Navigating tourism disruption with Stephanie Rozokos CPA

If you're lucky, an inspiring teacher can transform your vague aspirations into clear, focused goals and ignite a passion that carries you through a stellar career. For chief operating officer at the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), Stephanie Rozokos CPA, that’s exactly what happened in her final years of high school.

Thanks to her accounting teacher, by the time she was 18 years old, Rozokos was not only studying a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Business — Commercial Law at the University of South Australia, she also had a job at a local accounting firm and was putting theory into practice.

“For me, it was an amazing accounting teacher in Year 11 who launched my passion for accounting and led me on the path that I am on today,” says Rozokos.

Learning on the job has been a constant during her journey. After working through a range of positions in accounting firms at the start of her career, Rozokos established herself as an experienced senior tax accountant. It was a path she could have continued on, she notes, but the variety of areas she had studied during her commerce degree kept coming to mind.

“I was a senior tax accountant for some time at an accounting firm, and really the paths were to either continue on that journey and potentially become a partner or jump into commerce and take a different direction,” she says.

“I ended up taking the leap into commerce and working for Lockheed Martin for a couple of years before starting at the SATC in 2010.”

It was a hard decision to make, she says. “I loved my job at the accounting firm and it’s really hard leaving a place that you love to take a gamble in a totally different direction. But I did. And to be honest, I haven’t looked back.”

In addition to seeking new professional opportunities as an accountant, Rozokos has been the deputy board president of Resthaven Incorporated, a not-for-profit organisation providing aged care services, for more than six years.

“My board position has been a highlight in my career — it’s a position I’m deeply passionate about and fortunate to hold. Aged care is such a challenging industry, and being involved in it has been incredibly rewarding,” she says.

A ticket to explore

When Rozokos moved to the SATC, her focus was on finance and procurement.

“As I took on new roles, my responsibilities expanded,” she says. “I started as a finance manager, then moved to chief financial officer, and briefly stepped in as interim chief executive for about six months in 2022.”

Her current role as COO has given her exposure to the back end of a business and how it operates across finance, risk management, legal and procurement, ICT, people and culture, strategy and insights.

 

"My board position has been a highlight in my career — it’s a position I’m deeply passionate about and fortunate to hold. Aged care is such a challenging industry, and being involved in it has been incredibly rewarding."

 

“A lot of it you just learn on the job. I can’t emphasise that enough. Being a CPA obviously gives you the foundation, but learning on the job over the years has just been so invaluable,” Rozokos says.

“There are areas I didn’t specifically study, but because I have 15 years’ experience in the human resources space, for example, I now know it very well.”

The variety of tasks and responsibilities is why Rozokos is still at the SATC 15 years later. From dealing with staff performance issues and industrial relations matters, budget cost pressures and legal matters, to reviewing multimillion dollar contracts, dealing with data breaches or potential cybersecurity attacks — she says no day is the same.

“I joke about it and say, ‘That’s why I’m still here’. You are constantly challenged and never bored in this role and this industry. And that’s why I love it.”

Resilience and reinvention

This attitude has helped her when things have occured that cannot be learnt in any course. As a senior leader in the tourism industry, Rozokos was front and centre when COVID-19 caused mass disruption.

The tourism industry, already vulnerable to external factors such as economic shifts, natural disasters and geopolitical tensions, was hit especially hard by the pandemic.

“COVID-19 basically shut down the travel industry and we had to be resilient. It forced us to quickly adapt and come up with innovative solutions to keep our industry afloat,” she says.
With international borders closed, local businesses, attractions and services had to find new ways to stay relevant and survive.

“The industry really had to reinvent itself, relying heavily on local tourism and new safety protocols. One of our most successful programs was the Great State Voucher program, which successfully stimulated the industry and got people moving around the state again.”

It was a race against time, Rozokos says.

“We had about five weeks to make it happen — I’m talking about the whole system and the technology behind it. After a few teething issues, we ended up running eight rounds. By the end of it, we had learned so much, and we continue to learn.”

Since then, the SATC has worked hard to get the level of tourism in South Australia back to pre-pandemic levels.

“In 2024, we cracked the A$9.9 billion mark as an industry, which is a huge economic return for the state,” she says.

“That creates so many jobs, and considering we dropped to A$4.4 billion during COVID-19, to have recovered back in this way is such a great effort.”

Part of the focus to maintain those levels is to increase the way technology is used in the industry.

“It’s absolutely critical that we not only keep up with technological advancements, especially artificial intelligence (AI), but also recognise that if we don’t stay current, we’ll be left behind,” she says.

As well as exploring AI across a variety of areas — from text generation and image creation to trend analysis in data and sentiment analysis — there is huge potential in using AI for customer feedback, tracking sentiment, and automating customer enquiries and bookings.

“From a data and business-intelligence perspective, AI can allow us to leverage tourism data in real time, providing valuable insights to drive decision-making. The opportunities are endless, especially in areas like accessibility and inclusivity, where automated translation can enhance the experience for global visitors,” she says.

“It’s our job as industry leaders to take that responsibility on and work with our partners to keep tourism growing. It’s part of what makes this job so interesting.”

One piece of advice

“You just have to have that faith in yourself to say, ‘No, give it a go. You can do it.’ Because what’s the worst thing that can happen? You fail? If you fail, you learn and grow as a person.”