McLaren Vale tourism numbers booming but Barossa still king
The McLaren Vale wine region is claiming rising star status with visitor numbers growing almost twice as fast as the Barossa’s. And it’s just scored another handy push.
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The McLaren Vale wine region is claiming rising star status as visitor numbers have taken a massive leap in the past four years.
Figures released by Tourism Research Australia show the number of day trippers to McLaren Vale has more than doubled since 2015 – from 130,000 in 2015 to 351,000 in a year.
Overnight stays have risen 45 per cent, up from 38,000 a year to 55,000 a year.
The wine region 40km south of Adelaide netted another award this week. It was named in the top 30 of US based Travel Lemming’s emerging destinations.
The list is devised with input from national tourism boards to put the spotlight on under-appreciated destinations to combat over-tourism.
Two other Australian places made the global list: Launceston in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
The Barossa Valley is still the state’s most popular wine destination, drawing 880,000 day trippers and 243,000 overnight visitors in 2019. But the Barossa’s increases have been more modest – a 24 per cent rise on 2015 visitor numbers, compared with a 140 per cent rise in the Vale.
Chester Osborn, the brains behind the landmark 2015 d’Arenberg Cube cellar door, gallery and restaurant, said the Cube could not take all the credit.
As the winemaker says in his column, there are many new attractive developments and cellar doors opening in the area.
Future visitor numbers may take a hit from the cancellation of the annual Sea & Vines Festival, which was closed this year after a 27 year run amid complaints of drunken patrons and poor behaviour. A new event is planned for 2021.
There are three major hotels currently planned for McLaren Vale in the town centre, at Wirra Wirra and Leconfield wineries.
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The general manager of McLaren Vale wine and tourism, Jennifer Lynch said recent events confirm the Vale as a premier tourism destination.
“We are humbled to be named alongside incredible international must-visit destinations and look forward to continuing to welcome visitors to our special part of the world,” she said.
Regional tourism manager at Barossa Tourism, Cathy Wills, said any growth in visitor numbers is positive.
“We regularly promote the Epicurean Way route, which links four SA wine regions – McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Barossa and Clare – as an excellent way to explore multiple wine regions close to Adelaide,” she said.
