Cricket, family ties drive Indian arrivals in Australia to record high

Some 302,900 Tourists from India headed Down Under in 2017, up 15% from a year earlier

Chinese and Indian tourist arrivals in Australia jumped to a record last year as growing middle-class wealth in the world’s most populous nations fuels the travel bug.

Almost 1.4 million visitors from mainland China traveled to Australia last year, a 13 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Tourists from India climbed to 302,900 over the period, a 15 percent advance from a year earlier.

“While much of the focus has been on Chinese tourism, Indian visitors are coming Down Under in their droves,” said Ryan Felsman, a senior economist at the