New Delhi,Indians have been star performers in exploring exotic foreign destinations, especially Australia, with about 76,000 tourists visiting the continent Down Under in 2007.

India is being touted as one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world.

According to an international tourism survey conducted by Tourism Research Australia (TRA), there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of Indians visiting Australia since 2006.

Ankit Bhargava, a tour manager at Travel Planners Pvt. Ltd., said: "Almost 30 percent of our clients wish to visit Australia for a family holiday. It has also gradually become the preferred destination for honeymooning couples."

"People look forward to new, economical offers and packages to experience the best in Australia," he added.

Many Indians are keen on making a trip to the continent.

Sanchari Chakrabarty, a 21-year-old student who has not been to Australia, said: "The pleasure and appreciation expressed by people who have already visited Australia make me want to go and explore the continent".

Of the total number of Indians who visited Australia, approximately half headed towards the northeastern corner of the continent - Queensland.

According to Paul Buggy, regional director (Korea, India, Middle East, South Africa and Inbound) of Tourism Queensland, this part of Australia is fast becoming a popular and preferred destination for Indians.

In an attempt to boost the number of Indians visiting Queensland, Tourism Queensland has initiated a five-city road show in India this week to launch a campaign with the theme of "Family, Fun Queensland".

The five-city road show, which began Jan 14, will cover New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bangalore and continue till Jan 25.

Supriya Correa, the marketing manager of Tourism Queensland in India, explained that this campaign is aimed at both business to business as well as business to consumer trade.

"Through this campaign, we are providing an ideal platform for tourism operators from Australia to interact directly with either the consumers or even travel agents in India to promote tourism in Queensland," Correa said.

"It is an attempt to introduce Indian travel agents to an array of exciting holiday ideas, offers and updates for the Indian consumers," she added.

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