The royal effect: We’ll reap millions

Fans in Adelaide show their excitement for the arrival of Prince William and Kate during the Australian Royal Tour. Courtesy: Channel Ten

THE young royal family's picture postcard tour Down Under is set to inject tens of millions into the coffers of Australian tourism operators.

Recent high profile visits by US TV stars Oprah and Ellen led to a record number of Americans visiting Australia last year, and the tourism industry says it expects a similar pay-off from the 10-day visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George.

Analysts predict it could lead to an additional $50-60 million in tourist spending driven by a boost in visitors from Britain, with even more from other countries.

ROYAL DIARY: Kate and Wills in Adelaide

The visit has taken in some of the country's best-known tourist attractions such as the Opera House, Taronga Zoo, the Blue Mountains and Uluru, as well as some lesser-known highlights.

The royals take in Uluru in a photo opportunity captured by the world's media. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

One of the stars of the royal tour has been Taronga Zoo's bilby named George. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Blue Mountains Lithgow & Oberon Tourism chief executive Randall Walker said the impact of the royals' visit to the Blue Mountains last Thursday was "priceless", with the images of the couple at Echo Point and The Three Sisters beamed to potential visitors across the globe.

"It's really about the awareness that the royal couple bring from their visit and through helping to communicate an experience," he said.

"It has a priceless impact on consumer behaviour."

According to search data from booking website trivago.com.au, Australian destinations visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George have already seen a 41 per cent increase in interest, with Adelaide witnessing a whopping 213 per cent growth in searches.

THEN AND NOW: Royals' Uluru visits compared

And the luxury Uluru resort where the couple stayed Tuesday night, Longitude 131°, has reported a massive spike in web traffic.

Lodge operator Baillie Lodges said hits on the Longitude 131° website had been recorded at up to 250 per second during the royal visit, at times challenging the server's capacity.

THE ROYAL TENT: What it's like at Longitude 131

The visit also comes at a good time for tourism from the UK, with an increase in British visitors driven by the Ashes and last year's visit by the British Lions in June and July.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the number of UK arrivals jumped 6.8 per cent in 2013 to 634,100.

Destinations including the bushfire-affected Blue Mountains are set to benefit from the tour. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

The latest International Visitor Survey also shows Britain is Australia's most valuable international leisure market in terms of total spend — contributing 15 per cent, or $2.4 billion, of the total for all inbound leisure visitors to Australia.

Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan said he was confident the visit was already paying dividends.

"Some of our country's most famous tourism attractions have provided perfect backdrops for images beamed around the world — the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, the Sydney Show, Taronga Zoo, the nippers' demo on Manly Beach and, of course, the spectacular footage at one of our country's greatest icons, Uluru," he said.

Duchess of Cambridge greets surf life savers at Manly Beach. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey's visit brought a wave of US tourists. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

"These images are 'tourism gold' — the kind of international exposure that is difficult to put a price on and which will undoubtedly inspire many onlookers around the world to follow in their footsteps by booking a holiday of their own Down Under."

High profile visits by US TV stars Oprah Winfrey in 2010 and Ellen DeGeneres last year have contributed to a surge in Americans visiting Australia, demonstrating the impact of celebrity visits in driving tourist arrivals.

The other royal effect - Prince Frederik and Princess Mary in Sydney. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Limited

Last year, a total of 508,700 Americans visited Australia — up 6.2 per cent for the year.

Princess Mary's marriage to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004 has also been credited with increasing Danish tourism to Australia, demonstrating that royalty also maintains its pulling power.

With estimates the royal tour will cost Australian taxpayers more than $2 million, tourism expert Dr David Beirman from the University of Technology Sydney said it may take several months for a boost in interest to translate into bookings.

However, he said the visit had "provided a lot of good promotion of Australia" and predicted it "would more than pay itself off".

"Ten days of exposure of a royal visit will certainly have some impact," he said.

"Australia already rates very highly from an aspirational point of view in the UK."

Royal tour highlights

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