Regional Tourism

650 The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (25 August 2021). With regard to regional tourism, is the government going to give targeted support to regional areas where expenditure has dropped significantly?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier): I have been advised:

The government has announced two further rounds of the successful Great State Voucher (GSV) program. The GSV program was established to drive expenditure back into the Adelaide CBD and regions by increasing accommodation occupancy. The voucher program has been successful in providing targeted stimulus where it was needed the most, the Adelaide CBD, regional accommodation and hosted tourism experiences. The first four rounds have injected more than $60 million into our visitor economy right across the state.

Rounds 5 and 6 were announced on 15 August. Round 5 will focus on hosted and guided activities and tours. Round 6 will offer accommodation vouchers for regional and CBD accommodation.

As in previous rounds, the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) will assess the economic impact of rounds 5 and 6, and take advice from the sector, before considering future rounds.

An additional $1 million has been provided to support regional events in South Australia annually from 2021-22 onwards. Round 2 of the Regional Event Fund is currently open and successful applicants are expected to be announced in November 2021. This additional support represents a 50 per cent increase in available funding through the fund, which means more events will receive support.

The SATC continues to focus on supporting airlines that link South Australia with its key tourism markets, which includes providing marketing support to promote the destinations to which they fly. Kangaroo Island has been particularly impacted by bushfires and COVID-19 and SATC has sought additional funding support from the federal government's Recovery for Regional Tourism program.

The SATC maintains close links with each regional tourism manager, providing the agency with clear and direct feedback on issues facing regional operators.

The SATC also continues to engage broadly with the tourism sector, businesses and other stakeholders to ensure we are doing what is needed for our regions and state to recover strongly.