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A new virtual “tip jar” is giving South Australian tourism operators a helping hand – and an on-line spotlight – during the downtime due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has launched a Virtual Tip Jar on its online content platform SATV, providing an option for consumers across the country to contribute what they can to South Australian tourism operators at a time when they need it the most.

Tourism is a key economic driver in South Australia – contributing $8.1 Billion to the economy, and employing more than 38,900 people across 18,000 businesses. The Virtual Tip Jar function is another way that the cooped-up community can continue to support local tourism operators and businesses to help give them confidence in their offering until restrictions can be eased.

SATV features businesses hosting a virtual version of their product or experience, such as online cooking classes, wildlife and nature experiences, happy hours and cocktail making demonstrations, as well as virtual wine tastings.

SATV was launched in April with the aim of giving South Australian tourism operators and businesses a platform to continue to promote what they do or their adapted offering, as well as taking people on a visual journey through some of South Australia’s most iconic regions – all without leaving the comfort of their lounge room.

SATC Chief Executive Rodney Harrex said the agency is committed to finding innovative ways to support the state’s tourism industry get through this crisis and rebound as strongly as possible on the other side.

“The virtual tip jar aims to appeal to the kindness of the Australian community, many of whom are looking for ways to support fellow Aussies and local businesses during these unprecedented times,” he said.

“While we know these contributions won’t make up for the loss of visitors and the other impacts being felt, we hope they can offer some hope that consumers remain interested in the incredible experiences that South Australian operators have to offer and can help to boost morale for operators and their staff.

“As people can’t physically travel in or to our state right now, the content on SATV is designed to inspire cooped-up travellers and keep SA top of mind for when it is safe to travel again.”

The Virtual Tip Jar function is located above each video listed on www.southaustralia.com/SATV with contributions from as small as $5 made using Stripe payment and deposited directly into the corresponding operators’ bank account.

Early results from SATV show the platform is reaching a wide audience with more than 20,000 views across the video series and more than 19,500 direct leads back to South Australian tourism businesses – many of those leads going to the new adapted e-commerce offers. More than 450,000 visits to southaustralia.com since SATV’s launch, indicate there remains a strong desire for travel to SA.

SATC remains focussed on supporting the local tourism industry throughout COVID-19 travel restrictions and will continue to find innovative ways to both keep SA front of mind for would-be travellers, and drive income and business leads back to operators.