BRISBANE—Tourist numbers from India and the Middle East are set to boom with travellers drawn to Australia for its "wow" appeal and brag factor, an industry conference has heard.
Tourism Queensland's India and Middle East regional director Paul Buggy told a conference in Brisbane today that tourists from the regions were being drawn to the country for its unique attractions they could then brag about to friends and family on their return.
Mr Buggy told the Tourism Queensland conference that going on an overseas holiday to a exotic country like Australia brought prestige and was a selling point Australia had that other destinations could not compete with.
"You couldn't put a dollar value on it but it's so strong," he said.
But, Mr Buggy said, tourism operators had to be mindful of incorporating local customs to make Indian and Middle Eastern travellers feel comfortable and likely to recommend an Australian holiday to others to ensure Australia's popularity continued to climb.
Mr Buggy said arrows pointing to Mecca, prayer rooms, halal-prepared food and traditional Indian food were important things for tour operators to consider.
He gave an example of an Indian religious group that did not eat any food that grew underground.
"We need to understand their culinary issues," Mr Buggy said.
"But we're fortunate we're the multicultural country we are."
Indian visitors to Australia are forecast to grow by about 17 per cent each year to reach 397,000 annual visitors in 2016.
Visitors from Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain are also steadily increasing, and the market had massive growth potential, Mr Buggy said.
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