INCREASING the number of overnight visitors from international and domestic markets will be the priority for the Limestone Coast as part of a plan to boost the tourist economy by $140m within two years.
The region’s natural assets and local food and wine experiences will also play a greater role in tourism marketing under the State Government’s recently released regional visitor strategy.
The strategic plan outlines a range of location-specific initiatives to deliver stronger visitor experiences and job growth within the state’s 11 tourism regions.
A day-tripper driven focus will underpin the Limestone Coast’s tourism blueprint, with a targeted focus on leveraging the Melbourne to Adelaide touring route to further boost increased visitation.
The document estimates a potential visitor spend of $457m by 2020.
A move to grow the Limestone Coast’s accommodation yields by fostering the development of 17 new rooms and the upgrade of 220 rooms from three to four stars will seek to raise the average hotel room yield, which is currently $26 lower than the regional average.
Latest figures show more than 717,000 day trips were taken to the region, with the segment contributing a significant part of the $321m a year visitors inject into the local economy.
More than half of the region’s overnight visitors are from South Australia, with expenditure in the region at $123m.
Limestone Coast Local Government Association (LCLGA) tourism development industry manager Biddie Shearing said the document, which focuses solely on the state’s regions and their specific opportunities and challenges, was a first of its kind.
“In terms of tourism strategies, the regions have always been incorporated with Adelaide as part of the bigger picture,” she said.
“This is the first time there has been a regional document.
“The regions are contributing 40pc of the state’s total visitor spend, so it is important for the regions to lay out what we are doing in this space.”
Ms Shearing said the emphasis on boosting overnight visitors and converting day-trippers to overnight visitors complemented the LCLGA’s existing strategy.
She said the region had the state’s highest level of international visitation outside Adelaide, highlighting the United Kingdom, Europe, the US, China, India and New Zealand as the region’s largest international visitor source markets.
Ms Shearing said the association was keen to pursue international visitors due to their high spend and longer stays compared to domestic tourists.
Close to 600,000 overnight visits were recorded in the Limestone Coast last year, with 7pc of those being international visitors.
