Melbourne, March 12 (IANS) There has been a 26 percent increase in Indians holidaying in Australia's Victoria state in the year ending December 2009 as compared to the same period in 2008, reveals a survey that comes in the backdrop of a string of attacks on Indian students in this country.

State Tourism Minister Tim Holding said that more Indians than ever were holidaying in Victoria and added that the results were a 'great achievement when you consider the negative media coverage from incidents involving Indian students', The Age reported Friday.

The Tourism Research Australia survey released Thursday showed the number of Indians visiting Victoria rose 26 percent in the year ending December 2009 compared with the same period in 2008.

The study showed that a record 50,700 tourists visited Victoria, contributing about $257 million to its economy.

'There are a lot of complex factors at work in terms of our relationship with India. Obviously the student violence issue...has had some negative impacts in the (Indian) community. I hope that we are past the worst of that,' Premier John Brumby was quoted as saying.

There have been a spate of attacks on Indians in Australia, with one of them proving fatal. Nitin Garg was fatally stabbed Jan 2 in this city when he was walking to work.