While Australians may love the glitz of Los Angeles, they’re also looking for a new way to experience the United States and that may very well be through recently re-opened air links to San Francisco.
San Francisco Travel’s Director of International Tourism Asia Pacific, Antonette Eckert, said she’s expecting visitor numbers from Australia to climb in the coming months as more Australians take advantage of Qantas’ relaunched direct flights from Sydney.
Speaking to KarryOn, she said her on-the-ground partners are already seeing an increase in Aussie arrivals, with many choosing to travel to San Francisco before hiring out a car or planning travel onwards to other parts of California.
Antonette Eckert (front row, second from the right) is in town for the annual Visit USA expo.
She explained that this growing trend plus last year’s projected increase of 2.6 percent Australian visitors makes Australia a “very strong” market for the destination.
“The Australian market is really interested in travelling to San Francisco.”
Antonette Eckert, San Francisco Travel’s Director of International Tourism Asia Pacific
“And we’re obviously ecstatic that Qantas would relaunch its direct Sydney to San Francisco flights, which has already contributed to growth.”
But an easier connection to the destination isn’t the only reason Aussies are choosing San Fran over other gateways. Eckert said sport is also a major ticket in getting Aussies across the Pacific.
This was no more evident that during Aussie football player, Jarryd Hayne’s, first game as a San Francisco 49er. According to Skyscanner figures, flight searches to The Golden Gate City spiked when the former Parramatta Eels player made his NFL debut.
There’s also the Super Bowl, which Eckert says was really popular for Australians and even attracted a number of Aussie sporting fans who travelled to San Fran for the annual match.
“We’ve heard about Australians that travelled to the city earlier this month for the Super Bowl, we also heard about the phenomenon when Jarryd Hayne was accepted in the NFL team.”
Antonette Eckert, San Francisco Travel’s Director of International Tourism Asia Pacific
Meanwhile, Eckert said she’s keen to get more agents up to the city to experience its highlights first hand.
She said she’s currently working with Qantas Holidays to send 60 consultants to San Francisco plus helloworld is planning to run a famil. She’s also hoping Qantas will organise a few more trips to promote its recently relaunched flights.
