One City, Many Experiences: Creating a Better Visitor Journey

What if the experience of Adelaide is being shaped by businesses that do not think of themselves as part of the same experience?

A visitor might arrive for a major event, check into a CBD hotel, spend an afternoon at Adelaide Central Market, have dinner at a local restaurant and finish the evening at a show. For the visitor, these are not separate experiences. They are simply Adelaide. 

For the businesses involved, however, they can look like a series of individual interactions: a booking, a meal, a ticket, a room or a purchase. For the visitor, these interactions are connected — and that difference is worth thinking about.

One visitor. Many touchpoints.

Visitors do not necessarily separate tourism, hospitality, retail, culture and events into neat categories. They move between them, often following whatever catches their attention or makes sense in the moment. And the journey starts before they arrive.

AEDA visitor research shows that 84 percent of visitors use technology to research and plan their trip. Once here, 54 percent continue using technology to find tourism information and navigate the city.

But technology is only one part of the journey. A visitor might start with a search online, use a map to find their way, notice something interesting while exploring the city, ask a hotel receptionist for a recommendation and end up somewhere they had never planned to visit.

One interaction can shape the next. Every touchpoint therefore has the potential to open another door.

Connecting the dots.

Adelaide already has experiences that naturally lead into one another. 

Someone staying in the CBD might explore Adelaide Central Market and Chinatown, stop for lunch and discover a cultural venue nearby. A major event can bring people into the city who then discover its restaurants, retailers and laneways. A business event can give delegates their first reason to explore somewhere they may not otherwise have visited. 

Michael Haddad, General Manager at Sensory House, describes a similar connection between Adelaide Central Market and the wider South Australian food and wine experience: 

“People come to Adelaide Central Market because they’re curious. They want to taste, explore, ask questions and discover something they didn’t know before. Sensory House extends that experience into South Australian wine and spirits. We give people the opportunity to slow down, meet the stories and provenance behind what’s in the glass, and genuinely connect with the people and place it came from. It’s not simply about taking home a bottle; it’s about taking home part of the experience.” 

None of this needs to be forced. But what happens when we make those connections easier to discover?

Research from the Visitor Information Centre gives us a useful example. Among visitors surveyed after using the service, 70 percent said the information encouraged them to experience more activities in the city. The right suggestion, at the right moment, can encourage visitors to explore further, spend more time in the city and discover businesses they may not otherwise have visited.

The opportunity is bigger than one business.

Creating a stronger visitor journey does not mean every business needs to work in the same way or offer the same thing. It is about recognising that no business operates in isolation from the destination around it.

A great experience can create curiosity about what comes next. A recommendation can send someone somewhere unexpected. A well-connected precinct can encourage people to keep exploring and discover more of the city.

This is also true of accommodation. Alex Schumann, Group General Manager at Majestic Hotels, describes the role hotels can play in connecting visitors with the destination beyond the property itself:

“Where visitors stay can be an important part of how they experience a destination. We want our guests to feel connected to Adelaide from the moment they arrive, whether that’s through the design of our properties, our local knowledge or the experiences they discover during their stay. For us, accommodation is about more than providing a place to sleep, it’s part of the Adelaide experience.” 

For businesses, this means looking beyond the individual transaction and considering the role that interaction plays in someone's wider stay. The restaurant may be one memory, the event another and the hotel another. But the visitor experiences them all as part of one trip.

A new opportunity to connect visitors with Adelaide.

As Adelaide prepares to welcome its new Visitor Experience Centre, there is a timely opportunity to think about how we help these connections happen. AEDA is already exploring this through itinerary development, industry education, digital discovery and curating the development of a new customer journey that will be discoverable once the new Visitor Experience Centre opens its doors to the public soon! 

The centre can be more than somewhere to pick up a map or ask for directions. It can act as a bridge between visitors and the businesses, attractions, events and precincts that shape their time in Adelaide. For businesses, there is potential to make those connections easier at every stage of the journey — whether that’s helping staff recommend what visitors can do next, building relationships with neighbouring businesses, or creating digital content and itineraries that encourage visitors to explore further.

There is already evidence that visitors value this kind of support. In Q1 2026, 78 percent of surveyed said they would consider using a visitor information service in the future if it offered services they found useful. 

The question becomes less about “What should I do?” and more about “What else can I discover while I'm here?”

Creating something visitors remember.

Adelaide has no shortage of great individual experiences. A dinner, a show, a market or a hidden place someone happened to recommend can each become a memorable part of a visit. On their own, they are moments. But together, they become something more: a feeling about a place, a story about a trip, a memory that stays with you long after you leave.

Somehow, those moments accumulate. Together, they become Adelaide.

Creating a better visitor journey doesn’t mean every business needs to tell the same story. It simply means recognising that, in our own way, we are all part of it.

Because visitors may remember where they ate, what they saw or where they stayed.

But what we hope stays with them is how Adelaide made them feel.

Source: AEDA Visitor Surveys.