Small businesses are reaping the benefits of a successful festival season with the East End having its biggest weekend post COVID during the March long-weekend.
Approximately 250,000 people visited the East End between 7 – 10 March 2025, according to foot traffic data from the Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA).
This weekend coincided with Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Fringe, WOMAD and the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and is up from 164,705 over the same weekend in 2024.
Total visitation during the first three weekends of Adelaide Fringe (starting from 21 February) from Friday to Sunday was an incredible 687,656 visits to the East End – an increase of 40 per cent on 2024.
Foot traffic in Adelaide's West End is also up by 5 per cent compared to 2024.
This is a huge boost for small businesses in the city with business owners saying it has been an incredibly busy time for them.
The festival season is attracting tens of thousands of people to South Australia from interstate.
Adelaide Fringe figures show that 52,000 visitors have attended the festival from interstate so far with 980,000 tickets sold in total.
At the same time, 30 per cent of Adelaide Festival's tickets sold to visitors from interstate with approximately 365,000 people attending the festival in total.
The Malinauskas Labor Government has invested significantly in South Australia's festivals and events providing more than $8 million in additional funding to Adelaide Fringe and $2.3 million to Adelaide Festival.
We continue to see the economic and cultural benefits of that investment as people flock to South Australia for the festival season and boost our small businesses.
As put by Andrea Michaels
The 2025 festival season has outdone itself with tens of thousands of people coming to South Australia for Mad March.
Not only does this cement South Australia's reputation as the festival state, it also injects millions of dollars into our state's economy and boosts small businesses.
Cafes, restaurants, small bars, hotels and retailers are all benefiting significantly from the influx of people the festival season has brought to Adelaide with the East End experiencing its biggest weekend since before the COVID pandemic.
That is incredible for those small businesses and I encourage everyone to support them as much as they can while enjoying our world-class festivals.
As put by PJ Tebyanian, Exchange Coffee owner
It's been a very busy time for us during the festival season.
The long weekend was absolutely packed with people lined up out the front to get a table.
Events like the Fringe and WOMADelaide are fantastic for us and draw more customers to the East End to support local businesses.
During Fringe, we have customers come back to Exchange from all over the world and every year, it is exciting for us to see them back again.
As put by Theo Maras, Maras Group Chairman
This festival season has been nothing short of extraordinary, with businesses in the East End taking centre stage in the heart of the action.
We've had thousands of people here experiencing the magic of the festival period including enjoying on-street dining, night markets and local cafes and shops.
It's been fantastic to see Adelaide come alive, bringing locals and visitors together to experience the best of what our community has to offer.
As put by Heather Croall, Adelaide Fringe Chief Executive
Adelaide Fringe is a major driver of economic activity for small businesses, injecting millions into the local economy each year.
The Fringe's ability to draw thousands of visitors from across the country and internationally not only boosts ticket sales for artists but also brings significant trade to cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, and retail businesses.
This year's record-breaking visitation highlights just how crucial arts and cultural events are in supporting small business growth and keeping our city vibrant.
As put by Steve Maras, Adelaide Economic Development Agency Chair
The festival season is creating an incredible buzz across the city with traders experiencing a surge in demand, particularly in the areas where events are happening.
The sequence of events from TDU, through to LIV Golf, the festival period and into Gather Round creates a great pipeline of opportunity around which traders can plan.
I encourage all South Australians and visitors to get out and experience world-class festivals in the city to support artists and the local economy, highlighting that Adelaide is the place to be.
