Thor star Chris Hemsworth to be face of Australian tourism

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth who achieved his fame by starring in Hollywood blockbuster Thor, has become the face of his home country's tourism, Minister for Tourism and International Education Richard Colbeck said on Friday.

Hemsworth has been named "Global Ambassador" for Tourism Australia's upcoming aquatic and coastal marketing push, the latest instalment of the Australia's global campaign of "There's nothing like Australia."

"This is a huge win for Australian tourism and will help promote Australia internationally, particularly in the USA where the campaign will premiere in New York later this month," Colbeck said in a press release.

Australia has more than 30,000 kilometres of coastline and also is rich in pristine natural waterways, offering international visitors with many choices of aquatic and coastal experiences.

"To have a high profile Australian actor such as Chris Hemsworth help share this message with the world is great news for Australian tourism, especially in USA which is now worth more than 3.1 billion AU dollars (2.14 billion U.S. dollars) annually to our economy," the minister said.

The United States is currently Australia's fourth largest source market for international visitors, with more than 595,000 Americans travelling to Australia in the past year ending November 2015.

With new aviation capacity between Australia and the U.S. coming online, the upward trend is expected to continue. Endit