Estimates Vote

South Australian Tourism Commission, $88,530,000

Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance, $2,365,934,000

Minister for Tourism $5,701,000

Minister:

Hon. Z.L. Bettison, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Departmental Advisers:

Mr R. Harrex, Chief Executive, South Australian Tourism Commission.

Ms S. Rozokos, Chief Financial Officer, South Australian Tourism Commission.

Mr E. De Roos, Executive Director, Marketing, South Australian Tourism Commission.

Mr N. Jones, Executive Director, Destination Development, South Australian Tourism Commission.

Ms H. Rasheed, Executive Director, Events SA.

Mr A. Kirchner, Chief Executive, Adelaide Venue Management Authority.

Ms M. Hannaford, Chief Financial Officer, Adelaide Venue Management Authority.

The CHAIR: Welcome to today's hearing for Estimates Committee B. I respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of this land on which the committee meets today and the custodians of the sacred lands of our state.

The estimates committees are a relatively informal procedure and, as such, there is no need to stand to ask or answer questions. I understand the minister and the lead speaker for the opposition have agreed an approximate time for the consideration of proposed payments, which will facilitate a change of departmental advisers. Can the minister and the lead speaker for the opposition confirm that the timetable for today's proceeding previously distributed is accurate?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes.

The CHAIR: Changes to committee membership will be notified as they occur. Members should ensure the Chair is provided with a completed request to be discharged form. If the minister undertakes to supply information at a later date, it must be submitted to the Clerk Assistant via the answer to questions mailbox no later than Friday 2 September 2022.

I propose to allow both the minister and the lead speaker for the opposition to make opening statements of about 10 minutes each, if they so wish. There will be a flexible approach to giving the call for asking questions. A member who is not a committee member may ask a question at the discretion of the Chair.

All questions are to be directed to the minister, not to the minister's advisers. The minister may refer questions to an adviser for a response. Questions must be based on lines of expenditure in the budget papers and must be identifiable or referenced. Members unable to complete their questions during the proceedings may submit them as questions on notice for inclusion in the assembly Notice Paper. I remind members that the rules of debate in the house apply in the committee. Consistent with the rules of the house, photography by members from the chamber floor is not permitted while the committee is sitting.

Ministers and members may not table documents before the committee; however, documents can be supplied to the Chair for distribution. The incorporation of material in Hansard is permitted on the same basis as applies in the house; that is, that it is purely statistical and limited to one page in length.

The committee's examination will be broadcast in the same manner as sittings of the house are broadcast, through the IPTV system within Parliament House via the webstream link to the internet and the Parliament of South Australia video-on-demand broadcast system.

The portfolio is the South Australian Tourism Commission and Adelaide Venue Management Authority. The minister appearing is the Minister for Tourism. I declare the proposed payments open for examination. I call on the minister to make a statement, if the minister so wishes, and to introduce advisers. I call on the lead speaker for the opposition to make a statement, if the member wishes. I call on the members for questions.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Thank you very much, Chair. I would like to introduce the team with me here today. To my right is Rodney Harrex, to my further right is Hitaf Rasheed and to my left is Steph Rozokos. Behind me, I have Erik De Roos and Nick Jones. They are from the South Australian Tourism Commission. Further behind me, from Venue Management, are Anthony Kirchner and Marie Hannaford. I thank them for their time in being here today. I do not have an opening statement and I am happy to proceed with questions.

The CHAIR: Do you have an opening statement, the Hon. Mr Gardner?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you, I have no opening statement. If we can go to Budget Paper 5 to begin with, page 107 identifies the departmental operating efficiencies, which are listed as $17.6 million over the next four years. Can the minister explain how these operating efficiencies are intended to be made?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I thank the member for his question. The Tourism Commission plans to achieve these savings through the cessation of funding that was allocated to one-off projects that occurred in 2021-22 and will not continue in 2022-23, such as the Great State Voucher stimulus measures, the working holiday-maker campaign and SATC's new contracts and procurement CRM. There will be a reduction in event sponsorship funding for various events, and we will be implementing a number of corporate services and operational efficiencies.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: In relation to the reduction in event sponsorship, is the minister able to identify how much event sponsorship was expended by the Tourism Commission in the 2021-22 financial year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We will get that figure for you before the end of the session, but I can tell you that for 2022-23 it is $18.5 million, for 2023-24 it is $12.5 million and for 2024-25 it is $7.5 million; that is the sponsored coming up.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I clarify, are you saying that those 18.5 in 2022-23, 20.5 and 7.5 are what—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is 12.5 in 2023-24.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Are 18.5, 12.5 and 7.5 the correct numbers over the three years?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is correct.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is that event sponsorship that is already committed?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Perhaps I can elaborate on that. They are being committed and contracted. These events include both one-off and multiple years of annual events that will attract additional national and international visitors and thus increase visitor expenditure, which supports the state's economy and creates jobs year round.

