Major events are expected to see a $400 million return to South Australia this year, with the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup delivering almost $95 million in economic spend across the state in November.
Held at Adelaide Oval, the T20 attracted more than 100,000 spectators, of which 20,461 were international visitors.
This week, Adelaide Fringe organisers confirmed they are on track to hit a record one million ticket sales, while several AFL Gather Round matches are exhausted, LIV Golf ticket sales have hit more than 42,000 over the three days and WOMADelaide four day, three day and Saturday passes already sold out.
The events also show a significant spike for forward accommodation bookings, with the March long weekend, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf Adelaide showing exceptionally strong forward data.
When Adelaide hosted seven ICC T20 matches in November, the India v England semi-final helped book out the city hotels, with 91 per cent of rooms in the CBD occupied.
“Events like the ICC T20 not only brought tens of thousands of visitors to South Australia but it drove almost an $100 million hit to our economy – highlight again why major events are a critical component of our post COVID business recovery,” said Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison
“We’re seeing events bring more and more people to our state, increasingly from overseas and interstate, who like what we are doing here, what our world-class events and festivals offer, and how South Australia is growing as an iconic destination of choice.”
