For South Australia, room and venue capacity limits will ease from Friday 19 June, allowing a room limit of 75 people and a total capacity limit of 300 when the one person per square meters applies. (This changes from the previous room limit of 25 and previous total of 80). Step 3 has been brought forward – to commence on Monday 29 June – and will move to a density requirement of one person per 4 square metres for indoor venues with no maximum limit.
From Monday 20 July, all South Australian border restrictions will be removed, which will mean travellers into South Australia from other states will no longer need to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Restrictions for international travellers will remain.
This follows the news this week of more than 2,000 permitted to the AFL Showdown. It's fantastic that South Australia – that Adelaide Oval – is the pilot for sporting and stadium events across the country. Thanks to the hard work of South Australians in stopping the spread of this virus, it's put us in the enviable position of the first jurisdiction to host a sporting event of this size. I'm sure it's taken much work by the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority, together with SA Health, to make it as safe as possible for everyone attending – and it can be used as a test-case nation-wide.
I was thrilled to hear the feedback from across our regions after the long weekend. The strong response from South Australians – supporting their fellow South Australians – was quite inspiring.
It is consistent with what I have been hearing directly from many operators – that phones are ringing again, bookings are coming in and that people are now travelling (and spending).
I visited the Limestone Coast over the long weekend, and I know many of my team were out and about across many of the regions, talking to operators and discovering some iconic parts of South Australia. It is heartening to hear that businesses are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. We will continue to work with the industry to support the recovery of our $8.1 Billion visitor economy.
Next week, the SATC chair Andrew Bullock and myself will continue our regional visits – this time heading to the Eyre Peninsula for three days to meet with tourism operators, local businesses and regional leaders. After spending time on Kangaroo Island and in the south east over the past few weeks, I am looking forward to hearing directly from operators over on the west coast.
In other news this week, our “Welcome Back” campaign continues to have great cut-through. We've had strong support through the media, and each region is being featured in The Advertiser. I hope it helps drive interest – and visitors – to your region.
We will continue to monitor the ongoing changes to the domestic travel landscape, as COVID-19 restrictions ease, and are working closely with the Premier's office and SA Health to ensure we can provide the most up-to-date resources and information to you, both via my Industry Updates and tourism.sa.gov.au.
A reminder, we recently launched the COVID-19 Awareness Training – a free 30-minute course designed for the tourism and hospitality sector to get the basics to assist you in adapting to a "COVID-safe" way of operating. Over 1,600 have already completed the course and I encourage you as business owners, employers and employees, to undertake the free training module and utilise the certificate upon completion in marketing materials.
Lastly, my congratulations to two South Australians who were this week recognised in the Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List. McLaren Vale hospitality icon Pip Forrester was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for significant service to the tourism and hospitality sectors and to the community. Pip is well known for her roles with the McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism Association, the Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism Marketing Committee, the McLaren Vale Food Company and her involvement in the Willunga Farmers Market.
Another foodie to be recognised was Woodside Cheese Wrights owner Kris Lloyd, who also received an AM for significant service to the artisan cheesemaking industry, to education and to tourism. Kris would be well known to many of you as the face of CheeseFest and Ferment, and as a past SATC Board member from 2010-2015.
Website: www.southaustralia.com
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