RIVERLAND tourism businesses have experienced another boost, with many operators reporting they were “really busy” during the July school holidays.
The region’s peak tourism body, Destination Riverland, conducted a survey of local tourism operators recently, and found some businesses were busier throughout the holidays than during the traditional busy periods of Easter and Christmas.
Outgoing Destination Riverland general manager Caroline Phillips said the region was benefitting from visitors looking to get back to nature and have self-contained getaways.
“The canoe operators in the region both reported that they were really busy, and a lot of the self-contained accommodation as well,” she said.
“There seems to be a trend of people wanting to get out, get back to nature and do self-contained activities instead of being in mass gatherings.
“It’s great to see that the region has benefitted from people’s changing travel preferences.”
Ms Phillips also said the Riverland was making the most of intrastate travel opportunities.
“With the Adelaide market being our bread and butter, we’re really well positioned to take advantage of that at the moment,” she said.
“What we’re seeing is busy weekends, but then it’s really flat during the week, which is reflective of people taking weekend getaways, while the mid-week bookings would have been interstate travellers who take a week off.
“It’s a challenge for operators, of course, and many have had to adjust their business models according to the changes in demand but it’s an ever-moving ordeal at the moment.”
Ms Phillips said operators had shown resilience and responded “really well” to the challenges created by COVID-19.
“They are a resilient bunch and they’ve done the best they can working in this new environment,” she said.
“The July school holiday influx has just been a further boost for them.
“I feel like as a region we’ve really lifted since the easing of restrictions and it’s been the lifeline some businesses needed.
“It’s really important that all of our tourism businesses stay abreast of the trends and what’s happening.
“For us in the region it’s about working to leverage both intrastate and interstate opportunities when they present themselves because it will be competitive and the Riverland needs to make sure we’re getting our fair share of the pie.”