Mid-Murray boost, funding opportunities, ticket records, & more…
As we approach the end of the year, we are setting our sights on many great opportunities for our industry.
A great step forward in our flood recovery efforts, four local councils across the Mid Murray area have been allocated a share of more than $100,000 in funding to support new and emerging events. These events will help attract visitation and boost expenditure to the low-lying areas, which were significantly impacted by the once-in-a-century flooding event this time last year. The Tourism Event Support Grant is part of the $500,000 Mid Murray recovery funding.
Speaking of event funding, applications for our Regional Event Fund will open in February, supporting events from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025. The Fund continues to help strengthen our state’s regional event calendar by encouraging the development of new and innovative regional events, grow existing events and drive increased visitation to our tourism regions.
Looking to secured events, AFL Gather Round tickets have been selling at a record pace since opening to the public on Tuesday. More than 100,000 tickets were snapped up by Club and AFL members within the 24-hour on-sale window, which took nine days to achieve for the 2023 event - showing strong demand for next year's footy festival.
Port Lincoln operators are set to welcome the first cruise ship for the 2023-24 season tomorrow. It is one of the record 127 ship visits scheduled for SA this season, well surpassing last season’s all-time high of 103 ships. This is a great opportunity for local operators to welcome a boost in visitation and expenditure.
Keep an eye out for the Sunday Mail this weekend, which will feature a Santos Tour Down Under lift-out, ahead of the event kicking off on 12 January.
I hope the pre-Christmas season is treating you well.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer
South Australian Tourism Commission