Cruise conference win, multi-million-dollar river recovery boost, upskill to be online bookable, & more
Spring has sprung in South Australia and with it, we get set for the return of our state’s multi-million-dollar cruise industry.
The nation’s peak cruise body, the Australian Cruise Association (ACA), held its annual conference in Wollongong this week and confirmed Adelaide will play host to the event in 2024.
It will bring more than 130 cruise industry representatives to our city on 4-6 September 2024, including executives of national and international cruise lines, shore excursion and tour operators, port authorities, and shipping agents.
It is a vote of confidence in cruising in our state and follows the decision from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) last week to rescind the cruise specific COVID guidelines. The AHPPC encouraged cruise operators to continue to look to industry best practice to reduce risk.
I am pleased that South Australia has aligned with the removal of formal cruise protocols, which we are seeing being done around the world. As we gear up for another bumper cruise season, the SATC will continue working with industry to help make the visitor experience a memorable and safe one and look forward to smooth sailing ahead.
To another body of water, the second round of the SATC’s River Revival Voucher program is proving a huge success. As announced over the weekend, round two of the scheme has generated more than $5.6 million in booking value alone for our state’s flood-affected regions.
Almost doubling the total economic impact of the first round, and with the travel period running through until 30 November, the benefits are only set to grow.
The State Government also confirmed a third round of River Revival Vouchers will start in early 2024 as part of its $4.6 million river tourism recovery plan announced in February, with details of round three to be released later this year.
In partnership with Rezdy – one of Australia’s largest tourism booking engines – the SATC will run free masterclasses for operators to learn how to be online bookable. In a modern world, enabling online bookings is an important step for any business and key to increasing sale conversion and connecting with trade partners.
The Tourism & Transport Forum was in Adelaide this week, which allowed some of our industry leaders to network with influential decision makers from across the country. As we go beyond recovery, it is imperative we reinforce connections in the transport space, to make access to South Australia even easier for our out-of-state markets.
With less than two weeks left to apply for our Experience Nature Tourism Fund 2023-24, I remind those who have commenced an application to submit it by the 14 September deadline. This grant program is a great opportunity for industry to invest in the increasing number of travellers seeking nature-based experiences.
Read on for further updates below.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer
