Events stimulant
Grampians Tourism’s new chair David Jochinke has urged Wimmera people to take stock of a return to big weekend attractions across the region to reset their understanding of the value of event tourism.
Mr Jochinke said the success of a wealth of festivals and events from the Grampians to the southern Mallee during the Labour Day weekend illustrated the region’s community tourism appeal.
He said the variety of attractions were a lure to a broad cross-section of people, from outside as well as inside the region, and was ‘priceless’ from a socio-economic perspective.
“I don’t think we realise just what it does when we showcase what our region has to offer,” he said.
“We put on everything from dragracing, motocross and fishing to music, art and cultural festivals and machinery expos. It is fantastic that we can present such diversity.”
Mr Jochinke, a Horsham district farmer and already a significant statewide Victorian Farmers Federation and community figure, has continued his passion for regional development by stepping into the tourism board leadership role. He takes over from Ararat’s Paul Hooper.
Mr Jochinke said he was absorbing the finer details of tourism in the greater Grampians region, but the value of community events and attractions had been obvious during the Labor Day weekend when thousands of people gathered in the region.
“Last weekend represented the first real weekend to rekindle what the region offers as far as visitor events and activities go since coming out of the COVID-19 cloud,” he said.
“It helped showcase what we have and celebrate in the region and showed how determined and committed our communities are at presenting such events.
“This is important on so many levels – sanity for a start – the ability to have something in our own back yard that people can attend with little cost and that organisers can scale up to their hearts’ desire is fantastic.
“The amount of volunteer hours that go into these community events is something to behold and something for us to reflect on and celebrate how fortunate we are.”
Mr Jochinke said the message coming off the back of restrictions lifting was for the region to reinvest in itself and for communities to establish a vision ‘what they wanted to look like’.
“It’s in our DNA to volunteer, put our hands up and have a go and not wait for external influences. It’s up to us. We’ve been good at it in the past so let’s keep going,” he said.
“There is no cavalry coming to save us. We are the calvary, so let’s get on with it, dig deep and shake off what’s been a long, drawn-out and frustrating period and get on with living.”
“Let’s start enjoying the five-star environment we live in and the five-star communities we can build around it,” Mr Jochinke said.
“The reality is that money can’t buy a lot of what we have. Community events are priceless and the ‘actual’ dollars they generate in economic stimulation are also priceless.
“We have so much potential in our patch that has been untapped for such a long time. And with more domestic travel happening we have a great chance to showcase what we can offer.”
As part of the events diversity, Mr Jochinke found himself among a crowd at Minyip 150th back-to celebrations and later among the throng of visitors in and around Grampians National Park.
“There was such a good vibe. Halls Gap was absolutely heaving with people,” he said.
“In talking with front-of-house business people they were finding it tough meeting workforce demands, but there was still a positive vibe.
“Right across the region there were communities experiencing that same type of vibe and that can only be healthy for everyone.”
Mr Jochinke said his role on the Grampians Tourism board was about promoting opportunities for tourists and supporting the region in providing world-class services and experiences.
“Part of this is to provide opportunities for people to upskill and understand how to leverage what they have to make their brands strong and to ensure they have access to business support so they can thrive,” he said.
“The Grampians mountains are our huge centrepiece, but we want to encourage everyone to explore long weekends or getaways and to have the variety or diversity on offer right across the region.
“We have such a brilliant opportunity to parcel up something for families, individuals and everyone in between.”