The Daylesford & Macedon Ranges Regional Tourism Board Inc. has announced the latest visitor survey results, revealing an 11.4 percent increase in visitation across the region, bringing total visitor numbers to 3.34 million in the year ending in June 2012.
Domestic day-trippers made up the majority of visitors, with 2.6 million choosing to travel to the region while over 682,000 domestic overnight (+1.6%) visitors stayed 1.55 million nights (+0.2%). The region also hosted more than 60,000 international overnight visitors.
The Hume region hosted the most visitors (34% or 1.34 million), followed by Macedon Ranges (26.9% or 897,000), Hepburn (25.8% or 862,000) and then Moorabool (13.5% or 451,000).
CEO of the Daylesford & Macedon Ranges Regional Tourism Board Inc., Kerry I’Anson, said that over the past five years visitor numbers across the region have increased by 31.4 percent — from 2.54 million in June 2008.
“We have also received our expenditure report and tourism has contributed $503 million to the local economy.” The last expenditure report was for the period ending in December 2010. “At this time, tourism expenditure was $363 million,” said Kerry.
“We anticipate that another $955.7 million could have been contributed to the regional economy as a result of indirect tourism spend,” Kerry noted.
Indirect spend results from the supply and servicing of the tourism industry and visitor market, such as a market gardener who supplies a restaurant, or the linen provider who services an accommodation house.
“It is great to see such a robust industry and that all of our regions are benefitting from the positive impact of tourism.”
