The South Australian Tourism Commission was a prominent component of one of the largest trade missions to India by Tourism Australia under its MD, Phillipa Harrison recently. One of the key objectives of the mission was to create demand for tourism destinations and products beyond the traditional cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast, and regions like South Australia and its tourism stakeholders feel that the region with its iconic capital city Adelaide, is well-poised to offer an alternative to the Indian leisure and corporate market. Damien Kitto, CEO of Business Events Adelaide highlighted this growing sentiment for alternative destinations in Australia among Indian travel agents and corporate segment which came out prominently in the round-table discussions held in Delhi and Mumbai with trade partners.
“Adelaide offers one of the unique opportunities for Indian business events and conference organisers which no other city can match up,” he said, talking about incredible venues like the iconic Adelaide Oval stadium, the food and wine, wildlife, beaches, year-round festivals, adventure sports facilities, and the well-developed research and innovation ecosystem including the space centre.
“Adelaide Oval is our number one product for the Indian market. It’s a multi-purpose stadium which can host small, medium and large events and functions. You can use the giant LED screens at Oval for shows. You can climb over the Adelaide Oval roof. There is a 120-room hotel connected to the stadium. Adelaide Oval is the most flexible and accessible stadium in the world,” he said.
Adelaide has so many attractions in a short radius, Kitto said. The Monarto Safari Park near Adelaide is the largest safari park outside of Africa. The Lion 360 experience at the park is quite unique and one of its kind in the world, he said. The Park will soon have a hi-end resort with 80 luxury rooms and glamping accommodations. Close to the park is the famous multi-purpose racing track – The Bend – where visitors can “jump on to the latest engines and do a hot lap,” he said.
For India’s startup companies and unicorns, holding business events can add great value as Adelaide is a technology city. In areas like AI technology and cybersecurity, the Innovation District of Adelaide is the hub. Australia’s space agency is located in Adelaide; similarly South Australia is also known as the defense state, he said. “For Indian companies strong in these areas can look at hosting their events in Adelaide to understand and for exchange of knowledge.”
Adelaide is known as the wine capital, festival capital and sea food capital of Australia, said Emma Terry, CEO, South Australian Tourism Commission. 50 percent all wines and 80 percent of the premium wines produced in Australia originate from the region, she said. “There are 200 cellar doors where visitors can taste wines in 1 hour driving distance in Adelaide,” she said.
Sharing the aviation perspective to the conversation, Jonathan Cheong, Head of Aviation Business – Development & Commercial, Adelaide Airport said that the airport has received 120,000 Indian visitors this year, which is an increase of 46 per cent compared to the pre-Covid period (80,000). He said that India is a big focus market for Adelaide airport and the strategy is to establish direct connectivity with Indian cities by 2030. “Till direct connectivity is established, our endeavour is to work closely with our international airline partners,” he said. He said that Singapore Airlines has increased not only their frequencies from 7 flights a week to 10 and also increased their capacity from A-350 to Dreamliner on the Singapore – Adelaide route. Similarly, Emirates, Qatar, Malaysian, etc. also offer good connectivity through their hubs. Cathay Pacific will soon start their operations to Adelaide, he informed.
He said that adding to the flexibility angle of South Australia Tourism, Adelaide airport can support big events through branding activities, special welcome to VIP guests, quicker and faster immigration, etc.
Summing up the conversation, Kitto said that the regional government and its premier himself is quite keen to attract Indian business events to the region, and ready to support with financial incentives for events which meet certain criteria. “With financial support, team Adelaide, private sector, public sector, many attractions and unique experiences make Adelaide a good package for Indian business groups,” he said. He said that for corporates who look for real return of investment and profitability from their events, Adelaide is the answer.
