SA showcased to international buyers, Christmas Pageant date set & more…
Tourism Australia’s flagship annual event, the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) is well underway, helping showcase South Australia to key international trade partners. It is wonderful to join 48 operators from across our state at this year’s ATE, representing the diverse and attractive international product we have in SA – including first-time ATE attendees: CABN, Fortune Dragon Travel, Aurora Ozone Hotel, and Lambert Estate Wines.
The event provides South Australian tourism operators the opportunity to connect directly with global distribution partners who will help sell our state to the world. To further highlight our state as a must-visit destination, the SATC hosted a dedicated SA networking function for our operators and key international buyers on Sunday night. The event was heavily attended, with many top quality buyers present.
This is another way we’re working to drive growth in our international market, as latest data from Tourism Research Australia shows international expenditure has reached a record high. At $1.3 billion in 2023, it’s up 6 per cent on pre pandemic levels and outperforms the national average which was 11 per cent down on 2019.
A total of 14.1 million international visitor nights were recorded in South Australia in 2023, an increase of 29 per cent compared to 2019. This is compared with Australia’s growth in the same period which was 12 per cent down.
To find out more about the return of SA’s international market, a detailed overview as well as our international trade calendar are now available at tourism.sa.gov.au.
In other news, the National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant will return to the streets of Adelaide on Saturday 2 November this year. It has been revealed that Father Christmas will finish the parade at Rundle Mall, making it even easier for pageant-goers to enjoy the festivities in the shopping precinct following the beloved event.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer
South Australian Tourism Commission