Summer Sporting Extravaganza to Boost Australian Economy

In Australia, summer is all about sport. This season the addition of two major international events to the calendar is a big bonus, not just for sports lovers but for the economy as well.

Australians who don't enjoy sport turn off the television and head for the beach at this time of year.

For everyone else, there's a smorgasbord of Test and one-day cricket, PGA golf, an internationally famous yacht race, a grand slam tennis event, cycling and Formula One races.

The country is set to enjoy an unprecedented quantity of world sport worth an estimated A$320m ($267m; £172m) to the economy thanks to the addition of two major events.

The Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup - being held across five cities in January - and the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, which will be played in Australia and New Zealand in February and March, eclipse other events in size and dollar value.

The Asian Cup is the biggest sporting event in Asia and the cricket World Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world after the summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.

Australia's summer of sport

• December 9 - January 10: Four cricket Test matches, Australia v India.
• December 11-14: Australian PGA golf Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast.
• December 26-30: Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
• January 9 - January 31, 2015: Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup.
• January 16 - February 1: Cricket one-day international tri series, Australia, India and England.
• January 17-25: Tour Down Under cycling classic, Adelaide and South Australia.
• January 19 - February 1: Australian Open grand slam tennis, Melbourne.
• February 14 - March 29: ICC World Cup.
• March 12-15: Australian Grand Prix Formula One, Melbourne.

Every year, between 1 December and 1 April, there are five million tickets on sale for sport and entertainment events across New South Wales, according to state government body Destination NSW. For the same period in 2014-2015, there are eight million tickets on sale.

"That's what happens when you add an Asian Cup and a World Cup to the calendar," says Asian Cup chief executive officer Michael Brown. "There's going to be a lot more people spending a lot more dollars."

Test Cricket

Australia's golden summer begins with the first of four Test cricket matches between Australia and India on 9 December. The fixtures were rescheduled to start later in the month because of the sudden death in late November of 25-year old Australian Test player Phillip Hughes.

Golf

The first Test now clashes with the Australian PGA golf event, while the Sydney to Hobart yacht race - which organisers claim is the largest spectator sporting event in the world - competes with the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

An estimated one million spectators will watch the start of the yacht race - about 300,000 of them from the water and another 700,000 lining Sydney's harbour and coastline, says chief executive officer of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Mark Woolf.

Economic Ipmact

The economic impact, however, is incalculable, says Mr Woolf, because it is a free spectator event.

"The metrics that come out of this race are enormous," he says. "It's not a stadium event. We don't have a captive audience. But there are tentacles everywhere.

"There's the investment of transporting and accommodating 118 boats and crew for the start. The crews bring their friends and families. Then there's provisioning and fuelling and self-catering for spectator picnics.

"Even the NSW town of Eden gets an economic lift. It's the last safe harbour for boats to refuel and restock before crossing Bass Strait. Once they reach Hobart the boats and crews have to get back to Sydney.

"Then there's the impact of those TV pictures of a perfect Sydney harbour beaming into Europe and America in the middle of winter on their Christmas night. It's hard to quantify the publicity and future tourism impact."

Asia Cup Soccer

As the Test cricket ends the Asian Cup kicks off on 9 January, with 16 teams playing 32 matches in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

According to Mr Brown, PricewaterhouseCoopers has said the event will pump A$225m into the economy. Asian Cup organisers target ticket sales of 500,000, with 50,000 international visitors expected to attend.

Three of Australia's top ten trading partners - China, Japan and South Korea - have qualified, which means hosting the Asia Cup is a unique tourism, trade and investment opportunity for the country and the region, he says.

"The Asian Cup is Asia's biggest sporting event and football is the biggest team sport and the most popular sport in Asia," Mr Brown says. "In Asia, football outstrips cricket as a sport."

Tourism Tsunami

But the Asian Cup will also have to compete for spectators and TV audiences with the Tour Down Under cycling classic in South Australia and the Australian Open grand slam tennis tournament in Melbourne.

ICC World Cup Cricket

Then, the biggest sporting event of the summer begins on 14 February. More than one million people are expected to attend 49 one-day matches featuring 14 teams playing in the ICC World Cup at venues in Australia and New Zealand.

