Bollywood to Bris Vegas: India’s influencers soak up Sunshine State

India’s most influential celebrities will be taking in some of Queensland’s best tourist destinations during the Gabba Test.

Indian actor Saiyami Kher (Instagram image)

They’re the Bollywood beauties selling Queensland to the world’s biggest audience during the Gabba Test.

As Australia takes on India in the blockbuster third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, more than a dozen of India’s most influential celebrities will be taking in some of Queensland’s best tourist destinations and sharing the love with a combined reach of more than 50 million fans.

The group of 15 “advocates” will enjoy a day of hospitality for the opening day of the Test before visiting tourist hot spots including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Some of the names will only be recognisable to cricket tragics or fans of the Bollywood Hindi entertainment industry.

But there is no denying the vast followings enjoyed by the influencers, who include cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara, a model and television presenter boasting seven million followers on Instagram.

Indian model Chandni Bainz (Instagram image)

Other names in the group include Prachi Desai, a Bollywood actor once voted one of India’s most desirable women who has an Instagram following of five million fans, and Sagarika Ghatge, an actor, model and wife of former Indian cricket star Zaheer Khan.

Khan himself and Indian cricket commentary doyen Harsha Bhogle are also among the delegation.

Tourism Australia has ramped up activity in the Indian market to capitalise on interest in the blockbuster Test series, launching a special instalment of the Come and Say G’day campaign.

“Howzat for a holiday?” is running on TV screens in India throughout the Test series, including appearances by Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins and brand ambassador Ruby the Kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne.

Former Australian star David Warner, who has a high profile in India due to his T20 play in the Indian Premier League, also features in a social media campaign for Tourism Australia, welcoming Indian travellers to his favourite Australian holiday destinations.

Former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan and wife model/actor Sagarika Ghatge (Instagram image)

India was last year Queensland’s seventh biggest source of international visitors, but with the country’s booming middle and upper class population, it has long been viewed as a potential goldmine.

Almost 75,000 visitors from India came to Queensland in the year ending June, spending $181.8 million, but there is a sense that this is just the tip of an iceberg-sized market begging to be enchanted by Queensland.

Federal Tourism Minister Don Farrell said it was the perfect timing for a concerted Indian campaign.

“The number of Indian travellers visiting Australia is already at record levels showing there is plenty of interest in Australia as a holiday destination,” he said.

“We want to continue to grow that demand for an Australian holiday and that is what Tourism Australia’s Summer of Cricket campaign for the India market is all about.”

Indian influencer Sufi Malik (Instagram image)

Queensland Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said India was a key market for the Sunshine State with an enormous potential reach.

“With a population of 1.4 billion, it is one of our top ten countries for visitation – and the Test, held in Brisbane, is providing the perfect opportunity for us to harness the millions of eyes that will be tuning into the match and show them how great our state truly is,” he said.

“And if our state wasn’t front of mind for this audience before, then it is sure to gain prominence on the bucket list of travellers once the audience of 55 million strong see how beautiful this part of the world is.”

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said India was a land of opportunity for Australia’s tourism sector.

“With 1.4 billion people and more Indians looking to travel internationally, the potential of the market is endless and we want to make sure Australia is front of mind for all Indian travellers as they look for a destination for their next holiday,” she said.