Annual Reports

South Australia’s visitor economy continues to be significantly impacted by the ongoing and world-wide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This virus has and will continue to throw our industry curve balls and challenge us to do things differently. Each day I am inspired and in awe of our hardworking tourism operators who rise to these challenges and continue to innovate, pivot and pirouette as we adjust to the new COVID-normal.

But it has not been easy. Having experienced the most severe contraction of tourism on record, we’ve seen our $8.1 billion visitor economy decrease to $4.4 billion in the year to March 2021. The latest results for the June 2021 year end have seen expenditure recover to $5.8 billion, ahead of our original impact forecast of $4.9 billion. In fact, our model is now anticipating a recovery of the visitor economy to $6.3 billion by June 2022, as we pursue our ambitious 2030 target of $12.8 billion. The initial recovery has been led by strong growth in interstate expenditure over the last quarter and the record high intrastate expenditure in response to the easing of COVID-related travel restrictions. While positive, we could expect to see fluctuations in the data in the coming months and year due to the ever changing nature of this pandemic.

Nonetheless, it is clear South Australians are keen to do their bit for our economy by holidaying at home. There is also a huge opportunity to tap into a growing domestic market and challenge South Australians to redirect some of the $3.3 billion that was spent overseas in 2019 to tourism experiences here in our state.

Our focus over the past financial year has been on helping our visitor economy recover as quickly as possible so we can get back on track to reaching our 2030 goals.

To this end, we’ve delivered key initiatives to support our industry including the Great State Voucher program, focussed our marketing efforts on the intra and interstate markets, administered the $20 million Tourism Industry Development Fund and delivered three managed events in COVID-safe formats.

While it’s promising to see occupancy data for hotels showing strong recovery in the regions, assisted by the Great State Voucher program, there is more to be done. Adelaide hotels are yet to return to occupancy levels comparable to the pre-COVID period and we are working with industry and local government to activate our CBD by encouraging people to spend more time and money in the city.

As we chart our way out of the pandemic, we clearly understand that that the only way we can move out of restrictions and border closures is to significantly increase our national vaccination rates.

I would like to thank our state’s tourism industry and the State Government for continuing to work with us on this journey. Together we look forward to driving the recovery of our visitor economy and for the opportunity to make a difference to South Australia.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive | South Australian Tourism Commission

Our Purpose

Our role under the South Australian Tourism Commission Act 1993 is to assist in securing economic and social benefits for the people of South Australia through promoting the state as a tourism destination and further developing and improving the state’s tourism industry.

Our Vision

To grow the visitor economy in South Australia to $8.0 billion by December 2020 and boosting direct employment in tourism by 10,000 additional jobs.

The South Australian Visitor Economy Sector Plan 2030 sets a bold ambition to grow our visitor economy further to $12.8 billion, generating 16,000 additional jobs.

Our Values

Go Boldly - We thrive on taking risks and enjoy stepping outside our comfort zone.

Dig Deeper - We never settle for simply scratching the surface. We’re hungry for knowledge, fresh ideas and innovations.

Can Do - We believe there’s nothing we can’t do as a team.

Share The Love - We have a passion for excellence and exceeding expectations.

Our functions, objectives and deliverables

To help us achieve our vision, our work is guided by six strategic priorities, outlined in the South Australian Visitor Economy Sector Plan 2030:

• Marketing
• Experience and supply development
• Collaboration
• Industry capability
• Leisure and business events
• Promoting the value of tourism

Our organisational structure can be accessed on our corporate website, here.

During 2020-21 the following change to the agency’s structure and objectives was implemented as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes.

• Following the decision to cease staging the Superloop Adelaide 500, a restructure of the Events South Australia group occurred. The Events South Australia group restructure resulted in an increased focus on event acquisition and development.

The Hon Steven Marshall MP is the Premier of South Australia. He oversees Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Defence and Space Industries, Tourism, The Arts, Veterans' Affairs and Multicultural Affairs.

Rodney Harrex is the Chief Executive Officer, responsible for leading our agency to grow tourism in South Australia and increase the recognition of the value of tourism and its contribution to employment in our state.