Regarding upcoming events, this financial year includes Illuminate; the Robert Wilson exhibition at the Gallery in July this year; the inaugural Harvest Rock to be held in November; and the double-header of the Rugby Union international test matches, featuring the Buildcorp Wallaroos and New Zealand and the Wallabies and South Africa, which will be in August of this year. Also coming up is the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in October and November and the 2023 Australian Masters Games.

We are very excited because other events that were secured include the 2023-24 FIFA Women's World Cup, which will be next year, and the Rugby World Cup in 2027. If I can just come back to you, for 2021-22 it was approximately $19 million.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Event sponsorship has to reduce as a result of these budget cuts—$19 million this year and $18.5 million in the year to come—and the minister has listed some very worthy expenditure. In the two years following, you identified we have $12.5 million and then $7.5 million contracted. How much do you anticipate the Tourism Commission spending on event sponsorship in those years, or is the $12.5 million and $7.5 million potentially going to be the total spend?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The way it happens is often you would put in bids for events coming up that would require you, in the years before the event is happening—and I will give you an example: the Rugby World Cup—to spend within the years leading up to that. We would expect, probably in 2023-24, to have additional spend within that, depending on the different events that will give us that opportunity, not necessarily just to bid. 'Opportunity' is the word we have been using lately. Opportunities come up and then we will look at whether that is something that fits where we are.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: With the $17.6 million in operating efficiencies that are required of Tourism from the Treasurer in this budget, how much of that $4.7 million per year, effectively, in three of the four years, is anticipated to be met by reducing event sponsorship?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I answered initially, I would not say that is where the majority of the savings come from. While we are talking about different events, we made a quite significant announcement during the election, and of course in the budget it came out of the additional $40 million fund over four years for the Major Events Fund, which is under the banner of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. That will also be available to grow homegrown events and to grow our existing owned and managed events. There are also opportunities for business events to be there as well. So while you are talking about those savings targets and where we will be spending and sponsoring, there are also other areas of funding available.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is there a notional allocation of how much of the $4.7 million per year will be met out of the reduction in event sponsorship and the other efficiencies that the minister identified? Do you have a notional breakdown, or is the Tourism Commission still to do that work?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am advised that, because the details of sponsorship payments are subject to contractual confidentiality restrictions, we would not disclose how much goes into the sponsorships. Because it has commercial value to the Tourism Commission and its partners, the disclosure of this information would diminish or destroy its commercial value. It would also prejudice the future supply of such information and would weaken the state's competitiveness. I understand that has been consistent through all governments, not revealing the money around those sponsorship payments.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The minister revealed it was $19 million last year, $18.5 million next year, $12.5 million the following year and $7.5 million for what is contracted so far for the year after that. In relation to Budget Paper 5, page 107, are there any areas of expenditure that are ring-fenced or protected from those efficiencies that are required?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: You may be aware that we had already made the decision not to continue our sponsorship for the Barossa Contemporary. That was a decision that we had made as part of the budget.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: How much was that?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am not at liberty to tell you how much that is.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Presumably less than $4.7 million.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I have said, those savings will come from other areas as well.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: But you are not prepared to identify any of the quantum?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Not at this point.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: To be clear, are there no areas within the Tourism Commission that are not going to be subject to a level of operating efficiency? Are there areas that you can say are absolutely protected from these budget cuts?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I said very clearly, and I am happy to repeat, where those efficiencies will come from. The cessation of funding was allocated to one-off projects which occurred in 2021-22 and will not continue in 2022-23, such as the Great State Voucher stimulus measures, the working holiday-maker campaign and SATC's new contracts and procurement CRM.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I note that the Great State measures are recorded in the budget as separate expenditure on the line above the operating efficiencies in Budget Paper 5, page 107—I am looking at it now—so their cessation was already written into the budget. I will move on to another set of questions.

I refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 96. This is the general tourism development lines. There is the line about continuing to work with Adelaide Airport and international and domestic airlines to reinstate direct flights to and from targeted markets. I am wondering, given the announcement by Rex Airlines about the cessation of flights to Kangaroo Island on 30 June, what is the government doing and what is the minister doing to ensure that the number and accessibility of flights to the island are sustained?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Can you just repeat the last sentence? You are asking about air flights and talking about Rex?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes, air flights to Kangaroo Island. What are the government and the minister doing to assist people wishing to travel to Kangaroo Island?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Kangaroo Island, sure. As I understand it, recently Rex reaffirmed its decision that it was going to cease flying. It had already been very open that it would not continue without that additional support that it received from the federal government. Of course, we are disappointed in this. It would have been great if they had continued that.

