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As Tourism Australia’s global ambassador, Byron-Bay based actor Chris Hemsworth, will lead tourism buffs in New York through a virtual tour to showcase the Land Down Under’s best qualities.
Byron Bay will feature, along with other less well known Aussie tourist destinations like the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.
Chris signed on as Australia’s ambassador in January of last year, launching the country’s popular coastal and aquatic campaign.
Now he’s back for a private “virtual tour” of Australia at an event tonight Jan 23, ahead of Australia Day on Thursday.
Mr Hemsworth will talk about his ambassador role during the event, including some of his journeys around the country with his family.
“It’s a great honour to play a role in promoting my country to the rest of the world,” he said.
The event’s invited guests include VIPs Naomi Watts, Deborra-Lee Furness and Rebecca Breeds, along with Federal tourism minister Steve Ciobo.
Australia is seeing record visits by Americans. Arrivals from the US have crossed the 700,000 mark, reaching 705,000 in the past 12 months, up 18.3 percent.
Australian actor Rachel Griffiths will MC the event, and other celebrities including Baz Luhrmann and Sullivan Stapleton are expected to attend.
Currently the US is Australia’s fourth largest inbound market for visitor arrivals, with American tourists spending $3.75 billion in the country during 2016.