South Australia well positioned for tourism growth

South Australia is poised to take recent record growth in international visitation even further with the right level of investment in destination marketing and a focus on attracting a greater share of the growing tourism dollar.

“Over the past seven years, the contribution and importance of international tourism to the South Australian economy has grown from 14 to 17% and with 390,000 international visitors annually, and this is a trajectory which we can build on,” ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said.

“South Australia has a strong story to tell additional; investment in marketing South Australia both interstate and internationally will help build on the solid growth in international expenditure we have seen in the past 12 months.”

South Australian tourism industry leaders met in Adelaide previous week to discuss ways to strengthen the State’s reputation as an international destination.

“This forum brought together a wide group of local industry leaders from major accommodation and tour providers, government agencies, the South Australian Tourism Commission and ATEC National Board members, who all contributed to the discussion around building a stronger tourism industry for SA."

“What was clear from our discussions is the industry and government must collaborate to remove barriers such as visa processes, to target and improve international marketing and to maximise the benefits to the SA economy including more jobs and expenditure.”

ATEC Chairman, Denis Pierce, congratulated the SA government for retaining the SATC Advisory Board, a decision that has been widely applauded by the local industry.

“South Australia has a lot going for it and the government has invested in quality infrastructure improvements including extensions to the conference and exhibition centre, the impressive Adelaide Oval and the Riverbank precinct."

“These large scale offerings combined with several new hotels either approved or under construction, and solid growth in airline capacity into Adelaide from a range of international carriers, all contribute to a solid foundation for future growth,” Mr Pierce said.

“The SATC is to be congratulated for attracting key industry events like the recent National Tourism Awards, ATEC’s International Travel Buyers Workshops and this week’s European Corroboree, as platforms for strengthening the local tourism industry and increasing the number of international tourists to the state.”

sourced:traveldailynews.asia