Tourism Australia’s Australia Marketplace India (AMI), held from July 23 to 25 in Bengaluru, marked an attendance breakthrough, with participation from 94 Indian travel agents.
The B2B event brought 86 Australian tourism businesses over to India, where they displayed their products and services to the Indian agents. Australian representatives included lodging and tour operators, attractions, experiences, cultural institutions, along with state and local tourism organisations.
Compared to AMI 2019, this year’s event saw a 20 per cent increase in sellers. Indian travel buyers represented 94 companies from across eight Indian cities – Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
Andrew Hogg, executive general manager – eastern markets and aviation, Tourism Australia, said: “India has been Australia’s fastest growing source market and continues to be one of Australia’s most valuable and promising tourism markets now and into the future.
“Australia Marketplace India is our prime platform… we continue to receive outstanding support from our Indian travel partners, who are some of our biggest advocates in making Australia a preferred holiday destination for India’s High Yield Travellers.”
Tourism Australia’s distribution strategy in India includes dedicated trade engagement initiatives and a range of online resources such as the Aussie Specialist Program (ASP), Trade Resource Hub and Australia 365 On Demand.
To date, Tourism Australia has over 4,650 Qualified Aussie Specialists across India, who promote and sell Australian holidays. ASP agents receive special access to a resourceful online toolkit to sell Australian holidays and a chance to participate in innovative training programmes and remain updated on the destination through informative newsletters.
Tourism Australia has also introduced a second tier to its ASP in India, with the addition of the Premier Aussie Specialist Program. Up to 40 agents in India have been awarded the Premium Aussie Specialist title and are known to sell bespoke experiences across Australia.
In addition, there are opportunities for select frontline staff and product teams to gain a first-hand experience of Australia through global trade events like the Australian Tourism Exchange and G’day Australia.
