Now even Americans cry, 'Come on, Aussie'

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This was published 13 years ago

Now even Americans cry, 'Come on, Aussie'

By Jane E. Fraser
Australians are flocking to the US to take advantage of the strong dollar. Illustration: Michael Mucci.

Australians are flocking to the US to take advantage of the strong dollar. Illustration: Michael Mucci.

Australians are taking their new-found spending power Stateside while the going is good. And struggling US tour operators couldn't be happier.

AS Oprah-worshipping Americans book flights to Australia, about 70,000 Aussies are going in the other direction each month.

Australian visitor numbers to the US jumped by 20 per cent last year and are expected to increase by a further 12 per cent this year, making Australia one of the country's most important markets.

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Travellers to the US are enjoying a winning combination of super-cheap airfares and a robust Australian dollar, giving them spending power as never before.

Airline competition on the trans-Pacific route remains fierce since the entry of V Australia and Delta Air Lines, with return fares consistently available for less than $1000.

With the Australian dollar hovering around parity with the US dollar, travellers have been able to pick up fares for as little as $939 to Los Angeles.

Travellers can also get to Hawaii for less than $1000, giving this old favourite renewed popularity, while Qantas's new flights to the aviation hub of Dallas-Fort Worth will give travellers easier access to other parts of the country. A Visit USA spokesman, Mark Sheehan, says "everything is just perfectly in line" for Australians travelling to the US.

As well as "seductive" airfares and a favourable exchange rate, Australians also benefit from being flavour of the month with US tourism operators, which are suffering from a decline in visitors from most other key markets.

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"Everybody's looking to the Australians, from the American side," Sheehan says. "The Americans are rolling out the red carpet for Australians."

The managing director of Creative Holidays, Paul McGrath, agrees the ducks are all in a row.

"If people are thinking about going to the States, this is probably the year they should do it," he says.

Adventure World says its bookings for the US are up 37 per cent on last year, thanks to the strong dollar and cheap flights.

A clear trend among Australian travellers is the fast-growing popularity of New York.

"For the first time in history, New York has a higher visitation rate than the west coast," Sheehan says.

He believes many regard the improved purchasing power of the dollar as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the city.

The man who runs A Slice of Brooklyn bus tours, Tony Muia, says Australians have become a major market for New York.

"I would say we've seen an average increase of 25 per cent to 35 per cent in Australians on our pizza tour every day since 2009," he says. "Before that, it was minimal."

Sheehan says Australian travellers have a very high rate of repeat visits to the US.

"Once they have a taste of the US, they just keep coming back again and again," he says. "We see this love affair continuing for many years to come."

Australians also stay longer in the US than any other travellers.

US Department of Commerce figures show the average stay is 24 nights and the average spend is high, compared with other markets.

The most popular states to visit are New York and California, while the most popular activities include dining, shopping, city sightseeing and attending concerts or musicals.

Sheehan says specialty travel to the US has also "gone through the roof", from Elvis pilgrimages to motorcycle road trips and other specific interests.

One company catering for this market is Elite Special Event Tours (eliteset.com.au), which runs everything from rodeo tours to wrestling tours.

The owner, John Cruwys, a former airline executive, says his greatest success has been Harley-Davidson motorcycle tours, which include trips along Route 66 and a tour to the annual Sturgis Rally, the biggest bike rally in the world.

Ryan Kerzner, the sales manager for Californian car rental company Midway Car Rental, says the company has seen Australian travellers opting for typically American vehicles such as the Chevy Corvette and Mustang GT.

"Many Australian visitors have only one type of car in mind when travelling in southern California: the American muscle car," he says.

Another popular trip for the company is a country-music tour, which takes in the music history of Memphis and the annual festival in Nashville and is escorted by country singer Melinda Schneider.

New horizons in the mountains

FOR travellers who have done the iconic US west coast and have been to the other side to experience big east-coast cities such as New York, Boston and Washington, DC, the Rocky Mountain states are emerging as the next big thing. The region, which includes Idaho, Montana, Colorado and the Dakotas, is experiencing higher growth in visitation from Australia than any international market. Visit USA spokesman Mark Sheehan says the lures are easy to find, with the states featuring a wealth of national parks, sports and recreation facilities, adventure experiences and big, blue skies.

jane@janeefraser.com.au

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