At the moment, we know that Rex and Qantas serve eight routes and they also serve interstate routes, including Broken Hill, Mildura, and Melbourne via Mount Gambier. We know that to support the Kangaroo Island Qantas flights the commonwealth government, through Austrade, provided $3.5 million to assist the recovery of KI after the bushfires and COVID. That started in January 2022 and will conclude at the end of November.

The Recovery for Regional Tourism program allocated $770,000 to SATC to work with Qantas. This program includes a risk share agreement that provides a reducing scale of support subject to the number of passengers on flights. This will allow Qantas to operate a reliable schedule even when passenger loads are below break-even levels. It also provides much-needed confidence to booking agents who are trying to rebuild bookings to the island.

Also, $200,000 of that funding was allocated to a cooperative marketing campaign with Qantas. Currently, Qantas flies four times per week between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, and these services will increase from September 2022.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I thank the minister for that answer. Can I just clarify: what was the time frame on that agreement with Qantas? I note that she does finish by saying that services were set to increase in September. What is the end date on the current agreement that she was describing?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will get that detail. It is September 2022, which is obviously the new agreement or they are going to increase their services.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Okay, so the current agreement has that support that ensures that Qantas will continue flying regularly, even if they are not at break-even. That ceases in September, and then post-September Qantas has identified that it is going to be increasing its services without that support. Is that what I understand?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Just to remind, the program started in 2022, in January this year, and it will continue until September and the new agreement will start from then.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: What conversations has the minister had with the new federal Minister for Tourism about pursuing opportunities for new airline routes to or within South Australia?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Sorry, which part of the budget are you—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: This is still in the line at page 96, the same line as the last questions:

Continue to work with Adelaide Airport Ltd and international and domestic airlines to reinstate direct flights to and from targeted markets, increase airline seat capacity and pursue opportunities for new airline routes to and within South Australia.

I wonder whether the minister has taken the opportunity to speak to our federal counterparts in relation to that target, which is the first target on her list.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I do frequently talk to the new federal Minister for Tourism. I recently wrote to him to congratulate him on his new portfolio area, including trade and Special Minister of State. We have had some conversations about the opportunities for aviation, in the time line of those in general. We have had those conversations in the past, but I have also proposed to his office that we host all the tourism ministers here in South Australia.

I do not think there has been a tourism ministers' meeting for some time. I had a verbal request that that might be, and I will be following that up with a written request—or a written consideration, one might say. We are very keen to get it back. If I was looking at the most recent—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am sure Queensland will bring a whole pile of people.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Sorry?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Queensland will bring many advisers and sell many beds.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We will be happy to do it. Maybe they can come down for Illuminate. Just talking about aviation, I think it is really important for you to ask this question because we have, to some extent, a two-speed economy when one might look at flights. Domestically, we are virtually back—well, we are back to where we were pre-COVID—but international flights are at 48 per cent of where we were. Sorry, we are 62 per cent down on the pre-COVID levels. There are 18 international flights into Adelaide, whereas previously we had 52 flights a week.

At the moment, we have four airlines flying here: Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia and Air New Zealand. I would like to thank them for their commitment to us. Jetstar is probably the other one that flies international. In early July, we will have another two airlines coming in: Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand will come back on as well. I am really pleased that bit by bit we are building back, but there is no doubt at all that international aviation will take some time to come back to the level it was.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes, and no doubt many of those international tourists would love to get to Kangaroo Island. That is why we are very enthusiastic about the idea of pursuing with our federal colleagues any opportunities there.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Ideally, on that point, in the pre-COVID days we looked at direct flights from Melbourne to KI, to Kingscote, and from Sydney to Kingscote, so we are ambitious. They did actually operate seasonally, obviously during the summer months when it is most popular. We will be seeking to advocate for those to come back as soon as possible.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: So Melbourne and Sydney to KI is on the agenda for the year ahead; are there any other new routes that you are looking to see open in the coming year, according to this target?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I think we are always in discussion with airlines about the possibility. Probably from an international perspective we will be looking at working with those airlines that are currently coming here to expand the amount of flights and how often they come. That will be one of the first instances that we look at.

