General News

INDIAN AGENTS AT ATE 2009 GIVE OZ THE ALL-CLEAR

Indian travel agents & tour operators attending the Australian Tourism Exchange have given the all-clear to visiting Australia. None of them said they had any cause for concern over the recent spate of reports of attacks on Indian students in Australia, and would be advising their clients accordingly. Having spent considerable time going around Melbourne and talking to Indian students and residents, all of them felt that the issue had been blown out of proportion. They said they found no cause for concern anywhere and didn't expect any long term damage if the matter dropped out of the headlines over the next few days.

Mr Guldeep Singh Sahni of Weldon Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, said that as a bearded and turban-wearing Sikh, he had seen himself as a perfect target. โ€œI went around everywhere, including some of the places where these attacks are supposed to have taken place,โ€ he said. โ€œI had no problems.โ€

He said he had been told that while some of the attacks on Indian students may be racial in nature, most of the incidents are either random violence or people just settling personal scores. He said Indians had short memories and that the matter would soon fade from memory if it faded from the headlines.

Mr Sahni said negative perceptions had been formed but that he would be going back to tell his clients they had nothing to worry about. โ€œBut I am just one person,โ€ he said. โ€œIf 10 million Indians see all these reports on TV, how much impact can one person have?โ€

Mrs Padmini Narayanan, Managing Director of Chenna-based Akshaya India Tours & Travels, agreed with Mr Sahni's sentiments but said that her business had been directly affected by some cancellations of incentives to Australia in the upcoming July-August season. She said she too had spoken to a number of Indians in Melbourne but found no reason for any untoward concern. โ€œMost of them said these were just normal incidents that occur in any cities.โ€ If there is any reason for concern over health and safety, it is more related to the swine flu. [Read Tourism Victoria's announcement on swine flu here]

She said her worry was more about the police. She said one of her family friends back in India had had a son studying in Australia who had allegedly โ€œcommitted suicide.โ€ She said that's what they were told by the Australian authorities, and no further information was provided.

Mr Vikash Tibarewala, director of Kolkata-based The Travellers, said that he had an upmarket group of three couples checking into a hotel in Sydney right at this very moment. โ€œThey saw no reason to go elsewhere.โ€ He added, โ€œLook, these things happen in our own country. Why worry about this anywhere else?โ€

Mr Sajan Gupta, Director of Vayuseva Tours & Travels of Kolkata, said he spoken to several Indian boys driving taxis in Melbourne. โ€œThey said some of the attacks were racially motivated but most of them were just acts of violence that could happen anywhere.โ€

Victoria's Minister for Tourism & Major Events Tim Holding said he felt Melbourne was one of the safest cities in Australia and that Victoria generally had the lowest incidents of violent crime. However, he said, the state government recognised the fact that these attacks on Indian students have taken place and considered them to be โ€œcompletely unacceptable.โ€

He said that the state government was doing โ€œeverything we can to address the issuesโ€, including working closely with the Victorian police authorities and channelling more resources to those parts of Melbourne that were considered vulnerable, including some public transport. โ€œMelbourne will continue to be a safe place for visitors from overseas,โ€ he said.

Additional Information

Country: India
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Source: Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, in Melbourne
When: 18/6/2009

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