The ballot for a record number of Great State Vouchers will open this Friday, giving people across the country a chance to save up to $100 off accommodation across South Australia.
From Friday 11 February, the ballot will open for round seven with 100,000 Great State Accommodation Vouchers up for grabs.
Open to Australian residents over the age of 18, the vouchers aim to generate bookings from the loyal intrastate market and from high-yield interstate travellers. Lucky voucher recipients will be able to start booking stays from 16 February, in time to make the most of Adelaide's festival season.
Premier Steven Marshall said the record number of accommodation vouchers will stimulate tourism across South Australia to sustain and create jobs, as part of the larger State Government business support package announced last month.
Analysis shows that past voucher rounds generate tens of thousands of bookings across accommodation, tours and experiences, creating expenditure well over the value of the voucher booking. The South Australian Tourism Commission data reveals an average expenditure of $561 when booking a stay in the CBD and $602 for a regional stay. When booking a tour or experience with a $100 experiences voucher, the average expenditure is $462.
"With 100,000 vouchers for accommodation from the city to the regions, we're directing visitors and dollars into South Australian businesses and we're boosting occupancy in the CBD during Adelaide's world-class festival season," Premier Marshall said.
"The upcoming Great State Voucher rounds seven and eight will pump a forecast $54.7 million into our state's visitor economy, on top of the more than $94 million already generated across previous rounds.
"This is an effective tourism stimulus that creates huge demand for businesses, drives expenditure well over the value of the voucher, and importantly, gets more South Australians into jobs."
South Australian Tourism Commission chief executive Rodney Harrex said it was clear from tourism operators that the vouchers had made a significant impact.
"No doubt the tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit, right across the state. By bringing the vouchers back, we know it gets people inspired to get out and about, take a deeper look at what is on offer across SA, and a little extra incentive to book some time off and relax," he said.
Consumer surveys from round two of the Great State Voucher program – which ran through last year's festival period – found it generated significant indirect stimulus for the city's events and festivals, with nearly 30 per cent of CBD voucher users adding an Adelaide Fringe outing to their voucher stay.
