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The Future of Tourism in Gippsland - Victoria’s 2020 Tourism Strategy So Far

The Future of Tourism in Gippsland - Victoria’s 2020 Tourism Strategy So Far

Interested to learn what's in store for Gippsland's tourism in the years to come? This article written by Emma Crosby gives the overview

By news@gippsland - 20th April 2016 - Back to News

Tourism has always been a major contributor to the Gippsland economy, and the plan to expand this sector over the course of 5 years, as put in place by Victoria’s 2020 Tourism Strategy has already been running for the last 2 years. Of course the fact that Gippsland has such a wealth of natural beauty, and inherent attraction such as the Great Alpine Road make it a great place to visit already, and the aim is to enhance this appeal through the use of various marketing approaches and investment to greatly enhance and build upon the already unique Gippsland tourism experience. 2 Years into the tourism strategy, we will take a brief look at how things are going so far, and what we can expect to see in the near future.

2013 Gippsland Tourism Facts

In general, the statistics for tourism to the region were very favourable. Domestic visitors, overnight and general travel to the region all increased from 2012, which marked a small but noticeable slump in visitors from the year before. The recent figures are certainly encouraging, and seem to indicate that so far, the strategy put in place by regional authorities is beginning to see success. The increase in domestic overnight visitors rose by 8.7%, with around 16% of visitors to the greater Victoria area visiting Gippsland, a rise in the region of 1.6% compared to 2012. Domestic daytrips were a little less than 2012, which saw large growth in this area. However, compared to 2009 figures, this amounted to a 7.9% increase. The full range of statistics was published by destinationgippsland.com, and overall show that while domestic visitation to the area is on the increase, securing more international visitors to Gippsland has been declining. Overall, the figures represent a mixed bag - the region has no doubt benefited from domestic tourism, but enticing more international visitors offers excellent benefits to the area’s economy in general, and is of course, something that authorities are keen to encourage.

Securing International Tourism, and Regional Growth Plans

Due to the changing nature of the Gippsland economy, tourism is becoming a more important aspect when it comes to driving growth and job availability. An official government growth plan outlines that the service industry in particular will likely play a key role in the future economic growth of the region. The service industry, while benefiting from a number of factors such as income levels, is an excellent complimentary sector to tourism for obvious reasons. Even more importantly, international tourists generally have more disposable income, meaning greater growth of the service sector in tandem with the tourism industry. One advantage Gippsland has in developing international tourism lies not only in the wealth of attractions that are easily accessible in the area, but also the proximity to Melbourne. The city itself is a popular tourist destination, especially for cruises and the associated shore visits. Thanks to attractions such as the Great Ocean Road, which are often listed as must see attractions, and according to one specialist cruising site, Iglucruise, is: ‘..one of the most beautiful and naturally maintained roads in the world’, and listed in the sites top ten Australian cruise attractions. The key will be to draw tourists attention to the equally nearby attractions of Gippsland.

Future Opportunities

According to a recent United Nations World Tourism Organisation report, as of last year global tourism was continuing to increase at a fairly rapid rate. Should this growth continue for he next few years, then Gippsland has a great opportunity to capitalise on these growing numbers. The long term growth of global tourism is expected to be along the lines of 3.8%, with the 2013 report well in line with these predictions. Additionally, Asia and the Pacific are among the areas that are most likely to benefit from this growth. As a result, the development of more accommodation, facilities and marketing strategies to inform and encourage not only more international visitors to Melbourne, but to branch out and visit the myriad of stunning sights on offer in Gippsland is now at a crucial stage, and an opportunity not to be missed if the region is to secure solid economic growth in the coming years, from the tourism sector especially.

Written by: Emma Crosby

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com