The much awaited Australian kick-off of the last series of Oprah Winfrey’s show has had a massive impact of tourism in the country. Thanks to her promotion campaign, the latest numbers are sky high.
When Oprah Winfrey announced she was only to do one more series of her famous show, heartbroken sighs echoed around the globe. Her wit and humour have won over many spectators over the past 24 years of her show. To make an end worthy of remembering, Oprah chose to kick off in Australia. Many tourist experts eagerly anticipated what kind of impact her choice might make on local tourism and first statistics suggest the queen of American TV has done it again. The industry is about to boom.
The four shows recently televised featured the crème-de-la-crème of Australian tourist potential, including the famous Opera House and the Bridge, The Royal Botanic Gardens, The Zoo, Byron Bay, Hamilton Island and many more sites. Oprah took great care in presenting the best of Australia and thus contributed to the recently launched massive promotion campaign by local Ministry of Tourism.
Oprah’s ‘Nothing like Australia’ four-episode show has already proved to be working. Expedia, the global online booking company, recorded a 25% week-on-week increase in local hotel searches by US travelers. Also, specific searches for Australian tour packages jumped by an incredible 163% since the week the show aired, and some specific tour operators recorded a whopping 250% increase in demand for trips to the land Down Under.
Tourism is a crucial source of income in Australia and many tourism experts predicted Oprah is a trusted celebrity who has the talent and power to convince people. She did it again and Australia awaits a fresh wave of keen travelers longing to explore its charms.