TravTalk India Online Magazine
Robin Mack, Executive General Manager – Commercial & Business Events Australia, Tourism Australia, says the Indian market has largely recovered and is already ahead in terms of spend as compared to 2019 figures.
Nisha Verma
Adelaide buzzed with energy as it hosted Dreamtime 2023, Business Events Australia’s signature incentive showcase, which was held after a gap of four years. M!CE operators and event planners from India attended the event alongside the delegations from Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, North America and United Kingdom, to reconnect with Australian industry sellers.
In an exclusive interaction with TRAVTALK, Robin Mack speaks on how the industry has changed since the pandemic and what makes India special. Mack reveals that since the last Dreamtime, held at Perth in December 2019, there has been a lot of infrastructure development across the country. “Around 200 new hotels have opened across the country during that time, with 20,000 beds being put into the system, which is a good thing. A lot has changed in the last few years as there have been a lot of new developments, and many new things for incentive groups to experience around the country,” he says.
India a priority
Claiming that India remains a priority for Australia, Mack explains, “India’s connection to major events, particularly the cricket events, is full of passion and enthusiasm. Thus, the travel and incentive group travel around that is different than some of the other groups. In addition, we get huge VFR traffic from India as well and we are seeing great potential and demand from incentive sector too. The connectivity has a role to play in this, which is driven by that demand and appeal
for Australia.
“In April-June 2023 quarter v/s April-June 2019, Indian visitors for business events went 73 per cent back in terms of numbers and it’s growing. It’s faster than some of the markets. The spend is 91 per cent back. Tourism Australia also appreciates incentive business travel because they spend more than a leisure traveller. However, leisure is already 100 per cent back to pre-pandemic numbers,” he informs.
Meeting India demand
Commenting on how Australia is well-equipped to cater to Indian travellers, he shares, “We are blessed as a destination, as we have fantastic DMCs that personalise and meet the objectives of an incentive planner. We have a dedicated team that supports incentives and assist in visa process, trying to expedite and make it as painless as possible.”
Acknowledging that Indian incentive planners prefer major cities in Australia like Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, he says that they are also looking beyond and visiting regional areas. “There is a lot more visibility now for our Indian incentive delegates around the country. It’s very spread out. We make sure that we show new things,” he points out.
Incentives for groups
To attract more Indian groups, Business Events Australia also offers incentives. “We have a Bid Fund Program, which is our venture to support partners in Australia to convert the business and win event bids. It has been going on since 2018. We are accepting applications till 2029. We work with the bureaus and the centres in helping them convert that business and supporting them in their bid process,” he shares.
Trade engagements
Business Events Australia also has a great website for resources, including planning tools, tips, destination insights and fact sheets. “We launched a campaign in March 2022 called, ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia For Business Events’ and it was the first time, in a long time, that we have done a dedicated creative for any film, new assets, which focused on incentives,” he said.
Dreamtime will now be called Australia Next, and will return in September 2024 for an additional event hosted in Cairns, Queensland. The incentive showcase will return to every two years after 2025.
