Founded as a British colony in 1788, Sydney is the largest city in Australia. With a population of 4.5 million, it is one of the most popular places on the earth for immigrants. The latest census revealed that immigrants account for three-quarters of Sydney's annual population growth.
Sydney is also the most visited city on the continent. Each year, it welcomes over 11 million guests, three million of whom are international visitors. As an English-speaking country, Australia has long been popular destination for tourists from the UK.
For obvious reasons, trips to Sydney are extremely expensive. Not only is the airfare quite costly, but the city itself is expensive. According to a recent cost of living survey, Sydney is the one of the twenty most expensive cities on earth. As you might expect, international bookings for hotels in Sydney declined during the recession.
The final numbers were officially cringe-worthy. UK arrivals fell by about a third in the second half of 2009. And even when guests did come to Sydney, they booked shorter trips and chose more affordable accommodations. As the largest city in Australia, Sydney has its fair share of economical hotels.
As the UK economy continues to recover, industry insiders have predicted a modest increase in arrival from the UK in the second half of 2010. Much of this optimism is tied to the recent strength of the Sterling pound and the fact that UK residents tend to travel more when it is on the rise.