Welcome to the June edition of Tourism News. 

It’s hard to believe we are halfway through the year already – and while 2020 has thrown some significant challenges at our sector, it is pleasing that we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

We’re seeing people starting to travel, starting to book ahead for holidays later this year, and even the return of business events and conferences.

Add the exciting news last week that the joint Australia-New Zealand FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 bid was successful, our sporting events and hospitality sector returning to normal, and border restrictions are easing, let’s hope we can all start to raise our line of sight and look towards a much more positive end to the year.

We know people are itching to get back on the road and travel. We’ve seen record visits to our southaustralia.com website – people wanting to plan ahead and get out and experience South Australia.

While we initially focused on intrastate tourists, our next challenge is to attract those who can travel from the other states – and be absolutely front of mind for anyone who wants to come here to experience everything iconic and wonderful we have here.

We know interstate visitors spend around three times as much per trip as intrastate visitors – they spend more on accommodation, they stay longer, and they engage in more tours and activities.

And that is exactly why we are primed and ready to go with an interstate campaign to encourage tourists to get here as soon as they can – with some states and territories already open, a July 20 date pegged for ACT and NSW, and Victoria still an uncertain as health experts continue to monitor the situation.

There is no doubt a long road ahead for our sector. But our tourism operators are resilient, innovative and already finding new products, clever ways to market themselves and fresh opportunities to present to consumers.

With the news that international travel may be off the cards until the middle of next year, we are working hard on getting some of the $65 Billion Australians spend on overseas holidays dropped right here in SA. We’ll be out there with a new campaign very shortly encouraging everyone – from inter and intrastate – to come and explore SA, enjoy our world-class food and wine, amazing outdoor experiences, quality accommodation and luxury unique locations, beaches and parks. I look forward to sharing the details as soon as we can.

I’ve been out in our regions again – on Kangaroo Island, Limestone Coast and the Eyre Peninsula, travelling with the SATC chair Andrew Bullock. These trips are invaluable as a way of getting direct and strong feedback from people on the front line. There are so many passionate people in our sector, and these visits really drive and inspire my team at the SATC team to keep delivering.

Read on for a summary of what’s been happening in SA’s tourism industry over the month of June.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive

See the full Tourism News June 2020 here.