Perhaps I can talk through what it is currently: Singapore Airlines has six flights a week from Singapore; Qatar, three from Doha and three from Auckland; Malaysia Airlines, two from Kuala Lumpur; Jetstar, four from Denpasar; and as I mentioned, from the first week of July we have Air New Zealand, which has three flights from Auckland; and Fiji Airways, two flights from Nadi.

We have some new routes that were added during COVID. Of course, we were very pleased that—and I recognised at the time as shadow minister when Qantas realigned part of its fleet with smaller aircraft which are more efficient and economical to operate—Qantas based five of its 94-seat Embraer E190 aircraft in Adelaide, and this also provided opportunities for new routes. Those new routes include flying to the Gold Coast, Cairns, Townsville, Hobart and Newcastle.

I understand there will also be a new season interstate service between Adelaide and Albury starting on 4 July. I look forward in the near future to making a few more announcements about the extension of flights or when they are coming as well. But we still have a long way to go to build back international to the peak of 52 per week.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: What sort of funding does the South Australian government, through tourism, put towards this work with airlines? How many FTEs, how many people in tourism work in this area?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: You are asking about staffing. I will ask Rodney to speak to that.

Mr HARREX: We worked really closely with the airport on this one. There is a lot of effort that goes in. We have within our Destination Development team people who work directly with the airlines, they work with the route planners, but then we also work across the organisation. We look at marketing initiatives. The minister mentioned the cooperative work we have been doing with Qantas, as an example, around Kangaroo Island. We do that internationally as well.

I think it is really important that there is a holistic approach to how we grow these services and grow these routes. A good example might be the recent Working Holiday visa work that we have done in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and France. We have worked cooperatively with Qatar Airways, with a tour operator, and again that is about building back these services. We have people who work with the airport with route planning and then we have marketing staff who drive these through joint cooperative initiatives with the airlines.

I think this is really crucial, building back that air access, because it is about people-to-people but it is also about those freight opportunities for our fresh produce. We also work with other government departments when we are looking at routes and capacity. We work with the Department for Trade and Investment. We look at those opportunities so it is a statewide initiative in conjunction with the airport. We do have staff, but it is spread quite widely across the organisation.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: So you have staff spread widely across the organisation and, in addition, route planning staff and marketing staff who work on this. I am just wondering if any of those roles are potentially at risk given the $4.7 million budget cut this year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: No. Obviously, Destination Development and building back is a key priority for the government.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Understood, thank you. Is there any work that Tourism is interested in doing or is currently doing to identify the opportunity created by the movement of the Vickers Vimy, the epic flight plane, into the Adelaide Airport terminal or is that work all being done by Adelaide Airport itself?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I had the opportunity recently when I was down at Adelaide Airport for a lovely briefing to understand where we were at and the opportunities that presented. I got the opportunity to see where the Vickers Vimy aircraft will be. We do have a lot of interest in looking at the history of South Australia. When we talk about the different areas that we market ourselves on, obviously we talk about our wildlife and our beach life and our wine and our food, but history is a key part of that as well. We will continue to work with the Adelaide Airport on how we can involve that in our marketing.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Very good. I move to page 97—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am just informed that SATC provided funding towards the Adelaide Airport to support the project. I am very keen for us to continue talking to them about how we can make it a must-see for people when they come through.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Hopefully very easily accessible.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Obviously not just waiting for the plane or leaving, but to have a look at it as well. Having previously worked in tourism myself, although quite some time ago, where I was working for Great Southern Rail, we have avid train watchers just as there are very avid plane watchers. I think they will find the Vickers Vimy, in the capacity that it will be displayed, a great attraction to them.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am sure it will. Going to page 97, at the bottom of the page it talks about the $0.4 million for the Tourism Industry Council's Tourism Industry Capability Building program. How does this capability program work in practice?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: This is a particular area that is of interest to me. We made an announcement as part of our election commitments that there will be an additional $400,000 per year—$1.6 million over the forward estimates—for the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia. I was incredibly impressed with the work they did during COVID. They now have more than a thousand members and they were very agile at providing very practical, just-in-time training to their many members. There was certainly a desire to continue that business capability.

Pre-COVID there were about 19,000 businesses in South Australia that were involved in tourism. That has dropped down a little bit. Most of those businesses are microbusinesses, or small. People involved in those businesses are very much working in the business. The business capability support enables them to work on the business.

We have had a particular focus around bookability and accessibility. Social media gives us some great opportunities, but not everyone is equally as confident about the best way to use it. That business capability program will sometimes be about what the members have identified as their gaps and areas they would like help in, but it is also about areas in which we feel they can improve their business. To remind ourselves, it has been an incredibly challenging two years of uncertainty.

