Chapter 380: Chapter 325: The Rise of the Tourism Industry

Even though it has been over a month since the Olympic Games ended, officials from Australasia have been surprised to find that the number of foreign visitors traveling to all regions of Australasia has not decreased, but has even increased over time.

From the end of the Olympic Games at the end of July till the end of August, a period of more than a month, Australasia's customs have documented over 30,000 European tourists.

This signifies that currently within Australasia, there are several hundred thousand foreign tourists remaining.

Even if this is to some extent due to the efforts of the Propaganda Department recently, the increasing volume of tourists unavoidably has drawn the attention of the Australasian Government.

Keep in mind, intercontinental travel is still a very luxurious journey for most common people at present.

In the peak tourist season, the price for the most luxurious suite on a ship traveling across the Atlantic can even escalate to several hundred pounds.

The cost of the most ordinary single room on a cruise ship in the peak tourist season is also over fifty pounds, something that common people simply cannot afford.

It is precisely such extremely exorbitant travel costs that restrict people traveling in this era.

Aside from the European middle class, seemingly only high-ranking officials, the nobility, and capitalists can afford the expensive ship fare required to travel to various places around the world.

Of course, now there is a new form of travel in addition to ships, and that is by airship.

But for the European middle class, an airship is still an unreachable form of transportation.

The cost of airship tickets is still maintained at over a thousand pounds, a figure that is over twenty times the average income of the British – an exorbitantly high cost that most European commoners and the middle class can hardly imagine.

Gauging from the per capita income of the major European and American nations currently, the average American income is 346 US dollars (approximately 69.2 pounds, 138.4 Australian dollars), whilst the same period in Britain is only 244 US dollars (approximately 48.8 pounds, 97.6 Australian dollars).

In Germany it is 184 US dollars (approximately 36.8 pounds, 73.6 Australian dollars), in France it is 153 US dollars (30.6 pounds, 61.2 Australian dollars), and in Italy it is 108 US dollars (approximately 21.6 pounds, 43.2 Australian dollars).

Compared to these European nations, the per capita income in Australasia has already surpassed Italy, but there is still a significant gap between the older European powers and the United States.

Up to now, the average income in Australasia is about 49.7 Australian dollars, approximately 24.85 pounds, 124.25 US dollars.

If evaluated based on comprehensive power, Australasia should be part of the minor powers, following Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Russia, Austria, and approximately of the same strength as Italy, the Island nation.

Of course, the mainstream view in Europe right now is to regard Australasia as the eighth power.

The Island nation, having lost Britain's support, is universally recognized as a nation with relatively strong military power after the Eight Powers.

In reality, this is just the racism of Europeans at play. Theoretically, the comprehensive power displayed by Australasia might not surpass the Island nation.

But after all, Australasia is a genuine Western country, made up entirely of Caucasian populations. The European media and the nations would not mind paying respects and directly passing the Island nation, recognizing Australasia as the Eighth Power.

Moreover, Australasia is equally distant from Europe, so there is no need to worry about potential wars in Europe. This also made Australasia the second choice for immigration after the United States.

Massive immigration, coupled with a large number of foreign tourists, made Sydney, a city whose population already exceeded one million, even more crowded.

Under the adornment of many tourists, Sydney seemed to have become on par with the prosperous cities of Europe. Furthermore, the busy roads and numerous shops in Sydney made the city appear sufficiently modern.

One must admit that industrialization and technology have brought massive changes to humanity. Western countries, by virtue of their colonial exploitation globally, have already completely led the world in industrialization and technology.

Occasionally Arthur would be stunned looking at the streets of Sydney, as the city's current state is something that the East would only have been able to achieve nearly a hundred years later.

Products exuding a sense of modernity, such as cola, cars, bicycles, and traffic lights, were present all over Europe even before World War I.

Sydney has even established taxi companies and profitable parking lots to satisfy the need for vehicles and parking.

The development of the Benz Car Factory had reached an extremely large scale. The main factory in Australasia alone employed more than ten thousand workers, producing over a hundred thousand cars annually.

Nine years have passed since the initial sales of Benz cars. According to the collective sales results of several Benz car factories, it is estimated that by 1914 total sales would officially breach 4 million units.

As of the end of August 1912, Benz cars have sold over 3.16 million units in just over nine years, accounting for over 90% of the world's total car market.

Currently, the selling price of a Benz car has been reduced to 120 pounds, but the profit on each car is still more than 50 pounds.

Taking into account the sales revenue during the period of high car prices, these three million plus Benz cars have brought in a gross profit of nearly two hundred million pounds.

Of course, after deducting the shares of the British and German branches, as well as taxes and other expenses in various countries, the royal financial group's total income is only 107 million pounds.

The average annual income is just over ten million pounds, but this income is very stable, at least for the next ten years, the downward trend will not be too great.

It should be noted that the historic Model T created a sales record of 15 million units.

Although the launch of the Benz car was five years earlier than the Model T, the car's price was very low from the start and it has been continuously improved.

Arthur is confident that the Benz One will surpass the historical achievement of the Model T, creating a new car sale record for Australasia.

More importantly, currently in the stage of car market development, whoever can occupy a larger share of the car market will have more advantage in the future car upgrade process.

At this point, the Benz Car Factory, holding nearly 90% of the world's car market, is undoubtedly the world's leading car giant.

As long as this advantage can be maintained, the huge car market is enough to bring endless wealth to the Benz Car Factory and the royal financial group.

With the Benz Car Factory alone, Arthur could even become the world's richest king.

If you take into account the royal financial group, their wealth is incalculable.