Visitor Economy

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the minister update the house on the recovery of the South Australian visitor economy?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:42): Thank you very much, and I am delighted to talk about the excellent results we are getting from the National Visitor Survey. Let's just remind ourselves how important tourism is to this state: it's 8 per cent of our economy and it's the fourth largest export for Australia.

We know that it has suffered incredibly difficult times during COVID, when our borders were shut. In fact, we had a low here in South Australia of a $4.4 billion visitor economy, coming down from a high of $8.1 billion, but I am pleased to say the results of August 2022 are exceptional. In fact, they are 115 per cent of the pre-COVID results. This means that we had a $747 million total visitor spend in the month of August.

This is the fifth consecutive month where we have seen above or near pre-COVID levels here in South Australia. Why does this happen? This happens because we as a government have put a focus on building back tourism—

Mr Whetstone: Why don't you thank the businesses for doing what they do?

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is called to order and warned.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Florey is warned. The minister has the call.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We know that major events are a significant impact to attract people to come to South Australia. In fact, the double-header of the Wallabies and the Wallaroos on 27 August was the biggest ever night we had in hotels in Adelaide ever. That event attracted 8,000 people from interstate and had a significant impact on our tourism economy. We are looking to continue that momentum and, when I think about the upcoming rounds of the National Visitor Survey, it does make me a bit excited because we have a lot happening.

Just this month, we have had the ICC T20 match. Can I tell you how exciting it was, particularly for our Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities. They love coming out to see their heroes play. This weekend we have Harvest Rock. This is the first time it has come here. It is a two-day event for music, food and events, and we are going to have a great time—we are just hoping for the best weather possible.

Let's not forget the VALO Adelaide 500 from 1 to 4 December. The streets are calling, and we can't wait to see that. That is followed in January by the Santos Tour Down Under. Of course, we then go back to what is probably our favourite time of the year with the Fringe Festival and WOMAD. Just after that—and we had the great announcement this week—is, of course, the AFL Magic Round, which is going to be a fantastic addition to the—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is called to order.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Thank you so much, member for Schubert. Then, of course, LIV Golf as well. What we are seeing—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey!

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —is, of course, national events that turn people's heads—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens! The minister has the call.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —and make them book a flight. We hear that flights are already booked, but then we have an international event that turns people's heads. While we were up 32 per cent of interstate visitors in August, the international visitors are going to take some time.

So it is events of international significance, like the Santos Tour Down Under, like LIV Golf, that give people reason to come to South Australia. We need to build back because we have still got a long way to go, and those businesses involved, whether it be a hotel or a tourism operator, suffered, and they suffered in quite substantial years of uncertainty, and we want to give them that confidence and that momentum.

Just this morning, I announced that international flights were back to nearly 90 per cent in January, and we are seeing significant increases in flights from Qatar, Singapore, Malaysian Airlines and, of course, Virgin Australia going to Denpasar from South Australia for the very first time.