I spent quite a lot of time talking to people within tourism. When COVID first hit, overnight—for many of them particularly focused on international—their businesses just shut. When JobKeeper came along, it was a recognition of how many businesses were impacted. But when JobKeeper ended, tourism and hospitality was still quite restricted in performing in the way they had prior to COVID, whether it be border closures, restrictions of people in a particular area or just a feeling of people being unsure whether they should book a holiday or not.

We have seen a lot of change to the culture. People book very late now. Unfortunately, as we know, people are getting COVID and the flu and they do cancel quite frequently as well. We have seen our tourism businesses having to be agile and to pivot—words they ask me not to use anymore—because they feel like they have had to do that a lot. Recognising how we can support them with business capability is something that I feel quite strongly about, and TiCSA will deliver that.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The $400,000 is being provided presumably as a grant to TiCSA. Does the minister have an understanding of how that $400,000 will be used? Is it to employ staff to deliver that coaching or professional development or merchandise, or anything else?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are just in the final stages of negotiating with TiCSA about the KPIs around that. The other half of that money is about an identified need of skill shortages. This is something I have heard quite clearly. It is not just in tourism and hospitality; we hear it in agriculture and primary production. The other area of that $400,000 is about encouraging young people particularly to consider tourism and hospitality as an industry. It is an opportunity for us to consider why tourism has lost some of its attractiveness, and that has really been down to the lack of certainty within the industry.

I was talking to Phil Hoffman the other day, a very long-term established travel agent in South Australia, and he has lost many of his long-term staff because of the uncertainty. He has gaps. He has told me he could put on another 25 staff members tomorrow. So we have a challenge, whether it be in the accommodation sector, whether it be in travel agents, whether it be in tourism operators, of encouraging people back into the industry.

If you like talking to people you can either become a politician or you could work in travel and hospitality. There are only 69 of those political jobs in South Australia but far more available in tourism and hospitality. I would like to do a campaign. I often tell a story that, when I finished school 30 years ago, tourism was seen as the hot new industry to work in. In fact, there was a waiting list to do the diploma of travel and tourism at TAFE. Obviously, it is not at that point now. So the question is: what is it that we can do?

People often have a specific view about what a job in tourism is. Part of the job for TiCSA is to get out there, sell into different younger communities, to younger people, about the variety of jobs. The opportunities are not just here to work in South Australia but throughout Australia and potentially overseas in the future. There is work to be done in that area to build back that industry.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I take you to a couple of lines above the $400,000 for TiCSA's capability program. It identifies that the lower income in the 2022-23 budget compared to the 2021-22 estimated result, which has had a lower income—we are talking about $10 million to nothing—is primarily due to the income associated with the Tourism Industry Development Fund, which ceased in 2021-22. Why has the Labor government cut the Tourism Industry Development Fund?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It was only budgeted for two years, and one would have thought that it perhaps would have ended at this financial year, but we do know that people have experienced delays to their buildings and to construction. One hundred and fourteen projects successfully received funding, and that was across all of the 11 tourism regions. As of 26 May, 41 of those projects have been completed, so quite a few of the projects have been unable to be completed by the end of this last financial year.

