Inbound

India is fastest growing inbound market for New South Wales

Registers an annual growth of 18 per cent

Andrea Lopez - Mumbai

With improved bilateral ties between India and Australia, the two countries are looking at more mutually beneficial undertakings in the future, which include investments in the tourism and hospitality industry. Speaking at the New South Wales Premier's Mission to India, Morris Iemma, premier of the state of New South Wales, leading a business and education mission to India, announced that India was the fastest growing export market for the state. "India is Australia's fastest growing export market providing diverse exports, but there are more opportunities that we can develop that will be mutually beneficial to the countries. A study on bilateral relations between the two countries has revealed that the India's ranking has moved from 16 to 6 in under two years," he said.

On the tourism front, Sydney has registered 1.8 million overnight stays and the market has been pegged to grow even further. Says John O'Neill, executive director and general manager, Tourism New South Wales, "The community of Indians in Sydney is one of the fastest growing and most successful communities in the world. We have had 2,90,000 visitors from India in 2006 and are looking at attaining bigger numbers in 2008-09." In addition to the pockets of Indian residents in the state, Sydney's position as the most sought after destinations for education has climbed to occupy the second position, the UK still remains the most preferred destination. There has already been a 45 per cent growth in the number of students filtering into the Sydney for undergraduate and postgraduate education. The interesting aspect is that this has a flip over effect, in that it generates tourism as well. Tan Siew Hoon, regional director, south Asia for Tourism New South Wales comments that a lot of Indian students have popularised Sydney in their home country. The state is also riding high on the success of Bollywood films shot in Sydney and hopes to extend its reach through the same medium. The lack of proper air connectivity between the two countries is perhaps the only stumbling block. Says O' Neill, "Out of the total of 2,90,000 passengers that came into Sydney last year, only 20 per cent could fly in directly, the vast majority had to come in through alternate routes. With more private sector airlines entering the market and fresh orders for more carriers, we are hopeful that the situation will change. We are looking at Kingfisher Airlines starting operations soon."

The delegation also included representatives from the infrastructure, mining and financial services. Stella Travel Services, the largest integrated travel company in Australia that provides wholesale travel services is looking at a major investment in the hospitality industry in India. Unwilling to disclose details, Keith Stanley, CEO of the company, speaking to Express TravelWorld said, "We are looking at partnership acquisitions in Delhi and Mumbai. We have already spoken to six local partners and our synergies will be visible in the market soon."