VINE INN BAROSSA

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Tourism a question about tourism development.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: The minister has spoken in this place before about the support provided by the South Australian Tourism Commission for the development of appropriate tourism experiences and products. Will the minister tell the chamber about a recent grant to the Vine Inn motel?

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) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, the SATC supports a great number of tourism developments, including infrastructure and new products. The Vine Inn motel has received a grant from the Tourism Development Fund which is an application-based grants program designed to assist tourism infrastructure projects which address and identify product gaps and add to the tourism product available in key areas of the state.

The grant provided to the Barossa's historic Vine Inn motel will see it upgraded to a four-star level, assisting to grow tourism and financial returns for the community. I am advised that the Vine Inn is more than 150 years old and has been community owned for the past 75 years. As a community-owned business all hotel profits are returned to the region through sponsorship and donations to local sporting and service clubs, schools, kindergartens and community projects.

This is part of what makes the Vine Inn motel in Nuriootpa such a unique Barossa property. As a community-owned motel, increased visitation to the property results in benefits for the whole community. Under the $33,000 grant from the SATC Development Fund, 18 rooms will be upgraded from 3.5 to 4 star level, and the .5 star upgrade will enable the property to offer quality facilities in the Barossa region at a competitive rate.

The South Australian Tourism Commission and the Weatherill government have made their commitment to facilitating the development of accommodation in the regional areas very clear. We know that visitors and locals alike love our regions, so we need to ensure that we have high quality accommodation available to meet their needs.

The Vine Inn upgrade will occur over two stages to minimise the effect to the motel's operations. Six rooms have already been upgraded to a high 4 star standard. The remaining 12 rooms are intended to be upgraded by March 2013. This upgrade to the Vine Inn motel is in line with, and has been driven by, the Destination Action Plan (DAP) for the region launched in May, which outlines 22 actions to increase visitation to the Barossa region.

This project aligns with our objective to upgrade 30 rooms within the Barossa region to a 4 star standard by 2020 to cater for increased demand from both the high-yielding domestic market and also the high-yielding and rapidly growing Asian market. I was delighted to be advised that the upgrades are being completed and facilitated through local trades and suppliers, thus ensuring financial stimulus for the Barossa businesses in what is obviously a tough economic market.