Major conferences, records broken, voucher value & more...
This week, South Australia was being showcased on the world stage at two major industry events.
Kicking off at Tourism Australia’s flagship international trade event, Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), 51 operators from across SA exhibited the state to key industry trade partners. As part of the exchange, we hosted an exclusive SA function to give our operators a chance to network with key international buyers.
This was followed by about 1,400 from across the globe attending Adelaide Oval for the Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE). The two-day event attracts some of the world’s largest investors and key decision makers in the accommodation sector – so it is fantastic to have them here in Adelaide as our city enjoys such strong demand. I was fortunate to participate in a panel discussion, and there was certainly a great energy in the room as it was confirmed AHICE will come back to Adelaide again for its fourth year, next year.
The major hotel conference comes as we celebrate Mad March generating the most hotel rooms booked than any other month – creating an all-time high of more than $60 million in revenue for the month.
We also celebrated regional SA rocketing towards its 2025 tourism target and a new record-high, hitting almost $4 billion in 2022 – some three years ahead of schedule. An impressive six of our state’s 11 tourism regions have surpassed their 2025 visitor expenditure target, with four regions hitting an all-time high. Both the Barossa and Yorke Peninsula hitting record heights, surpassing their 2025 targets by $35 million and $65 million respectively.
Bookings for round one of our River Revival Voucher program closed last Friday, generating 4,336 bookings across our Murray River regions. This equates to more than $1.8 million in bookings value alone. We will be talking to operators at information sessions next week and are surveying voucher holders to refine our future voucher editions.
As Harvest Rock confirms the two-day festival will be heading back to our city’s Rymill/Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Parks/Ityamal-Itpina this October, new data shows the inaugural festival generated a return to the tune of $16.5 million in economic activity for Adelaide. With almost 24,000 festivalgoers attending – nearly one third from out-of-state – Harvest Rock drove hotel room bookings to their highest for any weekend of 2022.
Before I sign off, I want to acknowledge the passing of a dear friend of our Tasting Australia team, Jock Zonfrillo. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jock’s family, friends and all fortunate to know him. Showcasing what Jock loved about South Australian food and wine, Tasting Australia will continue to present the best of our state's produce, people, and places until Sunday.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer