The Wills and Kate effect has sparked a business boost for tourism operators, who are reaping the rewards of the recent royal tour.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s highly-publicised visit to Australia in April with baby George has created a sustained spike in web traffic to tourism sites ever since and an increase of bookings from British travellers.
Prince William and his wife Catherine showcased some of our country’s most famous tourist attractions — Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains and Manly Beach — during their whirlwind 10-day tour.
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said the enormous international exposure had resulted in daily inquiries to Australia.com increasing by up to 125 percent when they were here.
Even Adelaide witnessed a whopping 213 percent growth in searches during the royal visit, while other destinations visited by the royal couple experienced a 41 per cent increase in interest, according to search data from booking website trivago.com.au.
A trip that’s high on the bucket list of most Aussies — visiting Uluru — is also more likely to get ticked off in the wake of the royals’ walk around the sacred rock.
Voyages indigenous Tourism and Longitude 131, who run the accommodation and tours in Central Australia reported a massive spike in inquiries and bookings after the couple’s stay.
Ray Stone from Voyages said the impact of the media attention from the Royal Visit had been immediate.
“We had a spike in website traffic and have seen an increase of calls into our call centre with a an increase in primarily domestic bookings at this stage with an expectation of a pick-up internationally in the next three to six months,” he said.
Mr O’Sullivan said exposure from the British royal couple’s visit — estimated to have cost taxpayers more than $2 million — had been priceless and was already paying dividends.
“I have no doubt that we’re going to see a positive impact on visitor arrivals, especially from the US and the UK, two of our largest volume and most valuable traditional markets,” he said.
“We know from Oprah’s visit in 2010 that the impact, in terms of long haul travel, usually takes 12-18 months to be fully felt, but we’re already riding the wave of resurgence in US and UK visitors so hopefully this will give this hot streak a long and lasting tail.”
UK-based tourism operator Austravel said that during the Royals’ tour, they received a new inquiry every seven minutes from holiday-makers eager to emulate the Royals.
And despite the royals’ return to Britain, calls keep coming in.
They have seen a surge of booking inquiries, with a 120 percent increase from last year.
They even had to bring in extra staff and extend their opening hours to handle the influx of calls from holiday-goers who wanted to walk in the footsteps of the much-loved Royals.
“The Kate Middleton effect strikes again, but this time it’s not the latest dress the nation is after, it’s a holiday. We have seen a huge demand from travellers looking to replicate that of
the recent Royal tour,” said general manager Karen Joyce.
“Following what looked to be a wonderful trip to the land down under by Kate and Wills, it’s no surprise the nation is looking to wave goodbye to the grey British weather and soak up some Australian sunshine.”
