October 2005

The Travel Bug - Issue 5

Sydney Goes After Indian Tourists
The city’s tourism business leaders have established two new forums aimed at rapidly increasing visitation from India. Sydney is hopeful of attracting some of the 200 million Indians who now have the means to travel internationally. “Last year we welcomed 42,500 Indian visitors to NSW [New South Wales] and they provided a A$68.5 million boost to the NSW economy,” Tourism NSW executive director and general manager John O’Neill said in a release. “Current tourism forecasts are for 200,000 Indian visitors to Australia each year within 10 years but with a strong, early focus on two-way trade in tourism and business we believe Sydney and Australia can do much better from this massive market.” The NSW India Travel Industry Forum and the NSW Tourism, Travel, & Hospitality Chapter of the Australia-India Business Council (AIBC) have been established to capitalize on the market’s potential. “Tourism is a massive bilateral opportunity for NSW and India, and the successful launches have demonstrated how we can all work together for mutual benefit,” Neville Roach, chairman of the AIBC, said. O’Neill said the challenge was not only growing tourism but developing new products and having the right customer service. (Source: eTurbo News 21/09/2005)

Newsletter archive