SATC tender documents reveal plans for an expanded third round of tourism vouchers
A planned third round of the SA government’s hugely popular tourism voucher scheme is set to include discounts for restaurants.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Restaurants, tours and ticketed events would be included under a third round of the State Government’s hugely popular tourism voucher program, official documents reveal.
On Thursday, the South Australian Tourism Commission released tender documents online, seeking suppliers to operate a booking system that would manage a third round of tourism vouchers next year.
Under a proposed expansion, the vouchers would be available for redemption at SA tour operators, attractions, restaurants and ticketed events.
A tourism commission spokeswoman said they were “actively investigating potential measures to further strengthen and support South Australia’s tourism sector”.
The first round of the Great State vouchers launched in October with discounts of up to $100, generating an estimated $10 million in spending across the state, helping COVID-19 recovery efforts.
It led to a flood of applications and was fully booked within 90 minutes, though it drew heavy criticism for being limited to just accommodation venues.
Online applications for a second round of the voucher scheme are due to open on January 5 – but will again not include restaurants, tours and other tourism-related products.
In the proposed third round, it is expected approximately 50,000 customers will register and obtain vouchers to be redeemed with “little/no cost to participating visitor economy businesses”, the tender document say.
The tender closes at 6pm on January 27, with a supplier expected to be awarded a six-month contract from mid February.
The documents state the booking system would need to be operational by mid March.
“The successful supplier will need to create an ecosystem in which the consumer is able to register for a voucher, provide a voucher to eligible consumers, browse eligible products and redeem the voucher …”
The third round was not explicitly announced by the government, with acting tourism minister Vickie Chapman saying on Friday: “The Marshall Liberal Government is actively assessing ways to further bolster tourism businesses right around the state and to get more South Australians into jobs”.
Since June, the Opposition had been calling for the Great State vouchers to be expanded so more people and tourism operators could participate.
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas welcomed the tender process released by the tourism commission.
“We are pleased that the SA Tourism Commission has adopted our proposal and will expand the voucher scheme to include South Australian tour operators, attractions, restaurants and other events,” he said.
“If implemented successfully, this could be a major boost to our tourism industry that has been hit hard by bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Vouchers worth $100 each were rolled out in New South Wales recently under a trial program called “Dine and Discover” earlier this month.
More Coverage
How much rate cuts will save you this year: every suburb
The Reserve Bank is expected to soon announce an interest-rate cut, with new modelling revealing the varying impact it will have on household budgets across each suburb.
‘Kept getting sick’: Kids at risk as childcare centre forced to close
A Blair Athol family would rather send their kids to a childcare centre that let two children run onto a busy main road than their previous one. Find out why.