Our focus is on attracting the high-value travel segment: Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, Tourism Australia

Priyaanka Mathur Sep 12, 2018

Tourism Australia recently launched a new bespoke tourism promotion campaign in India and South East Asia that specifically targets high value travelers in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Nishant Kashikar Country Manager Tourism Australia unveils the destinations and experiences across the ‘Unexplored Australia’ in a free wheeling conversation with Priyaankaa Mathur

Edited Excerpts:

Q What is the idea behind launching the Campaign ‘Undiscover Australia’?

A The campaign Challenges perceptions and stereotypes about Australia, as there are many myths about what Australia offers as a destination. Through this campaign we want to show the unfamiliar, unexpected and the most unusual experiences that Australia has to offer.The campaign plays on some of the prevalent mis-conceptions about Australia and thus endeavors to show that it has much more to offer than the stereotypes of beaches, cute furry animals and has many other cities and countryside places to visit along with the popular icons.

Q What are the new experiences the campaign talks about?

Australia has lots to offer on the experiential front ranging from the luxury lodges, ultimate winery experiences, to great walks, Golf courses to fishing adventures at the great barrier reef to discovering the aboriginal experiences that allows the visitors to gain a deeper appreciation of Australia, along with an existing array of activities, tours and accommodations to explore labyrinths of ancient rock art, quad biking, kayaking, whale watching, fishing,hiking and lots more. The experiences are endless you just need the spirit to discover the undiscovered Australia!

Q What are the experiences you recommend for Honeymooners in Australia?

Autralia boasts of exotic retreats and luxury lodges like the Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley in New South Wales, the Lake house in Victoria, or the southern ocean lodge Kangaroo Island. These accommodations style ranges from uber-luxe wilderness lodges and gourmet vineyard retreats to exclusive island pavilions and luxury outback camps.Every lodge offers ‘eat well drink well’ experiences with outstanding local delicacies along with true luxury of private access and privilege of place. Honeymooners can go for the ultimate winery experiences across the New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, southern and western Australia or go for exotic cruising or ultimate fishing and sports adventures. Couples who like to explore the history and the heritage of a place can also go for the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney-Aboriginal Heritage Tour, experience the Bush food Experiences and take the Art classes together.

Q What are the challenges you face in the Indian market?

We face a lot of supply-side challenges rather than demand-side challenges, like the indirect distribution of flight capacity from India to Australia. We have recently made tie-ups with eight airlines for discounted fares for the Indian market”

Q What is your target segment for this campaign and what kind of partnerships do you plan ahead?

Our focus is on attracting the high-value travel segment which could contribute significantly to the Australian economy. The campaign will be a year-long initiative which will include a robust television campaign. Other plans include capitalizing on the Indian cricket team’s tour to Australia by working closely with Sony and Sony LIV. We have content-integration opportunities with platforms such as ESPN, Conde Nast Group and we’re also working with friends of Australia and influencers such as, Parineeti Chopra, Harsha Bhogle and Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. This will be further amplified on their digital platforms too. For this, Tourism Australia will also work closely with key distribution partners such as, MakeMyTrip and SOTC, and will get influencers and celebrities to travel to Australia. We are looking at some partnerships with Facebook and Google to target the specific demographics we want to reach. Banking partners help us target those affluent customers.

Q What’s the execution plan for the campaign and through which media channels?

The Undiscover Australia campaign will be executed in two phases in India -September to November and January to April to coincide with the holiday planning season for the peak travel periods during the year end and Indian summer respectively. Digital is an important part of our marketing mix. Our spends on digital media have seen an increase from 7 per cent in 2012 to 60 per cent in 2017. So there is definitely a shift on digital initiatives through integrated campaigns on search, social, display, natives, programmatic and re-targeting tools. We are also going to leverage the OTT platforms and are looking at television as a medium to drive this aspiration to travel to Australia. The Campaign will also be amplified during India’s cricket tour of Australia.