Australia eyes 8 pc growth in Indian tourists in 2017

Australia is expecting about eight per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals this year at up to 2,80,000 mainly due to faster visa processing and direct connectivity.
In 2016, 259,900 Indian travellers visited Australia, according to data by Tourism Australia.
"We are expecting 2,75,000-2,80,000 Indian travellers to visit Australia," Tourism Australia Country Manager, India and Gulf, Nishant Kashikar told PTI here.
There were 24,100 visitors from India during March 2017, a three per cent increase over March 2016, according to the data.
The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) has predicted 2,58,000 visitors from India for the July 2016 - June 2017 period, a 9.4 per cent increase over 2015-16.

Arrivals from India are expected to perform well with an average annual financial year growth rate of 8.7 per cent through to the financial year 2021-22, Kashikar added.

The findings of the target customer research and Consumer Demand Project (CDP) have revealed that the top five Aussie attractions that appeal to Indian travellers are the Australian beaches, iconic landmarks, wild life, food and wine and the Great Barrier Reef.
Faster visa processing under the Preferred Agency Scheme (PAS) and the pilot of three-year multiple entry visas for applicants with a sound travel history has also encouraged Indians to plan a trip to Australia, Kashikar said.

Further, he said, India is the eighth largest source market for Australia in terms of expenditure as an average spend for Indian visitors was AUSD (Australian dollar) 5,316.
In terms of connectivity, there are daily direct, non-stop services on the Delhi-Sydney four times a week and Delhi-Melbourne thrice a week, besides many one-stop flights.