ICC World Cup chief executive officer John Harnden says 500,000 tickets have already been sold and tens of thousands of international spectators are expected to attend, creating a tourism tsunami between the two countries.

"There will be a lot of travel between Australia and New Zealand, and then India, the UK and the US are the three primary points of origin (for spectators)," says Mr Harnden.

"It is a great opportunity to showcase ourselves to the world and benefit from that great word of mouth from all those tens of thousands of tourists saying what a great time they had. If the Australian and New Zealand teams do well, that will be an even bigger bonus."

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One Direction On the Road Again Australian tour 2015

Much to the excitement of teenage girls, the world's biggest boy band One Direction have announced they are heading back to Australia next year as part of their On the Road Again tour.

It's just seven months since Liam, Niall, Harry, Zayn and Louis toured Australia, but they are now lining up to play shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth next year. The band sold all 190,000 tickets for 18 shows across Australia and New Zealand for the Take Me Home at the end of last year.

"Our Australian fans have been there for us since day one, and we always have such a great time there," Liam Payne said.

"We'll see you all in February next year!"

The band are currently travelling with their mammoth Where We Are Tour which has just visited South America and will hit Europe and the US this year. Sydney boy band 5 Seconds of Summer are supporting.

Since the band were put together by Simon Cowell in 2010, they have been an unstoppable force around the globe, amassing a $US100 million fortune along the way, according to estimates.

Get your tickets from the official Ticket master website: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/One-Direction-tickets/artist/1645840

On the Road Again 2015 Australian tour dates:
February 7:   Sydney, Allianz Stadium
February 11: Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium
February 14: Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
February 17: Adelaide, AAMI Stadium
February 20: Perth, Patersons Stadium

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/one-direction-heading-back-to-australia-for-2015-tour-20140519-zrgor.html



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• Metro Hotel Perth

Tourism Set to Cash In On Big Summer For International Sport

An unprecedented summer of international sport is set to boost Canberra's tourist numbers after a major decline in business stays and spending in the past year.

With seven Asian Cup football games including a quarter final, three cricket World Cup games and an extra one day International in November, Canberra's tourism boss expected locals to be joined by a mass of regional and international visitors for the sporting feast.

VisitCanberra director Ian Hill said it would be the strongest summer of sport the city had enjoyed. 

"Two absolutely world class events, and I certainly know tickets for those cricket World Cup games have been selling really well."

The National Visitor Survey released last month showed visitor nights were down 790,000 in the domestic business sector for the year to June, a drop of 37.5 per cent. Overall domestic nights were down 16.4 per cent and expenditure down 11.4 per cent, or $14 million. 

International visitor nights also fell 12 per cent, or 570,000 nights, in the same period, with expenditure down 6 per cent.

Mr Hill said the tourism authority was working closely with hoteliers and organisations elsewhere to help them package and promote events.  

"One of those [Asian Cup] games is a China [vs] Korea game; China don't play in Sydney and there's a big group of Chinese background people who live in Sydney, so we're working with some of the multicultural media in Sydney," he said. 

The tourism chief said the key to maximising the windfall for Canberra was ensuring visitors saw other attractions  during their stay, and a rejuvenated cultural and hotel scene would help.

"Places like Braddon are important, Lonsdale Street Roasters is an important place, New Acton, and with new hotels like Hotel Hotel, Peppers has just rebranded, we've seen QT do a fit out at Rydges, the Kurrajong is about to reopen after being refitted – a great location for visitors in the Parliamentary Triangle. I think visitors are seeing a new side of Canberra," Mr Hill said. 

Mr Hill said stories on last week's OECD finding that Canberra was the world's best city to live in,  trumpeted in the New York Times and elsewhere, helped spread the word. 

The Australian Hotels Association ACT recently told ABC TV that occupancy rates were at about 65 per cent, down from the same time last year, but investment was strong, with another 500-600 hotel rooms available by mid-next year. 

Mariah Carey "The Elusive Chanteuse” Tour

On the heels of the most critically acclaimed album of her career, ‘Me. I am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse,’ the best-selling female artist of all time, MARIAH CAREY, has confirmed Australian dates, extending her previously announced “The Elusive Chanteuse Show” world tour.

