Port Augusta's Mayor is calling for Aborigines in the Anungu Pitjantjatjara (AP) Lands to be taught basic hygiene and sensible drinking habits before they are allowed into the city.

Each summer about 100 Aborigines leave the lands, in South Australia's far north-west, for Port Augusta, to escape the heat.

Mayor Joy Baluch says the council is working with the Aboriginal Housing Authority to find them future accommodation, but in the meantime they are left to camp.

She says they cause social problems and are turning tourists away from the city.

"Before the people arrive from the pitlands they should be taught basic skills before they get here, particularly in relation to hygiene and social behaviour, because the manner in which they interact is extremely off putting for both our own community and for visitors," she said.