A third round of travel vouchers worth up to $200 will target hosted tours and experiences across SA - helping create jobs and boost a sector hit hard by the downturn in international and interstate visitation.
It follows rounds one and two of the Great State Voucher program, which created over 62,000 room night bookings and a flow-on spending of more than $32 million into the state's visitor economy.
The 'Great State Experiences Voucher' scheme will provide $50, $100 and $200 vouchers for use on participating hosted tours and experiences across SA.
About 500 operators are expected to register their experiences, from shark-cage diving and swimming with sealions, to helicopter and mountain bike tours, guided food and wine trails, and hosted wildlife experiences.
Premier Steven Marshall said the stimulus aimed to give tour and experience operators a "kick start", particularly once JobKeeper ends.
"We know the first two voucher rounds injected more than $32m into the state's visitor economy, getting people out and spending on hospitality across SA and resurrecting tourism in our state," he said.
"Expanding the scheme to direct cash-flow into SA tour and experience businesses following the busy Easter period and after the JobKeeper subsidy ends is the right support at the right time.
"We've listened to industry and business owners across SA, and this latest round of vouchers will see locals spending up on tours and experiences which they ordinarily might have overlooked while holidaying at home."
Similar to round two of the vouchers, a limited number of the Great State Experiences Vouchers will be made available to interstate tourists.
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The Great State Experiences Voucher will launch after the peak tourism Easter and April school holiday period, for travel over the cooler months, bookable for any day of the week.
"We know tour and experience operators have seen a downturn in business that is not restricted to mid-week like accommodation providers, so this round of vouchers can be used for the entire travel period and includes the July school holidays, which means SA families can make the very most of experiencing their great state," Premier Marshall said.
EscapeGoat Adventures - which operates mountain bike tours out of the Adelaide Hills - will put day-trip tours back on its calendar, after having almost evaporated when the borders closed.
EscapeGoat Adventures owner/operator Deborah Fehler said the vouchers would be a "massive bonus" to their family-owned business.
"Our day-trip tours are normally our bread and butter, made up almost entirely of international and interstate tourists," she said.
"We've seen some tours slowly start to be rebooked thanks to interstate reopening, but for most of the last year we have had to focus mainly on our bike hire and mountain bike skills training side of our business.
"The vouchers mean we can get some much-needed extra business, during what we expected to be a very quiet start to the winter."
The Glass Half Full Tours managing director Michael Errey said the voucher system was a chance to show South Australians the value of using a tour operator, after a challenging 12 months for his luxury food and wine experience business.
"Without international tourists and with the uncertainty around interstate, we're down significantly on the previous year and we've had to work hard to rebuild existing markets and develop new markets," he said.
It's about showcasing the difference between heading out with a tourist map and heading out with a tour operator.
- MICHAEL ERREY
"People can always drive themselves to SA's wine regions, but we can take them to meet the special characters behind the scenes and to places off the beaten track.
"It's about showcasing the difference between heading out with a tourist map and heading out with a tour operator - and traditionally, it's only people visiting the state who would consider having a guide and would get to experience the value in a fully-organised, tailored tour.
"These vouchers will help push locals to book with us and once they experience it, no doubt they'll join our loyal base of locals and be back to book their next tour."
Helivista owner/operator Paul Beck said the vouchers would allow the luxury helicopter tour company to grow its local market base.
"Without the high-yield international tourists, business has been tough," he said.
"The experience vouchers are a very welcome initiative and will give us a chance to showcase what we do and show domestic visitors holiday options at home, while borders are closed."
Sandra Markos from Gorge Wildlife Park said the park was "doing okay" during school holidays and on weekends, but during the week and the experiences such as koala holding were particularly quiet without the usual international visitation.
"The vouchers will give locals a reason to book an experience while visiting the Park, beyond simply buying admission and will hopefully boost mid-week visitation and the quieter colder months," she said.
- Details: southaustralia.com/voucher
