THE chair and chief executive of South Australia’s peak tourism body have praised the optimism of Riverland operators during their post-COVID-19 recovery during a whirlwind visit to the region recently.
South Australia Tourism Commission (SATC) chair Andrew Bullock and CEO Rodney Harrex spoke with key stakeholders across the Riverland last Wednesday and Thursday, with several operators reporting their best July trading ever.
Mr Bullock said he was encouraged by the optimism in the tourism industry, particularly regionally.
“Intrastate travel, particularly in the Riverland, is seeing some really great traction,” he said.
“Talking to operators during our trip, many are reporting the best Julys they’ve ever had, so it’s been a significant boost.
“I think the opportunity is there, hopefully, to keep that going and maintain the awareness of the Riverland as a destination.
“The ‘Welcome Back’ campaign was about welcoming South Australians who maybe haven’t been to the Riverland in a while.
“Once they get here and see all the great things the region has to offer, I think they’re going to keep coming back.”
Mr Harrex said local tourism operators had been able to regrow their workforce during the pandemic due to the JobKeeper scheme.
“Pre-COVID, there were 1200 people directly employed through tourism in the Riverland, and JobKeeper has allowed many of those relationships to continue,” he said.
“Traditionally, a lot of businesses wouldn’t have been busy like they have been in the winter… so I think that’s been a real positive where that normally wouldn’t be the case.”
Mr Bullock said a lack of international travel provided an opportunity for regions like the Riverland.
“Before COVID-19, South Australians spent $3.3 billion going overseas, and nationally that jumps to $65 billion,” he said.
“If you inject that money back into our local economy, or even a portion of it, and our tourism industry will have some very strong years in front of it.
“I think domestic tourism is going to have a renaissance and we’re going to see some really strong numbers for the next few years.”
Murray River Trails managing director Tony Sharley said the SATC had continued to showcase the state’s best tourism products at online trade events throughout the pandemic.
“The SATC are way ahead of the game here because they’ve facilitated these kinds of trade events before the other states,” he said.