Indian summer’s billion-dollar boost

WELCOME the ‘Swami Army’ — this summer’s tour by the Indian cricket team is the kickstarter to an inbound tourism boon worth up to $2.3 billion by the end of the 2020.

Tourism Australia is aggressively cashing in on India’s burgeoning middle class and is striving to be a major beneficiary of the winds of change that has created record number of visitors and spend.

Yesterday, on the second last day of the second Test, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures showing Indian visitor num- bers are up by 18.4 per cent, with the tourists staying a staggering 58-nights on average and spending $4783 per trip.

Social media has played a big hand in drawing tourists, with captain Virat Kohli alone attracting more than 25 million Instagram followers, and the combined Face- book following of the India Test team exceeding 74 million. The team’s Instagram following is over 49 million.

But it’s Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma, the Posh and Becks of India, with more than 100 million followers on social media and a net worth estimated at $120 million that are really helping to sell Australia to a new confident and affluent India.

With the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne to come and Sydney next up from January 3-7, Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham said there is huge potential for even further growth from the Indian market.