House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Adjournment Debate Rundle Mall Tourist Precinct RUNDLE MALL TOURIST PRECINCT Ms SANDERSON House of Assembly Adelaide Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (17:23): I rise to further my comments on Rundle Mall that I started as a grieve in the last sitting week. I believe that, because the government now recognises that Rundle Mall is a place of significant interest to our tourists and this position is supported by industry stakeholders and the wider community, the argument that tourists do not come here to shop can also be dispelled by the fact that busloads of cruise ship passengers flooded into the mall on the Sunday when it was opened from nine to 11. Tourism Australia's Inbound Tourism Trends publication gives some extraordinary figures, stating: Shopping for pleasure is the most popular leisure activity undertaken by international tourists in Australia. That is 84 per cent of people surveyed. It is way ahead of going to the beach which sits at 62 per cent and way ahead of visiting the markets which sits at 54 per cent. Whilst it is always difficult to assess the actual dollar impact without a comprehensive survey, I understand that over 3,000 cruise liner passengers were in the mall by 9.30am on the day the hours were extended. Five wineries showcased SA's premier wine regions with wine tastings, the Fringe turned on a show, there were jazz bands, and 70 per cent of retailers responded by opening their doors. Mall traffic was up by 20 per cent over the entire day over any given Sunday, which clearly demonstrates that locals were also there to enjoy the carnival atmosphere. Many of the guests commented that Adelaide turned on the best show. I say to this house that, given the success of the Sunday that we extended the trading hours, as a state, we cannot afford to turn our back on these tourist dollars by keeping our doors closed in future during peak tourism times such as public holidays.