SA: National Wine Centre receives extra funding

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2001
SA: National Wine Centre receives extra funding

ADELAIDE, Dec 22 AAP - The National Wine Centre in Adelaide will receive an additional
$1.75 million from the state government after difficulties in its first two months of
operations.

The $25 million centre has been struggling to break even and is reviewing its business
and marketing plans in light of difficult conditions.

Chairman of the National Wine Centre, Graham Walters, said a number of factors had
impacted on the Centre's ability to achieve its visitor targets.

He said those factors included the global economic downturn, the events of September
11, the collapse of Ansett and the delayed opening of the centre.

"These factors have required the government to provide some additional start-up funding
and we are working to get to a break-even position as soon as possible," Mr Walters said.

"It is clear that at this stage we will need to give greater emphasis to local and
interstate visitors in our marketing campaigns than was envisaged in the original business
plan.".

South Australian Premier, Rob Kerin, said the government had committed additional funding
of up to $1.75 million to the Centre and agreed the centre needed to be marketed more
to local visitors.

"The original business plan had a strong focus on international visitors. It was ambitious
but certainly achievable," Mr Kerin said.

"Certainly, the events of September 11 and the downturn in international tourism as
well as the Ansett collapse have impacted significantly.

"Simply it has meant the expected influx of interstate and overseas visitors hasn't
happened and we now need to focus more on local customers in the short term," he said.

AAP nc/cjh

KEYWORD: WINE

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