Australia eyes over 3 lakh tourists from India in 2017

Australia is expecting to welcome over three lakh Indian tourists this year, mainly due to the online visitor visa applications facility, steady Australian dollar and various promotion activities.
In 2016, over 2.6 lakh Indian travellers visited Australia, according to data given by Tourism Australia.
"We are witnessing double digit growth in tourist arrivals from India since last three financial years (July-June). This is the fourth consecutive financial year we saw a growth of 15.3 per cent by hosting 2.5 lakh Indians. If we continue at the same pace we will easily cross 3 lakh during calender year," Tourism Australia Country Manager (India and Gulf) Nishant Kashikar told PTI.

In 2015-16, 2.38 lakh Indians visited Australia.
He said, the growth in tourist traffic from India will be driven by online the visitor visa applications facility launched this month, steady Australian dollar (AUD) and various promotion activities taken up by Tourism Australia.
"Besides, the growth in Indian diaspora in Australia, the economy doing well, the positive consumer sentiment and bullish market sentiment will also support the visitor growth from India to Australia. We are also witnessing a lot of repeat visitors from India," he added.

Currently, India is ranked as the ninth source market for Australia, he added.
New Zealand, China, the US, UK and Singapore are the top five source markets of Australia.

In terms of spending, India is at eighth position with an average Rs 2.6 lakh per person (AUD 5,300).
The top five spenders in Australia are China, the US, UK, New Zealand and Japan.
"If the current trend continuous, we expect India to be among the top seven source market and top five spender by 2025," Kashikar said.
Tourism Australia is mainly targeting high valued Indians over the age of 25 years from the six metro cities and Pune and Ahmedabad, he said.
"We are mainly promoting Australia as a leisure destination ideal for family (with or without children) and honeymooners. We are also focusing on the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment," he added.