SA: Cyclone Larry provides windfall for SA tourism

AAP General News (Australia)
04-02-2006
SA: Cyclone Larry provides windfall for SA tourism

By Brad Watts

ADELAIDE, April 2 AAP - Cyclone Larry, which ravaged north Queensland, has provided
an unexpected windfall for South Australia's tourism industry.

Some of SA's most popular tourist regions, including the Barossa Valley and Riverland,
have been inundated by international and interstate visitors who detoured to South Australia
instead of holidaying in north Queensland.

Barossa Wine and Tourism manager Steve Callery said the category five cyclone, which
struck on March 20, forced many travellers to reschedule plans at the last minute.

Mr Callery said most tourists who headed for the Barossa hailed from Britain and other
parts of Europe.

Many who changed their plans were domestic tourists, some of whom were first-time visitors
to the region.

"It's been a really busy couple weeks for local tour operators and it's a plus for
South Australia - it's hard to put an exact dollar value on it though," Mr Callery said.

"We've also seen a lot of Victorians that came here to escape the Commonwealth Games,"

Mr Callery said.

"The boom has been totally unexpected as travellers have obviously made a decision
fairly quickly to come here."

Riverland tour operators also reported a jump of about 20 per cent in visitors after
the devastation caused by cyclone Larry.

Berri Visitor Centre tourism officer Nicki Mackay said there had been a lot more visitors
to the region over the past two weeks who were scared to go to Queensland.

"A lot of people have changed their minds about going to north Queensland as they weren't
sure about how much damage has been done," Ms Mackay said.

Ms Mackay said new visitors to the Riverland had also enjoyed wine tasting and going
on Murray River cruises.

AAP baw/cjh/sd

KEYWORD: LARRY TOURISM

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