Flexi-tourism the new normal, giving consumers flexible booking options

With restrictions beginning to ease across Australia, the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has launched FlexiTourism – a new initiative in partnership with global travel guidance platform, Tripadvisor, to give consumers flexible booking and payment options for their next holiday.

The SATC has focused on inspiring potential travellers to dream up and plan their future holidays, while COVID-19 restrictions have kept them cooped-up. Since its launch, the SATC’s SATV virtual tourism platform has seen over 34,000 leads to South Australian operators and above-average daily visitation to southaustralia.com.

Through the new partnership with Tripadvisor, FlexiTourism, will allow these would-be travellers to take the next step and book their holiday with flexible payment conditions. The Tripadvisor platform will give consumers the ability to explore bookable tourism experiences within South Australia and feel in control of their finances with a “book now, pay on arrival” payment option. The site will also allow holiday planners to change their dates without penalties or cancellation fees. 

South Australian Tourism Commission chief executive Rodney Harrex said the new flexibility in booking a holiday is an example of the industry adapting to the ‘new normal’ and will be a welcome relief for both consumers and operators.

“FlexiTourism is a win-win for travellers and for the thousands of businesses in South Australia’s tourism industry. It gives operators the confidence to re-open their business and certainty to plan ahead, knowing that advance bookings are being made for their offering once again.

The flexibility for consumers to be able to book a holiday with the confidence that dates can be changed or they can wait to pay on arrival, will help to recover South Australia’s $8.1 billion visitor economy,” said Mr Harrex.

As the world’s largest travel platform, travellers are able to browse more than 860 million reviews and opinions. Each experience booked will have the confidence and testimony of previous travellers, making the process of planning to booking a seamless one-stop-shop experience.

“Our focus has been to keep the anticipation and excitement of travelling again alive and this partnership with SATC has enabled our travellers to continue exploring, first from home and now within their own regions. We are committed to offering flexi booking terms, whether for hotels, experiences or tours, encouraging travellers to discover South Australia’s beauty, culture and vibrancy when they feel comfortable doing so,” said Jane Lim, VP Business Operations and Strategy for APAC at Tripadvisor.

View the range of FlexiTourism offerings here.