An exclusive US TravelMole interview with the Minister for Tourism for Australia, the Hon Fran Bailey at ATE 2006
The Mole: Minister, thank you for taking the time to speak with me this afternoon. Why Australia is so popular in the USA?
Minister Bailey: It has taken a while, but there is no doubt that the popularity of Australia had grown to be immense in the USA and we look forward to continuing to welcome visitors from the USA to Australia.
Even the Wiggles are flavour of the month and huge in the USA and in addition it is hard to imagine a country with more stars in the USA than Australia, start with Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, whose upcoming wedding will also assist in our marketing.
The Mole: US visitors in the past, perhaps unfairly, have had a reputation for not knowing a great deal about destinations they intend visiting so how does Tourism Australia deal with that potential scenario?
US visitors have changed and they now know a huge amount about the destinations they are intending to travel to and so much interaction.
The relationship between George Bush and John Howard is positive because it has raised awareness of Australia for Americans and they also know that we take security seriously and have strong border protection and terrorism policies.
The biggest challenge for the tourism industry and the USA and Australia is increased capacity across the Pacific.
I am a strong advocate for more competition on that route to increase capacity – air fares on the Pacific are 27% more expensive than comparative fares on other routes.
I believe that increasing that capacity is the only way forward for us to increase business from the US, we have the product, we are building excellent awareness, but it is frustrating that we do not have the capacity to take maximum advantage of that – I know that others in the Government do not agree with me but I know I am right.
The Mole: Thank you Minister for taking the time to speak with me.
Interview by John Alwyn-Jones at ATE 2006
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