Tourism hits boom time across the ditch

Australia's tourism is on the verge of a boom decade, according to the country's Tourism Forecasting Council, which predicts more than 10 million people will visit there during 2010.

This decade, about one million New Zealanders are expected to travel to Australia for either business or pleasure.

The Olympic Games had undoubtedly increased Australia's appeal to the rest of the world, said Michael Yates, the Australian Tourist Commission's director for New Zealand and the South Pacific, but New Zealanders were largely drawn by Australia's wide range of affordable holiday experiences, cheap airfares and proximity.