Arranging five days of accommodation and entertainment for 5,500 military personnel may sound like a tall order, but it’s a regular mission for Western Australian company Military Tours Pty Ltd.
Arranging five days of accommodation and entertainment for 5,500 military personnel may sound like a tall order, but it’s a regular mission for Western Australian company Military Tours Pty Ltd.
The service men and women from the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz were in Fremantle last week for some R&R after a posting in the Persian Gulf.
Military Tours has provided morale, welfare and recreation services (MWR) to more than 1,000,000 US military personnel on 1,500 warships throughout 20 Australian ports and exercise locations since it was founded in 1983.
The company was initially contracted to the Royal Australian Navy and the WA Department of Tourism, but has been under an exclusive contract to the US Government through the Department of Navy since 1994.
Military Tours managing director Colin Evans said each crew member of the USS Nimitz would inject anywhere from $250 to $400 a day into the local economy during the five-day visit. This represents an $8 million injection for the local tourism industry, including coach operators, hotels, retail outlets and restaurants.
“In Australia we have so many exceptional hotels, resorts, tours and activities for our visitors to experience – our job is to provide these tourism products and services to our clients, co-ordinating discounted sales between the US military and local businesses,” Mr Evans said.
“More than half of a ship’s crew takes part in accommodation and tours on offer through Military Tours. The Americans love Australia and they think the hospitality, services and facilities are outstanding.”
Military Tours collates accommodation and tour information and sends it to a vessel’s MWR officer, who in turn distributes to members of the crew.
Advance booking enables crew members to have their itinerary available when they disembark, ready to enjoy WA or other parts of Australia.
Military Tours also recently developed a partnership with Qantas – a leisure holiday itinerary website for current and retired US government and military personnel.
“In the first month the website received more than 5,000 hits; 1,500 itineraries were created and customers have started arriving in Australia from mainland USA, along with troops on rest and relaxation from Afghanistan and Iraq,” Mr Evans said.
Before Military Tours, Mr Evans owned Golden West Travel, which he sold in 1989.
Mr Evans is the major shareholder of Military Tours, which employs about 55 staff around Australia.
