AusLeisure

The Barossa Valley is still South Australia’s most popular wine destination, but McLaren Vale is fast catching up with visitor numbers growing almost twice as fast.

Newly released figures from Tourism Research Australia show that the number of day trippers to McLaren Vale has risen by a 140% since 2015 - from 130,000 in 2015 to 351,000 in a year while overnight stays have risen 45%, up from 38,000 a year to 55,000 a year.

The Barossa attracted 880,000 day trippers and 243,000 overnight visitors in 2019, marking a 24% increase on 2015 visitor numbers.

New attractions in the McLaren Vale include the highly popular d’Arenberg Cube cellar door, gallery and restaurant. Three new hotels in the McLaren Vale, in the town centre, and Wirra Wirra and Leconfield wineries, are also on the cards.

Welcoming the findings, McLaren Vale Wine and Tourism General Manager, Jennifer Lynch stated "we are humbled to be named alongside incredible international must-visit destinations and look forward to continuing to welcome visitors to our special part of the world."

Related Articles

28th October 2019 - University of South Australia research focuses on sustainable tourism

25th October 2019 - Queensland wineries support new strategy to build international wine tourism

25th September 2019 - McLaren Vale tourism data receives a hi-tech boost

16th September 2019 - South Australian tourism set for significant challenges over next decade

23rd August 2019 - Tourism Commission and South Australian Government commit to industry growth

14th August 2019 - ATIC welcomes TRA’s record-breaking Australian tourism data

2nd April 2019 - Number of international visitors to Australia hits record high

19th November 2018 - International Visitors to Australia more likely to go to an arts event than wineries, casinos or sport

3rd February 2018 - d’Arenberg winery cube attracting 1,000 visitors a day

5th April 2017 - Wine inspired splash park opens in the Barossa Valley

22nd December 2015 - Rubik’s Cube inspires new South Australian winery attraction

17th April 2014 - ‘Rally Cry’ for Regional Australia to share stories of their local food and wine experiences

10th December 2012 - New partnership to bolster Australia’s wine and tourism marketing

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.