Live Nation are thrilled to announce that Nathaniel will be the support act on the Australian leg of Mariah Carey’s “The Elusive Chanteuse Show” world tour.

Mariah Carey will tour Australia in just over a month.

The five-time Grammy Award-winning songstress has extended her The Elusive Chanteuse Show world tour to include a national tour Down Under - her first in more than 15 years.

Fans in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney will have a chance to see Carey perform live, while she'll also do winery shows at A Day on the Green in the Yarra Valley and Mount Cotton, near Brisbane.

Carey’s set list will be an exciting mix of her biggest hits, fan-favourite album cuts, never-before-performed selections from her #1 R&B Album “Me. I am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse” and many more surprises! 

“I want to experience the spontaneity and emotion that I put into this album on stage with my fans,” says Carey. “I can’t stop writing songs so don’t be surprised if you hear a brand new song that I just wrote the night before the show in your city!”

Carey last visited Australia for three east coast shows in January 2013.

But the highest-selling female artist of all time hasn't performed a national tour since her Butterfly world tour in 1998.

Last year, the 44-year-old was joined in Australia by her toddler twins Monroe and Moroccan and her actor and comedian husband Nick Cannon.

The couple, who married in 2008, recently split.

Carey will kick off her world tour in Japan on October 4. No further dates have been announced after the Australian leg.

"I want to experience the spontaneity and emotion that I put into this album on stage with my fans," Carey said of the tour in a statement released on Thursday.

"I can't stop writing songs so don't be surprised if you hear a brand new song that I just wrote the night before the show in your city."

Carey's latest album Me. I Am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse has been a critical success, but sales since its release in May have been unspectacular.

Tickets for all shows go on sale on September 26 at 9am (AEST).

MARIAH CAREY AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES:

November 2 - Sandalford Estate, Perth

November 5 - Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

November 7 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

November 8 - Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley (A Day on the Green)

November 10 - Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney

November 16 - Sirromet Wines, Mount Cotton, Brisbane (A Day on the Green)

Mariah Carey is a true music icon and the best-selling female artist of all time, with more than 220 million albums sold to date and 18 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles (17 self-penned), including 'Fantasy', 'Always Be My Baby', 'Hero', 'Touch My Body', 'One Sweet Day', and 'We Belong Together' - more than any solo artist in history.

With her distinct five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting, and producing talent, Mariah has redefined the modern pop performance. As a singer/songwriter/producer, she has been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, 21 American Music Awards, Billboard's “Artist of the Decade” Award, the World Music Award for “World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium,” and BMI's “Icon Award” for her outstanding achievements in songwriting, to name a

Mariah Carey's ongoing impact transcends the music industry to leave an indelible imprint upon the world at large. She has made substantial marks in film with critically acclaimed roles in Precious (2009) and also in Lee Daniel’s The Butler (2013).

A Congressional Award recipient, Mariah has generously donated her time and energy to a range of philanthropic causes near to her heart including Save the Music, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, World Hunger Relief, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, among many others.

A tremendous supporter of children’s charities, both domestic and international, Mariah founded Camp Mariah in partnership with the Fresh Air Fund, a retreat for inner city children to explore career development.

Prices:

• Diamond - $299.90
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• Gold - $199.90
• Silver - $159.90
• Bronze - $99.90

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AFL Grand Final 2014: These Are The Games Won Between the Ears

AFL grand final 2014: These are the games won between the ears

Grand finals aren't always won by the best players, the strongest, quickest or the most skillful. They're won by those with the strongest minds.

Being able to perform on one of the biggest stages in world sport takes extraordinary mettle and not every player - no matter how good he may have been during the regular season - is capable of dealing with the pressure.

It's why clubs and coaches do everything in their power to maintain routine in the lead-up to the match. They plan the same way, put their players through the same training drills and reinforce the little things that have got them there. 

Yet nothing is normal. You can't help but notice the increased presence of cameras around you and the extra fans at training. There's wall-to-wall coverage of the match from almost every media outlet in the country, with the grand final parade offering yet another excuse for a bad night's sleep before the big game.

Indeed, grand finals are a melting pot of emotions, and if you can't get a handle on the excitement, anxiety and probable fear that you'll experience before the first bounce, then you may struggle.

