SYDNEY – Australia is debating an audacious plan to fly international tourists to the country for free to beat the economic turndown, which has seen visitor numbers plummet.
There is only one small catch: tourists who take advantage of the free flights would have to guarantee to spend freely in shops, hotels and restaurants while they were in Australia.
The Age newspaper reports that under the proposal, labelled the “Mayday Project” and due to be put to the government this week, airfares – which would be offered at a discounted rate by participating airlines – would be paid for by the government.
Across Australia, the number of international visitors to Australia dropped 30,000 to 5.1 million in 2008. Visitors specifically “on holiday†accounted for 2.04 million of the total – down by 141,000 on the previous year.
The Mayday Project is the brainchild of Independent Tourism Holdings’ innovation director Glenn Millen, who says the free flights, favourable exchange rate and novelty of the promotion would position it strongly to succeed.
“We can really limit the impact of the recessionary slide on tourism through this,” he said.
Independent Tourism Holdings director Steve Cusworth, who is steering the project, will meet with the federal, state and territory governments, as well as airlines and industry players, to discuss the proposal.
