Cricket Australia (CA) is reportedly hoping to have a financial boom from the 50, 000 British arrivals that are predicted to come for the second 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia later this year.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, over 330,000 tickets have been sold across the five Test-match venues so far, adding that the first day of the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne has predictably been the most popular day, with 46,784 fans seeking tickets.
With the 2006-07 Ashes campaign injecting 317 million dollars into the Australian economy, CA is hoping for an even better prospect this year, with CA spokesman Matthew Slade saying that their focus is on putting on a good series of matches for the overseas fans as a range of benefits can come from the arrivals.
Slade may not be far from the truth as the report said that more than 7000 tour packages have been booked through CA's travel arm, which is still expecting to sell t least another 1000 packages before the series begins in Brisbane on November 21.
Agreeing with Slade, Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said that major events likes the Ashes always go well and have a positive impact for the tourism sector.
According to the report, the contests between the two rivals will extend into the back-to-back Ashes series later this year following the successes of the British and Irish Lions rugby tour and the pre-season friendlies of English football powerhouses Manchester United and Liverpool.
The report also mentioned that almost 30, 000 British fans had come for the Lions tour, pouring an estimated 137 million dollars into Australian coffers, while visits by Manchester United and Liverpool added an extra 16 million dollars and ten million dollars respectively into the economy.