More international tourists choosing to visit South Australia but not spending enough RISING NUMBERS: Tourists at Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island. With a sassy saxophone number and a deep voiced narrator, this commercial from South Australia tried to seduce tourists to visiting the state. INTERNATIONAL tourists are flocking to South Australia at more than double the national rate but not spending enough, latest figures show. In the year to September, South Australia attracted 362,000 international visitors - a 10.9 per cent increase compared to the same time last year. The national growth rate was five per cent, up to 5,889,197 visitors over the same period. There are more international tourists jetting into South Australia. The proportion of people visiting friends and relatives in SA has grown 16.5 per cent and holiday travel has grown 10.6 per cent. SA Tourism Industry Council chief executive Ward Tilbrook said while the growth in international visitor numbers was positive the amount they were spending was still low. "Its always about our market share of international visitors," he said. We're still hovering around the four per cent of all international visitor spending in SA. We're doing good things in getting visitors here but economic conditions and the high Australian dollar are obviously affecting the spending by visitors while they're here. SA Tourism Industry Council chief Ward Tilbrook says international tourism spending is still low. Opposition tourism spokesman David Ridgway said while visitor numbers to SA were growing they were still lower than the other mainland states. "New South Wales attracts almost three million visitors annually and Queensland and Victoria some two million each," Mr Ridgway said. SA manages a paltry 362,000 and the few we do get spend far less money here than visitors to other states. This is despite our Tour Down Under, festivals and unique scenic attractions. Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said: "While most states have shown some growth during the past year, SA has definitely led the pack." Despite a strong Australian dollar and a challenging global economic climate in recent times, SA has remained more than competitive compared to other Australian destinations," he said. The report also shows: VISITOR spending increased 2.2 per cent in the year to September. CHINESE holiday-makers have been the major driver of growth - up 47 per cent in SA compared to about 30 per cent nationally. VISITOR numbers from the United States grew by 32 per cent. The latest data follows the naming of SA this week in Flight Centre's top 10 travel destinations for 2014, joining South Africa, New Orleans and Brazil. Adelaide was also ranked No. 9 in Lonely Planet's 2014 Top 10 Cities of the world. The International Visitor Survey can be viewed at www.tra.gov.au