Travelling in new direction to entice holiday-makers
South Australia needs to target its tourism marketing at areas not hit by recent bushfires if it wants to turn around the travel slump, an international expert warns.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Predator drones: Aerial assault on KI’s feral cats
- Latest subscriber exclusive giveaways, specials and prizes
South Australia needs to market areas not affected by bushfires to turn its tourism sector around, an international tourism researcher says.
As the industry deals with the impact of the coronavirus and recent bushfires, the SA Government is being urged to change tack to attract more visitors — including promoting “less popular attractions”.
Mr Sheivachman, a senior editor for world travel research service Skift, told the Sunday Mail that SA needed to push the diversity of its tourism products. Mr Sheivachman’s advice is backed by research – commissioned by the State Opposition tourism spokesman Zoe Bettison – that shows lessons can be found in the recovery of tourism destinations in disaster-hit locations.
Most notably, there were deadly wildfires that swept through California in the past decade, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Mr Sheivachman said many potential visitors to Australia “could be forgiven for thinking the whole country was on fire”. “So news of the wildfires has led to uncertainty around taking the leap to finally visit,” he said.
Mr Sheivachman said it was important the domestic travel sector sold SA’s many options, including less popular attractions and areas – a method that had worked well in California.
“It should leverage what it does have instead of dwelling on the recovery to damaged areas,” he said.
“When tourism returns in full, they will also return to those places affected by the wildfires.
“Until then, it’s important to show off how Australia is a resilient destination with a lot to offer, despite the long flights international tourists must endure to get there.”
Ms Bettison said the State Government needed to turn its attention to beyond the #Bookthemout campaign, which has encouraged tourists to visit and spend up big in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island.
“The Government must reinvest in our tourism industry as a priority,” she said.
“This is a key economic driver in the state and it is struggling in the wake of not only the bushfires but also from the impact of coronavirus on our key Chinese tourism market.”
Tourism Industry Council SA chief executive Shaun de Bruyn said the state had plenty of unique visitor experiences.
“From the mighty River Murray to Innes National Park and the Flinders Ranges, every part of the state has something to offer,” Mr de Bruyn said.
“We have seen the Outback come alive with the flooding of Lake Eyre and we have amazing foodie experiences in the Barossa, Clare and McLaren Vale wine regions.”
Mr de Bruyn said shark diving in Port Lincoln, cave diving on the Limestone Coast and swimming with sea lions and dolphins in Baird Bay had global appeal.
Premier Steven Marshall said a new campaign for the regions was coming soon “urging people to visit our stunning regions”.
“While we were the first to move on a domestic advertising campaign nationally with our #Bookthemout campaign, it’s important we keep selling South Australia to the rest of the country – and the world, every single day,” he said.
Mr Marshall said the tourism commission sought out advice from authorities in the US who knowledge of getting tourism back on track after the Californian wildfires.
“Not only did the Government meet with Californian authorities but we looked at many historical cases of tourism campaigns post crises, including the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Queensland’s Cyclone Yasi, New Orleans’ Cyclone Katrina, the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, and the SARS outbreak,” he said.
