Cairns reef operators ready for wave of US tourists off the back of strengthening greenback
A star-spangled opportunity to sell the Great Barrier Reef to US tourists has emerged, with eagle-eyed industry leaders hoping a weak Aussie dollar leads to a Yankee invasion.
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A star-spangled opportunity to sell the Great Barrier Reef to US tourists has emerged, with eagle-eyed industry leaders hoping a weak Aussie dollar leads to a Yankee invasion.
Since reaching more than 69 cents in September the domestic dollar has dropped sharply, with the almighty greenback climbing on the back of better-than-expected employment data.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen said a strong US economy presented exciting new opportunities for tourism in the Far North.
“North America is a high-value market for our destination with visitors who spend well and love the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Olsen said.
“This was demonstrated with the Guardian of the Reef campaign which performed very well in the US, enticing more than 66,000 international visitors to travel to the Reef and generating $82m in visitor expenditure in the first eight months of the program.”
Weakened currencies elsewhere could also boost international visitors with domestic tourists potentially holding off on overseas holidays, Mr Olsen said.
“Like the Aussie dollar, the Japanese Yen is also suffering which increases the affordability of Tropical North Queensland against destinations like Hawaii in the Japanese market,” he said.
“A weak Aussie dollar may slow outbound travel, and we have seen over the past five years that Tropical North Queensland competes well as an international holiday destination alternative for Australians wanting to holiday in their own country.”
Entrada Travel Group liveaboard sales executive Harriet Burke said they had seen a noticeable increase in bookings, inquiries and website traffic from the US over the past 12 months for Great Barrier Reef multi-day trips.
“Spirit of Freedom has hosted several group bookings from US scuba diving clubs, shops and travel groups on four-to-seven-night trips diving the Ribbon Reefs and remote parts of the Coral Sea,” Ms Burke said.
“We secured 12 new group bookings from US organisations that hadn’t been to Australia in more than a decade when we attended the dive show, DEMA 2024, in Las Vegas in November.
“The favourable exchange rate positions Australia as a compelling destination and has been a significant factor in attracting these groups who are keen to see the Great Barrier Reef.”
Member for Cairns Michael Healy said multiple factors would determine whether the tourism industry could capitalise on increased interest from prospective travellers.
“The lead up to a US election year is always slow,” the former Tourism Minister said.
“The industry says that typically when there’s a change of government that has a significant impact on outbound traveller numbers.
“One of the big factors will be airfares. We still haven’t fully recovered from the COVID years and one of the reasons is that airfares are so vitally important.
“But having an Australian dollar that is attractive definitely helps.”
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Originally published as Cairns reef operators ready for wave of US tourists off the back of strengthening greenback
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