Major events in South Australia continue to drive bookings for tourism businesses, as forward bookings indicate thousands of additional rooms have been booked over the Christmas Test cricket match at Adelaide Oval this December.
Forward bookings for hotels across greater metropolitan Adelaide show that on average 7,483 rooms are booked each night from 5 until 10 December - the night before the Test match to the last scheduled day of play.
This is more than 2,574 additional room booked per night as compared to forward booking numbers at the same time in 2023 – with no Test match in December - which indicated an average of 4,908 rooms booked per night.
From 6 – 10 December, the Christmas Test Match will see Australia verse India and is expected to attract visitors from one of the state's valuable and growing international markets.
India is currently South Australia's worth $113 million to the South Australian economy, with visitor expenditure up by 93 per cent and visitation up by 7 per cent compared to pre-Covid levels.
In the year to June 2024, Indian visitors to South Australia stayed more than 2.1 million nights – up 22 per cent on the year to June 2023 – making it the state's second strongest market for nights occupied after China.
South Australia is set to continue to benefit from the globally viewed matches for the next seven years, as Adelaide Oval will host Australia's annual Christmas Test Match through to the 2030/31 summer.
This includes the highly anticipated Ashes series in the 2025/26 summer, attracting visitors to Adelaide from the United Kingdom – currently the state's largest inbound market.
The Christmas Test Match adds to a non-stop summer of sport helping trigger visitation to Adelaide, including the recent successful VAILO Adelaide 500, Adelaide International, the 25th anniversary of the Santos Tour Down Under, and LIV Golf Adelaide in its new February timeslot.
As put by Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison
Watching a Test Match at our iconic Adelaide Oval is a bucket list experience for any cricket fan, and we are seeing the real value of this to our state thanks to these strong forward bookings.
The State Government continues to invest in major events like the Christmas Test Match which provide a valuable boost to our state's economy while showcasing South Australia as a destination of choice.
With fans from all over the world locking in travel plans for the next seven years, the test match this December will provide a strong indicator for what's to come for spectators, teams, and our tourism businesses.
I hope all those visiting us enjoy not just unmissable cricket, but unmissable summer experiences here in South Australia – where all the best of Australia is just outside your hotel room.
As put by Anna Moeller, CEO Adelaide Hotels Association SA
Accommodation Hotels across Adelaide are set to have an early reason to celebrate the upcoming festive season with occupancy rates over the period of the Christmas Test cricket match in early December already at 80% capacity.
This is a significant increase in occupancy as compared to the same time last year when no Test match was played in December. It just goes to show how important these major events are in driving the visitor economy in this state.
We know that everything starts with the bed night. Increased occupancy in our hotels lead to people eating and drinking in them, engaging in other retail activity and for many also taking the time to visit our regions. This represents new money coming into our state providing a welcome boost to both industry and the broader retail sector following the quieter winter months.
