Christmas Pageant returns to streets | Major Oz industry event | Record-breaking occupancy
In great news for South Australia – and for our CBD – we’ve confirmed today that the Christmas magic will return to the streets of Adelaide this year for the 90th anniversary of our beloved National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant.
Today I joined Premier Peter Malinauskas, Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison, Pageant Director Brian Gilbertson and National Pharmacies Chief Executive Officer Vito Borrello (along with some very jolly elves) to announce the news and officially start the countdown to the beginning of the festive season.
Adelaide Oval has served us well over the past two years, keeping patrons safe while still allowing the pageant tradition to continue as an arena spectacular. However, I’m very much looking forward to seeing pageant-goers line our city streets again. We know events like the pageant drive visitation to the city, and give our hotels, cafés and restaurants a spike, so it is terrific to be able to lock in a date and give everyone plenty of time to prepare for the return on Father Christmas.
I was fortunate last week to head to Sydney alongside so many tourism representatives for the 2022 Australian Tourism Exchange – our nation's largest tourism trade event. I spoke with many industry representatives from across the world and was proud to see our operators take centre stage in the recovery discussions.
While in Sydney, I sat on a panel at the Tourism and Transport Forum Outlook Summit with representatives from Queensland and NSW. It was good to chat state to state about where our industry is headed, and I’m really proud to say SA is definitely punching above our weight.
Tourism in SA is going from strength to strength, as the regions and city celebrate record-breaking accommodation occupancy rates. Adelaide hotels had the best week on record in April, while our state’s regions reached an all-time March high.
These milestone achievements were only possible thanks to incredible work done across our industry, as our world-renowned tourism offerings enticed visitors from all over to explore our state over the holiday season.
The nation’s top swimmers certainly put a spotlight on SA last week for the Australian Swimming Championships. This was another elite event that positions our state as a world-class sporting destination.
It’s been wonderful to see so many people getting out to events supported by our Regional Event Fund this month, such as Clare Valley Gourmet Week and Adelaide Hills’ Chardonnay May showcasing our incredible wine, while the spectacular Kangaroo Island Marathon welcomed back international runners.
Read on for details and other updates.
Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive
