Australia attracts Indian television audience

Australia will showcase Melbourne as a honeymoon destination through primetime television show in India.

Tourism Australia (TA) along with Tourism Victoria (TVIC) and Malaysia Airlines has collaborated with Star Plus to showcase Melbourne in television serial ‘Pyar Ka Dard’. As a part of the serial, lead actors Aditya and Pankhuri, along with Rubel and Payal will visit Melbourne on their honeymoon. The lead actors shot at Flinders Station and Federation Square, Melbourne Cricket Ground, interacted with kangaroos and koalas at Ballarat Wildlife Park, gold rush at Sovereign Hill, self-drive across Great Ocean Road, helicopter ride over Twelve Apostles and visiting Phillips Island.

“Through this integration we have the fantastic opportunity to showcase Australia to dedicated viewers of daily soaps and entice them to replicate the holiday experiences of their favourite television actors. This ties in well with our strategy of educating the audience on the range of experiences available in Australia and we look forward to it translating into higher visitor arrivals for the destination,” said Nishant Kashikar, country manager for India and Gulf at Tourism Australia.

The tourism board will conduct brand promotion activities till the end of March 2014 in two primary markets of Delhi and Mumbai, featuring television, print, digital and out-of-home advertising. The recent release of Bollywood movie ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’ shot in Gold Coast is expected to further enhance top-of-mind recall as the next holiday destination for Indian travellers.

As part of the airline co-op activities, Tourism Australia will have a campaign with Malaysia Airlines, also a key partner in the Star Plus content integration project with attractive tactical offers for Indian travelers to Australia.

Australia recorded 20,600 Indian visitors during December 2013, bringing the total for the 12 months to December to 171,700, an increase of 7.9% relative to the same period previous year.