AUSTRALIA. Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is claiming a world first as it sets the pitch for an international cricket match inside the International Terminal.
Former Australian cricket stars Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz will captain two teams made up of senior travel retail personnel from India and Australia. The 20-over indoor exhibition-style match is part of Tourism Events Queensland’s ‘Queensland on Stage India’ event for 2018.
The match will take place on 22 November, to coincide with the start of the Indian Cricket Team’s tour of Australia, and will be streamed live on Brett Lee’s Facebook page. The pitch is set in the middle of the International Terminal to target departing passengers and the Indian media.
BAC Chief Executive Officer Gert-Jan de Graaff said the event highlights the ‘mateship’ and friendly rivalry between Australia and India and provides an opportunity to strengthen and celebrate tourism between the two countries.
“India and Australia share a love of family, travel and cricket, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to celebrate these shared values with a bit of fun, whilst also showcasing Brisbane as an aspirational travel destination, offering a wide range of experiences for Indian visitors,” de Graaff said.
“India is one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel markets with more than 300,000 Indians visiting Australia last year and more than 33,000 of those visiting Brisbane, which was a +36% increase on the previous year.
“Being able to showcase Brisbane Airport as the gateway to Queensland and Australia will allow existing and new airline partners to reinforce the importance of this growing market. With rising travel demand, and our business and trade relationship showing further growth, BAC is very interested in strengthening connections with the India market,” de Graaff added.
Australia – India Council Board Member and Non-Executive Board Director of Cricket Australia Michael Kasprowicz commented: “Brisbane is a city that is quickly developing into a major tourism destination, and I’m excited to be a part of the effort to showcase all these new developments to the India market.”
