The latest IVS report released by Tourism Australia revealed that the expenditure made by Indians on their visits to South Australia has jumped up to a total of AUD 23 million as of June 2016 from AUD 21 million in June 2015. The State saw 13,000 Indian visitors during the year with an average spend of approximately AUD 1,799 per traveller. The healthy growth in expenditure by almost eight per cent indicates a growing interest among Indian travellers for South Australia as a holiday destination.
Dana Urmonas, Regional Director-Southeast Asia & India, South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) said, “India as a market holds great potential for us. We had a record number of visitors last year, by hosting the ICC World Cup Match between India and Pakistan in Adelaide. We are happy to see that Indian travellers are starting to recognise Adelaide as a holiday destination and are keen to leverage the momentum built. With the on-going marketing initiatives planned for India we are extremely positive about a progressive growth in visitor and expenditure numbers over the next few years.”
The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) has predicted 265,000 visitors from India to Australia for the Jul 2016 – Jun 2017, 9.6 per cent increase over 2015-16. The announcement of the three year multiple entry visa for Indians is also expected to boost visitor numbers significantly. The SATC aims to capitalise on this and increase visitor numbers to South Australia by 10 per cent in the coming year. Primary target markets for SATC are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai and the core segments include families, honeymooners and independent leisure travellers in the age group of 25-55.
According to research reports a growing trend among Indian travellers is that they are now looking for immersive experiences when they travel to new destinations. In Australia, top attractions that appeal to Indians include beaches, iconic wildlife and food and wine. South Australia offers an array of boutique experiences to travellers within its key destinations. Some of these include walking on the beach amongst a colony of endangered sea lions on Kangaroo Island, swimming with wild dolphins at Glenelg beach in Adelaide, a Roof-Climb experience at the Adelaide Oval and blending your own wine at Barossa.
