Social media influencers were given free trips to South Australia to watch an "exclusive" concert by British singer Sam Smith in exchange for two or three posts on their accounts according to documents obtained by the ABC.
The state government said a review of its tourism strategy would be released in April after facing criticism for the event, held at d'Arenberg winery in McLaren Vale.
Documents provided to the ABC under Freedom of Information reveal influencers invited by the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) were asked to “ideally” post daily Instagram stories, which last only 24 hours, while enjoying free meals and accommodation in Adelaide.
Some were also asked to publish one or two TikTok videos and an Instagram post.
While influencers including Melbourne couple "Taz and Alessia", posted extensively about their trips, ABC checks on multiple social media influencers after the event, and this week, show some had no permanent posts about the trip or concert on their accounts.
Some posts may have expired due to a platform’s automatic time constraints, or may have been deleted.
The documents show influencers were given meals at restaurants such as The Lane Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills and Golden Boy in the CBD.
Some influencers stayed a number of nights at five-star hotels, including the Sofitel and Eos by SkyCity, while airport and venue transfers were also paid for.
Internet searches indicate the commercial cost of an itinerary provided to an interstate influencer attending the event would be approximately $2,000.
It is understood any actual costs covered by the State Government may have been lower due to pre-existing arrangements.
The SATC offered the "exclusive" trip to influencers recommended by TikTok Australia and Instagram influencers with high numbers of followers or who fit the desired demographic, including members of the LGBTQI community.
"This is a contra opportunity. Talent is expected to post and tag @southaustralia across their owned channels in exchange for the experience and inclusions outlined above," the invite to influencers said.
Contra means payment in products or services, something typical in tourism, entertainment and hospitality promotion.
In a statement, SATC said costs for the event were shared with Frontier Touring, the company which is bringing Smith to Australia for a series of concerts later this year.
"The hosting costs of the event were shared by the SATC and Frontier Touring," it said.
"Venue hire and all beverages during the event were provided as contra (free-of-charge) by the d'Arenberg Cube."
The SATC also said Frontier Touring was responsible for bringing interstate and international media and secured coverage in major outlets.
Marketing strategy under review
Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison said the state government was still finalising its full report "capturing" data about the impact of the event for the tourism industry.
She said that report would include the number of social media posts published by influencers given taxpayer-funded benefits to attend.
"That data is going to be fully captured in the report that will come out end of April," Ms Bettison said.
Ms Bettison said social media posts were "requested" by the state government in exchange for attendance, as opposed to being a "condition" of the invitations.
"It was a request, which is a common request, when we host people in these famils, which is commonly used in the tourism industry," she said.
"We asked them to do photos, tagging, and promote our state.
"That's why they are there, to post, it's common practice and that's what they did.
"Sam Smith was an opportunity for us. It was a promotional concert and if it wasn't here in front of the d'Arenberg cube, it would be in front of the Sydney Opera House.
"You've got to remember what we got out of this event — we got $32 million of advertising value."
Despite defending the strategy, the state government at the time announced a review amid calls for greater transparency about how much was spent.
In January, Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison defended the event, saying the government's successful bid to host Sam Smith's promotion to their 2023 Australian tour cost less than half a million dollars.
The FOI documents disclosed that some influencers with a large following declined the offer when they were told they would not be paid per post.
"Given this is an exclusive experience, there is no budget for talent fees," the SATC told their agents.
The documents also revealed SATC had been warned by a United States-based marketing consultant that the event was "too niche to drive bookings from US" and would only be useful for "awareness" if certain conditions were met.
They also show 21 SATC staff attended the event, 12 of whom were "volunteers", who filled roles as ushers and were not paid for their time.
