Tee-rrific event results, AFL countdown kicks off, & more
A few major sporting event announcements over the weekend, as LIV Golf Adelaide and AFL Gather Round are locked in for 2024.
The second LIV Golf Adelaide tournament will hit the links on 26 to 28 April, and the date confirmation comes as data shows the inaugural event pumped an incredible $64.9 million into our state’s economy. A huge 77,076 people were in attendance across the three-day event – and more than 40 per cent of those from out-of-state, helping generate some 43,000 visitor nights in Adelaide. This supports the great feedback we received from operators, which reported 100 per cent capacity over the weekend of the 2023 event.
The international tournament also helped raise SA’s profile on the world stage, being broadcasted to a global household reach of more than 276 million across 69 territories. Scenes from the event went viral when fans celebrated Chase Koepka’s hole-in-one at the 12th hole, furthering its worldwide reach.
The buzz on this event has been very exciting, as golfing fans from across the country and globe get ready to buy tickets from later this month. I have no doubt tickets will be highly sought after, especially following the historic event being crowned the World’s Best Golf Event of the Year 2023 at the World Golf Awards last month.
But that’s not all, kicking off an epic April will be the second AFL Gather Round, set to take over SA on 4 to 7 April 2024. The dates capitalise on the Victorian school holidays, which is our state’s biggest interstate market, and aim to grow the more than $83 million injected into our visitor economy from the inaugural footy festival.
Spreading the benefits of the weekend beyond the CBD, two matches will be played in Mount Barker as well as Norwood Oval, and will see the return of the Food and Wine Festival in Norwood – helping showcase our state’s great food and beverage offerings to visitors while they are here.
These events add to the blockbuster calendar we have coming up, which we know helps trigger visitation and expenditure right across the state. We will continue to leverage these events to drive dispersal more broadly into our regions and grow opportunities for our sector.
The SATC Board is heading to the Clare Valley today for our regional Board meeting. This provides a great opportunity to spend some time with operators and hear their priorities and plans for their business and our industry, and for us to discuss our future plans.
A reminder to Mid Murray tourism operators that Mid Murray River Tourism Business Support Program grant applications close next Friday, 24 November. Part of the additional $500,000 Mid Murray Tourism Recovery Fund, grants from $5,000 up to $50,000 are available to sole traders and small tourism businesses with an annual turnover of less than $1 million to further support recovery.
Emma Terry
Chief Executive Officer
South Australian Tourism Commission
Read full Industry Update - 14 November 2023