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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-01 Daily Xml
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Agritourism Sector Plan

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the minister update the house on the Agritourism Sector Plan recently launched for the tourism industry conference?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:31): Thank you very much, member for Davenport. I had great joy on Tuesday, at the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia's conference, in front of nearly 350 delegates to announce the sector plan, the Agritourism Sector Plan. There is such exciting potential.

We already have great depth in this area, but about 90 per cent of agritourism is around cellar doors and wineries, of which we have 340 here in South Australia. What we want to do is take the next step in that economic advantage. We know the demand is increasing, particularly in some of those high-end markets that we are interested in gaining back—the US, the UK, and across Europe.

People want to touch, taste and feel. They are disconnected from how produce is grown, packaged and created, and we saw during COVID a real desire for not just for adventure tourism but wellness tourism. Although we are incredibly well known for our food and our drinks, people really are interested in agriculture.

Some of the great things we see are examples like Beerenberg, where people can go and pick their own strawberries, or Lenswood, where they can pick their own apples. My personal favourite at the moment is the Jurlique farm. What a fantastic international product for South Australia—and it's all made here—and you can actually go and see the ingredients that go into those amazing products. But this is just the start. Whether you love a lavender farm—and we have some beautiful ones in KI at Emu Bay—this is an opportunity for us to progress this further.

The aim of this plan is to increase by 295 million by the end of 2025. It's ambitious. Currently, this is only 10 per cent of tourism, agriculture tourism. It's made up of these on-farm experiences or farm-to-fork experiences. The next step is a working group, and I encourage any members who would like to to contact my office if they have suggestions as to who might like to be part of that working group. Obviously the regions are a key part of this opportunity, and we are consulting with different head offices and people representing different groups. Food SA, of course, and PIRSA will be involved.

The industry action plan that will follow from this will lead the way. What are the barriers for this to grow? What are the opportunities we have going ahead? Those of you who know me well know that I talk about agritourism a lot, and I think this is a very exciting opportunity for South Australia. We have the depth already in wine, and we have seen cellar doors really increase what they have with their product offerings. This is an opportunity for us to sell South Australia even more.

On another note of tourism, what a night last night was. There were nearly 50,000 spectators at the NRL. I have just had some last-minute figures in, so I'm pleased to share them.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It was the best TV ratings since 2018 for State of Origin last night. This is a great opportunity. South Australia is on the map. The updated figure is that there were more than 15,000 people from interstate. The crowd reached an enormous number.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It was a great night. It was a great opportunity for us to go after what is one of the most fantastic sporting events, sporting rivalries, in Australia.

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