Oprah-tunity beckons, but can tourism cash in?

IF THE number of utterances of ”Oh – my – God!” and ”Gorrr-geous!” was a barometer of just how much Oprah Winfrey liked Australia, what about her compatriots whom Tourism Australia is anxiously courting?

As Winfrey’s series of Australian ”infomercials” airs across the US, tourism agents are gauging signs that Americans are responding to the message.

The consensus among travel agencies in and around Chicago – home to Winfrey’s multimedia juggernaut – is ”don’t hold your breath”, although they hope for a rise in interest that could translate, ultimately, to more bums on Qantas seats heading across the Pacific.

”I think the reaction is going to be delayed,” says Robin Zell, a Liberty Travel consultant in Schaumburg, north-west of Chicago. ”But we are hoping and expecting it to come in big for us because we think it’s fantastic and we really want to get people over there.”

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/travel/travel-news/oprahtunity-beckons-but-can-tourism-cash-in-20110121-1a022.html?from=brisbanetimes_sb

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