SATC Website: Keith reviews the new web site

We've all heard it the 'brilliant blend' advertising slogan and we reckon it's spot on. Not surprising given we've got the lot from the dramatic reds of an endless outback to kilometres of spectacular white beaches… with a lot of green thrown in between.

Tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry in South Australia but you have to keep spreading the word about what you've got in every way you can. There are the traditional sources of information of course, like the Travel Centre and Visitor Information Centres throughout the state. They have hundreds of brochures and pamphlets with loads of ideas.

But get onto the new SA Tourism website and there are five thousands pages of information - with the human touch. Click on the Adelaide page and you'll see the familiar face of Mark Bickley.

He's one of fourteen 'virtual guides' on the South Australian Tourism Commission's new look website - www.southaustralia.com There is to share their passion for their patch of SA and make it personal.

Mark enthuses about life in Adelaide in particular North Terrace. He's a regular visitor to our cultural boulevard and a regular visitor to places like the State Library, Museum and Art Gallery.

They are just a few of the thousands of attractions and locations included on the new website. Already, 15-hundred customers a day are using the site to research a visit.

"One of the criticisms about the Internet is that it's a bit impersonal," said Mark. "So if you can navigate your way through the Internet and have friendly people talking to you and pointing you in the right direction along the way I think that's a real bonus."

And that's backed up by the figures. The latest research shows that the Internet is now the number one method of booking a holiday in SA, Victoria and New South Wales.

"I think the beauty of it is that the people we have representing the areas on the website are people that live there and are just so passionate about it."

That includes people like Tony Sharley from the Riverland, Denise Richardson from the Limestone coast, Brother John May from the Clare Valley and Craig Wickham from Kangaroo Island.

There are some local characters who are really steeped in their regions and as virtual guides, they enthusiastically spruik the virtues of their beloved home bases.

They're not professional performers - and perhaps that's part of the attraction. They are real people with their feet on the ground. Click on the map section and you get on online atlas cum encyclopedia of things to see and do.

And along the way, the cyber-space guides will happily give you a tip or two. Drop down windows and pop-ups are like a shelf full of brochures on line. Wine and food, events, accommodation - all just a click of the mouse away.

But be warned - this can become addictive - you can spend ages surfing around SA without even getting wet. But, in the end, of course, the new website is all about getting more people to enjoy the real thing.

So whether you're from Marden, Melbourne or Munich there are fourteen tourist guides just waiting on the net to take you into our regions. They're as close as your computer or if you haven't got one, try the local library.