Tourism Australia, which is betting big on the Indian market for a revival in arrivals and spending by tourists after two years of COVID challenges, is seeing more buzz among Indian travellers due to India's entry into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022.
While the maximum number of tickets for the World Cup was purchased by Australia, the United Kingdom and India were the other two big markets that bought a high number of tickets for the tournament. Tickets purchased by the UK and India amount to approximately 22,000 and 16,000 respectively, said Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager- India & Gulf, Tourism Australia.
"Given the Indian cricket team’s strong performance and victory in the match against Pakistan at the MCG on October 23, which saw over 90,000 people in attendance, we are confident that we will register a surge in travel and visitation for the remainder of the tournament. This surge in interest has been confirmed by the ICC’s official travel and hospitality agents who are also seeing a spike in enquiries from travellers who are already on the ground in Australia to extend their visits," he added.
Kashikar said that as the T20 World Cup 2022 is still ongoing, they are anticipating a revised figure for arrivals and spending by Indian travellers visiting Australia post the tournament's conclusion.
Tourism Australia had set a target of 400,000 visitors and 1.8 billion-dollar spending by Indian tourists in Australia in the first full year of operations or by March 2023. India is expected to be the second or third market for Australia by 2030 with a one million visitors market and a spend of A$5 billion by 2030.
It is estimated that India will achieve 1.2 million visitors to Australia by 2035 with a spend of A$9 billion.
The Tourism Australia official said that the sports tourism segment is key to attracting Indian travellers to the country.
"Sports tourism segment has strong growth potential and will see a significant rise in the coming years. Cricket in particular is a key attribute to the surge in visitation in Australia. The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, recorded an attendance of 145,000 international visitors with approximately 9,000 from India," said Kashikar.
After the T20 World Cup, Australia will have sports events like the Australian Open, Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.