The SA Tourism Commission has paid an unknown amount of money to Sports Illustrated to shoot their iconic swimsuit issue on Kangaroo Island.

A spokesman has told The Advertiser the sum was “commercial in confidence”.

“As you can appreciate other jurisdictions would love this type of exposure and so to release these details would harm future negotiating positions for both parties,” he told the paper.

“However I can say that the SATC has assessed this opportunity thoroughly according to our usual required ROI (return on investment) metrics and given the massive exposure offered by Sports Illustrated we are confident that this partnership provides exceptional value for money for the state.”

Channel 7’s Mike Smithson told FIVEAA it was impossible to judge the investment without knowing the figure involved.

“What annoys me is we don’t know how much it’s costing,” he said on Wednesday.

“It might be 20 bucks for all I know — if it was $10,000 you’d say I suppose that’s not the end of the world.

“If it was $10 million you’d say it’s not the right thing to do.”

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Shooting for @si_swimsuit!! Ive dreamed of this since I was a little girl and today could not have felt more surreal. I still feel like I’m dreaming. Here’s a sneak peak….. I dedicate this to all the snakes ‍

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