Anthony and Judy Miller, owners of the Big Rocking Horse and The Toy Factory in Gumeracha, have bought Warrawong’s trading operation in December vowing to keep the Earth Sanctuary alive. Mr Miller said it would be ‘business as usual’ at Warrawong, with some major accommodation improvements on the horizon. In a first for Warrawong, its doors will be open seven days a week, as the Millers’ embark on a campaign to attract more locals, tourists, school groups and functions to the unique Adelaide Hills facility.
More information: (08) 8370 9197

Sea SA’s new car and passenger ferry service from Yorke Peninsula (Wallaroo) to Eyre Peninsula (Lucky Bay) was officially launched on Monday 18 December in front of tourism chiefs, local council representatives, politicians and residents. In the New Year, Sea SA will offer a range of holiday packages including accommodation, adventure tours, cruise/drive and fly/cruise/drive tours incorporating products from towns and regions, including businesses in and around Port Augusta, providing a welcome boost to South Australia’s regional economy.
More information: (08) 8823 0777

Respected SATC Chief Executive, Bill Spurr, will now be promoting Adelaide’s virtues to international students, after winning the role as the new Chairman of Education Adelaide. Mr Spurr, who retires from his position with the South Australian Tourism Commission mid 2007, has been a board member of Education Adelaide since early 2003 and will now replace outgoing Chair, Paula Nagel. Mr Spurr’s expertise and vision will continue to benefit South Australia, as he works with the education industry and the small team at Education Adelaide to strengthen the education export industry.
More information: (08) 8410 1311

Congratulations to the International team at the South Australian Tourism Commission on their win at the 2006/2007 Downunder Tourism Export Awards on 5 December. The SATC’s International Motivational brochure took out the winner’s spot for the “Regional State or Territory Guide” Downunder category, as determined by a panel of six independent judges.
More information: (08) 8463 4500

One of South Australia's most popular and successful golf weeks, The South Ports Golf Week (24 Feb to 3 March), is currently open for registrations. The event, held on the Limestone Coast,combines rounds of golf at attractive coastal golf courses including Beachport, Robe and Kingston Golf Clubs. The event attracts male and female competitors from across Australia and is open to players with an official handicap.
More information and registrations: (08) 8767 2295

After more than four years at the helm of the Hilton Adelaide, General Manager Jean-Luc Fourrier has accepted a new position with Hilton International (based in Singapore) to work on an expansion campaign planned for the Middle East and Asia Pacific Regions. Jean-Luc’s new role, commencing in January 2007, Vice President, Middle East and Asia Pacific Food and Beverage, will see him oversee the existing hotels as well as the development of hotel restaurant and bar concepts for more than 100 new hotels set to open in the region over the next three years. Areas of expansion include India, China, Dubai, and Australia. Chris Ehmann will take over the reigns in January 2007, having previously worked in Director of Operations roles in Hilton Athenee palace (Bucharest), Jeddah Hilton (Saudi), Jumeirah Hilton (Dubai) and most recently at Nile Hilton (Cairo).
More information: (08) 8237 0729

To provide an enhanced service and greater access for Fringe patrons and Fringe registered artists, Adelaide Fringe Inc. will be outsourcing the management of FringeTIX services for the first annual Adelaide Fringe in 2007. FringeTIX will grow from just three outlets to a total of 20 across the State. The increase in outlets will dramatically reduce waiting times for phone sales and box office queues during the Fringe and allow patrons more flexibility. The FringeTIX box office will be managed by Venue*Tix, with the headquarters based in Fringe Alley, via Vaughan Place - just off Rundle Street in Adelaide.
More information: (08) 8100 2079

Adelaide Airport Ltd. has picked up two awards for design and construction at the Australian Steel Institute's SA design awards. Hassell won the architectural steel design award, while engineers Wallbridge and Gilbert won the structural engineering steel design award for the project.
More information: (08) 8308 9211

