Royal Visit Boosts Blue Mountains Tourism in Australia

The royal visit, Prince William and his wife Catherine’s trip to the Blue Mountains has boosted the fire-ravaged region’s tourists counts. The trip has not only lifted spirits in the fire-ravaged region but boosted its bottom line. When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the tourist site earlier this month, some 2500 people overcrowded into Echo Point.

Tourist site Scenic World observed a 20 per cent hike on the same time last year, with over 20,000 visitors through the gates throughout Easter and Anzac Day period.

Head of marketing Amanda Bryne said, that coupled with the holidays and an exhibition launch, the royals have helped boost the attraction’s numbers. In the meantime, Wotif.com experienced a 14 per cent grouth in accommodation bookings for the period after the royal visit leading up to Anzac Day.

Blue Mountains Tourism CEO Randall Walker said, with majestic shots of the Three Sisters beamed across the world, the media coverage of the high-profile guests was “absolutely priceless”. He also said visitors to the area typically averaged 11,000 tourists a day – a figure that “evaporated” after the October bushfires.

While numbers have been gradually climbing back to their peak, the advent of the regal couple helped deliver record rates over the long weekends. As well as injecting some much-needed revenue into the community’s businesses.

Mark Greenhill Blue Mountains Mayor said the visit had lifted morale. He also added the young couple’s visit was the perfect antidote for the region, which had lost 500 jobs as a direct effect of the fires.