4000 new tourism jobs created in South Australia

Tourism is South Australia’s super-growth area with more than 4000 new jobs created in the past two years, independent data shows.

Direct tourism jobs have increased by 13.8 per cent to 35,700, the data from Tourism Research Australia reveals.

This growth rate is significantly higher than the national average of 5 per cent and we have beaten every other State.

For the second year in a row, the State Budget included a major funding package of $35 million over two years to promote South Australia to key domestic and international markets, secure new major events and conferences, and create thousands of tourism-related jobs.

The additional investment brings the total spend for the tourism sector in South Australia to more than $300 million over four years.

We are attracting more air services to South Australia including Qatar and China Southern and we are marketing our State and attracting more major events and conferences than ever before.

Background

Tourism jobs grew by 3000 in the year to June 2015, after growing by more than 1000 jobs the previous year.

The State Government’s target is to achieve an $8 billion visitor economy by 2020.

Quotes attributable to Tourism Minister Leon Bignell:
This is an outstanding result for South Australia and we are well on our way to achieving our goal of 10,000 additional jobs and to grow the visitor economy to $8 billion by 2020.

The visitor economy now employs almost three times more people than the mining sector in South Australia and the State Government has invested heavily in order to ensure it continues to have a major role in transforming our wider economy.

The State’s visitor economy has grown to $5.73 billion - with growth of $370 million in tourism expenditure in the past year alone.

Investing in tourism is also a great way to promote growth in regional South Australia, where 41 per cent of tourism dollars are spent.

Through the State Government’s Major Events and Conference Bid Funds, we have secured major golf, soccer, motorsport, netball and swimming events along with a wide range of business conventions which will pump more than $270 million into the visitor economy.

Last week the State Government announced China Southern Airlines would begin direct flights between Adelaide and Guangzhou, from December this year.

The three direct flights per week from mainland China to Adelaide will create more than 135 local jobs, and have flow-on benefits for our hotels, our restaurants and tourism operators across the State.

The recent launch of Qatar Airways daily flights into Adelaide has also opened connections to more than 140 markets including 25 European cities, with Qatar flights estimated to generate an additional $41 million to our visitor economy, creating 228 jobs across the State.