Kangaroos and koalas…Abo-riginal art…Sydney har-bor...the Great BarrierReef…rugged Outback land-

scapes bathed in fiery red hues.These are the iconic images we as-

sociate with the Land Down Under.Most Americans venturing to this dis-tant continent at the far reaches of thePacific consider it a once-in-a-lifetimetrip. And quite a distance it is—figureon a 15-hour flight for the 7,487-miletrip from Los Angeles to Sydney. Mosttour packages are two or three weekslong and often include New Zealand.

With lofty designs on garnering alarger piece of the internationaltourism pie, the Australian governmenthas plans to increase foreign visitationto its shores in the next decade.

“The focus is ambitious—to doubleovernight visitor expenditure fromtoday’s $70 billion to between $115billion and $140 billion by 2020,” saidAndrew McEvoy, managing director ofTourism Australia. “The key marketswhere this growth will come from havebeen identified and this is whereTourism Australia will focus its mar-keting efforts going forward.

“While Australia did have a recordyear last year in terms of numbers, with5.9 million visitors, we have seen ourshare of the global travel market declineover the past decade,” McEvoy said.

Indeed, keeping Australia on travel-ers’ radar is a challenge when so manydestinations are competing for a slice ofthe pie. Prime markets for Australia in-clude the United States, which rankedfourth in tourism revenues generated lastyear (after China, the United Kingdomand New Zealand). A total of 472,126Americans visited Australia during2010, spending a total of $2.1 billion.

14 June 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

on international travel � randy mink

What’s Up Down Under?

Australia has ambitious plans toramp up its marketing efforts

The Sydney Opera House, its roof evocative of a ship at full sail, is one of the world’s most recognizable buildings.

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Some of those American travelerswere fans of The Oprah Winfrey Show,which invited 302 viewers to accom-pany the queen of daytime talk on“Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adven-ture,” a four-part series filmed all overthe continent late last year.

The tourism industry is still weigh-ing the “Oprah effect.” While it mightbe a little early to start popping thechampagne, McEvoy said early indica-tors are that the series and campaign-ing around it are starting to pay off.

Visits to Tourism Australia’s website(australia.com) during January andFebruary, for example, were nearly dou-ble the monthly average prior to thisperiod. Since its announcement in Sep-tember 2010, Oprah’s visit has gener-ated some 86,000 media articles acrossthe world, with an estimated equivalentadvertising value of $368 million.

Online travel agency Orbitz, a keypartner in Tourism Australia’s “GreatAussie Sale” promotion that ran in theU.S. alongside the Oprah shows’ airing,has reported an increase in flight andhotel bookings (9.65 and 13.6 percent)in January and February over the sameperiod last year. In a survey of TourismAustralia’s premier Australian travelagency specialists in North America, 74percent said they have seen an increasein Australian enquiries.

The recent introduction of Qantas’non-stop flights from Dallas-FortWorth to Brisbane (and on to Syd-ney)—four times weekly—also is ex-pected to boost tourism from the U.S.The Texas gateway, a major hub forAmerican Airlines, will bring Australiacloser to the eastern half of the countryand take advantage of codeshare serv-ices between the two airlines.

WHERE TO GO…WHAT TO DOMost of Australia’s cities are on the

coast, and 80 percent of the population

lives on its eastern shores. Sydney,where most travelers begin and/or endtheir trip, is the country’s biggest andmost cosmopolitan urban center.Blessed with a sunny climate, Sydneyis built around a glorious harbor in-dented with bays and studded withworld-class beaches.

Located in the state of New SouthWales, Sydney also serves as a base forside trips to the interior. Blue Moun-tains National Park, 90 minutes west ofthe city, is a World Heritage area withforests, waterfalls, canyons and wildkangaroos. (The blue haze is caused bythe fragrant eucalyptus oil emitted

LeisureGroupTravel.com June 2011 15

16 June 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

from the leaves of the eucalypt trees.)Koalas, kangaroos and other animalsunique to Australia also can be foundin Sydney itself—at Taronga Zoo andKoala Park Sanctuary.

Melbourne, in the state of Victoria,is Australia’s most European city, ashopper’s paradise and a lively arts cen-ter. Side trips include Yarra Valley winecountry and the Penguin Parade onPhillip Island, 90 minutes from Mel-bourne. Hundreds of the miniature fairypenguins waddle every evening to thesafety of their homes in the sand dunes.

Queensland offers its own coastaldraws, from the Gold Coast’s theme at-tractions, casinos and nightclubs to theGreat Barrier Reef, its crown jewel. Anaquatic wonderland encompassing morethan 3,000 individual reefs and 900 is-lands, the Reef spellbinds divers andsnorkelers with exotic fish and coral for-mations. Cairns and Port Arthur arejumping-off points for the Great BarrierReef, the largest living feature on earthand the only one visible from space.

A tour of Australia is not completewithout a foray into the Outback, thevast central desert region comprisingthe states of Western Australia and theNorthern Territory. This untouchedwilderness, home to the ancient Abo-riginal culture, ranges from the tropicsof coastal Darwin and the far western

city of Perth to the Red Centre aroundthe oasis town of Alice Springs. Re-mote and mostly uninhabited, this isthe “real Australia” as outsiders imag-ine it. Iconic natural landmarks includethe monoliths Uluru (Ayers Rock) andKata Tjuta (the Olgas).

TOURS DOWN UNDERThe following is a sampling of

Australia-New Zealand tours offeredby major operators:

COLLETTE VACATIONS“From the Outback to the Glaciers,”

a 20-day trip from Melbourne to NewZealand and Fiji, includes a three-dayOutback adventure highlighted by abush walk, a meeting with Aboriginalpeople at their camp and a champagnetoast as Ayers Rock magically changescolor at sunset. Also featured are Syd-ney, Cairns and a glass-bottom boatride along the Great Barrier Reef. (collettevacations.com)

GLOBUS“Down Under Discovery,” a 19-day

trip from Auckland to Sydney, focuseson Australia’s and New Zealand’s mostscenic areas and popular cities. Aus-tralia highlights include a tour of theOpera House in Sydney, Cairns andthe Great Barrier Reef, an Outback

barbecue in Alice Springs, a walkingtour around Uluru and dining onboarda historic tramcar restaurant as itwinds its way through Melbourne.(globusjourneys.com)

GO AHEAD TOURSThe 22-day “Australia and New

Zealand Tour” begins with a three-night stay in Cairns (highlighted bycatamaran sail to the Great BarrierReef ) and three days in Alice Springs(with desert trek to Ayers Rock andoptional sunrise balloon ride). The tripcontinues to Melbourne and Sydneybefore the flight to New Zealand. Tourmembers get free time to explore ineach city. (goaheadtours.com/aun)

GOWAYThe 15-day “Best of Oz” tour pres-

ents the best of Australia, starting inCairns with a ride into the rainforest onthe Kuranda Scenic Railway. After a dayon the Great Barrier Reef, it’s on to the Outback for the Olgas, AyersRock, a camel ride and tour of AliceSprings. A free day in Adelaide, twonights in Melbourne and three nights inSydney round out the trip. (goway.com)

Appealing to our sense of wander-lust, the Land Down Under is perhapsthe ultimate travel adventure. It is in-deed the trip of a lifetime. LGT

on international travel �

Only-in-Australia experiences: Making friends with a kangaroo in a wildlife park and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

©Tourism Australia/Camille Nuttal

Photo Credit: Globus

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