When Macrossan House Boutique Holiday Apartments manager Trevor Hurst started to notice a higher than normal number of British guests arriving at his accommodation, he found a common connection which took him by surprise.

The 16 apartment building had been singled-out for special mention in the February 2012 edition of the hugely popular Sunday Times 'Travel' magazine.

"What happened was we had a guest turn up and tell us they found us in the Sunday Times. We took that with a grain of salt as it sounded a bit odd," Mr Hurst said.

"Then another one turned up and said the same thing. Then a third one turned up and had the magazine."

The magazine itself is circulated to over 67,000 subscribers and contained an Australian travel feature which included the Great Barrier Reef.

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"We've had six people so far that we know come directly out of there (Travel magazine). We've always had a strong UK market anyway, but this is only making it stronger.

"That only came out this month so in this short couple of weeks we're getting that sort of hit. We're only a small complex so that's huge to us," Mr Hurst said.

Mr Hurst said he still has no idea how Macrossan House came to be mentioned in the feature, which promoted Port Douglas above Cairns as the preferred place to visit the Great Barrier Reef.

"Cairns markets itself as the Gateway to the Reef, but Port Douglas, 65km north, is less crowded, and offers better value," it said.

Calypso was also mentioned as a recommended snorkelling experience.