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Indian based travel agents have stopped recommending Australia as a destination resulting in a slowing of the market and potentially threatening the success of next year’s T20 Cricket World Cup.

http://www.stevecafeandcuisine.com/Despite strong demand from Indian visitors, market intelligence is showing a significant slowing in growth for 2019, with growth expectations for the current year of around 10-12%. Official data from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) shows the Indian visitor market grew by 18% in 2018.

“The Australian tourism industry is hamstrung by visa processing bottlenecks and we are particularly concerned about the potential impact this situation will have on next year’s ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, a time when we are looking to benefit from an influx of Indian cricketing enthusiasts,” ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said.

“Processing delays for the Indian market have become so dire that we are now aware travel agents are discouraging holidays in Australia as they see a real risk that visa applications will either be knocked back or not processed quickly enough.

“With signs of softening Indian market, we are seeing just how easily brand Australia can be damaged by an inefficient visa system.”