Along with the Southern Ocean Lodge’s re-opening, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas celebrated Kangaroo Island taking second place for Lonely Planet’s 2024 must-visit regions list. Photo: LinkedIn.
Tourism in Kangaroo Island has marked a major milestone as the $55 million rebuilt Southern Ocean Lodge reopened its doors on 6 December.
After almost four years of planning, design and construction since it was razed in the 2020 bushfires, the new-look luxury accommodation on the south coast of Kangaroo Island will once again draw visitors from around the world.
More than 40 per cent of Kangaroo Island was hit by the January 2020 bushfires, which happened shortly before COVID-19 restrictions further impacted the island.
Since then, the industry has made an impressive recovery, generating a record $294 million in visitor expenditure in the year to June 2023.
Of this total, $38 million of this was spent by international visitors, which shows real progress given the region’s pre-COVID value of $53 million.
Tourism is also a major employer on the island, accounting for 35 per cent of all jobs.
Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison said Kangaroo Island attracts the highest international tourism spend of any region outside of Adelaide.
“What a terrific milestone for tourism in Kangaroo Island and the industry more generally, with the iconic Southern Ocean Lodge once again open to visitors,” she said.
“With Southern Ocean Lodge already known as an international drawcard, its re-opening promises to boost international recovery even further.”
The new Southern Ocean Lodge holds almost the same footprint as the original. It features 23 guest suites each with a private deck and reoriented to open towards the south-east, taking in views of the Southern Ocean.
The new accommodation includes all the features once loved by guests, as well as some new additions “designed for a new generation of travel to Kangaroo Island” with a greater focus on sustainability.
It comes as Kangaroo Island’s cruise season has set sail, with three cruise ship visits in as many days last week.
The P&O Pacific Explorer, Silverseas’ Silver Whisper and P&O Pacific Adventure visited last week – the first time to Kangaroo Island for the two latter ships. The three back-to-back cruise visits brought a combined up to 5423 passengers and 2326 crew to the island over the three days.
In total this cruise season, there are 31 scheduled cruise visits to Penneshaw, as well as 13 expedition ship visits across Kangaroo Island to destinations including American River and Antechamber Bay.
Last cruise season, Kangaroo Island welcomed 29 cruise visits, bringing more than $33 million to the region’s economy.
“Kangaroo Island is also reaping the benefits of its cruise season, which is full steam ahead, as three back-to-back cruise ships call into Penneshaw in as many days – further boosting tourism in the region where 35 per cent of jobs are directly employed in the industry,” Minister Bettison said.
Member for Mawson Leon Bignell celebrated the Southern Ocean Lodge’s re-opening and the resilience of its owners James and Haylie Baillie, and managers John Herd and Alison Heath for struggling through the fires.
“Staff and guests had made it out without injury and almost immediately James and Hayley were talking about coming back with an offering even better than the internationally top-ranked [Southern Ocean Lodge],” he said.
