SOUTH Australia’s Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison’s number one aspiration is for the tourism industry to be taken seriously as a key economic driver for the state.
Bettinson, speaking exclusively to travelBulletin last week, said South Australia has been considering “our proposition to the world”, as competitor markets latch onto strong brand marketing campaigns to draw in visitors.
“We’ve been doing a bit of work around playspaces…when you think about New Zealand, ‘100% Pure New Zealand’, and Tasmania ‘Come Down For Air’, I think they’ve really captured their positions,” Bettison said.
South Australia’s desire to solidify its position saw Bettison headhunt Tourism Tasmania’s former Chief Marketing Officer Emma Terry, and appoint her as the state’s destination marketing supremo almost two years ago.
Key to the state’s raft of tourism investment, Bettison said, will be the need to link the state’s visitor economy behind this united goal.
“You bring people with you..at the end of the day, we have big companies involved in tourism, but a lot of our operators are family businesses, and so we need to be all pulling in one direction,” she added.
“They also need to know that the government is backing them up, and that’s been my role, whether it’s just being enthusiastic, but also the $40 million we added when we came into government for tourism, to show those operators we want certainty in our industry.”
“While South Australia has faced five years of uncertainty, it’s important those operators know that the govt supports them.”
South Australia is also working on its hard product, such as restoring and improving its aviation network following the pandemic.
Bettison said this is her “first focus”, with the Government of South Australia currently in “deep negotiations” with China Southern Airlines for a return, following the key cog of Emirates coming back to the state earlier this year.
Also in South Australia’s aviation crosshairs are Japan and the United States.
MEANWHILE, cruise will also be key for South Australia, with Bettison saying the whole state stands to benefit from the sector.
“It’s an economic driver, not just for the [Adelaide] CBD, but for the whole of South Australia,” she said.
Bettison added “there’s something in it for all parts” of the state, with cruises that go to Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln, and expedition ships visiting Robe.
Her recognition of the industry’s effect on South Australia’s economy has seen her commit to a new cruise attracting working group, which will attempt to lure more lines to the state’s shores and connect the dots between disparate parts of SA’s tourism economy.
The new body will ultimately be charged with continuing South Australia’s cruise rally, which saw the state enjoy its biggest season ever in 2023-2024.
“Part of it is having conversations with people and making sure regionally, they’re aware of the opportunity,” Bettison explained.
“Because of the [South Australian Tourism Commission’s] great work, particularly with those destinations like Pennishaw and [Kangaroo Island], there’s a market,” she added.
“We’ve put money into the welcoming arrangements that are there, and also into Port Lincoln Council, who run it.”
One of Bettison’s goals for South Australia’s cruise industry is to sell its nature experiences as well as its food & wine.
This includes activities in the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound, the Ediacara Fossil Site at Nilpena, and South Australia’s “station stays” at the state’s ranches.
“What it means is that we need to be talking to travel agents who are selling cruise to educate them on that product,” she explained.
Bettison is also bullish on South Australia’s opportunity to tackle some of the cruise industry’s largest problems, such as future fuel and shore power.
“If we can get into sustainable fuels for maritime as well as aviation, we’d love to, [but] we need to see some decisionmaking internationally, we can’t go it alone,” she pleaded.
“We’re talking to [Flinders Ports] about additional upgrades that are possible to do, like shore power, refuelling.”