While statistics largely go out the window in games like these, there are three key measures that have consistently gauged the outcome of recent grand finals - inside 50s, the effectiveness of kicks inside 50 and accuracy in front of goal.

2012 AFL Grand Final Statistics

Inside 50s: Excluding last year, the number of inside 50s has heavily favoured the losing team in five of the last six grand finals and also Collingwood in the drawn grand final of 2010. Put simply, losing teams consistently won the ball and got it forward, but butchered their chances. 

Effectives of kicks inside 50: In the same grand finals, only two teams recorded a better marking percentage from kicks inside 50 on grand final day compared to their season average. Again, it's a reflection of poor decision-making.

Playing under pressure shouldn't mean you lose your composure, but recent grand finalists have seemed intent on just bombing the ball forward, giving their intended targets little or no chance of marking the ball.

Accuracy: This doesn't need much explanation. Poor kicking in front of the sticks cost Geelong in 2008, St Kilda in 2009, Hawthorn in 2012, Fremantle in 2013, while Collingwood got lucky in 2010. I know first-hand how painful losing a grand final can be because of poor kicking. We (North) lost to the Crows in '98 because we missed so many shots in the first half. I'd much prefer to lose a game by being beaten by a better side, rather than blowing it due to basic skill errors.

As a collective, what these numbers reinforce is that players not only struggle to contain their nerves on grand final day, but they also panic. Sure, the pressure of a grand final is like no other, but should that translate into players making poor decisions?

Teams make the grand final because they usually possess some of the coolest heads in the land. Whoever best retains that composure for the big dance will go a long way towards helping their team win.

As an example, take a look at the last time these sides met in a grand final, in 2012. It's fair to say that the Hawks dominated most of the game. They went inside 50 on 51 occasions compared to the Swans' 38 times, but when Sydney got its chances, it made the most of them. Its accuracy in front of goal (70 per cent) was better that its season average (63) which was staggering. Composure won that flag for Sydney.

Fast forward to Saturday and I'm not sure we'll see the same result. Earlier this year, I suggested Sydney and Hawthorn had become clones of one another from that 2012 season and I'd argue that the Hawks - like the Swans of 2012 - are the best "team" entering this year's grand final.

The willingness of every Hawthorn player to give 100 per cent, all the time, is what has given it an edge this season, whereas I wonder if Sydney - like the Hawks of '12 - have become too reliant on too few. 

There's been endless talk about Buddy and the sub-plot he has given this match and there is no doubt he will play a key role in the outcome.

Buddy has been the beacon for Sydney and its No. 1 target and easily its greatest strength, but just like the Hawks of 2012, if he misfires it could be the Swans' downfall. 

Forming the other half of Sydney's new dynamic duo is Kurt Tippett. There's no doubt he and Buddy have gelled well in recent weeks, yet Tippett can also spray his kicks. He'll be looking to snag one early to boost his confidence. 

The question is, have the Swans enough firepower to match the Hawks' abundant number of goalkickers? Though equally, will the likes of Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead be able to hold their nerve and convert their chances? 

Of course, any forward who takes to the MCG will be heavily reliant on his teammates up the ground delivering the ball, lace out. To that end - and getting back to my earlier point about composure - it's another reason why I believe Hawthorn can win. 

The other part of that equation, as I highlighted last week, is that Sydney under Hawthorn-type pressure has been susceptible to making skill errors by foot. 

And then there's the issue of the Hawks playing Cyril Rioli. We all know what Rioli is capable of and he doesn't need to be on the ground for long periods to do the damage.

Rioli has to start the match, either on the ground or on the bench. Making him the starting substitute would be too risky should he break down. It would leave the Hawks one man down, and in today's game, that's a huge disadvantage.

Whichever way you look at it, this grand final is shaping up to be a titanic struggle. The burning question is, can a team of champions beat a champion team?

Australian airports turf war looms in battle for big-spending Chinese tourists

Signs at Shanghai airport. Brisbane Airport is adding Mandarin translations to its signage in a bid to lure more big-spending Chinese tourists. Picture: AFP

A TURF war is brewing among Australian airports over the fastest growing tourist market in the world.

