South Australia poised to introduce new tourism voucher scheme

The South Australian state government is poised to introduce a new tourism voucher scheme, encouraging people to book stays at regional and city hotels.

But the plan is being slammed by the opposition which says it is significantly less than other states, and ignores a key component of the tourism industry.

"A voucher process to enable South Australians to visit tourism destinations is absolutely something we are interested in and working through at the moment," Environment Minister David Speirs said.

Yet, registration for the scheme is already open. And while the government wanted to announce the initiative tomorrow, the opposition got in early, with its own take.

"What we've seen here is a stingy tourism voucher, Opposition spokesperson Zoe Bettison told 9News.

The campaign acts as an incentive to get people into accommodation, with consumers given $100 to stay in the CBD or North Adelaide and $50 in the regions.

But there are conditions - no medi-hotels, camp grounds, hostels or AirBnBs are eligible. And there is not support for tour operators. It also cannot be used for Saturday night stays.

"What this government needs to do is backing in this industry ... and it's simply not good enough," Ms Bettison said.

The scheme also falls short of what's on offer in other states and territories.

"We've seen NT and Tasmania come out with quite generous tourism vouchers and that's what we supported," she said.

The government says it is already investing $122 million in stimulus support for local tourism. This includes large-scale infrastructure projects and cash grants.

"We are working very hard to support the tourism industry here in South Australia," Mr Speirs said.

Consumers will be able to apply for the vouchers from October 15 until the end of October but can book their stay until December 11.