Oprah Winfrey’s trip to Australia kick-starts influx of American visitors

Oprah Winfrey’s visit to Australia is finally paying off, with the growth in American tourists at its highest level since the Sydney Olympics. After a drop last year – attributed to the global financial crisis – the number of US visitors rose nearly four per cent to around 472,000 people in the year to October.

A survey of 500 US travellers last October found 73 per cent had visited recently or booked a trip in the coming year had been influenced by Oprah. “It’s not just Oprah though, I think the marketing the state tourism organisations have done with us and the airlines has also helped.”