South Australian festivals sign to promote music & cultural tourism

South Australia’s top festivals once contributed $116.7 million annually to the local economy.

At the same time studies confirmed the general feeling within SA’s music and arts community that tourism authorities lagged behind in appreciating the visitor potential of these events.

Now 11 festivals have signed a cross-industry alliance to promote SA as a cultural destination, work with government to shape policies that grow tourism, encourage investment in SA’s attractions and address the need to widen infrastructure.

The festivals come under the umbrella of Festivals Adelaide (FA), and include WOMADelaide, the Adelaide Guitar Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Feast and Adelaide Cabaret.

FA, Tourism Industry Council SA (TICSA) and Arts Industry Council SA (AICSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together under chief executive Justyna Jochym.

“Mechanisms that support businesses and adjoining industries to derive benefit from our year-round festivals, arts, cultural attractions, and the visitors they bring into and circulate around the city and state, must be either significantly bolstered or reimagined,” Jochym said.

WOMADelaide, for instance, reported that 45% of the of attendees – about 95,000 to 97,000 in recent years – helped the festival inject $15 million into the state economy.

This month, although forced to downsize to four sunset concerts, it drew 19,000 punters and it is understood some 8,000 of those attendees were cultural visitors.

Similarly Adelaide Fringe was growing its number of tourists before the pandemic.

In 2019, its draw of 35,000 interstate and international visitors was a staggering 72% hike from the previous year, while in 2020, visitors generated $41.6 million, a rise of 8%.

The new alliance will work with international education and business events, and hospitality, food and wine sectors, the latter two of which grossed a record $20.3 million in 2019.

Jochym has been pushing for such a tie-in since she took over her FA role in January 2020.

She argued SA arts and music events “absolutely” needed to be marketed in a wider tourism package, and began working with other sectors including education, business and health.

“There’s an interconnection with festivals and tourism that is undeniable and strong.”

Last year’s Tourism and the Rise of the Arts: Understanding How Arts Festivals Create Value for the South Australian Economy Industry Report by Prof Ruth Rentschler and Dr Boram Lee from the University of South Australia urged SA to market and encourage cultural tourism.

“Across Australia, cultural tourists travel further, stay longer and spend more than other tourists, with more cultural tourists attending the arts than wineries and sport, so this is a strong market to capitalise on for South Australia,” Rentschler said.

The government seems to be heeding the call, in its 2025 South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy, and announcing its inaugural Arts and Cultural Tourism Strategy, by the SA Tourism Commission and Department of Premier and Cabinet, Arts South Australia.