Payments to the grantees are allocated according to the requirements of each project time line, and payments are made on a reimbursement basis. You will see that there is money in this year's budget because those projects have not been completed, and they will only have that money when they are completed.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: When those 114 projects are completed, then the revenue created for South Australia, or indeed the visitor expenditure, does the minister have advice on how much visitor expenditure has already been generated by that work?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, as I understand, it was expected to generate $74.5 million to the state visitor economy each year. That is when the projects are fully completed, and as I said at this stage only 41 have been completed of the 114.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: That will be an outstanding benefit to South Australia, I am sure.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Give yourself a clap.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to page 99, targets. There is a reference to the Regional Events Fund, or this might actually be in the highlights. The last highlights established the Regional Events Fund. What is the total amount of funding allocated to the Regional Events Fund in 2022-23 and over the forward estimates?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is $500,000 that is allocated in 2022-23 and that continues over the forward estimates.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is there a quota or an expectation of how much funding will go to each of the 11 regions across South Australia or is it changed from year to year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I do not think there is an actual quota, but it is quite well distributed. If you would like I am happy to read into Hansard the 54 regional events that were sponsored last year.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am sure you can table it, if you like, minister, but I did not ask you to go through the details.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Can I say, looking through the list, it is quite diverse, but perhaps I can take that on notice and come back to you about the percentage in each of the regional areas.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you, and if it is on notice you are welcome to provide as much detail as you would like.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is also a submission process—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Excellent.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —but I think your question is, is it well distributed?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Of course, it would depend on the nature of the submissions.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Maybe if you are taking it on notice I can ask for the allocation of funding to each project in the 2021-22 period and whether there is a planned allocation for 2022-23. If that can be provided at that time as well that would be helpful.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I have already given you the allocation, it is $500,000, so I will not take that on notice.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to the Barossa Contemporary festival then, which the minister identified before. The minister identified its cessation in the context of the budget cuts—the operational efficiencies, sorry. What reason was provided to the festival organisers for the early termination of the three-year contract?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: This is obviously a very tough decision. When we were having our discussions around the budget—there are a lot of competing priorities within this. Just to be clear, we are a sponsor of the Barossa Contemporary and even though we have made the decision not to continue with our sponsorship that does not necessarily imply that it will not go ahead. As I understand it, we are still having some conversations with the people who are running the Barossa Contemporary and trying to work and support them, but that will be a decision for them.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to the bottom of page 99. The last target on the page is 'support the development of the new major events on the events calendar, including Harvest Rock'. It talks about the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The minister earlier talked about Illuminate and a couple of other items. I note that Harvest Rock, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and the Illuminate Festival, for example, were all announced prior to the election. Are there any new major events that SATC is attracting and developing that you are able to tell us about?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There is $40 million for the Major Events Fund. We have made it very clear, as a Malinauskas Labor government, that we want to grow events and increase events, and that will be now under the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Under the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, okay. So we will ask—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: You may recall that we made it very clear that the Adelaide 500 was a priority for us. We consider that a new event. We are looking for the streets of Adelaide to be alive between 1 and 4 December this year. I look forward to seeing you attend the event.

What was announced from SATC, however, and I was very excited to announce, was the Wallabies v South Africa (the Springboks) and the Wallaroos v New Zealand (the Black Ferns). That was announced by myself on 2 May. It is an historic rugby double-header, a blockbuster, at Adelaide Oval on 27 August. At the moment, the Black Ferns of New Zealand are ranked No. 2 in the world behind England, and we are expecting to have quite a large crowd to that.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Earlier on page 99, the highlights identify supported major events. We have just been talking about the Major Events Fund, which has been moved to the Premier. Page 99 states 'supported major events through the Leisure Events Bid Fund' and then lists a reasonable number of those. Does the Leisure Events Bid Fund still exist?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, it does exist.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: What is the total amount of funding allocated to the Leisure Events Bid Fund in 2022-23 and over the forward estimates?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I have already covered that in the amount for the sponsored events; those are the same figures there. That is in the Leisure Events Bid Fund.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: So is the events sponsorship amount that the minister identified before—which I think was $19 million, $18.5 million, $12.5 million and $7.5 million although, potentially, the minister identified there may be more to add—the Leisure Events Bid Fund money? Is that one and the same thing?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is the committed and contracted events from the Leisure Events Bid Fund.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: So those numbers do not contain any money that is not part of the Leisure Events Bid Fund? That is the Leisure Events Bid Fund?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is from this budget forward.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Okay, thank you. Can we get a breakdown of the funding that has been allocated to each project funded by the Leisure Events Bid Fund in the 2021-22 period and the planned allocation for 2022-23?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As per previous ministers for tourism, and I have already said this today, the details of sponsorship payments are subject to contractual confidentiality restrictions and therefore cannot be disclosed.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I thought if I asked it in a different way I might get a different answer.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Nice try.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Who makes the final determination for projects applying for funding under the Leisure Events Bid Fund?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We had a conversation about this yesterday because, obviously, understanding how the industry works and how decisions are made is really important. As I said before, some opportunities, as we call them, are a formal bid process and others are more opportunities that present from relationships that have been built up over some time. It seems, particularly in that sporting field where we have excellent facilities, we are seen as a good location. So that decision is made within SATC and recommendations are made. But quite a bit of work is focused upon the economic impact on South Australia.

