A dream destination, as Oprah Winfrey describes
a trip to Australia for her opening day audience of 300 (as she
kicked off her 25th and final season on TV), will be a
tremendous boom for Australia’s tourism industry which presently
gets 2.5 million visitors annually.
The government met with Winfrey’s people in
planning this joint endeavor, and they will be providing
approximately $3 million in accommodation costs — providing
transportation, lodging, meals, tours, etc. — most of it will come
in the form of “in-kind” payments. In exchange Australia will gain
publicity around the world through TV coverage in 145 countries,
articles in the world press, and immense coverage on the Internet.
It’s a very astute business move and a real
coup for Australia, as such a major international opportunity is
quite unique.
