AFL Gather Round 2025 drives record tourism results for South Australia

AFL Gather Round 2025 has delivered a significant boost to South Australia’s visitor economy, with record-breaking crowds, festival attendance, and the greatest ever number of rooms occupied and revenue generated for Adelaide hotels.

The Friday night of AFL Gather Round 2025, 11th April, was the strongest night ever for hotel rooms occupied and revenue across greater metropolitan Adelaide, with 10,669 rooms occupied, generating revenue of $4.8 million.

Latest data by the STR Insights consultancy (a leader in hospitality data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights), shows the Thursday to Saturday night of AFL Gather Round recorded an average occupancy of 93%, average rooms occupied of 10,587, and average revenue of $3.7 million each night.

This surpasses AFL Gather Round 2024, with occupancy up 6% on last year’s 87% average, rooms nights occupied up 12% on the 9,419 average, and revenue up 25% on the $3.7 million average.

AFL Gather Round 2025 results

• Thursday, 10th April - 94% occupancy

• Thursday, 4th April- 86% occupancy

• Friday, 11th April - 94% occupancy

• Friday, 5th April - 88% occupancy

• Saturday, 12th April - 92% occupancy

• Saturday, 6th April - 88% occupancy

During AFL Gather Round, both West Beach Holiday Park and The Retreat reported its sites operated at full capacity, hosting over 3,000 guests - the vast majority in Adelaide specifically for the event.

Initial data validates forecasts that the AFL Gather Round week was Adelaide Airport's busiest week on record with approximately 200,000 people flying in and out of Adelaide, eclipsing the previous record of 182,000 set during Gather Round 2023.

Airlines operated more than 90 additional domestic flights in the lead up to AFL Gather Round when compared with March with 1,107 flights last week.

A total of 269,506 fans attended the nine AFL football matches across the State, cementing AFL Gather Round as one of the nation’s most engaging events.

The Footy Festival was bigger and better than ever drawing 118,543 visitors over four days - an increase of 17% on last year.

The Barossa region made its Gather Round debut in spectacular fashion, with Barossa Park hosting two AFL matches and thousands of fans. The newly completed $45.7 million Barossa Park precinct became a hub of sporting and community activity, featuring state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated Live Site on the second oval.

The Bounce Around the Barossa hop-on hop-off bus service transported almost 4,000 passengers to more than 45 local businesses, wineries, and townships across the region.

The Norwood Food and Wine Festival attracted more than 90,000 people, transforming The Parade into a vibrant celebration of South Australian food, wine, drink, and live entertainment, headlined by ARIA Award-winning band Birds of Tokyo.

Featuring more than 50 local traders, pop-up bars, and leading South Australian wineries, breweries, and distilleries, the festival was a highlight of the weekend.

AFL games were broadcast live on big screens throughout the precinct, allowing fans to soak up the festival atmosphere while keeping up with the on-field action.

Commenting on the success of Gather Round 2025, acting South Australian Minister for Tourism, Andrea Michaels stated “with more than 269,000 fans at matches and record-breaking festival attendance, the event has delivered a significant boost to our state including the highest ever number of rooms booked in Adelaide.

“Gather Round is about more than just footy - it’s an opportunity to showcase our regions, our hospitality, and our world-class food and wine to visitors from across the country with many of those operators being small businesses who have benefited significantly from the influx of people coming into South Australia.”

West Beach Parks Chief Executive, Kate Andersen added “the state government’s ongoing efforts to attract premium events continue to deliver benefits for tourism operators like us. Gather Round was a standout success, and we’re proud to be part of that story.

“Last weekend was a clear demonstration of how major events are delivering real tourism outcomes for South Australia.

“Approximately 40% of our guests came from interstate - many from Victoria - highlighting the national draw of Gather Round and its positive impact on visitation to West Beach Parks.”

Image: The Adelaide Oval from the air (top) and fans flock to the venue during Gather Round (below). Credit: Adelaide Oval.