Expect More Aussie Tourists in the U.S.

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Seven years ago, the Aussie dollar barely scraped past 48 cents against the US dollar. It meant holidays to America were firmly filed into the "I wish" category for many Australians, and those already holidaying in the US had to rethink their travel plans.

Fairfax reporter, Danielle Teutsch, remembers:

"I well remember the cuts I had to make to my travel budget that year and, as a result of them, stayed in a New York hotel room that wasn't fit for a cockroach."

But now the Aussie dollar is well on it's way to reaching parity with the US, many Australians are starting to dust off their US travel plans and take advantage of our strong dollar.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that around 550,000 Aussies visited the US last year, and Mark Sheehan, of the Visit USA committee in Australia, is expecting a dramatic increase in the next year.

"We are expecting to smash records; that another 100,000 people should be headed there this year," he said.

In addition to the rising dollar, Australia and the US signed an open-skies agreement back in February, this year. This means Australians will have greater options on who they fly with and - with competition between airlines being so strong - it will mean cheaper flights as well.

Already one airline, V Australia, has offered return flights to the US for only $999, which were naturally snatched up in record time. US based airlines taping into the trans-Pacific route will mean prices may drop even further.

As an Australian preparing to visit Canada and the US in August, this news has me very bloody excited indeed!