Obviously, we would look at return on investment and we would look at the opportunity to attract international and interstate tourists for a particular event. When an event is held, quite a bit of focus is upon those economic indicators—and not just economic, the focus is also on filling out and looking at the calendar: who we would like to attract and the diversity of different events. So that Leisure Events Bid Fund remains within SATC.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: So SATC's expertise is used for the Leisure Events Bid Fund. Can I ask who makes the determination for projects applying for funding under the Major Events Fund?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is under the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and the Premier I think spoke at length about that yesterday; it is in his Hansard.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is SATC's advice sought in relation to those bids under the Major Events Fund?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As Minister for Tourism, I will be part of those conversations. Obviously, I am a cabinet minister, and when we make those decisions in cabinet I go in there fully informed by the South Australian Tourism Commission.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: In relation to the workforce summary on page 94, there is a cut of six FTEs from SATC compared to the 2021-22 estimated results, from 129 to 123. Can the minister explain those roles, why they have been cut and what positions and programs are affected?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will go through this and perhaps you will have more detail. The FTE cap at 30 June is 129. The FTE cap will reduce to 123 in 2022-23, so it will be within the cap. SATC has achieved all previous FTE savings targets and will work through workforce strategy to realise any future FTE savings at this time.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I understand that, during the briefing about the SA Motor Sport (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, the opposition was advised that two FTEs would be transferred from SATC to the Motorsport Board as they were the only staff with relevant skills and experience. Can the minister explain which positions these are and how that will impact the effective operation of other managed events?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will ask Hitaf Rasheed to detail that.

Ms RASHEED: We have two roles that have transferred to the Motorsport group, and one of those roles was directly related to the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, which will now be run by Motorsport. So that will impact, and we will fill the other position as it relates to our other managed events.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I go to page 102:

Invest in domestic marketing campaigns that deliver a distinct and consistent message to challenge people's perceptions of South Australia and generate demand for South Australian holidays.

How much is going to be invested into domestic marketing campaigns in the coming year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The 2022-23 domestic marketing budget is estimated to be $19.8 million.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Which regions will be targeted?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As in domestic marketing regions? I will get some details. Obviously, with the borders open, we are very focused on supporting people from interstate to come to visit South Australia. We have some key marketing campaigns in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and obviously we will do things here in Adelaide. Those campaigns typically include television commercials, outdoor advertising, digital advertising supported by social media, and publicity to raise awareness of South Australia. Where possible, a travel partner operator is included as a featured booking operator to encourage consumers to book a trip.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: What is the process for determining who will deliver those campaigns—which external contractors or in-house expertise will be used? How does that work?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We have a creative services contract, and that services contract will do that. The current creative services contract includes a primary agency and a panel of secondary agencies. The primary agency provides strategic creative services and is the lead agency for SATC's overall creative strategy and any large-scale campaigns.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: What is the methodology SATC uses to measure the success of these campaigns? What KPIs or targets are required to be met?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will get the CE, Rodney Harrex, to detail that.

Mr HARREX: We use a lot of data to analyse our performance, and we do that through what are called the NVS and the IVS, the National Visitor Survey and the International Visitor Survey. We use this data to track our performance. As the minister has mentioned, we particularly target key markets like Sydney and Melbourne, and we look at our performance. We look at flight performance. We look at conversion.

We also look at how we are tracking in a range of areas in terms of our key messaging interstate. Again, we use that data to look at our performance. We use information that is fed through from hotels, as an example, as to how South Australia is performing. What is our hotel occupancy? What is our regional dispersal? We use all these metrics to look at how, as a state, we are performing, how we are driving that visitation from interstate and also here within South Australia and internationally as we now rebuild internationally.

I think this is a really important point. As we emerge internationally, we work with the national tourism marketing body, Tourism Australia. We also look at where those opportunities are for us as a state. A good example I mentioned earlier was the youth campaign. We felt that this was a first mover in terms of people prepared to travel, and so we really worked. We looked at that data. We saw that there were good volumes of Working Holiday visas that were being issued, and we felt that that was appropriate to really target and stimulate visitation.

So it is using consumer analysis that we have of the markets and the opportunities, and then we use this data to track our performance. We use this data to inform us in terms of how we are getting cut through with our target audience. I think this is a really important point for us. We use data to inform this. We have good-sized budgets, but it is important that our activity is targeted through data. I think that is really key for us.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I take you to page 104. One of the targets on this page is:

Help drive the recovery of working holiday makers to South Australia to help address workforce shortages and grow the visitor economy.

What was the total cost of the subsidised flights and marketing for the ten-pound Poms working holiday-makers campaign?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It would not be appropriate for me to talk about that figure. What I can talk about is the fact that it was an exceptionally well-supported and well-recognised campaign. That campaign was announced in April, giving eligible working holiday-makers from the United Kingdom and Ireland the opportunity to secure one of 200 £10, or €10, return airfares from the UK or Ireland. The registration process saw at the campaign 16,000 people register their interest. It was above and beyond what we expected.

