Fans spent £18m on Lions tour

Lions fans spent £18m in Australia during the five week rugby tour, it was reported today.

Pubs and hotels enjoyed record takings during the country’s biggest foreign invasion since last summer’s Sydney Olympics.

About 17,000 Lions’ fans painted Australia red during the 10-match tour which took them to Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

Richard Mulcahy, executive director of the Australian Hotels’ Association, said it had been a huge boost for business.

‘‘Our conservative estimate is that, since arriving last month, the Lions’ supporters have spent around 50 million Australian dollars (£18m), not including internal flights,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s of long-term benefit to a lot of people and the supporters are getting terrific value as well.’’

He praised the Lions’ fans as ‘‘model tourists’’ who had passionately supported their team without causing trouble.

But the supporters were left disappointed when the Lions lost the third test decider against the Wallabies 29 - 23 last night in front of an 84,000 crowd at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.