TOURIST ACCOMMODATION

The total takings from all forms of tourist accommodation in South Australia in the March 2007 quarter were $117.0 million, which was 4.9% of the Australian total of $2,370.3 million. For the year ended March 2007, total tourist accommodation takings in South Australia were $414.2 million, or 4.6% of the Australian total. The South Australian takings had increased by 8.6% over those for the year ended March 2006.

Tourist guest arrivals at South Australian hotels, motels and serviced apartments with five or more rooms and at visitor hostels for the year ended March 2007 amounted to 2,487,000 persons, or 5.4% of the Australian total, and 6.1% more than for the year ended March 2006.

Hotels, motels and serviced apartments with fifteen or more rooms account for more than three-quarters of the takings for all types of tourist accommodation in both South Australia and Australia. For the year ended March 2007, takings from this type of accommodation in South Australia were $313.6 million, or 75.7% of the total tourist accommodation takings for the state. This type of accommodation caters for well over three-quarters of the guest arrivals, with 2,169,200 (or 87.2% of all guests) guest arrivals in South Australia in the year ended March 2007.

Room occupancy rates for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with fifteen or more rooms for the year ended March 2007 were 63.0% and 65.0% for South Australia and Australia respectively; these rates exceeded those for the year ended March 2006, at 59.8% and 63.2% respectively. The data in original terms from the graph below indicates that occupancy rates tend to be highest in the warmer months of the December, and in particular, March quarters.