I did an enormous amount of media all over the world about this, and obviously it was picked up here as well on our national TV, and 200 people went on to have that opportunity. Because there was so much interest in that, we also took another opportunity to offer £499 fares to Adelaide for the working holiday-makers, and we are seeing additional strong results. It was 200 in the first cohort, and we are expecting about 700 to 900 people potentially coming here in the second one. Just to remind ourselves, it was quite restrictive. People already had to have a visa to come to Australia, but they had not enacted that visa.

What we were doing was giving them the opportunity, or the encouragement, one might say, to start their backpacking journey here in South Australia. It also came with a support package including three nights' accommodation. They had to buy into this support package. They would get a tax file number, they would be able to set up a bank account, and we are also giving them support to find their first jobs here when they arrive.

It was a particular program designed to get people's attention. People have asked subsequently in the house, 'Why the UK and Ireland?' That is where the vast majority of our backpackers have come from traditionally. In fact, in 2019, 27,000 backpackers came to South Australia, so this is a key part of our tourism sector. We really wanted to stimulate people coming back here.

A really nice part about it is, while we were targeting those backpackers who had to be under 35, the campaign kind of was targeted at their parents, to let them know that our borders are open and we are ready for business again. That was twofold: we wanted to get those younger people coming here. We know there are jobs in tourism and hospitality and there are jobs in primary industries, but we also wanted to let their parents know, who hopefully will come out and visit them while they are here.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The original question was what was the cost of the campaign. I appreciate the benefits the minister has identified and the numbers who have used it. The earlier answer that the minister gave where the minister did not want to provide budget was largely to do with commercial-in-confidence. I cannot see how that applies to this one. Can the minister explain why she does not want to reveal to the people of South Australia what the cost of this campaign has been?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We did this promotional airfare in partnership with Trailfinders, so we obviously had a commercial-in-confidence agreement with them. We also had some of the airline companies with us as well. This is consistent with every minister for tourism who has been here. We do not talk about how much these commercial contracts are. It is a very competitive field out there. We feel that we drew attention and that is why we did it. I will maintain the same consideration as previous ministers of tourism have.

Can I just say to you that we have had our first person. Niamh Mulkerrins, who is 29, from Dublin, Ireland, arrived on 31 May, and our first UK contingent arrived on 2 June. That was Zac and Victoria from London. As I understand it, they have already secured jobs picking apples in the Adelaide Hills.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am not sure you are answering the question.

Ms PRATT: I am referring to page 96, tourism development, picking up on your budget language of driving additional expenditure in regions, working with tourism operators, and I reflect on the supply chain to tourism and hospitality, accommodation, local businesses. I am a regional MP, of course. They tell me where they want to recruit, because we have seen an increase in activity. They are often advertising housing, so my question is what conversations are you having with your cabinet colleagues or federal counterparts to address and support the housing requirements to recruit for tourism?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Certainly. I think that is a relevant question. Like all the other industries where there are skill shortages, there are barriers to entry. As I said, from a tourism point of view one of those areas has been regarding the uncertainty in the industry and people exiting the industry. As a former minister of social housing, I have, I guess, a background and an understanding of how housing makes an incredible difference, not just to the opportunities to work and that investment.

Just recently, the cabinet was down in the Limestone Coast, meeting with the councils. I understand there are potential housing strategies that some of the councils have and we will continue to work with them and look at that. We know that this is one of the barriers that we have, not only attracting people to the industry but particularly that the seasonality of tourism is often when the housing, particularly if it is for holiday-makers, is often full as well. I am very aware of it and those conversations are continuing. It is something that I am very much aware of and have raised many times.

Ms PRATT: I think the wine regions of Mawson, Schubert and Clare Valley would welcome the government's attention on supporting those industries as well as the Limestone Coast wine regions.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I refer to page 97 and the targets to develop and plan a range of strategies. What is the process and time frame for the recreational fishing tourism strategy and will that strategy be developed in conjunction with PIRSA and other stakeholders, such as RecFish SA?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will be in the Riverland this weekend launching a boat, which will be part of the Murray Trails, and I will obviously be meeting with the council while I am there and I will talk to them about their housing needs.

The fishing strategy: we are committed to developing this recreational fishing strategy as it was part of our election commitment. It will be developed in consultation with peak fishing bodies and will aim to increase visitation motivated by fishing to increase visitor spend and length of stay. The expectation is the strategy will be published no later than the beginning of 2024, and obviously that consultation will be extensive.

The CHAIR: Thank you, minister. There being no further questions—I am sure there are but there are not going to be—I declare the examination of the portfolios of the South Australian Tourism Commission, the Adelaide Venue Management Authority and the estimate of payments for the South Australian Tourism Commission and Minister for Tourism completed. The estimate of payments for the Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance to be adjourned until Thursday 23 June.