From Andrew's Desk

Speaking with many industry operators in recent weeks and months, it seems that the South Australian tourism industry has held up as well as any. And while indications suggest the future months look tough (as winter always is), it is my firm belief that we should go harder in our efforts to gain market share for South Australia and come out of the global financial turmoil in better shape than ever.

Some of the indicators include:

- Hotels reporting a slight decline in occupancies. While room rate continues to be high and total capacity remains relatively unchanged, the occupancies have come down to below 2008 levels (but still ahead of 2007);

- The airport has seen a slight decline in total numbers and airlines are rationalising their routes. Interestingly, Adelaide remains strong with very little change to routes and frequency. If anything we have had an increase in the number of domestic seats with the growth of Tiger Airways from 12 to 44 services per week;

- The conference market appears to have tightened with less delegates actually materialising compared to predicted numbers. Add to this the fact that many major corporates have put a “travel freeze” on their employees and it seems the business tourism and corporate travel market is down;

- The SATC's own Travel Centre, which handles more than 500,000 enquiries a year through phone, walk-ups and email, has held up extremely well. Indeed, it is ahead of the curve in terms of enquiries and sales;

- The SATC's aggressive new Isn't It About Time campaign has seen web hits to http://www.southaustralia.com/ grow by 26% in February and 42% in March as well as generating more than 10,000 phone and email enquiries including locally for the upgraded Shorts program. When you consider that for every call or enquiry we generate another six which go by other means (other websites, travel agents, direct to operators) there has been significant action off the back of the campaign in recent months;

- Regions have had strong peak seasons (Christmas, New Year, January, Easter) and the various events (including Tour Down Under, Barossa Under the Stars and Vintage Festival, Tunarama, Coober Pedy Opal Festival, WOMADelaide, Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Film Festival), all did good numbers. Only Clipsal 500 Adelaide and International Rugby 7s Adelaide recorded slight declines.

- And there is no shortage of developers still interested in creating a more appealing SA of tomorrow. There are more than 100 tourism related projects on our books with many investors looking to develop things in the next 12-18 months while the costs of materials and labour remain reasonable.

So while there are signs of a plateau, we remain upbeat about the fortunes of South Australia in the medium term.

With that in mind, the SATC will stick to the strategy articulated in the State Tourism Plan 2009-14. The only difference given financial circumstances is that we will be even more competitive and get “forensic” about everything we do to get maximum possible benefit.

Our executive management team recently went through the State Tourism Plan to ensure that in forming our plans and budgets for 2009-10, we remain focussed on doing our absolute best to make a difference. One of the key breakthroughs in recent times has been the successful implementation of “Strategy 13” - the establishment of a strong industry body for tourism in South Australia.

Under the expert guidance of Chair Duncan McKenzie and CEO Ward Tilbrook, the South Australian Tourism Industry Council (SATIC) sees a merger of the old SA Tourism Accreditation Board and SA Tourism Alliance. What it gives SA is a stable and united voice when it is needed most.

This group will play a leadership role in helping the industry stay focussed on its end of the State Tourism Plan bargain by playing a key role in the delivery of better quality to our all important visitors. I would highly recommend you get actively involved. The SATIC website is http://www.satic.com.au/.

While SATIC and the SATC both have a role, it will be you, the operators, who will determine if SA comes through the economic turmoil in better shape. I'd encourage you to stay focussed on delivering world's best experiences to our customers.

Andrew McEvoy

Chief Executive