For special interest groups
Tourism Victoria has recorded 9% growth from India in 2013, and is aiming at further educating the audience about its attractions. It has also announced plans to develop travel packages to Melbourne as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
After receiving honeymooners, students, leisure and VFR traffic from India, the Victoria region of Australia is now observing growth from ‘Special Interest Groups’ like Bollywood, sports, etc. Tourism Victoria is aiming to boost this segment and bring in more Indians to the region. For the same, the government recently rolled out its campaign – ‘ Come Alive in Melbourne’ which has been developed to leverage social media platforms in India and create further awareness of Melbourne and Victoria as a travel destination. Additionally, it has also announced plans to develop travel packages to Melbourne as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be held across Australia and New Zealand in February next year. The region received close to 73,000 Indians in 2013 which is a nine per cent increase from 2012.
We are developing tour packages with a few national tour operators in India
Giving out more details,
Leigh Harry, CEO, Tourism Victoria, said, “India is an exciting market for us and we intend to further intensify our destination awareness. Through the social media campaign, we aim at enhancing our brand awareness while on the other hand we will consistently educate our trade partners about the latest product developments and offerings.” He informed that with the launch of air connectivity by Air India last year, the numbers from Indian market have improved. He adds, “We are sure that Air India is recording excellent loads on India – Australia route and wish the airline will soon start daily direct operations between India and Melbourne. Meanwhile, our other airline partners like Singapore Airlines, Emirates, etc., are offering excellent rates to fly to our region from India.”
Talking about the ICC World Cup, Harry said, “We know Indians love cricket and thus, we are developing tour packages with a few national tour operators in India. These packages will cover best travel sites of Victoria and at the same time ensure that the travellers have an amazing experience of watching the cricket match.”