Hitaf Rasheed is the Executive Director of Events South Australia, responsible for growing events in South Australia and attracting new events to the state to round out our events calendar. She also leads the management and delivery of the Santos Tour Down Under, Tasting Australia, National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant and Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Brent Hill is the Executive Director of Marketing, responsible for developing and delivering marketing activity that promotes all that South Australia has to offer. The current focus is on stimulating visitation post COVID-19 and keeping South Australia top of mind as a compelling and accessible holiday destination.

Stephanie Rozokos is the Chief Financial Officer, responsible for driving the financial, business services and cultural direction of the agency, leading the finance, contracts, procurement, risk management, human resources and information communications technology functions.

Nick Jones is the Executive Director, Destination Development, responsible for increasing accessibility to South Australia, attracting new hotel and infrastructure development, and regional tourism development.

South Australian Tourism Commission Act 1993
South Australian Motor Sport Act 1984
Major Events Act 2013

South Australia’s visitor economy continues to be significantly impacted by the ongoing and world-wide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. International travel bans, lockdowns and border closures across Australia have all taken a toll on our state’s tourism industry. Having not only realised but exceeded our 2020 target of growing South Australia’s visitor economy to its record $8.1 billion one year early in December 2019, 2020-21 has provided a stark contrast.

We have experienced the most severe contraction of tourism on record and seen our $8.1 billion visitor economy decrease to a low of $4.4 billion in the year to March 2021. The latest results for the June 2021 year end have seen expenditure recover to $5.8 billion, up on the post COVID low of $4.4 billion and ahead of our original impact forecast of $4.9 billion (see table below). Our model is now anticipating a recovery of the visitor economy to $6.3 billion by June 2022. The initial recovery has been led by strong growth in interstate expenditure over the last quarter and the record high intrastate expenditure in response to the easing of COVID-related travel restrictions. As mentioned earlier, these are positive trends early in the recovery
process – however due to the uncertainly of borders and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, our analysis suggests there are many variable months ahead – and a long way to go to get back to our pre-COVID record high.

To support our state’s tourism industry in the wake of the pandemic, during 2020-21, the SATC implemented three significant initiatives.

Great State Vouchers
Launching in October 2020, the Great State Voucher stimulus program provided consumers with a $100 voucher for participating CBD accommodation or $50 for regional and suburban accommodation. It proved very popular, with 50,000 vouchers snapped up in 90 minutes. A second accommodation round was made available in January 2021 and a third round, supporting experience and tour operators across the state went live in late April 2021. A fourth round, targeted to accommodation opened in May 2021 with the travel period running from 2 June to 31 August 2021. In total, these four rounds of the scheme have injected more than $60 million into our visitor economy, with 117,500 vouchers redeemed, giving the tourism industry a much-needed boost.

Tourism Industry Development Fund (TIDF)
The TIDF is a $20 million fund, designed to support and stimulate private sector investment in new and improved regional accommodation, and the development of quality tourism product and experiences. It aims to assist in the COVID recovery of regional tourism by encouraging regional operators to improve and diversify so they can attract more visitors and get a higher return on their offering. It opened for applications in September 2020, with the first successful projects announced in December 2020. As of 30 June 2021, a total of $8.3 million in grants had been allocated to 53 projects with a project value of over $31.6 million, creating almost 800 jobs.

COVID Awareness Training and COVID Marshal Training
In August 2020, the SATC supported SA Health to develop the COVID Marshal certification. The SATC had experience in this area, having worked with Health Safety Environment Australia to develop free COVID Awareness Training for the tourism industry in May 2020. The COVID Awareness Training ran for 12 months from May 2020 and ended in May 2021, in that time more than 9,800 participants completed the course. As of 21 August 2020, the COVID Marshal requirement came into effect for many South Australian businesses. The SA Health COVID Marshal training took participants through the fundamentals of infection and prevention control for COVID-19, as well as the roles and responsibilities of a COVID Marshal in South Australia.

The following includes a brief summary of the agency’s high level contributions to the Government’s objectives.

