Backlash over Victorian town’s fight against tourist influx

A community group from a popular Victorian destination has sparked furious backlash after a contentious flyer about tourists.

A community group from a popular Victorian destination has walked back their anti-tourism stance after a contentious flyer sparked furious backlash.

The controversial flyer was posted on Facebook this week with the bold heading of “Overtourism in Warburton, we’re over it already!!”, seemingly promoting a message the group doesn’t want any more visitors to the picturesque town situated on the Yarra River east of Melbourne.

The poster, created by the Upper Yarra Sustainable Development Alliance, was promoting a community meeting scheduled for June 6.

“Tourism is great, but can there be too much of a good thing?” the poster asks.

The flyer divided opinion in one of the town’s Facebook groups, and the creator eventually removed the post.

“You should be thankful that people from the ‘city’ are buying in to beautiful Warburton and helping to keep it alive,” one woman said on a later post.

The contentious anti-tourism flyer that sparked a strong response among locals. Picture: Facebook

“So sick of this city/country divisive mentality.”

One local said Warburton was “a beautiful place to be and live”, so they didn’t mind sharing it with others from the city.

“You were saying one thing with your flyer and arguing that intent was misinterpreted,” another woman wrote.

“Over tourism and we’ve had enough is pretty clear to me.”

Another person said tourism brought money into the town.

The Redwood forest on Cement Creek Road, East Warburton, is proving to be a popular destination for visitors.

“Everyone complains that the pools were closed and the hospital is just sitting there empty, and shops are closing,” he said.

“And then complain when people start to come to the town again on the weekend, seeing the attractions and spending money in the town. Can’t win.”

Others praised the character of the creator for bringing discussion of overtourism issue into the public domain.

“Tourism is very important for our town and the entire region but so is the amenity of local residents,” another local said.

The bustling main street of popular tourist town Warburton. Picture: Tourism Victoria

The popular Lilydale to Warburton rail trail in the Yarra Valley.

Warburton, which is situated in the Yarra Valley about 72km east of the Melbourne CBD, has increased in popularity as a tourist destination and weekend getaway spot in recent years.

It’s nestled between heavily forested mountains with beautiful old buildings housing cafes and eateries, along with natural gems like La La Falls and the Yarra River.

But an explosion in people visiting Redwood Forest in East Warburton – a Californian Redwood tree plantation – in the past two years that has helped boost the town’s tourism market.

NCA NewsWire contacted the flyer’s creator for comment, but she has since clarified the stance of the action group online, saying the flyer was “poorly worded”.

“The flyer gave the impression tourist (sic) being the problem, this is not the message we wanted to give or agree with,” she said.

“It came across as anti-tourist (but) it was more about balancing the wellbeing of the community with a very fast growing tourist industry – issue(s) such as housing and environment.”

Upper Yarra Sustainable Development Alliance spokesman Christian Nielson told 3AW radio a new mountain bike trail was going to bring in a vast amount of tourists, which was a public concern.

“What we are opposing is the huge influx of mountain bikers into high fire risk areas, and I think that is exactly what we’re going to be seeing with the new mountain bike proposal that has been put forward by council,” he said.

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