The Indian travellers' expenditure in South Australia jumped to AUD 28 million in 2016 from the previous year's AUD 15 million, according to South Australia Tourism Commission.
"The increase in spend can be attributed to a number of factors like shift in travelling habits by Indians who are now looking to spend more on experiences," South Australia Tourism Commission's Regional Director for South East Asia and India, Dana Urmonas, told PTI here.
She said the collaboration with television production houses, trade partnerships offering tour packages and digital marketing programmes have also helped boost awareness about a variety of experiences and activities.
The key destinations for Indian tourists included Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Barossa and Adelaide Hills.
"Over the last year we have seen more Indians signing up for experiences and rather than just sight-seeing. Some of our key experiences which Indians enjoy include the roof climb over the iconic Adelaide Oval, swimming with dolphins at Glenelg and wildlife tours on Kangaroo Island," she said.
The top five spenders in South Australia are China, USA, UK, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
"India ranks eighth in terms of expenditure in 2016. However, if the Indians keep the momentum going we hope to see the number climbing in the next two years," Urmonas said.
She further said that India is among the top 10 source markets for South Australia.
South Australia's top five source markets are UK, USA, China, New Zealand, and Germany.
In 2016, 12,000 Indians visited South Australia as compared to 15,000 in 2015.
"The spike in 2015 was primarily due to India-Pakistan World Cup match hosted at the Adelaide Oval in February 2015. We are keen to leverage off the momentum built by the World Cup and we are extremely positive about having more Indian visitors over the next few years," she said.
South Australia is committed to spend AUD 2 million for the next two years to promote the state in India.
"Over the next two years we will continue to work with key trade partners in India. We are in the process of collaborating with key tour operators to include Adelaide as a part of the itinerary of Indians travelling to Australia," Urmonas said.
"We are also working with Singapore Airlines as it is the market leader and a primary source airline for Indians visiting South Australia," she added.
The big metros, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, are the top target markets for South Australia.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