More jobs

Generate 16,000 additional jobs in the visitor economy by December 2030. Latest data shows employment reached 40,400 as of 2019-20. Since the South Australian Visitor Economy Sector Plan 2030 was released, 4,000 jobs have been created. The full impact of COVID-19 on employment will not be seen until we receive the 2020-21 State Tourism Satellite Accounts in June 2022.

Lower costs

The SATC provides services that benefit South Australian tourism operators through lowering costs associated with doing business. This includes:

Delivering the following Growth State Initiatives:

• • Tourism Infrastructure Development Fund – to support and stimulate private sector investment in new and improved regional accommodation, and the development of quality tourism product and experiences with a focus on the recovery of regional tourism post COVID-19.
  • Tourism Airline Support – Partnership with Adelaide Airport and Air New Zealand to operate flights between Adelaide and Auckland.
  • Marketing of South Australia – funding to increase marketing with the aim of boosting international and domestic visitors to the state.
    
    
• The SATC delivered four rounds of the Great State Voucher stimulus program, supporting accommodation, experiences, and tour operators both in the Adelaide CBD and regional South Australia.
• The SATC covers the listing fees for South Australian tourism operators who list their products through the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, a digital database and multi-channel distribution network for tourism data, industry products and destination information.
• The SATC’s marketing campaigns provide promotion opportunities for a range of operators across the state. This includes making footage captured available for operators and regions to use in their own marketing.
• Industry events and products are promoted through the SATC website and social media platforms, which are at a nil cost to the operator.
• Events South Australia provides sponsorship to leisure events throughout the year through its funding programs. This includes the Leisure Events Bid Fund and the Regional Events Fund.
• The SATC continues to seek opportunities to secure new major leisure events for South Australia to build the state’s event calendar.
• Eleven Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) continued to receive funding from the SATC to support their role as the key contact between the SATC and regional stakeholders and industry.

Better Services

Since 2016, the SATC has provided funding to the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia (TiCSA), the state’s peak body for tourism, to assist its industry capability building programs and to provide service excellence training to tourism operators on a range of topics such as social media basics and online distribution and customer relationships.

The SATC provided significant funding to assist in the running of the Visitor Economy Restart Conference.

The SATC provides support to industry through the provision of accurate, relevant, and concise research insights to assist industry in making informed business decisions, especially in relation to changed consumer behaviours post- COVID-19. It also works across key government agencies to provide timely advice and support to the sector.

The SATC’s key 2020 targets, outlined in the South Australian Tourism Plan 2020, were to grow the state’s visitor economy to $8 billion, creating another 10,000 direct tourism jobs to 41,000. Due to the unprecedented growth in tourism in the years leading up to 2020, the $8 billion target was achieved and exceeded one year early.

As of December 2019, the state’s visitor economy was worth a record $8.1 billion. Direct tourism employment was at 40,500, just shy of the 10,000 target.

The key focus areas to achieve these targets were Driving demand, Working better together, Supporting what we have, Using events to drive visitation and Increasing recognition of the value of tourism.

Looking ahead, the 2030 ambition is to grow the visitor economy to $12.8 billion, generating 16,000 additional jobs. To reach this bold vision, The South Australian Visitor Economy Sector Plan 2030 sets out six priority areas for industry development. They are Marketing (previously Driving demand), Experience and supply development (previously Working better together), Collaboration (previously Working better together), Industry capability (previously Supporting what we have), Leisure events (previously Using events to grow visitation) and Promoting the value of tourism (previously Increasing recognition of the value of tourism).

COVID-19 has led to the biggest contraction of tourism on record and this is reflected in the latest data which provides the full 12 month impact of the pandemic. As of June 2021, our state’s visitor economy is worth $5.8 billion. While this is in stark contrast to the record $8.1 billion visitor economy we enjoyed in 2019, it is ahead of our original impact forecast of $4.9 billion. In terms of tourism employment, the latest figures we have are for 2019-20, which show there were 40,400 people employed in the sector. We will not see the full effect of COVID-19 on employment until we receive the 2020-21 State Tourism Satellite Accounts in June 2022.

