Developed by Destination NSW and launched in February this year, Jhappi Time, which translates to ‘Hug Time’ in Hindi, is the only tourism campaign executed by an Australian state tourism body specifically targeting the visiting friends and relatives market in India.

‘India is a key inbound tourism market for NSW, with Sydney the top Australian destination for Indian visitors in the year ended June 2014. Tourism from India is currently worth an estimated $182 million to the NSW economy,’ Mr Grant said.

‘The latest ABS data shows arrivals from India to NSW increased by 21.2 per cent for year-end August 2014, and the hugely successful Jhappi Time campaign no doubt contributed to this result.

‘The Indian travel industry has also recognised the enormous potential of the campaign, with seven key travel trade partners promoting and selling travel packages and airfare offers to the Indian market.

‘To date, our industry partners in India have sold travel packages to NSW worth more than $3 million to the State.’

Mr Grant said Jhappi Time had been so successful among the Indian community that footage from the campaign would be shown at the Australian Film Festival of India this month.

‘The Australian Film Festival of India (AFFI) 2014, now in its third year, will screen a cinematic feast of the best of Australian feature films, documentaries, short films and television,’ Mr Grant said.

‘We are delighted that the already successful Jhappi Time campaign will be shown in the foyers and cinemas where Australian films, documentaries and television will be shown as part of the AFFI.’

Mr Dominello said the Jhappi Time campaign honed in on the emerging Indian tourism market in a new and innovative way.

‘India is a key market for NSW, so the more we can do to showcase all the wonderful things to see and do in Sydney and NSW, the better,’ Mr Dominello said.

‘AFFI movies will be shown in cities across India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bangalore, and Jaipur, which means more Indian people across the country will be exposed to the beautiful sights and sounds of Sydney and regional NSW.

‘Already, the Jhappi Time campaign videos, telling the stories of four Indian families enjoying time with family and friends and holidaying in Sydney and NSW, have achieved more than three million views online – more than double the original target – and we anticipate more interest in the initiative once it is shown in Indian cinemas.

‘NSW is proudly home to a large and vibrant Indian community and today we have over 100,000 Indian-born residents.

‘The number of Indian-born residents grew by a remarkable 50 per cent between 2006 and 2011. It means family connections back to India remain strong and the desire to visit loved ones in NSW is growing.

‘Jhappi Time really taps into that sentiment and is yet another NSW Government initiative engaging audiences in different ways to showcase our State.’

The AFFI, which runs from November until late in 2015 in partnership with other major film festivals in India, is proudly supported by the NSW Government.

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