South Australian Tourism Commission

Drumroll please! The winners of the Tasting Australia Spirt Awards 2024 have been crowned – with South Australian distillers taking home eight of the 11 top awards. The major winner was SA’s own IMPERIAL MEASURES DISTILLING, which received five of the 11 awards - including the two major categories: Best Distiller and the Premier’s Spirit Award. A testament to the growing reputation of the awards, the total 215 entries received for this year’s competition represented every state and territory for the first time. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gRK2E6Xy.

An exciting start to the 2025 Adelaide Festival program, as the first three shows revealed include an Australian debut, the union of two world-renowned dance icons, and a world premiere. Set to take centre stage is opera, Innocence by renowned Australian director Simon Stone - with a musical score by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho - which will make its exclusive Australian debut at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Also announced is the Australian Dance Theatre’s 60th anniversary show, A Quiet Language and Club Amour, performed by legendary German dance company Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal.

Welcome Adelaide Marriott Hotel! Set within the historic 152-year-old General Post Office building, the $200 million hotel officially opens to guests today - offering 285 large guestrooms and suites, signature restaurants and bars, and more. This is the first hotel in South Australia by the world’s largest hotel company, Marriott International and is set to inject a significant boost to the state’s economy. The opening comes as our Adelaide accommodation sector experiences its strongest ever first-half of the year, with five of the six months seeing the number of room nights occupied in greater metropolitan Adelaide reach monthly all-time highs. March was the strongest on record for any month in history, while April recorded the strongest ever monthly revenue. Read more at https://lnkd.in/g6TF57XJ. Image credit: Adelaide Marriott Hotel

Be part of the Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel associated evets program and showcase your unique offerings to foodies and event lovers from 2—11 May 2025.   Associated events are part of an umbrella program that consists of independently hosted offerings which form part of the broader Tasting Australia program. The events help to further motivate travel to SA’s regions and promote the state’s venues and products.   Applications will be assessed based on the three key cornerstones of Tasting Australia - people, place, and produce – think an immersive dinner, exclusive tasting, or hands-on foraging experience. The only limit is your imagination.   Applications close Friday 4 October.   Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gzgKUvV9

South Australia’s iconic Adelaide Oval will host the December 'Christmas Test' in either day-night or day format for the next seven summers! For the first time, the landmark agreement will provide unprecedented long-term certainty in the annual cricket calendar for fans as well as for our tourism and hospitality operators. \This December will see Australia verses India, which is expected to attract visitors from what is currently SA’s largest international market worth $146 million annually. Then in December 2025, the highly anticipated Ashes series is set to attract visitors to Adelaide from the United Kingdom – currently the state’s third largest international market.

It’s coming back! Formula One superstar, Valtteri Bottas and Adelaide professional cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell will bring back RADL GRVL as part of Santos Tour Down Under 2025. The successful pilot gravel cycling event in 2024 attracted hundreds of riders from professional to amateur, with participants competing from 12 different countries. The second race edition will run from 21 to 26 January, with the competitive race taking place on a mix of sealed and gravel roads across Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula on Friday 24 January. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gi6xSsMT.

A total of 37 regional events and festivals across South Australia have received a financial boost in the latest round of our Regional Event Fund. The 2024-25 Fund supports events staged from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025, such as a music festival in the Riverland, a 10-day showcase of art and culture in Yorke Peninsula, and a reimagined event returning to Port MacDonnell in the Limestone Coast after a five-year hiatus. The Fund aims to support the development of new and innovative regional events and grow existing events, while driving visitation and economic stimulus across regional SA. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gqi55xgq. 

Join us at our 2024 Global Markets Industry Forum on Wednesday 25 September at EOS by SkyCity. We invite South Australian tourism operators and industry who are interested in learning more about our international market and how to help attract overseas visitors to your business to attend. You will have the opportunity to hear insights and the latest information from our Global team. Register by Wednesday 4 September via https://lnkd.in/gmbgD9V7. 

Be sure to submit your Experience Nature Tourism Fund application by 5pm this Friday, 16 August. For further information, head to https://lnkd.in/gGM-p5uD.

REMINDER: Applications for the 2024 Outbound Knowledge Exchange Bursary Program close 5pm ACST next Friday, 23 August.