Victoria a favourite state for domestic, international tourists

Victoria’s regions including the Wimmera, the Great Ocean Rd, Spa Country, Goulburn and Central Murray are fuelling a tourism boom in the state as Melbourne continues to close the gap on Sydney as Australia’s most-visited city.

Victorian regions including the Wimmera, the Great Ocean Road, the Spa Country, Goulburn and the Central Murray are fuelling a tourism boom.

A record 28 million-plus visitors — more than three million of them from overseas — flocked to Victoria in the 12 months to September.

Victoria has now overtaken Queensland to be second behind only New South Wales as the nation’s biggest tourist drawcard.

RECORD NUMBER OF OVERSEAS TOURISTS VISIT VICTORIA

FOREIGN VISITORS FLOCK TO QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

TOURISM AUSTRALIA’S MOST-LIKED VICTORIAN PLACES

The Mornington Peninsula experienced a big spike in domestic tourism in 2018. Picture: Jason Sammon

And Melbourne continued to close the gap on Sydney as Australia’s most-visited city.

The Macedon Ranges, Bendigo Loddon and Goulburn regions experienced the biggest jump in overseas visitors.

The Western Grampians, Central Murray, Wimmera, High Country and Mornington Peninsula also experienced big spikes in domestic tourism.

Numbers of international tourists visiting Melbourne jumped by 6.7 per cent from the previous year to 2.9 million, and domestic tourist numbers leapt by 12 per cent to 9.9 million.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham welcomed the results, saying an increase in international visitors to Victoria was good news for local businesses, jobs and the economy.

Victoria’s Great Ocean Road continues to fuel a tourism boom.

“It’s wonderful to see record numbers of international travellers keen to experience the magic of Melbourne, with its many iconic tourist destinations — from the famous Queen Victoria Markets to the ice-skating rink in Federation Square,” he said.

“These latest results also show growth in tourism numbers outside of Melbourne.

“Travellers are thinking outside the box and moving beyond the city to explore more regional areas such as the Bendigo Loddon region to the picturesque Macedon Ranges.

“This is great news for regional towns in these areas, and it’s terrific to see travellers moving off the beaten track to get a taste for the rest of Victoria as well.”

The Macedon Ranges was one of the regions that experienced the biggest jump in overseas visitors. Picture: Andrew Connor

The big increase in the number of domestic visitors to Victoria saw spending jump by $14.6 billion — an increase of 10 per cent.

China continues to be the main overseas source of visitors to Australia. Numbers of Chinese visiting Australia rose by 8 per cent to 1.3 million.

The number of visitors from India increased by 20 per cent to 324,000.

And arrivals from Japan were up by 6 per cent to 419,000.

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