Head For The Hills and #BookThemOut

Signs of regrowth and recovery are already emerging throughout the bushfire-affected Adelaide Hills, as operators hang out the “open for business” sign to thousands of visitors this week.

Despite the devastation of last month’s Cudlee Creek fires, Premier Steven Marshall said today the resilient Hills community is already showing signs of bouncing back, with almost all businesses open and proudly embracing visitors, showcasing SA’s best to the world.

“We have the Santos Tour Down Under passing through this week, as well as the annual Crush Festival this weekend – bringing tens of thousands of people to the region and a much-needed financial boost,” he said.

“The message from the Adelaide Hills community is clear – visitation is critical to help them recover and rebuild and that’s exactly what regional events and the newly launched #BookThemOut campaign are doing.”

Latest figures show tourism contributes $168 million to the Adelaide Hills region and directly employs 1,200 people.

“There were 1.2 million domestic day trips to the Adelaide Hills in the year ending September 2019. We’re calling on everyone to help boost these numbers even more in 2020.

“Events like the Santos Tour Down Under and Crush Festival give people reasons to visit our regions and gives regions a chance to open their businesses and showcase their attractions and local produce.

“I urge South Australians and anyone visiting our state to head to the Hills, enjoy the wonderful local produce at Crush this weekend, cheer on the action of the Tour, and support this region that is open for business.”

The 2019 Santos Tour Down Under contributed $70.7 million to the South Australian visitor economy. The Adelaide Hills region has already welcomed the 2020 Santos Women’s Tour Down Under in towns such as Hahndorf and Nairne, as well as the Mount Barker District Council area.

Today, the 2020 Santos Men’s Tour Down Under Novatech Stage 2 starts with four loops of Woodside and surrounds, and races through Oakbank, Balhannah, Mylor, Aldgate, Stirling and Healthfield, before finishing in the Stirling township.

More than 23,000 people are expected to attend the 30 Adelaide Hills’ wineries participating in Crush Festival this Friday to Sunday, for the region’s largest food and wine festival.

The #BookThemOut campaign, launched on Sunday, encourages South Australians and interstate tourists to ‘book out’ the Adelaide Hills, as well as Kangaroo Island, following the fires which devastated communities and livelihoods in these regions.

Watch the #BookThemOut 30-second video featuring the Adelaide Hills.

For information about the current relief and recovery operations, including relief centre locations and opening times, grants and financial assistance, mental health resources and more, please visit www.dhs.sa.gov.au/recovery or phone the Recovery Hotline on 1800 302 787 (8am – 8pm).