The Adelaide Economic Development Agency’s (AEDA) Dinner’s On Us campaign injected $225,000 into CBD and North Adelaide hospitality businesses during winter.
As part of an overarching Hit the Town campaign where city events and activities were curated to drive visitation to the city during traditionally quieter winter months, AEDA gave away 5,000 x $30 vouchers to use on dine-in dinners at participating businesses from 1 July to 31 August.
There were over 49,500 entries into the ballot before the 5,000 vouchers were distributed, with 49 per cent of the vouchers being used.
Those customers had an average additional spend of $2.10 for every $1 of voucher spent.
In an additional boost for the city businesses, 70 per cent of voucher redeemers said they would not have or were unsure if they would have visited the CBD restaurant without the voucher.
Over 50 per cent of the redeemers also said they did something else in the city or North Adelaide in addition to using their voucher, bringing extra money to the economy.
AEDA’s Managing Director Ian Hill said the dinner vouchers provided an incentive for thousands of South Australians to visit the city during the campaign.
“Dinner On Us incentivised consumers to try a new restaurant or an old favourite, while injecting $225,000 of sales directly into the pockets of CBD and North Adelaide hospitality businesses,” Mr Hill said.
“The majority of recipients told us they were unlikely to have otherwise visited the city if they hadn’t have won a voucher which underlines the initiative’s success.”
Ninety-two businesses registered to be part of the campaign, with the most popular businesses for redemption being Schnithouse, Zambrero North Adelaide, Strathmore Hotel, Nu Thai Restaurant, Hut & Soul, Lion Hotel, Tony Tomatoes, British Hotel, Archer Hotel, Dumpling City and Beyond India North Adelaide.
AEDA’s latest initiative is WellFest Adelaide, a celebration of wellbeing in the city from 15-31 October.