Winter’s fine to wine, dine

TOURISM operators hope the region’s flourishing food and wine scene will draw more visitors this winter.

Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism manager Liz Price said the lack of international tourists continued to affect operators, with many experiencing a quieter than usual summer and autumn.

“On the whole, accommodation providers have really seen a drop-off in bookings,” Ms Price said.

“This is traditionally our slowest period and especially midweek the loss of international tourists is really noticeable.”

But she hoped more Melburnians and Victorians would be drawn to visit after the release of the authority’s 52 Great campaign.

“For me, winter is the best time to visit our region because you are seeing nature at its best,” Ms Price said.

Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine chief executive Brett Ince said the return of events to the region — such as the National Celtic Festival — would help drive visitors to Geelong.

Mr Ince said the lack of international tourism and weaker interstate market provided the region opportunities to draw domestic and short-break travellers.

“The opportunity this year is to connect with new visitors and those who would not normally travel to regional Victoria,” he said.

“There is still a sense of safety and security in travelling

Weekends close to Melbourne and ensuring that there are multiple short breaks rather than one longer trip.”

Mr Ince said the region’s diverse event-heavy offering was increasingly being explored by Melburnians who had not previously travelled to the area.

“If you look at our wineries, our distilleries — our food scene has really shown that it has undergone a transformation over the last few years,” he said.

“If you look at this as a primary region for visiting nature and wildlife, now we have expanded what we can offer in terms of wine, food, craft beer, gin and cider.”

The Whiskery owner Russell Watson said his gin distillery was experiencing higher autumn visitor rates.