A third round of travel vouchers worth up to $200 each will target hosted tours and experiences across South Australia.

It follows rounds one and two of the Great State Voucher program, which the state government says created over 62,000 room night bookings and a flow-on spending of more than $32 million into the state’s visitor economy.

The ‘Great State Experiences Voucher’ scheme will provide $50, $100 and $200 vouchers for use on participating hosted tours and experiences across the state.

Around 500 operators are expected to register their experiences, from shark-cage diving and swimming with sealions, to helicopter and mountain bike tours, guided food and wine trails, and hosted wildlife experiences.

Premier Steven Marshall says the stimulus for tour and experience operators will give them a kick-start once JobKeeper ends.

“Expanding the scheme to direct cash-flow into South Australian tour and experience businesses following the busy Easter period and after the JobKeeper subsidy ends is the right support at the right time.

“We’ve listened to industry and business owners across SA, and this latest round of vouchers will see locals spending up on tours and experiences which they ordinarily might have overlooked while holidaying at home.

Owner/operator of McLaren Vale’s Helivista Paul Beck says the vouchers will allow the luxury helicopter tour company to grow its local market base.

“Without the high-yield international tourists, business has been tough. We’ve spent the downtime finding ways to diversify, which has included building offerings with other like-minded businesses. We also launched a Heli Fly-Thru lunch in conjunction with Penny's Hill and The Currant Shed,” he says.

“The experience vouchers are a very welcome initiative and will give us a chance to showcase what we do and show domestic visitors holiday options at home, while borders are closed.”

Like round two of the vouchers, a limited number of the Great State Experiences Vouchers will be available for some interstate tourists.

The Great State Experiences Voucher will launch after the peak tourism Easter and April school holiday period, for travel over the cooler months, bookable seven days a week including Saturdays and the July school holidays to boost the traditionally quieter winter months.

More details will be released for consumers following the completion of an Expressions of Interest for operators to participate. 

“We know tour and experience operators have seen a downturn in business that is not restricted to mid-week like accommodation providers, so this round of vouchers can be used for the entire travel period and includes the July school holidays, which means South Australian families can make the very most of experiencing their great state,” Premier Marshall says.

More information is available on the website. https://southaustralia.com/voucher