Top destinations for Australian residents 2022: India overtakes US, UK to become our No.1 destination

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 1 year ago

Top destinations for Australian residents 2022: India overtakes US, UK to become our No.1 destination

By Katherine Scott
Jay Hira is one of thousands of Australia-based Indian ex-pats that have helped make India the No.1 destination for Australian residents in recent months.

Jay Hira is one of thousands of Australia-based Indian ex-pats that have helped make India the No.1 destination for Australian residents in recent months.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Jay Harish Hira hadn't seen his family for three years thanks to Australia's international border closure.

So when borders finally opened, the Sydney-based Indian expat set off to visit his hometown of Adipur, in India's west coast state of Gujarat.

"Our last trip to India was between late November 2021 to early January 2022, after a gap of about three-odd years," said Hira.

Although the purpose of the trip was to visit family and introduce his young daughter to her grandparents, concerns for his elderly parents gave the trip a sense of urgency.

"The trigger [for the trip] was probably a picture that my mum shared via WhatsApp where I noticed her and my dad ageing rapidly – more so in the last couple of years, probably due to the unknowns of the pandemic," Hira said.

"We booked our flights soon after the announcement and as soon as the Indian national carrier opened up for reservations."

That latest travel data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed In February more than 20,000 Australian residents came back from trips to the South Asian nation, accounting for 18 per cent of all resident returns.

This was well ahead of the USA (12,760) and the UK (8150) and put India at the top of the list for destinations Australian residents are heading to.

Sandip Hor, founder and chairman of the Australia India Travel and Tourism Council (AITTC), puts the notable spike in travel to India down to family reunions such as Hira's, which, prior to February, was almost non-existent due to a lack of flights.

Advertisement

"Resumption of regular Air India flights between Delhi and Sydney and Melbourne, and the introduction of Qantas flights to Delhi aided the cause," Hor said.

Beyond reunions, the appetite for travel between the two nations isn't likely to wane too much, with 2020 ABS figures showing India-born residents make up the second-largest group of migrants in Australia (721,000), after England (980,400). The median age for Indian migrants is just 35, compared to England's 58, putting Indian migrants in an age group more likely to travel.

"One factor influencing the surge is a strong Indian diaspora in Australia, currently just below a million, comprising highly professional Australians of Indian origin, expats working in the IT industry and international students driving travel under the 'visiting friends and relatives' category," said Hor.

Qantas responded to demand by adding three new routes to India since December, and a codeshare agreement with one of India's largest domestic airlines, IndiGo.

The national carrier launched Delhi services from Sydney and Melbourne last year – the airline's first non-stop services to India since scrapping its Brisbane-Mumbai route in 2012. Qantas will add a Sydney to Bengaluru (Bangalore) route from September 14.

The airline now sees India as a long-term growth market, with data showing traffic between Australia and India has effectively doubled since 2012.

Earlier this month, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce noted the significance of a recently struck free trade agreement with India, with the Indian government revealing intentions to quadruple trade between Australia and India in the next seven years.

"That, like we've seen in other free trade agreements, will massively increase the traffic from India into Australia: tourism, students, business traffic, and that's one of the key reasons we need to have a strong presence," Joyce said.

The reopening of borders came as a relief to Australians of Indian descent, Hira said, particularly after the controversial travel ban on residents returning from India almost after the rise of the Delta variant.

"The travel bans and the fines in early 2021 felt a bit insensitive," said Hira.

Despite this, Hira said he still gets a lot of enquiries from his extended family in India about travel to Australia.

"I feel there is a growing interest in the youth to travel and evaluate the higher education offerings. I believe Australia is a holidaymaker's dream territory, there is something to please both the older and younger generations."

Sign up for the Traveller newsletter

The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading