Tourism
South Australia's tourism and events sector is a key driver of our economy and a major job creator.
After watching the tourism industry plummet during the pandemic and the devastating impact it had on the state's tourism operators, since coming into government our main focus was to grow the visitor economy and make South Australia one of the top tourism destinations in Australia.
In two years, the state's tourism industry has reached new heights, exceeding $10 billion in total visitor expenditure for the first time; that's $10.2 billion injected straight into our economy and into the thousands of tourism businesses across our state who continue to provide world-class visitor experiences.
With an expected easing of the tourism economy nationally in the coming year, we are continuing to invest in demand drivers like major events and the recovery of international aviation.
We know events are important drivers of visitation, getting people to commit to a trip and discover our beautiful state — and the proof is really in these record-highs.
Furthermore, Adelaide has now officially taken out the number one spot both nationally and across the Tasman, with the highest hotel occupancy in April 2024 across 14 major cities throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Just recently, at 78 per cent average occupancy, Adelaide outperformed the nation — topping Perth (76%) which ranked as the second Australian city and third in the list-of 14 major cities, and Sydney (74%) as the third Australian city and fifth in the list.
There is a certain momentum and real pride amongst all South Australians which we have never seen before as we continue to grow tourism in our state making South Australia a world-class destination that everyone needs to visit and experience.
To contact me about any matters that are related to tourism, please reach out to my Ministerial office by phone on 8429 3094 or by email at MinisterBettison@sa.gov.au.