Los Angeles and San Francisco have been thrown into the spotlight in Australia with the Californian cities’ NFL teams travelling 12,900 kilometres to play their season opener Down Under.And they expect it will lure Aussies to “The Golden State”.“This is like the Super Bowl,” San Francisco Travel CEO Anna Marie Presutti told news.com.au while walking around the MCG on Wednesday night.The entire Yarra Park precinct is being fenced off and turned into an “NFL Stadium Campus” for only those with tickets to Friday’s big game – an act that doesn’t even happen for the AFL Grand Final. There will be food and beverage outlets, merchandise stores, entertainment, sponsor activations and fan activities.Over at Melbourne Park, there is a separate, ticketed, three-day NFL Kickoff Festival, and elsewhere across the city many hospitality venues have crafted NFL-themed menus and events.Obsessed with travel? Download our new app and never miss a headlineThe US tourism strategy is that Aussies will love the hype of the NFL in Melbourne and want to travel to see more American sports in the States, then stay and enjoy other attractions.While the US remains one of the most popular places for Aussies to visit, it has been a tough year with significantly less Australians travelling there than they used to.Los Angeles Tourism chief marketing officer Eileen Hanson said that after their Major League Baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, played the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo in March 2025, there was a huge boost to Japanese visitation.“Following that game, we’ve seen tremendous lift in the market for people coming to Los Angeles and going to a Dodgers game and also experiencing the city outside of that,” she said.Ms Presutti and Ms Hanson said now the NFL was pulling out all the stops for Australia with dance cams, cheerleaders and a halftime show from the Jonas Brothers. Performances at NFL games are usually reserved for special events like Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl.Entertainment is used as a key strategy to draw in and convert viewers and spectators who aren’t already fans of the sport.One thing first-timers need to knowFor the Aussies experiencing the NFL for the first time, Ms Presutti urges there is one tradition they need to learn, and that is the chant.San Francisco 49er fans yell “Bang! Bang! Niner Gang!”, while those rooting for the Los Angeles Rams need to know when someone yells “Whose House?”, the crowd must yell back, “Rams House!”.If you’ve got a hot dog in one hand and a beer or margarita in the other, you’re doing it right, the tourism leaders said.After seeing Aussies get around the FIFA World Cup in San Francisco in June, Ms Presutti has faith in us.“I never heard a roar of a crowd when a bar opened (like) when the Aussies were standing out front. We all turned around and we were like, ‘What are they cheering for?’ Because they opened the bar,” she laughed.Also, we’re nicknaming San Francisco wrongShortening names is part of the Aussie culture, but Ms Presutti warns you’ll get a funny look from San Franciscans if you call their city “San Fran”.If you try and make “Frisco” happen – “that is worse,” she says.Just like LA for Los Angeles, the actual nickname for the northern Californian city is simply “SF”.If you are booking a trip to visit, the CEO gave news.com.au her recommendation for a perfect day.“You can’t come here without taking a cable car, going into Chinatown, grabbing some dim sum, going down to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the sea lions, and then getting an Irish coffee at The Buena Vista,” she said.“And you’ve got to take in the Golden Gate Bridge, of course. I would tell you to ride a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, get a glass of wine once you get to the other side and take the ferry back.”In Los Angeles, Ms Hanson says you have to hike and get your picture in front of the Hollywood sign, and visit the locations of famous TV and movies across the city.“We have itineraries on our website on discoverlosangeles.com where it’ll lead you to all of those amazing places. The Hollywood theme runs through even to theme parks, going to Warner Bros. Studio Tour and getting the behind the scenes tour – that’s something that is so quintessential LA,” she said.If there is a concert on, both women agree you should take a picnic basket and sit under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl.“That is my personal favourite,” Ms Hanson said.Qantas launched a sale this week to every North American destination it flies to, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Dallas Fort Worth, Vancouver, and Las Vegas, which is a new route starting in December.Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said: “There has been a big build up to Friday’s game at the MCG and it is clear how quickly Australians have taken to the NFL, with a lot of people set to watch their first game this week.“The sale we have launched includes fares to Los Angeles and San Francisco on dates that line up with Rams and 49ers home games through to January, for the new fans who come out of Friday wanting to see another game and also for other major US sporting events.”The San Francisco 49ers chartered a Qantas A380 to get to Melbourne a week before the match, while the Los Angeles Rams surprisingly chartered a Qantas jet to touchdown only the day before their season opener.However, the Rams did travel to London last season, arriving the day before their game, and demolished the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7.CLICK HERE to vote for your favourite travel business and you could win one of 8 incredible travel prizes, worth over $45,000 in total!A boost for Melbourne tourismIt’s not just California expecting a tourism boost.This Friday is the first time an NFL regular season game has been played in Australia.Fans from more than 35 countries have bought tickets to the game and almost 50 per cent of spectators at the MCG are expected to be from interstate or overseas, according to the Victorian government.About 10 per cent of tickets to the game have been sold to an international audience.Qantas said it had seen bookings from the US to Australia rise 50 per cent year-on-year in the fortnight leading into the game. The airline said demand from New Zealand into Melbourne is also up more than 30 per cent during game week, with travel into Melbourne from all markets seeing an increase of more than 10 per cent over the same period.September is on track to be a record month for hotel demand in Melbourne with CBD hotel occupancy up 39 percentage points for the night of the game, according to data from analytics company CoStar.Flight Centre bookings to Melbourne have jumped 70 per cent year-on-year for September 9 to 11.Flight Centre global managing director Andrew Stark said this was a great example of how just one event can significantly influence travel demand.“It’s a good reminder for both travellers and the travel industry that events are becoming a pretty solid driver of trip planning, not just an add-on to a holiday that’s already happening,” he said.Expedia data showed domestic accommodation searches between March and August this year for Melbourne were up 90 per cent for stays during the event – compared to the same period last year.“While the MCG precinct will be at the centre of the action, we’re also seeing strong interest in neighbourhoods including Southbank, Docklands, Albert Park and Carlton as travellers seek a more local Melbourne experience,” Darren Karashagen, the travel company’s senior director of Australia, said.Mr Karashagen said Expedia flight searches from Canada were up 85 per cent, New Zealand up 55 per cent and the United States 50 per cent for travel to Melbourne this week.For those not in the city, Netflix’s global broadcast of the game will reach more than 200 countries.Visit Victoria chief executive Brendan McClements told news.com.au the US was a priority tourism market for the state and hosting Friday’s game was part of their strategic approach to secure an even greater market share.“Not only will tens of millions of people tune in to see the MCG on the world stage, but we will also be able to showcase the best of our state to the world,” he said.“We’re capitalising on this moment with an increased marketing presence in the United States, boosting our economy by enticing even more fans to visit and stay in our world-class hotels, dine at our restaurants, and enjoy our incredible wildlife and nature on offer.“This is an opportunity for people across the globe to see how Melbourne delivers a sporting event like no other destination, creating demand for future travel to our city and state more broadly.”Part of that marketing has been airing destination video content at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and promotion of the Australian NFL game in Hollywood Park.