Regional tourism boost, trailblazing oyster farmer, festival news & more...
A multi-million-dollar boost for regional tourism, an operator in the Eyre Peninsula finding new opportunities, the first release of the 2022 Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel program, and competitor line-ups for the upcoming Adelaide International and Santos Festival of Cycling – just some of what’s been happening in the industry.
It follows Friday’s announcement that restrictions in our state will further ease on 28 December, when SA is expected to hit our 90 per cent vaccination target.
We’ve released another round of grants under our Tourism Industry Development Fund – bringing the total number of regional tourism projects supported under the Fund to date to 100, across all 11 regions.
With nearly $17 million in grants, the Fund has unlocked $71.6 million of new and improved tourism infrastructure – from small to large scale projects – enabling operators to capitalise on booming regional demand and attract more visitors at a higher return. Importantly, this Fund has created over 1,400 jobs for South Australians – including 400 of which are ongoing in our industry.
Episode two of our new case study series, Tourism Trailblazers – which profiles operators who are adapting and innovating to achieve great things – has been released. It features Oyster Farm Tours in Port Lincoln which, prior to the pandemic, almost solely relied on the international market. The episode tells of operator, Ben Catterall’s story of how he doubled down on social media marketing and value-add propositions to attract the domestic market. More below.
The first release of the 2022 Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel program dropped last week, featuring the most diverse range of events yet. From overnight experiences to a dinner at Adelaide’s new restaurant arkhé, our 2022 festival will showcase the best that South Australia has to offer across more than 200 events and 11 regions.
Adelaide was named the world’s second National Park City, after an assessment by the international National Park City Foundation and a submission made by Green Adelaide. As the only other city outside of London to enjoy this status, it is an accolade that will help raise our profile – together with the recent title of the world’s third most liveable city.
With support of the SATC, we also learned that Adelaide will host the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in September 2022 – set to bring over 300 aviation and corporate travel executives to our city. That's a real vote of confidence in SA - and a positive move as we head towards the new year.
Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive
View the Industry Update - 20 December 2021.