Canberra starred as the cover location for the March issue of Vogue India featuring Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma as part of a tourism collaboration between Tourism Australia, VisitCanberra and the leading lifestyle and fashion magazine.

The backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin features the celebrity wearing international and Australian designs and was shot in early January. The hugely popular actress has 24 million Instagram followers, almost 10 million Facebook followers and more than 19 million Twitter followers. Ms Sharma was in Australia while her husband, Indian Test cricket captain Virat Kohli, was playing against Australia.

The cover and fashion pictorial, shot at the National Gallery of Australia inside James Turrell’s Within Without stunning skyspace and featuring local band Young Monks, is part of a wider Canberra content feature staggered across Vogue India channels in coming months that will include a travel editorial piece on Australia’s capital, a behind-the-scenes video and social media posts.

Vogue and Conde Nast Traveller magazines are featuring experiences and destinations in Australia that are new to Indian travellers, according to Tourism Australia’s managing director John O’Sullivan.

“When we launched our new UnDiscover Australia campaign in India in September it was designed to introduce a wider range and diversity of experiences and destinations within Australia that align with the evolving tastes of Indian travellers,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

There were 358,000 visitors from India to Australia for the year ended December 2018, an 18 per cent increase on the previous year. Canberra has experienced 55 per cent growth year-on-year, of tourists from India.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr was thrilled with the coverage.

“The Indian market is a growing one for us and through this collaboration we can share the amazing and varied experiences Canberra offers,"he said.

Canberra band Young Monks members Matt Santos, Stephen Reinhart, Sam Koster, Thomas Caldwell and Jarrod Stewart can now add fashion models to their resumes after participating in the shoot, initially approached by the stylist to participate after she saw their Instagram page.

"It was pretty surreal," Matt said, adding they got on well with Anushka.

"She's was really down-to-earth, it was a really nice experience."

And the magazine release comes at a good time for Young Monks, which is embarking on a tour in March, playing at the UC Hub on March 16.

Vogue India editor-in-chief Priya Tanna, meanwhile, said the magazine constantly looked at way to bring alive its fashion editorials.

“This collaboration with Tourism Australia and VisitCanberra offered us the perfect opportunity to showcase sunny Australia alongside the season’s brightest fashion," she said.