Major event wins, voucher bookings rolling in, flights abound, & more...
Events are certainly kicking goals for our state, with the FIFA Fan Festival™ launch, a major golf tournament to swing into our Fleurieu Peninsula, and international Rugby set to roar in SA – all helping boost visitation and expenditure.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ has finally arrived, marked by the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival in Festival Plaza yesterday. With free entry, it is the place where you can have a FIFA World Cup experience outside of official competition game venues, and entry is free. It is a thriving hub of food, entertainment, cultural experiences, and football – and it showcases some of South Australia’s best.
Last night, hundreds of fans headed to the FIFA Fan Festival to watch Australia claim victory in their first match of the tournament against Ireland. On Monday night, Adelaide will host the first of five matches, which are set to pack out Hindmarsh Stadium.
Rugby fans roared with excitement this week, as it was announced the British & Irish Lions will play in Adelaide for the first time in almost 140 years. In a significant coup for South Australia, Adelaide Oval will host the final Tour game before the first Test – a marquee match-up against an invitational team of players from Australia and New Zealand on 12 July 2025. The news of the combined Australia-New Zealand opposition side made global headlines – placing Adelaide front and centre of the media coverage in some of our state’s key tourism markets.
Building on the momentum of major golf tournaments in SA, the TPS South Australia Tournament will tee off in McLaren Vale this October. PGA, WPGA, elite amateurs and All Abilities golfers are set to flock to the Willunga Golf Course for the tournament – providing a visitation boost to the region, while broadcasting our world-class wine region and our state to engaged viewers.
There is just a few days left until the first of two booking periods close for the second round of our River Revival Voucher program, which has already pumped millions of dollars into the regions in booking value alone. A second chance draw next Thursday will see any unused vouchers cancelled and reissued to people who entered the ballot but weren’t successful – giving another chance to drive bookings into businesses within the same round.
It is great to see the additional Qantas flights to Kangaroo Island announced last month are now bookable. We are working with Qantas and industry to share the message that these flights are now available, ahead of the increased flights to the Island starting from late October.
A reminder to those thinking about applying for a grant in our upcoming Experience Nature Tourism Fund round two, we will be hosting an information session at 11am on Monday in partnership with TiCSA.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer