ATC’s India Agenda

ITM To Be Held In September 2004

At the recently concluded ATE '04, India listed as an emerging market along with China which Australia is keen to tap. In keeping with this optimistic trend, Richard Beere, executive GM - Eastern Hemisphere, ATC said, "The strategy adopted for the Indian market till date has been very successful. To most Indians, Australia has always been an aspirational and reward destination. The ATC has worked in accordance with this trend and the launch of Qantas will create another opportunity to work on a new product that matches the consumer’s need in a tangible and accessible way. India is a very huge market and there is a lot more learning to be done by Australia."

Elaborating on their strategy, Ken Boundy, MD, ATC revealed that, "At present, ATC will concentrate on its public relations activities in India and capitalise on the Steve Waugh campaign. More efforts will be put into the Indian market in 2005-06, in the form of increased allocation of resources. We would continue our branding in print and the internet but there are no plans to get on to TV commercials. The ATE 2005 will witness more interest from Asia for which the planning has already started. From July 1, ATC will work under a new brand, Tourism Australia, wherein all functions of the ATC will be rolled into this body. It will be integration based on efficiency."

Beere further added that, India would be considered now that Qantas will be launching its services in September. We also feel that having our national carrier operate from a particular country creates a commitment towards that country and the same works for India. However, the launch is still under consideration.

There is more on the ATC agenda for India as Maggie White, regional general manager, South East Asia, ATC, reveals. She said, "We are very excited with the launch of Qantas to India, especially Mumbai. India features on our list for immediate to long-term strategies and in keeping with this trend we have planned to conduct the India Travel Mission (ITM) in September 2004, to coincide with the launch. The cities are however being finalised and will be announced soon. The ITM is held once a year in India and Australia alternatively, wherein Indian Aussie Specialist meet up with Australian sellers and vice versa. However, the ITM scheduled for September this year has been pre-poned from 2005." White disclosed that the Aussie Specialist Programme (ASP) has been recently reopened to the trade. The response is quite significant.

She said, “Till date in the ASP, we have 52 agencies and 200 agents working together on immigration via the preferred processing training, wherein 44 out of the 52 ASPs are qualified to process the immigration forms. In terms of our focus in the Indian market, we are working closely with the honeymoon market. Subsequently, ATC along with Qantas and New Zealand Tourism Board will be conducting an eight-city road show in the second week of July. The cities would include Mumbai, Dehi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune.”

The ATC team is definitely working hard on the Indian agenda, which is visible in their future plans. "Our focus in future would also include the MICE and business

market. This is a fast growing and developing market for which we will target corporates, MNCs etc." Boundy concludes by affirming that as the market grows, a tourism board in India is foreseeable in future.