India becomes 8th largest tourism market for Western Australia
Mumbai (PTI): India has emerged as the eighth largest international tourism market for Western Australia, a top official of Tourism Western Australia said on Monday.
“India is a priority inbound visitor market for Western Australia, with 35,000 visitors from India travelling to WA in the year ending June 2024, injecting AUD 118 million in visitor spend into our state,” Tourism Western Australia Managing Director Anneke Brown told PTI.
India has leapt to become Western Australia's eighth largest market for international visitors from 11th largest in 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, Brown said.
“Given the enormous growth opportunities in the market, we remain dedicated to delivering direct aviation access between India and WA, as our top international aviation priority,” she said.
“While a direct service is still in development, there are many convenient existing routes via global aviation hubs like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and we continue to collaborate with airlines like Batik Air Malaysia, Jetstar, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Scoot on marketing campaigns to boost bookings via these seamless one-stop services,” Brown said.
“We look forward to continuing to activate our ‘Walking on a Dream’ global brand across India and working with industry in the region to build awareness of Western Australia as a desirable destination and drive visitor demand for our state,” she said.
As Australia’s largest state, Western Australia is vast and diverse and covers nearly one-third of the country. The tourist attractions range from baffling rock formations and ancient aboriginal sites to sweeping green vineyards of world-class wineries and unbelievably clear ocean waters.
Tourism Western Australia is the state government agency responsible for promoting Western Australia as a leading holiday destination.
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Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
Muslim organisations to release report on Congress govt’s three-year performance
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
