South Australia Tourism Policy Planning: 2003–2020 Strategy
This policy planning paper examines the evolution of South Australia's tourism strategy from the 2003–2008 plan through the Draft 2015–2020 plan. It traces each successive plan's goals, priority action areas, and stakeholder frameworks, showing how each builds on its predecessor in pursuit of the $8 billion visitor expenditure target by December 2020. The paper reviews key themes including sustainability, industry cohesion, infrastructure investment, aviation access, and the roles of government and the private sector. Drawing on the South Australian Tourism Commission's successive plans and national frameworks such as Tourism 2020, it offers analysis and recommendations for achieving long-term, sustainable growth in South Australia's tourism industry.
- Introduction: Tourism's economic importance to South Australia
- The Historical Context of the Present Plan: Succession of tourism plans from 2003 to 2020
- The Context of Planning: National frameworks and strategic planning priorities
- Response to the Draft South Australian Tourism Plan 2015–2020: Page-by-page commentary on the draft plan
- Discussion and Recommendations: Recommendations for sustainable industry growth
- Conclusion: Summary of planning continuity toward 2020 goals
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper traces a clear chronological arc across six successive tourism plans, showing how each one inherits and refines the priorities of its predecessor — a strong structural choice for policy analysis.
- It grounds abstract policy goals in concrete figures (e.g., $5.1b in expenditure, 54,000 jobs, the $8b target), giving the argument measurable anchors throughout.
- The section-by-section response to the Draft 2015–2020 plan demonstrates applied critical engagement with a primary policy document, a technique suited to policy studies writing.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates policy document analysis: reading multiple official plans as a corpus, identifying recurring themes and measurable targets, and evaluating continuity and change across planning cycles. This is a core skill in public administration and tourism management courses.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief abstract and introduction establishing economic stakes, then moves through a historical survey of tourism plans (2003–2014), a contextual section situating South Australia within national and global tourism frameworks, a direct page-referenced commentary on the Draft 2015–2020 plan, and closes with discussion, recommendations, and a conclusion tying all plans to the overarching $8 billion goal. The structure mirrors standard policy briefing format.
Introduction
Tourism is an emerging and outstanding social and economic driver of the present age. However, major obstacles and opportunities facing the sector still demand a universal sense of commitment and proper strategic awareness. To fully utilize the existing opportunities and the mutual gains that tourism brings to Australia, the sector and its various partners must demonstrate a commitment to strategic planning.
Currently, tourism is a vital driving force of South Australia's economy. Up to December 2013, 5.6 million overnight visitors across 18,000 businesses in the tourist sector spent $5.1 billion, accounting for 31,000 direct employment opportunities for South Australians. This makes tourism critically important to the state's regional economies, as it accounts for 44% of tourism spending even though only 23% of South Australians live in the state's regions.
As South Australia transitions from its traditional manufacturing base into a variety of new industries, tourism is positioned to play an important role. South Australia is not alone in identifying tourism as a significant future economic driver. A study titled "Building the Lucky Country" carried out by Deloitte indicated that tourism is among the fastest-growing industries that will drive Australia's post-mining economic boom. Analysis by BDA Marketing Planning indicates the South Australian tourism industry is capable of achieving above-average growth, with a potential of $8.0 billion by December 2020, requiring competitive gains in market share across all aspects of the tourism industry. The plan discussed in this paper focuses primarily on achieving that $8.0 billion potential, while also examining how sustainable such growth can be and offering recommendations on adopting the best sustainability strategy possible.
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