Tourism Queensland appoints Best Job in the World candidate as new tourism ambassador to India
Posted by editor (editor) on Nov 03 2009
2009 >>

Best Job in the World candidate Anjaan Ganesh has been named a Queensland tourism ambassador to India, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said.

Mr Lawlor said Anjaan’s appointment would help to increase Queensland’s presence in one of the state’s fastest growing international markets.

“Anjaan, a popular Radio DJ, has a larger-than-life personality and a huge fan base in India,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Anjaan has been recruited to help fly the Queensland flag at trade shows, media interviews, consumer events and will be involved in a series of PR activities over the next 12 months that aim to entice more Indians to pack their bags and come to Queensland.

“We have been so impressed by Anjaan’s initiative and promotion of Queensland on his radio program following the Best Job in the World recruitment process that we have asked him to work with us to promote Queensland in India.

“In his role as a Queensland tourism ambassador, Anjaan aims to spread goodwill between Australia and India and share his positive first-hand experience of Queensland hospitality.”

Mr Lawlor said having a genuine person such as Anjaan who had travelled extensively in Queensland promoting his love of our state was a great way to strengthen international relations in an important growth market for Queensland.

“Earlier in the year Tourism Queensland released a new long-term strategy for India which included a number of key priorities for Queensland such as attracting high-spending Indian visitors, aligning Queensland’s experiences to meet the needs and expectations of Indian visitors and improving air access for Indian travellers to Queensland,” he said.

“Since the document was released Queensland has hosted over a hundred influential Indian travel agents on the Gold Coast as part of the India mega famil and workshop run by Tourism Australia in partnership with Tourism Queensland and Gold Coast Tourism.

“In the year ended June 2009 approximately 30,000 Indians visited Queensland, representing a 10 percent increase on a three year trend basis.

“Indian visitors to Queensland also spent $88 million in the year ended June 2009.”

Mr Lawlor said India’s economy was one of the fastest growing in the world, a fact that was underpinning India’s international travel growth.

“There is a whole new generation of Indians that is embracing international travel and Queensland aims to be at the forefront of this market,” he said.

“Queensland is especially popular with high income earning families who enjoy the combination of our laid-back lifestyle, food and shopping experiences.”

Mr Lawlor said the Queensland tourism industry was currently going through one of its toughest periods ever and appointing high profile tourism ambassadors in key international markets was just one of the ways that Tourism Queensland was keeping Queensland top-of-mind.

“The more visitors we generate for Queensland, the more tourism jobs we protect,” he said.

Last changed: Nov 03 2009 at 9:11 AM