South Australia stands to be the major beneficiary as the country cashes in on the growth of one of its fastest-growing industries – wine.
The state will be the location for the new Australian National Wine Centre which will open in the capital Adelaide in October 2000.
Costing around £13m, the attraction is funded by the state government, federal government and the Australian wine industry. It expects to attract 170,000 visitors a year.
Prime minister John Howard said: “The establishment of a centre will cement Australia’s position as a leading wine-producing nation.”
Indeed, a new winery is created every 48hrs, according to the Australian and New Zealand Industry Directory.
National Wine Centre chief executive Anne Ruston said: “The centre will be a showcase for Australia’s wine industry. It will be both educational and entertaining.
“It will hopefully be used as a starting point where people can come and learn about wines and then go off and explore the vineyards.”
Visitors will be able to taste more than 100 wines from every region of Australia, book tours of vineyards all over the country and learn about the production of wine by walking round a demonstration vineyard.
Although the entrance fee has not been confirmed, it is expected to be around £4 per person.
The centre will also be the headquarters for the development of the National Wine Tourism Strategy which aims to capitalise on the industry’s visitor potential and increase profitability of wineries.
Wine tourism by Sam Lewis