Tourism Industry

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the minister update the house on the state's tourism industry since March 2022?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:56): I thank the member for Adelaide for the question. Well, I didn't think we could do better than we did during LIV Golf, but on the March long weekend we hit our record hotel occupancy of 10,662 rooms. This is something that is proof in the pudding that we came to government in 2022 taking tourism seriously, and we came at a time when the industry had been impacted like they had never been before. It was a time to build back, it was a time to build confidence, and we have done that.

We have had some amazing events during the March long weekend. Of course, traditionally it is the Adelaide Cup, but of course we had the Fringe. We are here on track today, as the Speaker has just said, that we are nearly at a million tickets. I think if all of us can book a show or two over the next few days we can achieve it. The Fringe was on, of course, and WOMAD. I also had the chance to go the Motorsport Festival, which is an incredible event and it has increased its capacity by about 40 per cent. So in many different ways we saw the March long weekend as an excellent weekend, as it has always been, but we are really hitting our stride.

Since 2020, of course, we have had $2.2 billion in hotel construction or hotels that have been opened. This is important because we are hitting those really high occupancy rates at a time when we have got more rooms and higher quality rooms than we have ever had before. Just yesterday the Premier and I announced that InterContinental, impressed with what is happening in South Australia, has committed to the Barossa Resort and Spa, with 150 rooms and $100 million of impact to the construction. It will really add to the immersive opportunities that you can have in the Barossa.

You know we have been talking about it a lot because Gather Round is around the corner and we are going to have those two games in the Barossa, but part of it is the legacy that we leave. We have seen that beautiful new oval that is going to be there. There are some conference facilities, but what we have seen is that it makes people pay attention to the Barossa as well. Of course, in the Economic Recovery Fund the Treasurer put money forward for regional tourism accommodation, and the Barossa was front and centre of that, so we will see that rolling out in the next few years.

Of course, with aviation links we were hit so hard, as was the rest of the world, when we closed our borders. So, on coming to government, over the last three years, that has been a clear focus for myself and the Tourism Commission and the government as a whole. We have seen Emirates come back and of course China Southern as well. We remain committed because we now have 20 per cent more connection points and seats coming in, but we need to make sure we are out there marketing it and bringing people in as well.

Of course, I am talking about what we have done in the last three years, but there's so much more to come along, like Illuminate in July. We are really loving getting our coats and hats on and seeing that wonderful time here in the city. The British & Irish Lions are coming on 12 July. Last time, we had 30,000 to 40,000 people coming along to see this game. Just today, I released an expression of interest that will go to AEDA because we want to make sure that businesses in the city and North Adelaide know how important this is. We want to make sure they are open, they are connected and take full advantage of this high-spending, high-drinking crowd that is coming our way. We have increased money to the bid fund, which means extra time for conventions and conferences.