Tourist spending in Australia has grown by a huge AU$5.8bn (US$4.2bn, €3.7bn, £3.3bn), or 6 per cent for the year to March, according to latest figures.

The reason for the uplift has been credited to a series of fictional trailers for the Crocodile Dundee movie franchise, featuring US comedy actor Danny McBride.

Tourism Australia was behind the adverts, which were part of an advertising campaign that was initially thought to be real and sparked fervour among viewers online. The board even went as far as airing one of the trailers during the NFL’s Super Bowl.

US visitor spending alone has increased by 4 per cent to AU$3.8bn (US$2.8bn, €2.4bn, £2.2bn) in the year, according to the International Visitor Survey – an annual survey conducted by tourism research board Tourism Research Australia. 494,000 Americans visited Australia, an 11 per cent jump.

Sydney was the most popular destination, with 4.1 million international visitors, while Tasmania saw a huge 91 per cent jump – to 300,000. International spending in Tasmania is up 107 per cent over the past five years.

Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo said: "We are targeting high-yielding tourists who are going to spend more in our hotels and shops and, importantly, get out into regional Australia to spend their money there too."