SA wins major award | Rise Up on air | Historic Mad March
Great to start the week with some positive news – with the Adelaide Zoo receiving the highest accolade at the 2022 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, and the Adelaide Fringe hitting a record one million tickets sold.
It was wonderful to be in Sydney on Friday for the national awards program, and see South Australia well represented. Better yet, seven SA operators picked up awards.
A special mention for the Adelaide Zoo which was awarded gold in the Major Tourism Attractions category, recognising one of Adelaide’s most iconic attractions for its unique behind-the-scenes experiences and its commitment to sustainability and conservation.
It is the first time that a South Australian tourism organisation has ever charted in the top three in the category, a terrific coup for our state.
The awards concluded a big couple of days, with the annual Tourism Australia Destination Australia conference, the Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, and plenty of networking.
The broad focus was on the opportunities and challenges our industry faces as we reopen back to the world, and how we can stand out in the competitive international market. It was great to be part of some very positive discussions, and see the passion in the room.
Closer to home, you may have seen our Rise Up for our River TV advertisement is now live on the airwaves. The campaign supports a voucher program which will run across three rounds over the year. The ballot for Round 1 will open on 27 March, which 90 operators across the Riverland and Murray River, Lakes and Coorong regions have registered to participate in – I look forward to sharing an update on that next week.
Consultation has begun for our Regional Tourism Review, which is taking a comprehensive look at South Australia’s regional tourism structure and working relationships. Engagement with a wide range of stakeholders is underway with the review expected to be complete by mid-2023.
It has been a very successful festival season/mad March with ticket sales and out-of-state demand for WOMADelaide, the Adelaide Fringe cracking one million tickets last night, and the Adelaide Festival hitting record box office sales – all of this activity helps drive tourism in our state, and injects significant money into our visitor economy.
Looking ahead to April, our events calendar is delivering even more reasons to visit South Australia. There is just under a month to go until the AFL Gather Round kicks off on 13 April, followed closely be the inaugural LIV Golf Adelaide tournament.
These major events are seeing our CBD hotels booking out like never before, drawing visitors from interstate and overseas to our state – so get ready for a big few weeks!
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer