SOUTH AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Quiet achiever
While the spotlight is often stolen by the Melbourne Sydney rivalry , South Australia has quietly risen to take the cake as Australia ’ s best State or Territory for events , led by its capital city , Adelaide , writes Bronwen Largier .
When South Australia took home the State or Territory Award at the Australian Event Awards in 2015 , being officially recognised as Australia ’ s best region for events , South Australia ’ s Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said in his acceptance speech that the State was no longer “ a little bit dusty and a little bit old ”.
“ We ’ re a little bit funky ,” he said .
In 2016 , South Australia proved it was no one-hit wonder , taking home the award a second time , and , in addition , the State has been listed among the top 10 regions worldwide to visit in 2017 by Lonely Planet , who cited its wine country , produce festivals and beaches among the reasons it is a destination not to be missed , as well as acknowledging its “ artistic ” capital Adelaide .
Delving into the State ’ s events scene , spearheaded by Events South Australia , with a strategy that uses Adelaide as both a focal point and as a way to introduce locals and visitors to the State ’ s regional locations , you begin to understand just how effective their approach is .
The Santos Tour Down Under , which took home Best Sporting Event at the Event Awards in 2016 , and which has clocked up seven other Australian Event Awards to date – in fact , it ’ s been either a finalist or a winner every year since the awards ’ inception in 2009 – serves as a prime example .
Owned and managed by Events South Australia , the Santos Tour Down Under began in 1999 as a grass roots cycling event and according to Events South Australia general manager , Hitaf Rasheed , “ has always had a clear goal of boosting tourism in South Australia ”.
10 Convention & Incentive Marketing , Issue 8 , 2016 www . cimmagazine . com