Tourism Australia witnesses high rise in the number of Indians visiting Australia

If the recent developments recorded by Tourism Australia are anything to go by, Australia is growing in popularity as a favoured destination for travellers across India. As noted by Tourism Australia, there has been a rise of 15% in the arrival of visitors in Australia up till October 2017, in comparison to the same time period in 2016.
Reportedly, this data has made India the 9th largest infiltrating market for Australia, and brings it near its 2020 target of achieving 3,00,000 visitors yearly, way before the stipulated time.

The total money spent by Indian tourists in Australia for the year ended on September 2017 was AUD 1.45 billion (about INR 7,200 crore), a surge of 26% as compared to last year, thus, ranking India as the 8th largest market in terms of money spent by tourists. Considering the double-digit growth in tourist arrivals and money spent for the fourth ensuing year, India has turned out to be Australia’s fastest growing in-pouring market.

Beginning mid-2017, the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection allowed online submission of tourist visa applications to Indian citizens. Chief Migration Officer, Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), Tania Gerlach, said, “We are extremely pleased with the success of the e-lodgement process, with over 60% of the total tourist visa applications now received online. November 2017 has witnessed the highest-ever tourist visa lodgements.” The benefits offered by e-lodgement are 24/7 access, e-payment of the visa application charge and the provision of checking the visa applications submitted online. These visas will require lesser time for processing henceforth because of the immediate availability of application and supporting documentation to the processing office. All these developments are a harbinger of comfort for Indian travellers intending to visit Australia.

Country Manager, India and Gulf, Tourism Australia, Nishant Kashikar, told the press, “It is an extremely proud moment for us to achieve the fastest growing market status in our 50th anniversary year of marketing Australia to the world as a visitor destination.” He added that as a result of their focus on partnerships with airlines, Australian specialist agents and content integration activities as the main foundation of their work, it has indeed yielded great results. He expressed gratitude for Tourism Australia’s trade and aviation associated for being a part of the unique trip.