Visitor numbers pick up in fire-hit areas as new tourism campaign launched
Tourists are flooding back into bushfire-affected communities, but authorities say they need all the help they can get with Gippsland towns facing a long road back.
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Victorians keen to visit Gippsland and support bushfire-hit communities have fuelled a 400 per cent spike in traffic to the region’s tourism website.
But while some towns welcomed an influx of holiday-makers last weekend, authorities warn it will be a long road back for communities across Gippsland and the northeast, with January usually delivering as much as half of the annual revenue for some businesses.
Destination Gippsland chief Terry Robinson said the region had lost $170 million in visitor expenditure because of the fires.
“Getting back to normal isn’t good enough,” he said.
“We’ve got to have the rest of summer, autumn, winter … The next 12 months has got to be bigger and better than ever, and next summer will need to be exceptional.”
Amid the Herald Sun’s “Go Country” series, Destination Gippsland’s social media engagement tripled and Visit Victoria saw an 18 per cent increase in Victorians looking at Gippsland and High Country pages compared to the same time last year.
There are now 224 organisations signed up to a government initiative to hold events in regional Victoria, with Linfox Logistics recently visiting Milawa, Johnson & Johnson in Merrijig and EY in Lakes Entrance.
Mr Robinson said businesses in Metung, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance were “pleased that they were heavily booked” last weekend.
“There’s optimism and some confidence and bookings, so that is positive,” he said.
More than 2000 people attended last Saturday’s Buchan Cup, with bookings also looking strong for the upcoming Paynesville Music Festival and the Man from Snowy River Festival in Corryong.
Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula said there were promising signs that visitors were starting to return.
“A lot of little trips will be of immense benefit to towns and businesses right across our state,” he said.
“A short stay really does go a long way so if you can have a night or two in country Victoria it will be enormously appreciated — and you’ll have a ball.”
It comes as the government launched a $5 million interstate and international campaign to attract visitors in the wake of the fires and the coronavirus outbreak.
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Visit Victoria chief Brendan McClements said: “From India, to the US and to Europe — we will be telling everyone to come to Victoria to experience our world-class events and outstanding destinations.”
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani welcomed the campaign, saying businesses were facing “dramatically reduced revenues” and were having to cut staff and hours “in an effort to contain costs”.