Sydney’s culinary credentials, spectacular Harbour and city icons were showcased to an audience of more than 25 million in India, South East Asia, Europe and the United States, through the support of the State’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, as two semi-final episodes of MasterChef India Season 5 were shot in Sydney aired on the Star Plus Network over the weekend.
19 December 2016The episodes will be broadcast and syndicated to over 105 countries including India, the US and UK. Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the Harbour foreshore and the Sydney Cricket Ground were all showcased as MasterChef India Season 5 judges Chef Vikas Khanna, Chef Kunal Kapur and Zorawar Kalra put the contestants through a series of Master Classes, Pressure Tests and a Mystery Box challenges.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said supporting international broadcasters to film in Sydney and regional New South Wales, provides a unique opportunity to reach a mass international audience.
“Welcoming MasterChef India Season 5 to film their important semi-final episodes here in Sydney was a great opportunity to encourage more Indian and South East Asian visitors to plan a trip to our beautiful State,” Mr Ayres said.
“New South Wales has a thriving and multicultural food and wine scene, which is an important motivator for travellers when choosing their preferred destination. We look forward to welcoming MasterChef India fans looking to replicate some of the great experiences that were showcased through the semi-final episodes, as well as Indian travellers looking for a great holiday experience, to NSW.”
Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said the broadcast supported was by Destination NSW, with MasterChef India filming exclusively in Sydney to highlight the state’s culinary capital.
“Sydney was the perfect destination to host MasterChef India. Securing this broadcast is a huge coup as it provides a unique chance to showcase our city’s culinary prowess to one of the top 10 source markets of visitors to NSW.
“Home to some of the world’s most iconic locations, and with a food scene dominated by an abundance of local, fresh produce, Sydney really is a haven for food lovers and is one of the world’s favourite culinary capitals. From the fresh produce at the Bondi Famer’s Market and cooking with native ingredients such as South Coast oysters and lemon myrtle, to filming on the Harbour foreshore and at the SCG, MasterChef India captured some of Sydney’s and NSW’s most iconic locations and food experiences, which continue to draw visitors back time after time.”
India is the ninth largest source market of visitors to NSW with more than 120,800 overnight visitors travelling to NSW from India in the year ending September 2016. These visitors stayed 4.81 million nights in NSW providing a $293 million boost to the local economy. (*Source: International Visitor Survey (IVS), YE Sep 16, Tourism Research Australia (TRA)
Download a PDF version of this media release (PDF 317kb)
