Australian Tourism Exchange

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Could the minister please tell the chamber about the success of the most recent Australian Tourism Exchange held from 15 to 19 April this year at the Adelaide Convention Centre?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:47): Well, I thank—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let us hear from the minister.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I thank the honourable member for his very important question and I just happen to have some notes at hand. As members would know, the Australian Tourism Exchange is a particularly important event. It's Australia's largest annual travel and tourism business-to-business event. It brings together Australian tourism businesses to promote their products directly to tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events. We have played host to this incredible event twice in the past and now, after an eight-year hiatus, we had the pleasure of hosting the who's who in tourism and travel to our state, and the feedback was that it was the best ATE yet.

The ATE is an excellent opportunity for international tourism buyers to experience South Australia's world-class and diverse range of tourism offerings. It was attended by over 2,200 delegates in the tourism sector from around Australia and the world. As a government which is committed to showcasing this wonderful state to the world, it was wonderful to see participants of the global market converge on South Australia and return home with a unique array of South Australian tourism products to offer their markets. Undoubtedly, there would have also been some very positive feedback circulated amongst families, friends and social groups of the participants.

Held in the newly redeveloped $400 million Adelaide Convention Centre, the very best of South Australia's food, beverage and tourism offerings were showcased. It was especially great to see that this year's ATE event was timed to coincide with another fabulous South Australian event, Tasting Australia, which I remind the chamber was an event that was launched and created under the former Liberal government some 16 or 20 years ago, so it is something that we can be very proud of.

The food and wine experience for ATE delegates was heightened to an exceptional level, which is all part of the story which participants will take home to their customers, family and friends. At previous events, there have been around 700 international travel buyers from more than 30 countries, and 78 media from 20 countries. Around 240 operators this year were used for trade and media famils. Those included wineries, other attractions, tours and transfer operators, accommodation and restaurants.

Very importantly, around 610 famils were filled this year, and what is great to see is that all 11 tourism regions were represented. I believe there were 88 different famil itineries developed for the ATE trade and media delegates. So, whilst the hub of the ATE and Tasting Australia were city based, delegates had an opportunity to experience our beautiful and unique regions, which contribute more than $2.6 billion to the South Australian visitor economy.

In a day and age where social media plays an extensive role in the success of our visitor economy, it was fantastic to report that the social media reach was very strong, and generated tens of thousands of likes amongst Instagram users in particular. Our visitor economy is worth a record $6.6 billion, and we are committed to continue to grow the visitation and expenditure in our state.

The economic benefits of hosting ATE in South Australia are predicted to be between $9 million and $11 million, and this doesn't include the future economic activity that will flow from the event in the years to come. In the longer term, ATE will assist South Australia and the broader Australian tourism industry to reach its Tourism 2020 goals. In particular, I congratulate the South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism Australia on collaborating on this great event and providing such a magnificent showcase to our state, and in particular the staff and team at the South Australian Tourism Commission for the great work they did during the event.