Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi called on Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and discussed the preparations and a joint campaign strategy, in the run up to the launch of the Air India’s maiden Dreamliner flight from Delhi to Sydney and Melbourne on August 29, 2013.
The launch of the Dreamliner service between India and Australia could further increase the tourist traffic between the two countries. Australia already ranks among the top ten source destinations for inbound tourists to India. The number of Australians visiting India has significantly risen in the last five years, from 1, 35, 925 in 2007 to 1, 86, 002 in 2011. Besides, the large Indian diaspora in Australia will also be benefited through this service.
Both the Ministers are scheduled to travel on the Air India’s maiden Dreamliner flight to Australia next month and participate in the road shows in Sydney and Melbourne to spread awareness and boost the prospects of bi-lateral tourism.
It may be recalled that the then Australian Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson had met Chiranjeevi in December last year and had requested for direct air connectivity to boost tourism between the two countries. The launch of the Dream liner service is a significant step in this direction.
To effectively leverage the launch of the Dreamliner, Ministry of Tourism will be organizing road shows in Australia, with the participation of Air India and the Travel and Tourism Industry to build on the better connectivity between two countries.