The SATC continued to administer a range of processes and practices in delivering its responsibilities under the South Australian Tourism Act 1993 and in adherence to government financial, procurement, contracting, human resources, ICT, governance, risk management and auditing requirements.

The SATC maintains a high level of financial control over its destination development, events and marketing operations to ensure accountability for government resources. The SATC ended the 2020-21 financial year in line with budget and met all savings targets required.

In 2020-21, the SATC continued to provide a safe working environment including a range of workplace measures to minimise the risk of COVID-19. These measures included new technologies, increased flexible working practices, appropriate hygiene measures and support for individual health and wellbeing. The SATC provided staff with a range of initiatives aimed at promoting physical and mental wellbeing.

Staff took part in the SATC’s annual staff engagement survey in December 2020. This survey provided an objective mechanism for assessing the cultural environment. Results from the survey were consistent and reported high levels of staff engagement, well above available industry benchmarks. Individual performance reviews were used to identify both organisational and individual learning and development needs and opportunities.

The SATC’s values are promoted within the organisation. The ‘Culture and Values’ working group aims to drive and influence the agency’s culture through staff engagement and implementation of initiatives which endorse the SATC values. In 2020-21, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to be a major focus from a staff health and wellbeing perspective.

SATC student placement program

The SATC works with local higher education providers to offer placements to students currently enrolled in courses related to tourism, marketing and events. In 2020-21, six student placements were supported.

Aboriginal employment strategy

In line with the deliverables of SATC’s first Reconciliation Action Plan, the SATC works across Government and with local higher education providers to promote employment opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates.

Skilling SA

The SATC supports one apprentice and is working with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment to engage another apprentice in our ICT team in the latter half of 2021.

Performance Employee Performance Management and Development Reviews
(Compliance measured via a custom-made online recording tool)

All employees are required to have individual performance management and development plans reviewed as a minimum on a biannual basis.

In 2020-21, 95 per cent of employees had a current performance review in place (the 5 per cent without plans include employees on periods of extended leave).

Employee Performance Management and Development Training

The SATC delivers in-house training to ensure employees have the knowledge required to complete biannual reviews.

All employees, with the exception of 11 new starters that have commenced since 1 June 2021, have attended training relating to SATC’s current performance management and development review process.

Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

A TNA is conducted using information captured within Employee Performance Management and Development Reviews. From this, individual and group learning and development activities are identified.

Work Health and Safety Briefings and Induction

All employees are required to attend a Work, Health and Safety briefing on joining the agency. Refreshers are delivered on a regular basis to ensure knowledge remains current.

Contractors engaged by the SATC to undertake work on its sites are provided with site specific inductions and where required, provided with safety specific Work, Health and Safety documentation and briefings.

Work Health and Safety Policies and Procedures

The SATC has a suite of policies and procedures which address Work, Health and Safety matters and outline safe working practices. Polices are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure they remain current.

Work, Health and Safety Management Plans are created for events and are reviewed yearly. All construction works conducted by the SATC are accompanied by the relevant Work, Health and Safety Management Plans as required by law, and regular inspections are conducted to ensure the requirements of the plans are carried out.

Work Health and Safety Training

The SATC has a specific Work, Health and Safety training needs analysis in place in order to identify required Work, Health and Safety training for individual roles. The SATC supports the appointment of two trained Bullying and Harassment Contact Officers.

Work Health and Safety Committee

The SATC’s Work, Health and Safety Committee meets four times annually. The Committee provides a forum for management and employees to discuss Work, Health and Safety matters and acts as the key Work, Health and Safety mechanism.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The SATC provides a free and confidential EAP to employees. The SATC’s EAP provider also delivers wellbeing sessions to employees on a biannual basis.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Initiatives
Human Resources and Work, Health and Safety teams work to deliver a calendar of initiatives aimed at promoting physical and mental wellbeing. The SATC’s Culture and Values Working Group provides a forum to drive and influence the agency’s culture through staff engagement and implementation of initiatives which focus on staff health and wellbeing.

