TOURISM

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:33): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Tourism a question about tourist visitation to our state.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Domestic tourism underpins the sustainability of South Australia's tourism sector, providing the vast majority of visitors to our state. Can the Minister for Tourism update the chamber on the latest domestic tourism figures?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:34): Domestic tourism, both South Australians exploring their own backyard and also interstate visitors to South Australia experiencing our wonderful tourism attractions, is vital for the profitability of thousands of small businesses in our state and for the general economy of this state. The latest domestic tourism statistics were released by the federal government today and show that South Australia is travelling in the right direction. We have, in fact, recorded the biggest increases of any Australian state over this period.

I am advised that in the 2011 calendar year South Australia attracted 4.95 million visitors, which represents an increase of 8 per cent of domestic overnight visitor numbers in 2010. This is the highest growth in domestic visitor numbers to South Australia in the last 11 years, and it is twice the national growth rate, which came in at 4 per cent.

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: What about international visitors?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I can get you international figures; we are doing very well there as well, but I will finish our state achievements before going on to talk about our international achievements. I am very pleased to report that our state topped the nation in growth in domestic visitor nights. I am advised that last year we recorded 18.67 million domestic visitor nights, which was an increase of almost 10 per cent over previous years. On a national level, domestic visitor nights grew by only 1.4 per cent.

You can see that compared to the national average we are punching well above our weight in this last survey. Domestic visitors also spent more while they were here last year. Domestic expenditure grew to $4 billion, which I understand is an increase of 8 per cent over 2010 and twice the average national growth. Many of the small businesses that make up the tourism sector are located in the regions, and these latest figures show that regional South Australia is enjoying a very large share of this growth.

I am advised that 63 per cent of domestic visitors to South Australia in 2011 visited regional South Australia, with almost 50 per cent of domestic tourism expenditure being spent in the regions, which I am sure honourable members agree is a fantastic result, and I am sure they acknowledge and appreciate these efforts. Across the regions, almost all of our regions through this period experienced growth. There are a couple that did not, but almost all of our regions experienced growth in tourism during that last survey period.

I am further advised that, when we include both international and domestic visitation, South Australia's total tourism expenditure for the year ending December 2011 was $4.731 billion, which represents an increase of 6.8 per cent from 2010. The national average was 3.1 per cent. Again, in terms of visitor rates, we are almost double when you combine both. While these figures are obviously very encouraging, the South Australian Tourism Commission will continue to work to increase this valuable sector of our tourism industry.

The SATC's Best Backyard intrastate campaign was launched in October and will run until at least the middle of the year. The campaign is designed to remind South Australians why they should take a holiday or break within South Australia and encourages them to do so. The campaign approach is also a shift from showcasing one or two specific regions to marketing the experiences of SA holidays, short stays and day trips.

To date the campaign has focused on two of five experiential themes, these being coastal and river, and national landscapes. Flinders and outback, food and wine, and journeys will make up the remainder of the 2011-12 campaign. In addition, a new campaign was launched last month which showcases one of our state's most unique assets (Kangaroo Island), targeted at potential travellers in Victoria, New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. The campaign is centred on a very stunning commercial with music provided by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. These domestic campaigns aim to inspire South Australians to reconnect with our wonderful regions.

The interjection was about our international visitation rates and, of course, the national survey that I have just reported on only looked at domestic visitation, but the last international figures that I have show that, whilst the number of international visitors to South Australia had decreased slightly, the international spend in South Australia had increased quite significantly. So what that means is, although we are attracting fewer people here, they are the higher end spenders. It is not surprising, given the way that our dollar is operating, that it is only really the big end of town taking international trips at the moment. As I said, although the numbers are down, the spend is up.

So we can be very proud not only of the really hard work that our Tourism Commission performs but also of our tourism sector. One thing we are very good at here in South Australia is the capacity of our tourism industry and operators to come together, work together, cooperate and partner together, particularly working in a regionally strategic way. We have seen some wonderful examples of that in our regions. They are to be congratulated for their hard work and endeavours, and we can see that their efforts are paying off.