The Malinauskas Government is making further investments to boost the visitor economy as South Australia cements its reputation as the events capital of Australia.

The 2023-24 State Budget includes $20.8 million over four years in further funding for the Major Events Fund.

The funding is designed to secure further new events and grow existing events in South Australia.

This is in addition to the government’s continued commitment to hosting the LIV Golf tournament and AFL Gather Round, credited with boosting business confidence by six points in the latest Business SA survey.

The events drew visitors from interstate and overseas, boosting hotels and the regions. A record turnover of $281 million was recorded in cafes, restaurants and take away food services during April, according to the ABS - up $54.9 million on the same month in April 2022, or 24 per cent.

Other events such as Harvest Rock, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, our record Fringe Festival and WOMADelaide have kept the national and international spotlight trained firmly on SA.

The success of 2022 VAILO Adelaide 500 was highlighted by an attendance of 258,200 people with the economic activity valued at $51.85 million.

More than 12,000 people travelled to South Australia from interstate for the event, with an estimated 96,671 visitor nights in South Australia due to the event.

To build on this success, an additional $3.5m will be provided to the VAILO Adelaide 500 in 2023 to procure more shading for grandstand areas with an ongoing $3.5m each year to ensure its ongoing quality. This funding is in addition to the $16m per year already budgeted.

As pledged during the election, the Malinauskas Government is supporting the Arts providing the Adelaide Film Festival with an additional $500,000 each year to enable the festival to be staged annually.

The move will elevate the profile of our film sector internationally, at a time when Australian films are shining on the world stage and cement the Adelaide Film Festival as a fixture on the global creative calendar.

Quotes

Attributable to Stephen Mullighan

The past 12 months have reestablished our state’s reputation as the major events capital of the nation.

New events like Harvest Rock, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf were stunning successes, as were the return of the Adelaide 500 and Motorsport Festival.

We want to build on this momentum.

We know major events boost jobs and the economy. They promote our city and regions and boost our visitor economy - keeping our hotels, restaurants and shops bustling.

We will continue to look for new opportunities to keep South Australia on the national and international stage.

Attributable to Zoe Bettison

The economic benefit of investing in major events has been well demonstrated over the last few months.

Major events are vital for the state, as they generate strong demand and record-breaking bookings for our tourism and hospitality industry.

Beyond this, major events do a fantastic job of telling South Australia’s story through media and broadcast coverage, bringing communities together creating a wonderful sense of pride and contributing strongly to South Australia’s brand.

There is a great sense of pride within Adelaide and within the tourism and hospitality industry creating a momentum never seen before in SA.

Attributable to Andrea Michaels

South Australia has proven that we are one of the world’s greatest festival states – home to the largest in the southern hemisphere and in fact, the world last year!