More than 40,000 England supporters expected to descend on Australia for Ashes series
An estimated 40,000 England supporters are about to arrive in Australia for this summer’s Ashes cricket tour, with the first Test later this month in Perth.
An estimated 40,000 England supporters are about to arrive in Australia for this summer’s Ashes cricket tour, with the first Test later this month in Perth.
English media is reporting that organised tours of the Barmy Army, which organises official fan travel and events, were at record levels and demand for this summer’s Ashes series had been “off the scale”.
Thousands of England supporters are arranging trips of their own, in what is shaping up as one of the biggest overseas followings the country has ever taken to an Ashes series.
The record influx of England fans is expected to deliver a boon for Australian hospitality and tourism operators.
In Perth, to host the first Ashes Test from November 21, England fans are expected to spend $60-$70m across accommodation, hospitality, transport, retail and general tourism.
Conrad Liveris, an independent economist, said cash “injections like this” were a “massive assistance to small and mid-sized operators” who could then use “this stimulus to invest over the rest of the season and grow year on year”.
He said the Ashes Test in Perth alone would create “hundreds of casual jobs and generate energy for business across the year … There’s nothing that brings an overseas crowd quite like the Ashes. It’s akin to having the Olympics.”
Mr Liveris said the exchange rate at the moment meant the Australian market was more attractive to Brits, and England fans would likely spend up big.
Adam Canning, the Barmy Army’s commercial director, described the demand as “unprecedented … People haven’t been able to go for eight years. The last tour (had Covid restrictions) and even in 2019 there was no (northern) winter Ashes.”
“So there’s huge pent-up demand. Add the excitement around Bazball and Ben Stokes and the thrilling series against India in the summer, and the appetite is enormous,” he said.
Mr Canning, who flies to Australia in 10 days to oversee logistics, has been trying to co-ordinate a schedule for about 3000 official travellers. “Trying to sort out a program for that many people is not without its challenges,” he said. “But it’s a nice problem to have. Our sales are triple what we did in 2017-18, which tells its own story.”
The Barmy Army estimates that alongside those booked on the official tours, tens of thousands more will travel with other tour groups or independently.
“We anticipate a 35,000 to 40,000-strong Barmy Army at some stage across the tour,” Mr Canning said. “That’s never happened before.”
According to Tourism Australia, the UK is Australia’s fourth largest market in terms of arrivals, with around 700,000 travellers arriving from the market in the 12 months to August.
This is a 13 per cent increase on the 12 months before – the second largest growth out of all markets.
The UK also contributes more than $5bn a year to the Australian visitor economy, with the average British visitor spending $7741 a trip, Tourism Australia says.
Additional reporting: The Times
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