BILLION DOLLAR BENEFIT SUPPORT

Transcription

1 BILLION DOLLAR BENEFIT SUPPORT A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 1

2 We re ready. Over the last four years, we ve been working hard developing our vision for the future of South Australia. Not just policies, but a series of achievable milestones that have been crafted for the long-term benefit of our state. Our focus will be MORE JOBS. LOWER COSTS. BETTER SERVICES. We ve got a strong plan for real change. A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 2

3 WHAT WE LL DO If elected in March 2018, a Marshall Liberal Government will dedicate $5 m of the Events Bid Fund to Adelaide Convention Bureau (ACB) Billion Dollar Benefit initiatives. As part of those initiatives, this funding will enable the ACB to: Locate two sales staff in China and South East Asia to focus on incentive tourism Appoint a client services manager to facilitate a program to encourage international delegates to business events to spend more time in South Australia There is great potential to boost our visitor economy. For example, latest figures show that Australia is receiving more than 66,000 Chinese business event visitors annually. While they are in Australia, they spend close to $400 million. This market is largely driven by incentive tourism. This is group travel as part of a job-related reward or bonus. Incentive tourism groups can number between 70 and 2,000 but some direct selling events can involve up to 12,000 people in several waves. Unlike conference delegates who enjoy optional pre- and post-touring opportunities in Adelaide and our regions after business events, incentive tourism guarantees visitors will make an extended stay. Incentive tourism is a highly competitive Asian market with success providing major economic benefits. In 2017, the ACB won a 3,000 person incentive group visit from China which injected $11.2 million into the State s economy, shared across the regions and the Adelaide Hills through strategic scheduling. A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 3

4 MORE JOBS. LOWER COSTS. BETTER SERVICES. A Marshall Liberal Government s commitment to boost ACB resources allocated to incentive tourism will allow the Bureau to significantly increase its marketing activity in Asia. Over the past four years, the ACB has attracted 191,000 business event delegates to South Australia. Typically, these delegates spend more than three times as much as a traditional leisure tourist. With increased resources, the ACB will be able to engage with delegates to specific events to encourage them to spend more time in Adelaide and our regions. A Marshall Liberal Government s funding boost will enable the ACB to appoint a client services manager to run a Linger Longer program, engaging with local bid champions and event organisers to promote South Australia once the business event has been won. A tailored destination app. will also be created to give delegates the chance to live like a local in advance of their arrival, to encourage longer stays in South Australia. A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 4

5 MORE JOBS. LOWER COSTS. BETTER SERVICES. WHY WE RE DOING IT We have already committed that a Liberal Government will boost funding to attract major events and give more priority to attracting major conventions. The Events Bid Fund will be boosted to $40 million over four years, with the funding distributed equally between the bidding for major leisure and convention events. We will also increase the capacity of the ACB to attract more conventions. These initiatives will increase tourism, create jobs and drive economic growth. A great deal of the ACB s work is focused on attracting conference and business events. Over the past four years, these events have provided $725 million of economic benefit to South Australia and the ACB s modelling shows this could be boosted to $1 billion over the next four years through some targeted initiatives. A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 5

6 STEVEN MARSHALL MP State Liberal Leader Phone: A STRONG PLAN FOR REAL CHANGE 6