THE state government is forecasting a further shot in the arm for South Australia's tourism sector with the announcement of another two rounds of the Great State Voucher scheme.
Rounds five and six of the Great State Voucher will see more than 75,000 vouchers up for grabs in spring.
Premier Steven Marshall announced rounds five and six will hit the market in coming weeks - offering a mix of accommodation, tours and experiences across South Australia.
Travel vouchers worth up to $200 can be used for tours and hosted experiences, and up to $100 for use on accommodation.
Across the past four rounds of the South Australian Tourism Commission's (SATC) scheme, an estimated $64 million was injected into the state's economy, while feedback from the industry was positive.
The projected economic impact of the next two rounds could see the overall value land at $90 million.
Mr Marshall said the scheme got people travelling throughout the state and created a return on investment, while helping to keep businesses open.
"More vouchers for use across all sectors of the tourism industry - it's part of our plan to drive visitors and dollars into South Australian businesses, and keep our economy safe and strong," he said.
"The number one aim of these vouchers is to keep the doors open for our thousands of tourism businesses - keeping South Australians in jobs.
"With each round of our Great State Voucher scheme, we've seen tens of thousands of bookings generated for operators across SA, and a spending flow-on in cafés, restaurants, bars and pubs, with more than $64 million pumped into the state's economy to date."
Highlights from the voucher scheme include:
- Bookings for the most recent round of Great State Vouchers - targeted to accommodation - hit a record-high redemption rate of 64 per cent and created more than 34,000 room night bookings across Adelaide and regional South Australia.
- Nearly 45,500 people booked in with South Australian tour and experience operators as part of round three - the last round targeted to tours and experiences - from about half as many vouchers.
- Analysis of previous rounds of the voucher scheme showed it receives strong industry support. More than 90 per cent of participating tour and experience operators were positive about the uplift in bookings generated in round three, and reported that benefits went beyond short-term economic gain, as it gained valuable exposure/increased awareness of their business. More than half (56 per cent) of consumers in round three were not aware of the experiences they undertook before the program. Nearly all participating tour and experience operators - 98 per cent - supported an additional round of vouchers.
- Consumer surveys show it creates additional expenditure over and above the voucher booking. The majority of consumer spending for the hotel vouchers occurred "outside the hotel" - each CBD booking resulted in an average $512 spend and $597 in regional South Australia. Average consumer spending in round three, was $499 when booking a tour or experience with a $100 voucher, and an average $1,660 spent with a $200 voucher.
SATC chief executive officer Rodney Harrex said the next two voucher rounds would ensure South Australians kept seeing the state during a critical time for industry.
"Out of lockdown and into spring, we want to get more South Australians out and about, booking tours, experiences and accommodation, and going to events like our newly announced Bloom," he said.
"We've seen locals continue to throw their support behind the state's tourism industry, as they book up the regions - breaking occupancy records for seven consecutive months since December.
"We want to make sure the whole sector benefits from this strong local demand, boosting bookings for CBD hotels and surrounding businesses, and for our world-class tour operators."
He said the feedback from the industry was that two more rounds running through to the busy summer holiday period was well-timed and much needed.
Earth Adventure operates nature-based outdoor experiences across the state and chief executive officer Andrew Govan said he was pleased to see another round announced as the last round was "a bit of a life saver" for the company after a challenging year.
"We are really pleased there will be another round of Great State Vouchers for experiences and with warmer weather, there's no better time to get in a kayak or go rock climbing in great outdoors," he said.
Coonawarra Experiences' Simon Meares said the program had encouraged new visitation to Coonawarra and the Limestone Coast.
"The voucher program has been an extremely welcome stimulus for our business, with a great number of bookings and many of the vouchers redeemed included other guests paying full price for our touring services," he said.
"Some of these guests also took advantage of the accommodation we offer and in turn, added to the overall profit margin."
Round Five will provide $100 and $200 vouchers for use on participating hosted tours and experiences across the state.
It will launch in September for travel during spring, including the school holidays.
The $100 vouchers will be for use on single-day experiences such as wine tours, wildlife encounters, cooking classes and helicopter flights.
The $200 vouchers will cover multi-day hosted experiences - which in the last experience round included two-day tours to Kangaroo Island, weekend-long cruises on the Murray River, and hosted multi-day walking tours on the Fleurieu and Yorke peninsulas.
Round Six will follow in October and will provide $100 vouchers for use at participating CBD and North Adelaide hotels, and $50 vouchers to spend on regional and suburban accommodation.
Both rounds will be available for South Australians only.
