Regional South Australia has kicked off the school holidays with a new record-high visitor spend, as eight of the state’s 11 tourism regions reach an all-time high and 10 regions surpass their 2025 tourism targets.

The Fleurieu  and Kangaroo Island are two of the regions to both hit record-high visitor expenditure and surpass their 2025 tourism targets.

Latest data from Tourism Research Australia shows regional visitor expenditure hit a record $4.7 billion in the 12 months to June 2023, surpassing the target set for 2025 of $4.0 billion.

The record-breaking performance is driven by continued strength in the intrastate market and the recovering international market.

The state government expects events such as McLaren Vale’s Grenache and Gourmet, Willunga’s TPS South Australia and Langhorne Creek’s Handpicked Festival to continue the trend.

The International and National Visitor Survey results (year ending June 2023) showed the Fleurieu Peninsula visitor expenditure at $834 million and Kangaroo Island at $294 million.

Seb Packer, Managing Director of TreeClimb, says his business has had a bumper year, seeing a huge rise in interstate and overseas tourists.

“Based on our forward bookings our newly opened Kuitpo Forest TreeClimb is again set for a really strong holiday period.

“There’s no doubt we’re seeing a surge in visitors to the Fleurieu area with well over 45,000 visitors hitting the treetops at TreeClimb Kuitpo since we opened just over 9 months ago, well above our early estimates.”

Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison says it is great to see the regions performing strongly and surpassing their tourism targets.

“I invite all South Australians to discover their own backyard and I encourage interstate visitors to explore our unique landscapes and world-class offerings.”