Revealed: where SA is holidaying now
Overseas trips are out and interstate holidays are risky because of border closures, but new data reveals the parts of the state we’re heading to for a little bit of down time.
Travel
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The Flinders Ranges has become the destination of choice for road-trip holiday makers within South Australia, a new study reveals.
A new Road Trip Index generated by data from travellers using TripTech apps shows the number of holiday road trippers to the Flinders has built consecutively over the past three weeks, growing 4.2 per cent, 19.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively.
Visits to the Adelaide Hills are also growing consistently, at around 7 per cent each week. The Adelaide Hills was one of the first regions across Australia to register increased traffic as lockdowns first began to ease, with visitor levels spiking 34 per cent week on week during May.
The data comes from a suite of 14 TripTech apps produced for car hire companies, accommodation providers and recreational vehicle (RV) hire companies and includes CamperMate, which has over two million downloads.
Tourism experts say the encouraging figures are the green shoots of a recovering industry and the Flinders Ranges result shows that Adelaide-based road trippers are venturing further afield than they were a month or two ago.
Flinders Ranges sites are juggling coronavirus restrictions and demand from people eager to get out of their own backyards.
Just south of Hawker, the Cradock Hotel is gearing up to reopen on August 6. While COVID has taken a chunk out of their usual busy period, Easter through to the October long weekend, the owners have used the time to build a new dining room and playground.
The pub sits on more than a hectare of land and co-owner Richard Anderson said they offered free camping for pub patrons. There are coin operated showers and facilities and six accommodation rooms.
The hotel stayed closed during the recent school holidays because they did not want to risk shutting down again but Mr Anderson said as the restrictions had lifted, the phone had been going “absolutely mental”.
“We are starting to take (hotel) bookings – there won’t be many walk-ins this year because we have to space everyone out to do the right thing,” he said.
But outside, he said, there was plenty of room for vans and tents.
The road travel index is showing that Australians who are travelling are doing so by road, TripTech chief executive Nick Baker said.
“The road trip is not just back in vogue but it could be here to stay,” he said.
Caravan Industry Association chief executive Stuart Lamont said there had been a “resurgence of activity towards caravanning and camping roadtrips” in SA since mid-May, with increases in park occupancy, and more inquiries at dealerships.
Originally published as Revealed: where SA is holidaying now