Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist and his son Harry are the faces of a new campaign promoting day road trips from Perth to the lucrative Indian tourism market. The features around the outskirts of Perth.
Thepairexperiencedfour-wheel-drivingandsandboardinginLancelin, went stargazing in the Pinnacles, visited wineries in the Swan Valley, enjoyed a dolphin boat cruise in Rockingham, and completed the thrilling Vertigo rooftop experience at Optus Stadium.
TheiradventureshavebeencompiledintovideosandphotosforIndiansocialmediaand Cricbuzz, one of the most popular mobile apps for cricket news and scores with over 50 million users and monthly traffic of nearly 400 million.
The campaign will also feature on large billboards in Mumbai and Delhi, and direct prospectiveIndianvisitorstoaccommodation, tourism experiences, and partner deals with Indian travel agencies Thomas Cook and Skyscanner which will offer packages to Perth.
The campaign aligns perfectly with the opening cricket test of the summer series – The West Test between Australia and India at Optus Stadium from 22 November 2024. The test match is hotly anticipated as it will be the first time the two nations have played since the World Test Championship Final in June 2023.
India is a priority tourism market for Western Australia with a total of 34,000 visitors arriving in WA and spending $128 million in the year ending March 2024.
IndiahasleapttobecomeWesternAustralia’sseventhlargestmarketfrom11thlargestin 2019, with the accelerated growth indicating surging demand from Indian visitors, driven by a large Indian community in WA of approximately 61,000 residents, including around 9,600 international students.
The new India campaign is a market-specific iteration of the successful global road trips campaignDrivetheDream,whichlaunchedinSeptember2023andfeaturesPerth-born
ReceiveTourismWesternAustralia’slatestnewsbysubscribingtoourweeklye-newsletter,TalkingTourismattourism.wa.gov.au
Formula1starDanielRicciardoexploringAustralia’sCoralCoastwithhisbestmate.This campaign has reached over 136 million people.
BothiterationsoftheDrivetheDreamcampaignalignwiththestate’shighlyacclaimed destination brand, Walking On A Dream.
It follows the recent release of figures from Tourism Australia, which showed WA outperformedallotherstatesintotalvisitorspendcomparedto2019,witharecord$17.9 billion spent by travelers in the year ending March 2024.
CommentsattributedtoTourismMinisterRitaSaffioti:
“AdamGilchristisnotonlyanAustraliancricketlegend, he’s so excited to have him as part of this campaign promoting his home state to India, particularly given he’s a household name over there as well.
“India is certainly a priority tourism market for us, and our strong and proud Indian communityinWAhasnodoubthadabiginfluenceonthefast-increasing visitor numbers, with people coming to visit family and friends in WA.“We’re hoping this campaign will encourage those people in India to come out to WA to visit relatives or grab some mates and book their tickets to The West Test in November, andthengoontoenjoytheeasilyaccessibledaytripsAdamandhissonHarry enjoyed.
“This campaign, along with other iterations of Drive the Dream with Daniel Ricciardo and ouroverarchingWalkingOnADreambrand, play a really important role in revitalizing our visitor economy and putting WA on the map as a sought-after tourism destination.”
CommentsattributedtoAustralianCricketerAdamGilchrist:
“It was a privilege to partner with Tourism WA and showcase this great state and how accessible some of the beautiful experiences are just out of Perth. I hope the people in IndiaseeDrivetheDreamjourneyandnotonlywanttocomeandjointhecricketfestivities but learn more about our city and Western Australia while they are here. Perth is the gateway to South Asia; it makes so much sense to come to Australia via Perth and have the experience of a lifetime.
“Whether you go up in the north and experience the desert in the Pinnacles and enjoy a relaxed evening and stargaze at night, or head inland into the east, into the Swan Valley and savour the food and wine region.Goonacruiseinthesouthandswimwiththewild dolphins or walk around the roof of Optus stadium and look back to the beautiful skyline across Perth city. The state has so many different experiences.”