Border opens to Victoria and dancing is welcomed back
Border restrictions to Greater Melbourne will ease at the same time we welcome back dancing in licensed venues – great news as we head into the second weekend of Adelaide Fringe and a week out from WOMADelaide.
From 12.01am on Friday 26 February, there will be no restrictions on travellers from Greater Melbourne, including no requirement for COVID testing upon entry. As our largest domestic tourism market – and one we know has many family and friends – it is very pleasing that restrictions with Victoria were only short-lived.
From the same time on Friday, dancing will be permitted in venues across South Australia that cater to less than 200 people. Venues with 200 to 1,000 people will be required to have a designated dancefloor with a cap of 50 people dancing at any one time. Venues over 1,000 people will need a COVID management plan, approved by SA Health.
Premier Steven Marshall made the announcements today following the state’s Transition Committee meeting, noting that Victoria has “got on top of their outbreak” and the removal of border restrictions to Victoria would be a “huge relief”.
For our festival season – in the midst of Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival and more international tennis at Memorial Drive with the Adelaide International, ahead of WOMADelaide and Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel, and also for regional events like Grapes of Mirth in the Adelaide Hills this Sunday – today’s update is very welcome news.
In line with this, the SATC will ramp up our marketing efforts in Victoria with a focus on our festivals as well as the 2021 Year of South Australian Wine campaign. Our See It to Believe It campaign is already in market, with TVCs which feature our festival drawcards, like WOMADelaide and Adelaide Festival (click through below to watch).
As our largest inbound domestic market, at around 39 per cent of our state’s overall visitor expenditure – Victoria was worth just over $1 billion. As we work to recover our once record-breaking visitor economy, this market will be a key focus for our ongoing activities.
Welcoming back dancing is a positive step forward in the broader lifting of restrictions in SA and may it bring increased patronage for operators in licensed venues and greater flexibility in the events we hold in our state.
Well done SA.
Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive