Voucher ballot open, Victoria in lockdown, support for wine regions & more...

Today we launched the fourth round of our Great State Voucher program, targeting accommodation across the state this winter. The ballot opened at 9am and we’ve already seen tens of thousands of registrations from potential travellers here in SA and across Australia.

We’ve seen the data – during the travel period of the last round of accommodation vouchers, regional South Australia had its best occupancy rates for a three-month period ever recorded and CBD hotels hit the highest occupancy of any mainland Australian city – it is a stimulus program that is proven to work.

The first two rounds injected more than $32 million in spending across the state, as overnight bookings created a flow-on for restaurants, cafes, bars and experiences. With another 50,000 vouchers up for grabs, this round aims to stimulate tourism during the traditionally quieter winter months. For details and to enter the ballot before 5pm ACST on 1 June, go to southaustralia.com/voucher.

The travel period also coincides with SA’s new major annual event, Illuminate Adelaide, held in Adelaide from 16 July-1 August, as well as three regional activations as part of ‘Illuminate South Australia’ – starting in Mount Gambier from 9 June, and in Renmark and Tumby Bay to follow. It’s another way we’re helping drive more bookings and visitation across the state this winter.

It’s not all good news unfortunately, as our friends in Victoria have their first day of a 7-day lockdown. We don’t want to see this happen in any Australian jurisdiction and our thoughts are with Victoria through this time. With the reintroduction of border restrictions for the Greater Melbourne and Greater Bendigo areas, there is an immediate impact on our industry. The SATC is monitoring the situation closely and will be ready to entice visitors from this market again, as soon as it is safe to do so.

As we head into another weekend, another full-page ad in The Advertiser promotes our Year of South Australian Wine campaign and wine events across the regions, from Chardonnay May, the Riverland Small Winemakers Showcase, and Day Dance in the Fleurieu Peninsula, to a new event being delivered by the SATC in conjunction with PIRSA. The Weekend Wine Revolution will take over Leigh and Peel Streets in Adelaide from 4-5 June, with winemakers from all 18 wine regions and vendors from the precinct participating with activations to help drive spend in their businesses. Exclusive wine offers will entice punters out to cellar doors right across the state, encouraging them to explore our great wine regions.

Read on for more updates and opportunities for SA’s tourism industry.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive

Weekend Wine Revolution supporting SA's wine regions

South Australia’s 18 wine regions will come together in the CBD for a special weekend-long festival to mark the 2021 Year of South Australian Wine and further drive visitation and expenditure across the state. Over two nights from 4-5 June, the Weekend Wine Revolution will see SA winemakers and local vendors take over Adelaide’s Peel and Leigh Streets, with wine tastings, food, music and entertainment open to the public. More at southaustralia.com.

Wellness Tourism Unearthed comes to the Adelaide Hills

Wellness Tourism Unearthed will be held in the Adelaide Hills for the first time, from 2-3 August 2021. The two-day industry event is designed to engage and upskill the wellness and tourism industry, providing the latest consumer wellness and travel insights, and tips to succeed in this growth sector. Delegates could include nature-based tourism operators, food and drink operators, accommodation providers, retreats, spas, wellness practitioners and suppliers, and travel distributors.

Tickets are now available for $290 per person. To book and for full program details and speakers, head to wellnesstourismsummit.com.au/unearthed.

Olympic hopefuls to take to the pool in Adelaide

Watch the biggest names in Australian swimming compete for their ticket to Tokyo, with Swimming Australia today releasing tickets for the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials – being hosted in Adelaide from 12-17 June at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre. Hometown hero and Rio gold medallist, Marion’s Kyle Chalmers, will be striving to make his second Australian team and defend his 100m freestyle crown, while young backstroke specialist Kaylee McKeown will be seeking to make her first Games appearance. The State Government, through the SATC, is a key supporter of the event, and we look forward to seeing our nation’s best swimmers battle it out for a shot at the Olympics in July.

More information and tickets at: swimming.org.au.

See the full Industry Update – 28 May here.