Mumbai, Jul 15 (PTI) Western Australia, covering nearly one-third of Australia, is expecting the tourist footfalls to exceed the pre-Covid levels in the next three months, Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism Roger Cook MLA said on Friday.

Following the return of international visitors to Western Australia (WA), we have seen an influx of visitors from India with WA arrivals in May reaching more than 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and forward bookings for July and August are even higher than before the pandemic, Cook told PTI at an event here.

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"In 2019 (pre-Covid) we had a visitor footfall of 30,000. In May 2022, and with forward bookings we expect to exceed the 2019 numbers in the next three months," he added.

Cook said the state is promoting through destination marketing and rebranding to make people aware about Western Australia.

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Western Australia has allocated AUD 167 million for the financial year 2022-23 (July-June) for promoting tourism globally, he said.

"India is a very important market for us as it ranks 11th in terms of footfalls and 10th in terms of spendings," Cook said.

The top five source markets of Western Australia are China, the UK, Europe, Japan and South Korea, he said, adding the visitors from the UK top in spending.

He further said securing a direct aviation route from India to Western Australia is a key aviation priority for his government, as it would create even more opportunities for tourism and investment in both destinations.

"For this we have been in talks with the government and major aviation players in India. During this visit, I met Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi. I also met with officials of Air India, Vistara, Indigo. We hope to establish direct airline connectivity between India and Western Australia in the medium term," he added.

Tourism Western Australia Managing Director Carolyn Turnbull, who was also present at the event, said the state is targeting high value and premium visitors.

"As we have a strong Indian diaspora, we are mainly aiming for travellers visiting friends and family, leisure, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE)," she said.

Another focus is to promote the upcoming ICC Men's T20 matches in Perth, with India's national team to play South Africa at our world-class Perth Stadium in October, she added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)