*number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2 Division 5)

**before third party recovery

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/work-health-and-safety-and-return-to-work-performance-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission

Executive classification and number of executives

EXECOA - 1
EXECOB - 2
EXECOC - 1
EXECOE - 1

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/executive-employment-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission 

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a workforce information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.

The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.

Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each

The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the agency and the nature of work undertaken, where the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year was AUD $10,000 (or equivalent) or greater.

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/contractors-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission

The details of South Australian Government-awarded contracts for goods, services, and works are displayed on the SA Tenders and Contracts website. View the agency list of contracts.

The website also provides details of across government contracts. 

None to report.

Risk and audit at a glance

The Audit and Risk Committee assists the SATC Board in fulfilling its responsibilities relating to the annual financial statements as well as reviewing the adequacy of the SATC’s accounting and reporting systems, internal controls, risk management practices, and administrative policies and procedures. The Committee’s roles and responsibilities and scope are defined in its Terms of Reference.

The SATC is committed to ensuring that a risk management approach is applied to all business activities to ensure that the Agency maximises opportunities while not exposing the organisation to unacceptable levels of risk. The SATC aims to ensure that risk management is embedded in its decision-making, processes, and culture, and contributes to the achievement of its strategic objectives.

The SATC’s risk management practices are based on the International Risk Management Standard (ISO 31000:2018). In 2020-21 the SATC’s risk management framework was updated to reflect the new Risk Management Guide released by the South Australian Financing Authority (SAFA) and changes to the South Australian Government’s procurement processes which came into effect on 1 July 2021. The Framework provides minimum requirements and practical guidance to all staff on how to implement risk management processes across a wide range of activities undertaken by the SATC.

The SATC continued to manage its risks throughout the year by undertaking regular reviews of the risk register, developing detailed risk management plans for SATC managed events, and completing risk assessments for new projects and procurements.

The annual Business Continuity Plan test was undertaken in December 2020 and key learnings from this exercise were actioned and business continuity processes and documentation updated accordingly.

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

The SATC is committed to maintaining a work environment free of fraud and corrupt behaviour. The SATC has in place appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and policies, in line with its fraud risk assessment and Fraud and Corruption Policy. The SATC offers protection to genuine whistleblowers to enable disclosure of illegal activities or corruption to be made. These arrangements meet the specific needs of the SATC, and all reasonable measures to minimise the incidence of fraud, as well as to investigate and recover the proceeds of fraud, have been taken.

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/fraud-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission

Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018:

Nil

Data for the previous five years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/whistle-blowers-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission

Note: Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.

Act or regulation

South Australian Tourism Commission Act 1993

Requirement

(1) The Commission must, on or before 30 September in every year, forward to the Minister a report on the Commission's operations for the preceding financial year.
(2) The report must contain—
(a) the audited statements of account of the Commission for the preceding financial year; and
(b) a report on—
(i) the state of tourism and the tourism industry in the State; and
(ii) the Commission's plans and the extent to which they have been implemented; and
(iii) the extent to which the Commission met the targets set in the performance agreement for the preceding financial year; and
(c) any other information required by or under the provisions of this Act or any other Act.

(i) report on the state of tourism and the tourism industry in the state.

South Australia’s visitor economy continues to be significantly impacted by the ongoing and world-wide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. International travel bans, lockdowns and border closures across Australia have all taken a toll on our state’s tourism industry. Having not only realised but exceeded our 2020 target of growing South Australia’s visitor economy to its record $8.1 billion one year early in December 2019, 2020-21 has provided a stark contrast.

We have experienced the most severe contraction of tourism on record – with our $8.1 billion visitor economy decreasing to $4.4 billion in the year to March 2021. The latest results for the June 2021 year end have seen expenditure recover to $5.8 billion, ahead of our original impact forecast of $4.9 billion. Our model is now anticipating a recovery of the visitor economy to $6.3 billion by this time next year, as we pursue our ambitious 2030 target of $12.8 billion. The initial recovery has been led by strong growth in interstate expenditure over the last quarter and the record high intrastate expenditure in response to the easing of COVID-related travel restrictions. While positive, we could expect to see fluctuations in the data in the coming months and year due to the ever changing nature of the pandemic.

