Tour operators misleading Chinese tourists with fake University of Sydney claim

Australia’s oldest university is going through a bit of a tourism boom at the moment, and it’s all due to a case of fake claims being made by tour operators.

According to SBS News, several Chinese websites are claiming the Harry Potter blockbuster films were actually shot at the University of Sydney in an effort to attract tourists.

However, while the university’s Camperdown campus looks a lot like Hogwarts, the scenes featuring Harry Potter’s school were actually filmed at Durham Cathedral in the UK.

This means that tour operators promoting these fake claims could be in breach of Australian consumer law, expert Sarah Butler told SBS.

Dr Jamie Fraser, senior curator of the Nicholson Museum, which is situated on the University of Sydney’s grounds, told SBS he had witnessed a big increase in visiting tourists who were predominately Chinese.

One of the tour operators said it would rectify mistakes if there were any in its advertising when contacted by SBS, while a tour guide who was approached by the media outlet while showing a group around the university declined to comment.

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