House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Grievance Debate Riverland Tourism Riverland Tourism The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE House of Assembly Chaffey Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:32): I rise to talk about the thriving tourism industry in regional South Australia, and in the Riverland in particular. My apologies to the member for Narungga for not being able to contribute to his regional tourism motion this morning, but I do want to talk about the Riverland's contribution to the state's record-breaking tourism numbers over the past year. It is exciting to see growth in South Australia's international tourism market. International visitors are at an all-time high, with 464,000 international visitors spending $1.15 billion across the state. Total expenditure for the state has grown to a record high of $6.7 billion, up 8 per cent for the year. Tourism is an important driver for the Riverland's economy, generating $173 million of expenditure in the region and attracting 1.3 million visitor nights per year. This is a 7 per cent increase on the previous year of $161 million in visitor expenditure for the region. There are more than 350 tourism businesses in the region creating significant employment opportunities, with 1,100 people directly employed in tourism, 400 indirect jobs, and a total employment impact of 1,500 people. Over the past 12 months, the Riverland has welcomed 8,000 international visitors, who stayed 225,000 nights; however, $93 million of the overall $173 million in expenditure is attributed to intrastate visitors. Overnight visitors have grown from 346,000 to 386,000. That is up 11.5 per cent in the past 12 months. This rise in intrastate visitors demonstrates the increased diversity of tourism offerings and indicates that South Australians are exploring their own backyard. The Riverland is fortunate in its natural beauty—the mighty River Murray, the beautiful weather, the fauna, the wildlife, and more hours of sunshine than the Gold Coast. The basis of its tourism industry is the River Murray and our proud Riverland communities. Our Riverland businesses provide the opportunity to combine our premium food, wine and cultural experiences to attract those visitors. Our resilient tourism operators have taken those unique and beautiful natural attributes and built on them, and the effect of tourism extends further than the direct tourism industry, producing social experiences in the region and supporting a range of economic opportunities for the community. It is a credit to the tourism operators in the Riverland and the regional tourism body, Destination Riverland. Destination Riverland are doing an outstanding job. They have stood head and shoulders above the majority of other state tourism bodies and worked hard to provide unique, first-class and diverse tourism experiences. The quality of the Riverland's tourism offerings has been reflected by the Riverland's high representation at the South Australian Tourism Awards over the last couple of years. Last year, 11 businesses were nominated for the awards, and six of these were winners or medallists in their respective categories. Of special mention are Griffens Marina at Blanchetown and The Frames in Paringa. Both were inducted into the prestigious South Australian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame, having won best in their respective categories for a consecutive third year. Both went on to represent the state at the national awards, with The Frames being crowned Australia's best self-contained accommodation. Congratulations to Cathy and Rick. This year is no exception, with 10 Riverland organisations up for awards at the gala dinner this Friday evening. To have such a large number of nominations is a further indicator that the Riverland is headed in the right direction. The Riverland tourism operators and organisations up for tourism awards in 2018 are the Berri Riverside Holiday Park; the BIG4 Renmark Riverfront Holiday Park; the Murray River Queen; the Murray River Walk, with Susie and Tony Sharley doing a great job; the Renmark Rose Festival; River Murray Houseboats; The Frames, Riverland Luxury; 23^rd Street Distillery, and thank you, Angelo Kotses, for your investment into the Riverland; Waikerie Golf and Country Club, which is another outstanding place to go and stay; and Destination Riverland has again been nominated for those awards. The Riverland has the ability to continue to build on its tourism success and to compete with the very great food, wine and natural destinations of the world. I will be there to cheer on our fantastic Riverland tourism businesses this Friday evening and I wish them all the luck. Hashtag #RegionsMatter.