Nonetheless, South Australians are keen to do their bit for our economy by holidaying at home. There is also a huge opportunity to tap into a growing domestic market and challenge South Australians to redirect some of the $3.3 billion that was spent overseas in 2019 to tourism experiences here in our state.

Pre-COVID, our industry comprised 18,000 tourism businesses which employed 40,500 people. In terms of tourism employment, the most recent data we have is to 2019-20 which only takes into account four months of the impacts of COVID travel restrictions and reflects the job keeper program. Therefore, minimal impacts on tourism employment are reflected in the results. People employed directly in tourism in South Australia decreased 0.3 per cent to 40,400 in the year ending June 2020, compared to 2018-19. The full effect of the pandemic on tourism jobs will not be seen until we receive the 2020-21 State Tourism Satellite Accounts in June 2022.

Our focus over the past financial year has been on helping our visitor economy recover as quickly as possible so we can get back on track to reaching our 2030 goals.

Marketing

With international travel off the cards for the foreseeable future, the SATC redirected its international marketing budget to intrastate and interstate marketing. Two marketing campaigns ran in 2020-21, ‘A Great State To Be In’ and ‘For Those Who Want A Little More’. ‘A Great State To Be In’ ran throughout the year, promoting seasonally relevant products and destinations. Launched in May 2021, ‘For Those Who Want A Little More’ promoted South Australia’s unique products and experiences. Both campaigns were supported with PR activity.

The Great State Voucher initiative, launched in October 2020, has been an important stimulus for our state’s tourism industry. Designed to get consumers booking accommodation and experiences in Adelaide and the regions, the first four rounds of the scheme have injected $64.7 million into our state’s visitor economy. The vouchers have proved popular with consumers, the first two rounds were snapped up in 90 minutes and 39 minutes respectively. A ballot system for voucher allocation was set up for rounds three and four to ensure a fair and equitable distribution.

Data from STR, an accommodation data aggregator, shows ongoing strong recovery in hotel occupancy assisted by the Great State Voucher program. The latest available data for regional hotel occupancy for June 2021 shows occupancy at 59 per cent, the seventh consecutive month where regional South Australia has achieved a record individual monthly result. Adelaide hotels were operating at an average of 19 per cent occupancy for the month of April 2020, recovering to 56 per cent for October 2020 when the first ‘Great State Voucher’ program came into market. During 2021 we continued to see ongoing recovery, driven by the second round of the ‘Great State Voucher’ program, with January reaching 64 per cent occupancy, February 63 per cent, March coming in at a post-COVID record high of 72 per cent and April 70 per cent. While encouraging, Adelaide has yet to return to activity levels comparable to the pre-COVID period.

‘A Year of SA Wine’ campaign, which was launched in January 2021, will continue to run throughout the calendar year, encouraging South Australians to travel to wine regions and experience wine festivals and events. The campaign is aimed at driving additional visitation, generating economic benefit through new expenditure, supporting local businesses and job creation.

In response to the opening of the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia in April 2021, the SATC launched the ‘Hey New Zealand’ campaign promoting South Australia’s landscapes and wide-open spaces, its food and wine offerings and Adelaide as the gateway. The campaign included a television commercial, digital and social advertisements aimed at driving awareness of Adelaide and South Australia as a holiday destination of choice and Air New Zealand’s direct Auckland to Adelaide flights. The campaign has seen nearly 27,000 New Zealanders visit southaustralia.com, with 2,209 ATDW and partner leads from 25 April 2021 to 30 June 2021.

