Fancy a 'jhappi' time in New South Wales?

It's no secret that Tourism Australia has been working really hard to attract Indian tourists to its shores for some time now. The government agency has just taken its efforts to woo the Indian traveller a notch higher.

Destination New South Wales (NSW) will reportedly be launching the country's largest-ever campaign targeted at the Indian market and hopes to increase the number of visitors from the subcontinent by at least 10 per cent in the coming 18 months.

This ‘Jhappi Time’ campaign shows four Sikh and Hindu families from India enjoying time with family and friends in Sydney and NSW. The TVC has been filmed by Australian-Indian Bollywood director Anupam Sharma and shows aspects of Australia that would appeal to the Indian consumer. In his own words: "The fun, frolic but most importantly the diversity - be it of people, location and the diversity of families from India."

The campaign has been filmed at popular New South Wales locations such as the Blue Mountains, Manly, Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

And just so we Indians feel right at home watching the ad campaign, it also has a bit of Bollywood-style dancing.

And, in the wake of the upcoming  2015 ICC World Cup that will be hosted in Australia in March 2015, the island continent along with its sidekick New Zealand has agreed to offer joint tourist visas for the duration. Seems like more happy days for the Indian cricket fan!  

You can read the full story that was published by Herald Sun here.

For those unaware of another related development, Australia has now become one of 180 countries whose citizens will be allowed to get a visa-on-arrival once they land in India.