Australians are heading abroad in record numbers with departures up 14.6% in the year to October according the the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF).

Cheap airfares and the strong dollar are making overseas travel more accessible to Australians, over 7 million of whom took the opportunity to pack their passports in that period.

However, it is anticipated that airfares will increase in 2011 by as much as 10%. At the same time it is reported that arrivals to Australia increased by around 5%.

The tourism industry in Australia is now pinning its hopes on on the effect of two giants, China and Oprah, to drive growth into the future.

The emergence of China as a major tourism market has prompted Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Queensland to host a seminar at Hilton Cairns today advising operators on how to prepare their business to take advantage of the predicted growth.

It is anticipated that China will be the world's fourth largest source of outbound tourists by 2020 with 100 million overseas visits, while they currently rank fourth as the world's top spenders in international tourism.

And then there's the Oprah factor.

While many of us have reached saturation point when it comes to the megastar, Tourism Australia are keen to take advantage of this 'Oprahtunity'. And they will need to with tourism authorities having spent an estimated $5 million on her Ultimate Australian Tour. 

With her TV show filmed at the Sydney Opera House yesterday and due to be aired in January, her worldwide audience will be exposed to what one observer said is "the greatest sales person in the world."

In the meantime, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, has said to discard efforts to promote Australia as a modern and sophisticated country, and focus on what makes us unique.

"Obviously we have a different understanding of ourselves, we have an understanding of ourselves as a nation and who we are and how we'd like the world to see us, and a lot of that is pride and the fact we are unique in a lot of ways," she told news.com.au.

"Part of the reason people come to Australia is to see koalas and kangaroos ... no matter why they come, when they get here they discover everything else that is here."