Events South Australia

The events landscape has undergone significant change and 2020-21 has seen the industry ‘pivot’, ‘pirouette’ and ‘re-imagine’ the way things are done so the show can go on. During this time, the SATC delivered three of its managed events in COVIDsafe formats. They were:

• 14 November 2020: National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant, staged as a twilight arena spectacular at Adelaide Oval. The event ticketing was fully allocated, attracting more than 20,000 people. It was broadcast exclusively on Nine and 9Now with the audience peaking at 168,000 viewers, making it the highest viewed show on television in South Australia outside of the AFL Grand Final in 2020.
• 19-24 January 2021: Santos Festival of Cycling (Santos Tour Down Under replacement event). A domestic cycling event aimed at supporting the sport, showcasing six different cycling disciplines (road, track, BMX, mountain bike, cyclo-cross and para-cycling). The event attracted 500 elite athletes and showcased our state through the Seven network and 7Plus streaming platform. It achieved an audience of more than 3.7 million and a total PR value of more than $71 million.
• 30 April-9 May 2021: Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel saw 54,000 people across the 10-day festival visit the COVID-safe Town Square in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga and more than 90 events sold out across Adelaide and regional South Australia. It achieved a PR value of more than $25 million through national and local media coverage.

The other SATC managed event, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, will not go ahead in its traditional format in October 2021. This is due to the complexities of international border closures for an event that would need to bring in around 630 international participants. Instead, a virtual program, featuring a telemetry challenge and forums will take place between September and October. The SATC remains
steadfastly committed to the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge – a biennial event next scheduled to take place in October 2023.

As announced in October 2020, the Superloop Adelaide 500 did not go ahead in 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19 on one of the biggest event-builds in the state and the inability to recoup costs in a pandemic. The SATC also decided it would not seek a new sanction agreement beyond 2021.

The funds previously allocated to the Superloop Adelaide 500 have been transferred into the SATC’s Leisure Events Bid Fund from 2021-22 onwards. The additional funds will be used to secure and support a mix of ongoing and one-off events to drive visitation and economic benefit for South Australia and to promote South Australia as a tourism destination. In 2020-21 the funds were allocated to activities to stimulate the
visitor economy and drive activity into the CBD and regional South Australia, including the Great State Voucher program.

In 2020-21 the Leisure Events Bid Fund secured a range of events including:

• 2020 Repco Supersprint (19 to 20 September) and the 2020 OTR Supersprint (26 to 27 September) were held at The Bend Motorsport Park.
• A Day at the Drive and the Adelaide International WTA 500 (tennis events). Collectively these events attracted 23,543 fans and were broadcast globally across 32 networks in over 200 territories.
• 2021 Australian Masters Rowing Championships (held from 27 to 30 May 2021) and World Cup 3 Replica Rowing Regatta (held from 10 to 12 June 2021) brought approximately 1,700 athletes, officials and accompanying supporters to Adelaide.
• The Australian Baseball League moved part of its 2021 season to Adelaide from 14 to 20 January 2021. Participating teams included Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide.
• 2023 Australian Masters Games. The eight-day sporting festival to be held in October 2023, is expected to attract approximately 9,000 athletes to compete in 45 sports in 70 venues across the state.
• NRL 2023 Ampol State of Origin. Adelaide will host Game 1 or 2 of the Ampol State of Origin Series, more than 20,000 interstate visitors are expected to inject an estimated $15 million into the South Australian economy.
• Moving Portraits by Robert Wilson at the Art Gallery of South Australia. The Archie 100 exhibition will be complemented by an Australian exclusive – Moving Portraits by Robert Wilson (from 9 July to 3 October 2022). Showcasing some of the nation’s most iconic art works, coupled with video portraits by renowned New York theatre director Robert Wilson.
• Illuminate Adelaide regions – Illuminate Adelaide announced three events in regional South Australia, commencing with Digital Gardens in Mount Gambier from 9 June to 4 July 2021. It is estimated that 10,000 people viewed installations across the Cave Garden precinct during a four-week opening.

Regional events and festivals are an important component of our events calendar as they drive visitation across the state by giving people a reason to travel ‘right now’. In 2020-21, 44 events, comprising 15 major events and 29 regional events within the Regional Events and Festival Program (REFP) were provided with sponsorship funding. In January 2021, a further $1 million was announced for the Regional Events Fund (previously REFP) to spur new and innovative regional events and to grow existing events right across the state from 2021-22.

The team had a significant focus on providing support to the industry around COVID impacts and delivering COVID Safe events. This work will continue to be a focus in 2021-22.

