New Delhi: As cricket fans gear up to watch the coveted India-Australia Test series starting Friday, host country Australia sees in the next six weeks a huge opportunity to bring in more Indian tourists.
The ‘Howzat for Holiday’ campaign, featuring Australia captain Pat Cummins and Tourism Australia’s mascot Ruby Kangaroo, aims to showcase top destinations to Indian audiences.
These 15- and 30-second advertisements are scheduled to be played during the telecast of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from 22 November to 7 January, 2025. The campaign has been launched by Tourism Australia, an entity funded in part by the Australian government.
Indian tourists are a big market for Australia as their numbers have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. According to reports, India is now Australia’s fifth-largest tourism market, up from seventh, attracting around 4.23 lakh travellers each year.
“In January, we did extremely well with 26,200 Indians travelling to Australia, compared to 24,700 during the same month in 2019, a growth of 6.07 percent,” Tourism Australia announced earlier this year.
“With tens of millions of people across India tuning in to watch the Test cricket series here in Australia, we have an opportunity to showcase to a huge audience why there is no place like Australia for a holiday,” said Senator Don Farrell, the Federal Minister for Trade and Tourism.
“Indian travellers are already visiting Australia in record numbers, and we expect even more in coming years, which is great news for our tourism industry,” he added.
Apart from video ads, the campaign will also include print campaigns, signages, and billboards—aiming to reach up to 50 million people.
More initiatives on the anvil
The Pat Cummins ad campaign is one of the many initiatives Tourism Australia has introduced to attract Indians. In just a week, Australia launched a four-part social media campaign with David Warner and also struck a deal with Air India.
The David Warner campaign, much like the one with Pat Cummins, aims to showcase top touristy destinations. Launched a week before the scheduled Test, the campaign takes viewers through various Australian cities.
On the other hand, Tourism Australia has entered into a three-year partnership with Air India to display its stunning coral reefs and ocean roads, while the Indian airlines also aims to boost its presence in the country.
As per 2024 data, the airline operates 17 weekly, non-stop flights to Australia and holds an 18.5 percent share in the India-Australia travel market.
“The aviation links between India and Australia have never been stronger, the market was one of the first to fully recover after the pandemic and, according to forecasts, the number of Indians travelling to Australia will double 2019 levels by 2028,” Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said.
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