Tourism Barossa has given away more than 12 dozen wines and other goodies worth more than $4000 to a lucky visitor from Victoria as a part of the Drop In Stop Over campaign, which ran from May to November. Regional Marketing Manager Racheal Klitscher says they were delighted with the success of the campaign, which resulted in a noticeable increase in visitors to the region. She also says the region experienced a 10% increase in advertising awareness, and an increase in direct visitor enquiries of about 10% compared to the same period last year. Accommodation bookings during the competition period were worth more than $129,000 across 77 different properties with 1,200 guests staying 757 nights.
More information: (08) 8563 0600

The Adelaide Hills is emerging as a new force in Australian winemaking with The 2005 Bird in Hand Shiraz taking out the 2006 Australian Wine of the Year Award as voted by Winestate magazine judges. It also went on to win the major prize in a blind taste-off of the best rated Australian and New Zealand wines. It was a dominating performance by the small Adelaide Hills winery, which also headed the Australasian merlot category with its 2005 Bird in Hand Merlot.
More information: (08) 8227 2155

Susan Lee has joined the SATC team as the new Regional Marketing Manager, Flinders Ranges Outback. Susan has a strong background in regional tourism, having spent the past four years with Tourism Northern Territory, based in Alice Springs where she worked as a Project Manager on the Desert Guides program, Desert Knowledge, heritage tourism development, business development and other infrastructure projects. She will be based in the Port Augusta office and will work closely with industry and the network of Local Government and Tourist/Economic Development staff located across the region.
More information: (08) 8463 4500

International visitors to South Australia spent more than $524 million in the state in the year to the end of September, new figures have revealed. ATEC Managing Director Matthew Hingerty, was commenting on the release of Tourism Research Australia's latest International Visitor Survey figures, which showed 351,000 visitors spent more than 7.4 million nights in the state in the year to September 30. South Australia also recorded a 7.8 percent jump in visitor numbers and an impressive 38.4 percent jump in visitor nights - both good results for the state. "This was above the national average, which did not grow in visitor numbers and recorded an overall increase of 12 percent in visitor nights, showing South Australia's investment in tourism is paying off," Mr Hingerty said.
More information: (02) 8262 5501

The South Australian Tourism Commission’s online booking system, ConnectSA has secured www.statesa.com and www.cyberium.com.au as two of their new major distributors set to attract more visitors from around the world via the internet. Both sites promote tourist accommodation within South Australia and appear on the front page of Google search results for many South Australian accommodation searches. The V3 (ConnectSA) platform currently offers more than 50 distribution channels, ensuring South Australian operators are in the position to receive more valuable online bookings.
More information: (08) 8463 4500

Whyalla has a new $1.5 million sustainable water source, developed through a system of recycling the city’s wastewater and for the first time in it’s history, Whyalla now has access to a water supply other than the Murray River. The Whyalla Golf Club is the first organisation to receive the benefits of the new water supply and has undergone significant transformation. Other areas of the city will benefit from the new water source and the result will be a new ‘greener’ image for the city, which is in contrast to previous dry and dusty perceptions. Funding of more than $360,000 was made available through the Federal Government’s Regional Partnerships Program, which to date has seen the Flinders Region Area Consultative Committee successfully broker $5.2M for Whyalla and surrounding region.
More information: 0402 495 166

In a recent announcement by the Federal Minister, Ms Fran Bailey, South Australia received five category one grants through the 2006 Australian Tourism Development program. Recipients include:
· Havenhand Chocolates tourist centre, Waikerie $59 000
· Limestone Coast aquaculture accommodation and regional produce shop, Millicent $100 000
· Willunga farmers market $100 000
· Glen Ewin reception and tourism centre, Houghton $100 000
· Innamincka Hotel reception and dining area $100 000.
In the larger category two round for regional and cross-regional projects, both SA projects were successful:
· Flinders Ranges geotourism strategy: $250 000 to develop coordinated branding, communications and interpretive frameworks for the region.
· Cycle tourism resource kit by Bicycle SA for communities developing cycle tourism $240 000.
Overall SA secured approximately 11.4% of the funds allocated to the nation, the best result from the program so far.
More information: (08) 8463 4631



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