Visitors needed in response to fires
Grampians tourism region remains open for business and its communities ‘desperately’ need visitors and trade pushing into the new year.
That’s the message from Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman in response to figures showing significant negative flow-on effects of the fire disaster on the other side of the state.
Mr Sleeman said a broad and wrong perception that Victoria was all but closed to tourists was hurting Grampians regional tourism operators and businesses.
“There are increasing reports of holiday cancellations because of fires occurring 700 kilometres away and more concerning is that forward bookings have slowed to a halt,” he said.
“While understanding we’re very much in the bushfire period, all roads are still open in the Grampians and tourism operators are keen for business.
“It is also important to remember that the Grampians region is much more than simply Grampians National Park – while a primary attraction, there is a whole lot more to offer the visitor experience, such as our wonderful regional cities, towns, communities, galleries, features and events.
“We have one of the most spectacular regions in the state and now, for many reasons, is a great time to start planning to experience what we have in our part of the world.
“The big concern is that the main people impacted by perceptions regarding the fires is the small businesses – the mum-and-dad operations and the small towns and communities these support.
“We need to get behind them to back our visitor economies and at the same time support our own communities.
“Now, more than ever, is a good time to plan a holiday or day trip in our own back yard.”
Mr Sleeman said with a little more than a month of summer remaining, the region would quickly move into a milder autumn period, which represented an ideal time to visit the Grampians.
“A high percentage of people who make the most of our wonderful wilderness areas come from within the region,” he said.
“An extended message from us is why not use the backdrop of the
Grampians to reconnect with friends and family who might now be based in Melbourne or other parts of the country.”
Mr Sleeman said people could base their visits around the many major events planned for the Grampians and surrounding areas.
“There are a multitude of activities planned for the Australia Day long weekend, the Grampians Music Festival is coming up at the end of February and then we have the Grampians Grape Escape in May,” he said.
“There are wineries, restaurants, cafés, accommodation providers, galleries, retailers, Victoria’s largest regional zoo and of course our lakes and waterways.
“In 2019 Fisheries Victoria released about a million fish into our regional lakes so there’s also plenty of fishing and recreation opportunities.
“The reality is that our businesses are being indirectly affected by the fires in the state’s north-east and Gippsland.
“While the fires have devastated other parts of the state, we’re getting impacted in a different way.”
Mr Sleeman said visitors should keep a lookout for fire-recovery deals on offer from businesses in the Grampians and regularly visit Grampians Tourism’s website visitgrampians. com.au for more information.