Destination Development

Work continued on developing appealing and accessible tourism infrastructure and experiences and working with our tourism industry and the private sector to make this happen.

A key project for 2020-21 has been the delivery of the $20 million Tourism Industry Development Fund (TIDF). It aims to assist the recovery of regional tourism by encouraging regional operators to improve and diversify so they can attract more visitors and get a higher return on their offering. As of 30 June 2021, a total of $8.3 million in grants had been allocated to 53 projects with a project value of over $31.6 million, creating almost 800 jobs. We are seeing a strong demand within the intrastate market to travel to our regions, with these shovel-ready projects delivering new experiences and opportunities for regions.

The aviation space has undergone significant change with international travel closed for the time being and interstate travel subject to ad hoc border closures. While the demand for airline travel has reduced dramatically, there is confidence that there will come a time when it will resume. In the meantime, this downtime has given the airlines the ability to test the market by opening new routes they might not have
considered prior to 2020. We’ve seen examples of this during 2020-21 including the new Qantas flight: Melbourne-Mt Gambier-Adelaide and Rex jet flights between Melbourne and Adelaide which both commenced in March 2021. In May, Qantas also announced the establishment of an Embraer E190s aircraft base in South Australia which will create up to 200 jobs when fully operational.

In May 2021, Adelaide welcomed Air New Zealand back following the opening of the trans-Tasman travel bubble. Pre-COVID, New Zealand was South Australia’s fourth largest international inbound market, with a record 43,000 trips made by Kiwis to our state in 2019. While the travel bubble has been suspended due to the impact of COVID-19, we look forward to welcoming tourists from our key markets when it is safe to do so.

On the accommodation front, we’ve seen continued investment from the private sector which is a real vote of confidence for our state. In 2020-21 six hotels opened creating a total of 894 new rooms. With more major hotels currently in the works (Sofitel, due to open in October 2021 and GPO Marriott International, due to open in 2023), it’s great to see we’ll have increased capacity to accommodate more visitors when borders re-open again. In the meantime, these projects are supporting employment in our state and South Australians are supporting these new developments by holidaying at home, with the Great State Voucher program offering an incentive to book ‘right now’.

In March 2021 our state’s tourism industry launched its plan to grow the state’s regional tourism sector to $4 billion (currently $3.6 billion) by 2025. The 2025 South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy (RVS) outlines priority action areas set by the state’s 11 tourism regions after extensive consultation involving more than 800 stakeholders. It builds on the success of the 2020 strategy, which saw the then regional tourism target of $3.55 billion by December 2020 met and exceeded more than one year early.

In some positive news for the state’s cruise industry, the first steps towards smooth sailing were taken in February when Australian-flagged Coral Expeditions undertook a 10-day tour of the remote South Australian coast. Extensive COVID-safe protocols were put in place which ensured the 99 passengers and crew were kept safe and healthy and could enjoy their journey. The SATC is in liaison with Coral Expeditions
regarding its 2021-22 expedition itineraries to South Australia.

While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed our state’s tourism industry, we remain committed to working with our industry and government to recover our record $8.1 billion visitor economy, on our way to $12.8 billion by 2030.

(ii) the Commission's plans and the extent to which they have been implemented.

This information is outlined throughout the 2020-21 Annual Report.

(iii) the extent to which the Commission met the targets set in the performance agreement for the preceding financial year.

The SATC’s Board Performance Agreement and Board Performance Agreement Report can be found at Appendix B and Appendix C at the end of the 2020-21 Annual Report.

Reporting required under the Carers’ Recognition Act 2005

Not applicable to the agency.

Public complaints

Number of public complaints reported

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/public-complaints-reporting-south-australian-tourism-commission

* In line with PC039- Complaint Management in the South Australian Public Sector, the SATC is in the process of developing a new complaints policy and process, including the implementation of a new Complaint Management System which will allow for collecting, reporting and monitoring complaints and feedback to inform service improvement.

Compliance statement

The SATC is compliant with Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 – complaint management in the South Australian public sector: N* (see above)

The SATC has communicated the content of PC 039 and the agency’s related complaints policies and procedures to employees: N* (see above)