Regional Tourism

400 The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) ().16 October 2024). Can the Minister for Tourism advise:

With regard to the decline in regional tourism expenditure, is the government going to give targeted support to regional areas where expenditure has dropped significantly?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): The Minister for Tourism has advised:

The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) always-on digital marketing program promotes and drives bookings into specific regions during periods of lower demand. Regions are further supported with cooperative marketing activities that drive direct bookings to operators through third-party booking agents.

In 2023-24, the SATC consumer facing website southaustralia.com generated more than 2.2 million leads for South Australian tourism businesses. More than 60 per cent of these leads were for businesses located outside of the Adelaide metropolitan area. In addition, 64 per cent of the SATC's search engine advertising budget was used to promote businesses and tourism activities located outside the Adelaide metropolitan area.

This digital marketing activity is further supported by tactical intrastate marketing campaigns, such as the Winter. Our Way. and the Spring iteration of the campaign as well as the River Revival Marketing campaigns, to respond to market conditions and actively encourage South Australians into regions.

The SATC has also invested in refreshing its Road Trip marketing campaign and supporting initiatives to promote self-drive itineraries within South Australia.