Australia had a 19 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals between June 2017-May 2018, with 330,700 Indians visiting the country.
This has made India the eighth largest inbound market, after China, New Zealand, the US, Britain, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, according to the data.
Indians are also considered good spenders while travelling Down Under – spending by Indian tourists grew by 14 per cent between April 2017 and March 2018, with visitors spending AUD 1.53 billion.
In terms of spending, India stood seventh after China, the US, Britain, New Zealand, Japan and Korea.
This is the fourth year where Australia has recorded double-digit growth in both arrivals and spend, indicating the destination’s growing preference among Indians.
The recent government move to extend online visitor visa applications to all Indians also helped boost the numbers.
Melbourne is a “must see” – beautifully designed city, clean, green, lots of parks, the famous MCG (the city is a sporting capital, with Australian Open tennis and Grand Prix), galleries and great shopping – plus easy access to the Great Ocean Road and the Phillip Island penguins. This is Australia’s most multicultural (diverse) city with people from Greece, Italy, China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Britain and more, making it a rich food and cultural centre.