De stination SW is tbe first Australi a n touri sm body to target tourism from India.

Jhappi T im e or 'rime for hugs ' , directe d b y world famous Bollywood dir e ctor A nupa m Sharma, fe amres four ' Bo llywoodscyle' vignettes i n popular courist locations around NSW including Sydney, Manly Beach and the Blue Mo w1cai.ns A cast o f local Indian da nce rs, actors and m usicians feature in tbe campaign. Filmed agai n st th e backdrop of famous land marks in Sydney and arou nd NS\~~ the Jhappi Time skits feamre ac to r s and key members o f t be indian community in NSW incl uding Mala :lvlehta OAJ\,[, head of GOPIO Luck y Singh, founde r of TiE Dilip R ao a nd two finalists of Australia's first Bollywoocl reality show, SB S's Bollywood Star.

The four vigne tt es include s t ories of Si kh parents wan ting to v is it their daughter w h o is stud ying at t he University of Sydney; a husba nd and wife mi ssin g t heir ad u lt children w ho all live i n Syd ney; a woman w h o is becoming a gra ndmother for the first tim e and wants to visit her new grandchild in Sydn ey; and a yo1mg woman w ho wants to visit her b est friend in Sydney.

The p lan i s co promote this digital can1paign through o nlin e m edia, as weJJ as thr ough cinema adve rti si ng, w here they were res t ed across different demographics It will also s upport .in dustry partn ers and travel wholesal er s co promote trave l packages and airfare offers to Indian travel agents and visitors

Th e campaign is warm and fuzzy. Ir hinges o n the value s chat regul ar Indians hold dear, su ch as famil y rogetherness and the importance o f education , and the s heerJoie de uiure tha t t ypifies the Ind ian way of life Sharma has cl everly used these 1ndian themes to sell his adopted home state to audie nces in bi s n ative cotuitry

Regard less, it does leave a few gaps i n its missi ve While the use of local Indian Aus tralian p eo p le i n the ad s h el p s id enti fy wjch the message, the campaign ha s reso rted to the stereotyped Bollywood image, rather than to bui ld o n what t he yo ung Indian afHnent traveller is looki n g for - adventure, excitemen t, ecoroucisrn ere. The glaring absence of cricket tour.ism is al so n ota ble, espec ially in the lead up ro t he World Cup.

A major issue whi ch holds India ns back in travelli n g to Australi a is th e travel ti m e, b ut with more flights and connectio n s between the two countries now in place, this sh ould n ot be as much of a concern. U n fortunately, th.is facet has to tally been ig n ored in the new campaign. Th e tyranny of distance s till persists i o the mind s of lndiaos wishing to trave l h ere. The target of d oubling th e Indian visitors to NSW by 2020 is rather tame especially i f g r owth i s expected at 9% pa. D oub li ng the figures will almost be achieved by o rg ani c growth, rather th an b eing campaign -driven D estinatio n NSW is to be commended for caking this in itiative to bri n g m ore In dians ' d own under'. The relationslup between lndia and NSW is improving constantly with Premier Barry O'FarreJJ making tliree visits to l od.ia in three years, as well as the recent v is it by :Min ister V ictor D om.in ello to build on the connections and agreements reached durin g the Premier's visit. NSW has been a b it slow in worki ng on atu·acring tl1e India n tour.i sm doUar, witb Victor ia having stolen tl1e marc h o n this. Whether Sharma's jbappi turns out to be the proverbial jaadu ki jhappi for D esti.natio n NS\XI, o n ly ti.me will tell Meanwhile, Indians ' dow n under' need to ge t on their ph o ne s and start sp ruiki n g the m essage of welcoming famil y and friends here. Your scare now needs ymL