Indian Host Program Development for the Australian Tourism Industry
Background
Before COVID 19 the Indian inbound tourism market was growing at an average rate of 14%. The market was booming, and the tourism sector was experiencing an increasing number of Indian tourists across Australia.
The number of Indian tourists travelling to Australia at the time was expected to grow to nearly 1.2 million within the next decade. It was estimated to be worth over $9 billion each year to our economy.
In early 2020 the Australian Export Council (ATEC) in partnership with Tourism Australia and Austrade approached the principals of Culture Kite, Himanshi Munshaw and Garry Burns to develop and deliver a national “India Host” program. The program was designed to equip the Australian tourism industry to understand and manage the Indian inbound market. The principals of Culture Kite were chosen as a result of their extensive experience in the Indian market.
With the Indian market at the time experience strong growth, it was clear to Tourism Australia and the Australian Tourism Export Council that there was an increasing need for capability development of Australian tourism businesses servicing the Indian inbound market.
The online program was developed to take participates on a 4-module journey to be capable of working with the Indian inbound travellers, Indian travel trade and the local Indian market.
The program covered the following content:
Culture Ready - Indian Culture, country geography, society, education.
Product Ready - Indian traveller expectations, identifying target market segments, Indian High-Value Travellers, creating a value proposition, sales and marketing.
Service Ready - Tailoring products and services for the Indian market, service expectations for tourism operators
Trade Ready - Indian customer travel planning journey, source of information and planning, booking sources, Indian travel distribution system.
The program was developed via LIVE Zoom sessions and ran for 90 mins. The training provided the industry with a Handbook and Tools & Resources that assisted them in their development in welcoming the Indian visitor, targeting both the domestic Indian communities and international travellers. Graduates of the program received a certificate and digital 'India Host' badging.