With Chinese visitors to Australia expected to bring more than $13 billion into the country by 2020, airports are going to extremes to accommodate the big spending tourists and business people.

Brisbane this week became the second airport to sign a memorandum of understanding with a major Chinese airport, following on from Melbourne’s deal with Chengdu in 2012.

The Brisbane Airport Corporation has teamed up with Shanghai in the hope of stitching up direct flights from China Eastern Airlines and other Chinese carriers that currently give the Queensland capital a miss.

To sweeten the deal, Brisbane International Airport will add Mandarin translations to signage, upgrade retail spaces and provide culturally appropriate food and beverage choices.

The airport’s website will also be available in Chinese, and “special services” will be provided for Asian arrivals to smooth their arrival.

The moves mirror those already undertaken by Sydney and Melbourne airports, which appear to have got the jump on the booming Chinese tourist market.

Figures from Tourism Research Australia show just 13 per cent of visitors from Shanghai made it to Brisbane in June, compared with 65 per cent who visited Sydney, and 53 per cent who called on Melbourne.

Even Cairns and the Gold Coast both attracted 24 per cent of the Shanghai market — the largest source of inbound tourists from China.

By 2020, Chinese visitors are expected to top the one million mark Australia-wide, and pump as much as $13 billion a year into the national economy.

Brisbane Airport Corporation general manager of airline and retail management Andrew Brodie said the airport wanted to position itself to take advantage of that growth by securing more direct flights from China.

“China Eastern (the major carrier out of Shanghai) is obviously a priority for Brisbane Airport, not only from a tourism perspective but from a business connectivity perspective,” Mr Brodie said.

“Shanghai is the finance capital of China and over the course of the next five to 10 years, Brisbane Airport wants to be the gateway into Australia so it’s important we build the relationships early.”

Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said it was great to see Brisbane Airport proactively targeting the Chinese market.

“The deal with Shanghai is further evidence of Brisbane’s growing importance as a key international gateway to Australia,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/travel/travel-news/australian-airports-turf-war-looms-in-battle-for-bigspending-chinese-tourists/story-fnjjv9zm-1227060621083#social-comments

Perth V8 Supercar fans get more on-track action in next year’s schedule

Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander and the rest of V8s field will return to WA in 2015. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

PERTH will host the fifth round of next year’s V8 Supercars championship from April 17-19 at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo.

The Perth event will feature two SuperSprint races on the Saturday and a 200km Sunday race.

The Perth SuperSprint will be one of eight races in this format across the championship and will include 120 minutes of Friday practice to incorporate team testing, meaning the fans get to see more on-track action.

A V8 Supercars statement today said the refined formats had the goals of maximum attack and multiple race winners.

“Building on a season where all manufacturers and multiple winners featured, V8 Supercars has made minor modifications to formats which include two signature events returning to their customary race distance,” the press release stated.

The Castrol Townsville 400 returns to its original 200km race format each day. The Clipsal 500 Adelaide and Sydney 500 at Sydney Olympic Park retain the 2x125km Saturday format, as daytime races.

The ITM 500 Auckland has returned to its traditional November date as a SuperSprint event.

The New Zealand event moves into a critical stage of the Championship immediately following the Pirtek Enduro Cup, into a clear sporting space and an ideal weather period.

The sharp Saturday sprint races are designed to encourage drivers to attack by alleviating the need to be conservative while trying to maintain tyre life.

“Our research shows that the existing formats have been highly successful,” V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton said.

“The emphasis was on improving the racing product, and giving drivers the opportunity to attack at all times without external factors preventing them from being aggressive.”

Each SuperSprint event will include 120 minutes of Friday practice to incorporate team testing. Teams will be able to test at these eight SuperSprint events with one discretionary private test.

“It made sense that instead of testing away from the fans to combine Friday practice and allow teams the ability to adopt testing procedures as required,” Warburton said.

“That achieves two key objectives: more V8 Supercars on track for the fans and reducing the high costs to teams of testing away from race meetings.”

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/motor-sport/perth-v8-supercar-fans-get-more-ontrack-action-in-next-years-schedule/story-fnhq61x5-1227056900296?nk=0b37bee270a89676325370d660377fa0