The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) today welcomes new International and National Visitor Survey results which show tourism now contributes almost $31 billion to the Victorian economy, an increase of $1 billion since last quarter’s results.
Regional Victoria recorded exceptional growth in its number of visitors and nights, more than double the national regional average growth rate.
Melbourne recorded strong double-digit growth for spend, visitors and nights, but the rate of growth in interstate overnight spend fell behind the strong growth of Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Victoria Tourism Industry Council Chief Executive Felicia Mariani said promoting Regional Victorian tourism is a longstanding focus for the industry, as historically, visitation has primarily centred around Melbourne-based experiences and events.
“We are pleased to see record results for Regional Victoria in key measures, realising our efforts to promote tourism experiences outside of Melbourne and firmly positioning Regional Victoria as a standout in these latest results,” she said.
However, the slowing of Melbourne’s growth rate in many key measures is a cautionary concern we need to watch and points to a need for more focus on developing new and engaging experiences in Victoria’s capital city.
“While Melbourne’s rate of growth has continued to rise, we are seeing signs of slowing, signalling a need to concentrate on creating compelling experiences that will capture the imagination of our interstate visitors and ensure Melbourne stays front and centre in their consideration set,” Ms Mariani said.
“Development of new hotels in Melbourne is booming, but we need a breadth of experiences to ensure these rooms are filled as they come online. We have a phenomenal events calendar that is the envy of all the country, supported by strong business events performance in Melbourne; but we must continue to look for new ways to complement our great events right throughout the year.
“If we can create new experiences and align them to our thriving events calendar, Melbourne will re-establish its ‘must do’ position for domestic overnight visitors.”
