TBM Staff - Mumbai Tourism Australia held the 18th edition of its flagship trade initiative, Australia Marketplace India (AMI), in Bengaluru from July 23 to 25. The return of this key B2B event, for the first time since 2019, aimed to assist representatives from the Australian tourism industry to develop and establish business relationships with key qualified travel agencies and tour operators from India. At the three-day event, 86 Australian tourism businesses displayed their products and services to a record 94 Indian travel agents, demonstrating the country’s rising appeal as a holiday destination for Indian tourists.
AMI has been a pivotal platform in connecting India’s top travel agents with Australian tourism industry stakeholders and delegates to promote Australian holidays with the country’s latest and diverse offerings and experiences. This year’s participating Australian tourism representatives and distributors included a diverse set of businesses, including lodging and tour operators, attractions, experiences, cultural institutions, along with state and local tourism organizations. Compared to AMI 2019, this year’s event saw a 20% increase in seller delegates, who support Tourism Australia’s commitment to growing tourism demand from India to enable a competitive and sustainable tourism industry by exploring destinations through new experiences and products. The Indian travel buyers have been represented by 94 companies from across 8 Indian cities – Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
Commenting on the event, Andrew Hogg, Executive General Manager – Eastern Markets and Aviation, Tourism Australia, said, “India has been Australia’s fastest growing source market and continues to be one of Australia’s most valuable and promising tourism markets now and into the future. Australia Marketplace India is our prime platform, bringing together some of Australia’s leading industry experts and tourism delegates to showcase Australia’s world-class appeal to India’s trade stakeholders; to drive future growth in visitation and tourist spend from India. We continue to receive outstanding support from our Indian travel partners, who are some of our biggest advocates in making Australia a preferred holiday destination for India’s High Yield Travellers.”
Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager – India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, shared, “India has improved its ranks among Australia’s source markets, and reached a milestone of emerging as the first market to recover to pre-Covid levels, with several marketing, public relations, distribution, and partnership initiatives aimed at enhancing Australia’s attractiveness and consideration. Our Key Distribution Partners, Aussie Specialists and Business Event agents have been vital in inviting Indians to Australia. We seek to maintain our current trajectory and unlock India’s potential growth towards the next decade of travel.”
India ranked as Australia’s fourth-largest inbound tourism market for arrivals for the year ended May 2023. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), visitor arrivals data for the year ended (YE) May 2023 confirms Australia welcomed around 375,500 visitors from India, surpassing the pre-Covid levels. Spending by Indian visitors for YE March 2023 was AUD 1.97 Bn (+16% over YE March 2019), exceeding pre-Covid levels.
