Travel Daily | South Australia.com launch

South Australia has taken the national lead in online tourism, launching a completely revamped southaustralia.com website boasting striking visual design and innovative search and booking technology.

The Minister for Tourism, John Rau, launched the totally redeveloped site today in Adelaide. Mr Rau said the new site means that researching and booking a South Australian holiday has never been easier. More than 3500 tourism products, services, events, destinations and attractions are listed on southaustralia.com.

“Online booking is the favoured approach by the vast majority of tourists and this new website places South Australia at the forefront of tourism marketing in Australia,” he said.

“Potential visitors will now be able to browse, plan and book their perfect holiday online with fast and user friendly software without having to leave the southaustralia.com website.”

The design of the new southaustralia.com was informed by extensive research into how South Australia can best engage tourism operators and the public in a digital world, the Minister said.

“Before the design process even started, workshops were held locally and interstate to examine how consumers would use the site and what information was most important to them. These insights guided the architecture of features, functions and information. A new suite of imagery showcases the state’s attractions ranging from Kangaroo Island, to Outback Journeys, the Murray River, Flinders Ranges, Coastal Escapes, National Parks, Adelaide City and Food and Wine experiences.

Underpinned by the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse product, (the national platform for digital tourism information supported by each state’s tourism authority), and unlike any other government tourism website, when potential tourists search on southaustralia.com their results will be filtered to first show those tourism products that are bookable online and available for particular dates.

While the new website is a huge step forward in the digital world, the South Australian Tourism Commission recognises that ‘traditional’ and personal avenues of booking a holiday to South Australia remain important. Access to these channels will be promoted via the new website which features designated positions for cooperative campaigns with wholesale and retail partners.

The second and third phases of the upgrade, to be rolled out in coming months, will include dedicated sites for international markets, versions for mobile devices, interactive maps and closer integration with social media websites.