Visitation to Adelaide's CBD post pandemic shows it remains one of the nation's most vibrant capital cities, outperforming cities on the east coast – driven by an increase in visitors on weekends.
According to new data from Australia's peak industry group for the tourism, transport and aviation sectors, Adelaide and Perth are the only two capital cities where visitation is often above 2019 levels.
In April 2024, total visitation to Adelaide's CBD (including visitors and workers) was above pre-Covid levels, with visitation on weekend evenings at more than 120 per cent of pre pandemic levels.
The strong results can be partly attributed to the return of the state's major events, including the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf Adelaide – in addition to eight conferences hosting a combined almost 3,100 delegates during the month.
The report, released today from the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) and compiled by DSpark, analyses mobility data to survey the movements of 8 million Australians, or nearly one third of the adult population in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth CBDs.
The TTF report found:
- Adelaide and Perth are the only two of five of Australia's largest capital cities where visitors are often above 2019 levels.
- Total visitation to Adelaide's CBD (including visitors and workers) was at 101% of pre-Covid levels in April 2024.
- Weekend visits to Adelaide's CBD were at 108% of pre-Covid levels in April 2024, with evening weekend visits (between 6pm – midnight) surging ahead to 121% of pre-Covid levels in April 2024.
- Visits between 6pm - midnight on weekdays were at 109% of pre-Covid levels in April 2024.
This follows recent news that Adelaide achieved the highest hotel occupancy in April across 14 major cities throughout Australia and New Zealand. The month also saw accommodation across greater metropolitan Adelaide record its strongest ever monthly revenue, with an average nightly revenue of $2.1 million.
A suite of major events has helped drive visitation into the Adelaide CBD since the start of 2024, including the Santos Tour Down Under, Adelaide Fringe, WOMADelaide, Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel, and the recent sold-out CommBank Matildas match at Adelaide Oval.
As put by Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison
Adelaide is once again among the nation's most vibrant capital cities, as one of the top performing cities in Australia for CBD visitation post pandemic.
These results help demonstrate why the State Government is backing major events such as AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf Adelaide as they help drive people back into our city and into our tourism and hospitality businesses.
We are committed to continuing to deliver innovative events and activities to boost visitation in our CBD and beyond and put valuable dollars into the pockets of South Australian businesses.
And there are certainly many reasons to continue to visit our city over winter, including the Adelaide Cabaret Festival which opened this week and the highly anticipated return of Illuminate Adelaide next month.
