India

The tourism industry has been at a standstill in the past few years but now is the time to get preparing! Since the reopening of borders, many individuals around the world can’t wait to travel. Since the reopening of borders in Australia, Tourism Australia has begun working closely with India in conjunction with Airlines companies like Qantas and Air India have already begin connecting the destinations to encourage more bookings to Australia from India As per Tourism Australia’s recent Consumer Demand Project research more than 82% of High Value Travellers from India plan to travel to Australia within the next few years, to encourage and maintain more travellers from India, The Australia Government announced a Visa Application Charge (VAC) a waiver for tourists whose visa to Australia has expired or will expire between March 20th, 2020 & June 30th, 2022. India used to be Australia’s fastest growing tourism market for over 3 years, in 2019, Australia received almost 4000,000 visitors from India therefore Australia was ranked as the 6th most valuable market within the tourism sector which contributed over AUD 1.8 billion. Country Manager for India and Tourism Australia stated, “Our research has consistently shown that there is a huge pent up demand for travel to Australia amongst Indian Traveller.” Confirming the promising growth of arrivals to Australia. Before you encourage your clients to book their flights to India, there are current protocols for international travellers to follow before entering Australia: Before departing India, travellers need to provide a: Valid and current visa COVID-19 vaccination certificate with 2 doses (Covishield & Covaxin are recognized by Australia’s Therapeutic Good Administration TGA) Negative rapid antigen test (RAT) under medical supervision which needs to be done 24 hours prior to boarding a plane. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests need to be taken 72 hours before departure. Digital copy of Passenger Declaration is mandatory to be submitted 72 hours before departure. Upon arrival in Australia: All travellers need to perform a self-monitored Rapid Antigen Test within 24 hours of arrival into Australia. RAT results need to be reported the respective state authority if test has resulted positive. Tourists travelling to South Australia will need to undertake a PCR within 24 hours of arriving at SA. Tourists who arrive in Western Australia will need to undertake a RAT within 12 of arrival. Travellers need to comply with the requirements and obligations of the state or territory they arrive in, and any other state or territory they plan to travel to. Source