Record numbers of international visitors continue to come to South Australia, with 386,000 visiting during the 12 months to June.
The figure represents an increase of 7.1 percent on the previous 12 months and is the third successive growth result.
And the international visitors are also spending more while they're in South Australia, with the ABS data showing visitor expenditure growing by 5.9 per cent during the past 12 months.
Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said the word is spreading around the world that South Australia is a must-see destination.
“South Australia has recorded six consecutive periods of international visitor growth, and we are second only to Victoria in achieving the largest increase across Australia during the past 12 months,” he said.
“Some of our most important tourism markets continue to experience significant growth.
“The number of visitors from the United Kingdom was up 21.9 per cent during the 12 months to June, while the number of visitors from China has jumped 17.2 per cent to just under 30,000 – the highest number of Chinese visitors to ever visit our State.
“Visitors from Malaysia increased by 60 per cent during the past 12 months, visitors from Scandinavian countries rose by 31 per cent, visitors from Singapore was up 17 per cent, and the number of visitors from Canada increased by 15 per cent.
“New international airlines flying to Adelaide have stimulated demand from key markets.
“AirAsiaX has increased the number of seats into Adelaide from Malaysia and other South East Asian markets by over 130,000 seats per annum. Emirates commenced operations in late 2012 and other carriers have increased their services to Adelaide.”
The Tourism Research Authority data also shows 34 per cent of international visitors coming to South Australia visit our regions, with Kangaroo Island, the Limestone Coast, and the Flinders Ranges and Outback among the most popular destinations.
Leisure continues to be a central factor in South Australia's record international visitor growth, with holidaymakers growing by 7.6 per cent, and those visiting friends or relatives rising by 14.5 per cent during the 12 months to June.
Minister Bignell said more international visitors spending more money would help the State Government achieve its tourism goals.
“Tourism is worth more than $5 billion to the State's economy every year, and we want to increase that figure to $8 billion by 2020,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment