Australia, Indonesia, Swiss tourism boards open new vistas for travellers

Draw your eye down some of the recent ads for visiting Australia, or Indonesia or even Switzerland and what you will miss are the tried and tested itineraries. Beyond the usual imagery of the Sydney harbour, or Bali beaches and the Alps, the tourism boards of these countries are promoting places and experiences that Indian tourists have stayed away from in the past. The objective is to get the attention of the affluent and millennial traveller.  

For instance, Tourism Australia's new ad urges tourists to try hot air balloon rides in Canberra. The Australian capital is a must visit for heads of state and government dignitaries, but has largely been off the radar of Indian tourists.

India is the fastest growing source market for Australia and over 350,000 are believed to have visited the country in 2018. Arrivals have grown in double digits for five consecutive years, but around 40 per cent of all tourists fall in the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) category. This category is high in length of stay but low on spend. Around 27 per cent of tourists travel for leisure and 80 per cent of them visit Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. Visitor numbers to other cities like Adelaide, Perth or Canberra are in few thousands.

“We want Indian travellers to come and see the icons but we want them to disperse more,” said Tourism Australia's managing director John O'Sullivan.  The campaign has roped in cricketers, celebrities and chefs to highlight offbeat experiences. For instance, Shikhar Dhawan promotes a sailing trip around Sydney harbour while commentator Harsha Bhogle entices visitors into Rottnest Island (near Perth), known for its marine life and Quokka, an endangered animal.

“We recently launched signature experiences, including stays at luxury lodges, vinery tours among others,” said  Nishant Kashikar, country manager of Tourism Australia.

The marketing campaign and deeper air connectivity are yielding results. Last year Canberra saw arrivals from India go up 55 per cent, albeit on a low base. “We should cross 400,000 in 2019. Currently India is eighth in visitor arrivals and we would like it in top five by 2030,” O'Sullivan said. 

Tourism boards of Indonesia and Switzerland are also promoting new destinations.  Indonesia wants tourists to look beyond Bali that attracted 65 per cent of over 530,000 Indians who travelled to Indonesia in the first eleven months of 2018.  “Indonesia is not just about Bali,” said Shelly Chandhok, country manager of Indonesia Tourism. With road shows and promotions in malls, the ministry is targeting both stand-alone visitors and those coupling trips with other South East Asian countries, she added. She expects the initiatives will help increase the average length of stay, which is currently around six nights.

Switzerland Tourism has actor Ranveer Singh promoting winter sports while it is also promoting museums and vineries in the Lake Geneva area. This is expected to increase spend and length of stay. Ritu Sharma, deputy director of Switzerland Tourism said, “Between January-October, overnights by Indians increased 9.8 per cent to 800,000 and we expect 10 per cent growth this year.”  

In its outbound tourism report released last week aviation consultancy CAPA said that 18.4 million Indian residents travelled abroad in 2017 but only 33 per cent of them travelled for leisure. “These travellers represent only 5 per cent of the high income group,” CAPA said. Even so, international tourism boards say, larger spends by these tourists will make a big difference.