Local tourism booms during school holidays

VISITORS from around the state have headed to Ballarat over the last two weeks to get away during the school holidays.

With major tourist destinations such as Sovereign Hill and Kryal Castle along with an array of restaurants, cafes and art exhibitions, the spring break has proved a busy time for tourism venues.

Owner of Sovereign Park Motor Inn and newly appointed member of the Tourism Midwest Victoria board Tim Canny said the regions was seeing an influx of visitors due to its varied destinations.

“Ballarat has a lot to offer with such a variety of world class attractions which continue to reinvent themselves,” he said.

“Ballarat has also become a real events destination with a variety of big events like music festivals, sporting events and the Foto Biennale.

“It’s been a really strong school holidays so far and it’s looking like it will stay that way.”

Despite the current financial pressures, Ballarat is still proving a popular destination.

“I think we’re bucking the trend a little bit and we’re sort of surprising ourselves with regard to numbers coming into Ballarat this school holidays,” said Mr Canny.

“There’s maybe a mentality after COVID that people are prioritising travel and seeing it as an important thing to do.”

Ballarat Wildlife Park marketing manager Darren Collinson said animal encounters had been one of the things drawing visitors to his venue.

“That’s been a really great one and it’s been super popular with kids and families,” he said.

Overall, the park has seen a range of visitors from Ballarat and Victoria with an increase in entry numbers compared to non-holiday periods.

“We’ve had a few bumper days and the first few days were really big,” said Mr Collinson. “There are quite a few day trippers coming from Melbourne and a lot of locals coming out.

“There’s also a lot of busloads from daycare places and holiday programs which look after kids, so it’s been nice and busy and the weather’s been great.”

Ballarat was recently announced runner up as Australia’s top tourism town, and Mr Collinson said this tourism boom is due to the range of attractions Ballarat has on offer.

“A big thing for Ballarat is we’ve got a few large attractions but also a lot of extra ones like the Foto Biennale and a lot of little eateries,” he said.

“That is a package and people come for that, enticing them to stay a little longer.”