Unveiling $51 million in flood funding support during a Riverland visit today, Premier Peter Malinauskas urged South Australians to visit impacted regions to boost businesses suffering from rising water flows.

Malinauskas yesterday declared a state of emergency due to warnings of a second potential flood peak in late December.

Today, he announced tourism support funding including $3 million for three rounds of time-limited $200 vouchers for accommodation and tourism experiences in river communities at a time agreed with industry.

Another $1.1 million will support a “Book Them Out”-style Riverland marketing campaign, while another $501,000 has been set aside to reinforce houseboat moorings and pump stormwater.

“We want to see a surge in visitors,” Malinauskas said.

“This is one of the largest investments to a single region in tourism history.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas with Ministers Susan Close and Joe Szakas at the Waikerie ferry today. Photo: Supplied.

The new campaign funding also marks a turnaround for the Malinauskas Government, which axed the former government’s pandemic-inspired “Great State Voucher” scheme in June as the South Australian Tourism Commission searched for $17.6 million in savings over the next four years.

Other funding support was announced today for tourism operators including new support for dozens of houseboat operators already forced to close their businesses, and river shack owners abandoning homes they usually rent to visitors.

An early business closure grant is being made available, with $10,000 for non-employing businesses and $20,000 for employing businesses forced to close or cease trading prior to the flood.

All State Government fees and charges for houseboat and tourism operators impacted by the flood would also be waived.

The SATC welcomed the new funding as it prepared to jointly host an industry breakfast in Berri tomorrow, with the Tourism Industry Council of SA.

SATC chief executive Stephanie Rozokos said tourism operators across the Riverland and Murray River Lakes and Coorong region were invited to the meeting where they will be given updates by Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison and SATC.

“The South Australian Tourism Commission has been involved in discussions to help inform the response and recovery, working closely with our Regional Tourism Managers at Destination Riverland and the Murray River Lakes & Coorong Tourism Alliance,” Rozokos said.

“We have also already commenced work on the development of creative messaging and tactical incentives that can be rolled out to support operators as soon as the time is right.”

Rozokos said the former Great State Vouchers and #BookThemOut campaign made a huge difference for industry when it was needed during COVID.

“We saw the incredible response from South Australians who rallied behind operators during these times,” she said.

“It is important to reiterate that the current advice is that it is still safe to travel to the Murray River regions, and in fact, visitors are being encouraged to go and support local businesses.”

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan jointly announced today’s support package saying significant economic and social impacts were expected from flooding.

“It is prudent that we invest in keeping families safe, infrastructure secure and businesses alive,” Mullighan said.

“We’ve carefully tailored this package to ensure money gets to where it is most needed – and fast.

“We anticipate that this will be the start, not the end, of support for flood affected communities in the coming months.”

The nine local government areas eligible for disaster funding are Alexandrina Council, Berri Barmera Council, Coorong District Council, District Council of Karoonda East Murray, District Council of Loxton Waikerie, Mid Murray Council, Murray Bridge Council, Pastoral Unincorporated Area and Renmark Paringa Council.

Business SA chief executive Andrew Kay said that the government’s response reflects the urgency that he heard from businesses when visiting the region last week.

“Previous rounds of the accommodation and tourism vouchers had a really positive impact across South Australia and particularly in the CBD,” Kay said.

“The $1.1 million for a tourism marketing campaign is an excellent initiative, but I would encourage South Australians not to wait until post floods to visit as the Riverland is looking absolutely beautiful right now, and these businesses need their support while the region is still open.”