South Australia's visitor economy in 2021

As we reflect on what was another difficult year, despite the challenges there has been incredible work across our state’s tourism industry – and incredible achievements.

While domestic tourism took a hit, South Australians embraced local holidays. They drove record-high regional tourism rates and saw visitor expenditure recover ahead of forecasts.

We saw bumper investment in tourism infrastructure, adding to the world-class products and experiences that will make SA even stronger on the other side.

Our marketing strategy switched, meaning we could pump $90 million into the economy through Great State Vouchers. We grew existing events, secured new ones, and reimagined our managed events.

As we look to 2022 and move into the next phase of living with COVID, there is every reason to be optimistic. It will be a year in which we will see domestic tourism rebuild and we begin reopening to international markets.

As our industry gears up for this, the South Australian Tourism Commission will continue to support operators, drive visitation to our state, and make the most of every opportunity.

We are pulling all the levers to chart our way back to our record high $8.1 billion visitor economy.

On behalf of the Board and team at the SATC, I thank you for all you do for our industry.

Here’s to continuing our work together in 2022.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive

View the Industry Update - 23 December 2021.