Australia to start USD 3.4 mn campaign to woo Indians ahead of T20 world cups

Australia said it would start a USD 3.4 million (Aus $ 5 mn) advertisement campaign next month to woo the Indian tourists ahead of the next year's ICC T20 World Cups for both men and women, country's authorities said on Monday.

Australia will host the ICC T20 World Cups for both men and women in 2020.

Australia's Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the new campaign would be used to increase Australia's broader destination appeal in India.

"India was already Australia's fastest growing visitor market, worth about 1.7 billion Australian dollar each year and that the new campaign would be used for marketing activities to drive visitation to both the women's and men's tournaments, as well as increase Australia's broader destination appeal in India," Birmingham said.

Noting major sporting events have far reaching impacts on tourism, he said they would be a significant drivers of visitors demand.

"We know from research that major sporting events have far reaching impacts and are significant drivers of visitor demand, with 16 per cent of all international visitors attending a sporting or cultural event during their trip. These visitors are also known to stay longer and spend more than the average international traveller," Birmingham said.

The Sports sector is estimated to deliver around USD 50 billion a year in direct economic, productivity and volunteering benefits to Australia and also help to grow businesses and to drive investment for the country.

Highlighting the visitation forecast was to grow four-fold to reach nearly 1.2 million by 2035 from India, the minister said: "The recently released India Economic Strategy specifically identified the need for increased tourism marketing activity in India to ensure the market reaches its full potential."