CONFIDENCE among Riverland tourism operators is on the rise following the opening of South Australian state borders last week.
Travellers are able to enter SA from any state or territory without needing to quarantine for the first time since border restrictions were introduced in March.
Destination Riverland chief executive officer Ben Patten said the easing of restrictions had left the local tourism industry feeling more “buoyant”.
“So much about travel after challenging times is as much about confidence as capability,” he said.
“Seeing things improve gives people the confidence to travel, and that’s always beneficial for operators.
“From a Riverland perspective, the regional Victoria and New South Wales markets are very important for us.
“Speaking to the local visitor information centres, they said they’ve already seen an influx of visitors from interstate, so that’s an excellent sign.
“Interstate visitors are more likely to take on experiences, including dining, and all the peripheral services that make up a more diverse stay.”
Mr Patten said intrastate visitors had helped sustain tourism businesses through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most operators are saying they had a very good quarter from July to September, in line or even up on the year prior,” he said.
“But looking forward we absolutely as a region need borders open and free travel because we need to diversify our visitor economy and not just have a one-speed or one-market economy.
“Our very short circuit breaker was obviously a bump – operators were saying they had some cancellations for one or two weeks after the circuit breaker, but people were holding bookings beyond that to see what happened.
“With the short-length of the circuit breaker and borders opening on the existing schedule, that’s very positive for everyone.
“The industry is really poised and ready to go.”