Gabba hotels, pubs cash in as Barmy Army arrives in Australia for The Ashes

THEY'RE the enemies Aussie hotels love. England's fans are here and they can get through a month of beer in five days.

Barmy Army members are bringing in the big bucks for Aussie tourism operators.

THOUSANDS of English cricket fans are expected to have a 'beery good time' as the Barmy Army descends upon Brisbane for the opening Ashes test.

Two Brisbane pubs, the Pig'N'Whistle Riverside and the Chalk Hotel, next to the Gabba, will serve as the headquarters for the fanatical supporters group throughout the duration of the match, which starts tomorrow.

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The Chalk Hotel said it expected to sell a month's worth of beer in the five days of the test as English supporters indulge in their second favourite pursuit after watching cricket.

Last time an Ashes test match was played in Brisbane - in 2010-11 - the pub went through 350 kegs of beer, equivalent to 42,000 schooners.

"We'll have about 2000 people in the venue pretty much all the time," a spokeswoman said.

"Far and away, it is the busiest time of year."

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The pub also plans to keep the English supporters happy with all-you-can-eat buffet breakfasts and supporters events.

"We'll have the Barmy Army bugler here doing some bugling and leading some chants," the spokeswoman said.

"We'll also have Australia vs England body painting with a cute English girl and a cute Aussie girl getting body painted.

"The guys like that one," she said.

Cricket Australia expects up to 50,000 British tourists to follow the Ashes series around the country over the next two months, with almost 10,000 packages booked through official tour channels.

The tourism industry are hoping the effect will be equivalent to the economic boom stemming from the British Lions rugby tour in June, and initial signs are good.

Barmy Army members are bringing in the big bucks for Aussie tourism operators.

A day out from the beginning of the series, almost all of Brisbane's 10,000 hotel rooms are booked solid for the duration of the test, giving the city a boost.

Oaks Hotels & Resorts general manager Daniel Csortan said the company was expecting close to 100 per cent occupancy across its eight city properties on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

"This is by far one of the biggest occupancy-driving events of the year for us. We are experiencing huge demand for one, two and three bedroom apartments across our eight properties, with some already fully booked and others expected to reach this target over the course of this year's event," he said.

"We are continuing to receive hundreds of last-minute enquiries daily in the lead up to the event."

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said the flow-on effect for tourism providers and the wider economy would be substantial.

"These blue ribbon sporting events, just like the Lions rugby tour in June, provide a real tourism sweet-spot for us," he said.

"To give you an idea of the tourism impact, these big sporting events can have, the British and Irish Lions tour saw a 65 per cent increase in the number of British visitors in June.

"As with the 'Red Lions', the Barmy Army will follow their team around the country in large numbers and with huge passion, enjoying our wonderful summer and embracing the many wonderful attractions available to them along the way - our great outdoors, our wonderful beaches and fun, vibrant cities," he said.

Barmy Army co-founder Paul Burnham said, on average, each Barmy Army supporter followed the team for about three tests.

While the majority will arrive in time for the Melbourne and Sydney contests in late December and early January, he said the Gabba test was popular with supporters who wanted to enjoy some cricket but still be back home in time for Christmas.

With almost a fortnight between the end of the test and the beginning of the next contest in Adelaide, he said many supporters would take the opportunity to temporarily take their mind off the cricket and explore other parts of the country.

"Because there's a bit of a gap, a lot of people will head to places like the Gold Coast and Cairns," he said.

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