Australia: 50,000 visitors still expected to fly in for sporting event
Organisers of the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in Australia have vowed that the event will not be scuppered by the ongoing events in Iraq.
More than 50,000 visitors are expected to fly to Australia for the event, which starts on 10 October, but there have been fears that the current military action will prevent people from travelling to the competition.
And while the organisers of the tournament has admitted they will be keeping a very close eye on events over the coming few months, and that there is a chance fans will make late cancellations, they are still confident the event will be a success.
The antipodean news website www.stuff.co.nz quoted the Australian Rugby Union general manager John O’Neill as saying: “Australia is a safe place to travel to. I suspect the events in the Middle East will not affect in-bound tourism numbers. Closer to July-August we will have a much better barometer on the state of affairs. But rugby fans seem to be very brave and dedicated and they are coming to a country that is pretty safe and to a tournament that is regarded as a low risk.”
