Restrictions in SA, Illuminate Adelaide adapts, SA netball hub & more...

It is no doubt that the reintroduction of density limits in our state, a hardened border with Victoria, and restrictions to south-east Queensland remaining in place, are steps back for our industry.

The situation around Australia continues to be volatile and the Delta strain remains a huge challenge. Like the last bout of pre-emptive restrictions which were in place in SA for one week, we hope these are short-lived.

I commend operators for your work to constantly adapt to these changes, and I reiterate that the SATC is doing everything we can to drive visitation and expenditure in the visitor economy.

Read on for updates.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive 

New restrictions in SA 

As at 12.01am, 16 July 2021:

• 1 person per 2 square metre density restrictions
• Hard border (level 6 restrictions) for non-essential travel from Victoria
• Hard border (level 6 restrictions) to remain in place for Greater Brisbane (no restrictions for far north Queensland)
• Private gatherings capped at 150.

There are no changes to border restrictions for NSW and the ACT. As always, for further information refer to covid-19.sa.gov.au.  

Illuminate Adelaide adapts

Our state’s new major annual event, Illuminate Adelaide, has had to adapt to density requirements for indoor events like Van Gogh Alive.

Severe weather forecast for last night and tonight has delayed the official launch and outdoor events such as Light Cycles (pictured below) in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Light Creatures at the Adelaide Zoo, and City Lights across the north, east and west ends of the CBD.

Organisers are working to reschedule ticketed sessions. With the entire festival still ahead, we know the outdoor shows will be worth the wait and are still expected to entice 300,000 people into the CBD – importantly, boosting visitation to the city’s hospitality sector and other businesses.

For program details, head to illuminateadelaide.com.  

Driving road trips – extending stays and upping spend 

With new data showing road trip travel is at an all-time high and 65 per cent of travel consumers are looking to replace their international trips with a one-to-four-week domestic holiday, the SATC has re-launched its road trip campaign.

New maps feature six different road routes across regional South Australia, highlighting the state’s world-class food and wine, impressive landscape, and iconic tourism destinations and experiences. They aim to encourage extended trips into the regions, entice day trippers to stay longer, increase expenditure per visitor, and foster cross-regional collaboration.

The ‘South Australian Road Trips: Itineraries and scenic drives’ brochure will soon be available from all accredited Visitor Information Centres across SA and over the border in Portland, Victoria, as well as at participating operators and businesses featured on the six routes and at southaustralia.com.

They have also been distributed to all Regional Tourism Managers to help share the message.

South Australia hosts netball hub

Amid the ongoing challenges, there are also opportunities – through our Events South Australia team and SA Health, the SATC was very happy to work with Netball Australia to bring the Suncorp Super Netball competition to Adelaide.

Around 200 people flew in yesterday, as Adelaide sets up a ‘netball hub’ for Suncorp Super Netball to be here for the remainder of the home and away series.

It’s great to see this elite competition in our city, and the contribution it will make to our economy. The announcement was made this morning at Priceline Stadium with Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan and Minister for Sport and Recreation Corey Wingard MP.

Details: supernetball.com.au.

Local agents selling local

As part of our new domestic campaign ‘A little more’, we’ve launched new cooperative marketing partnerships with local companies to help sell South Australia.

A new 8-week intrastate campaign with South Australian travel agent, Phil Hoffmann Travel, has launched into market offering food, tour, wildlife and luxury accommodation packages for South Australians to get ‘a little more’ when seeing SA. It will run across radio, television, print, digital and social – as well as across Phil Hoffmann Travel’s 10 stores.

It aims to increase awareness of SA for the intrastate market, boost visitation and expenditure, support local trade and leverage their network, and drive the recovery of our visitor economy.  

Featured operators include The Manna by Haus, The Louise, Proud Mary, Eos by SkyCity and Rawnsley Park Station.

A campaign with Holidays of Australia ‘Unmissable best of South Australia: flightseeing by private aircraft’ is targeting interstate travellers looking to replace overseas trips. 

As an Australian owned business, established 10 years ago and based in Adelaide, Holidays of Australia has an extensive network. During COVID, it established a range of unique private air charters to meet changing consumer demands.

This campaign will promote their SA air charters and small group tours – including departures ex Adelaide to Kangaroo Island, Coober Pedy and Coffin Bay, as well as tours of the outback and Great Australian Bight. It will run across print and social media.

View the full Industry Update – 16 July 2021 here.