AFTER months of dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic, Ballarat attraction Sovereign Hill, is set to reopen on the last day of October.<\/p>\n
Having endured financial and operational impacts of COVID-19, CEO of the tourist park Sara Quon said the team are excited to once again deliver a familiar experience to regional.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve worked tirelessly through this time to ensure the safety of our staff, the volunteers, getting ready to reopen for visitors which has driven the decision making in the immediate term,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be a layer of COVID safety like contact tracing, additional hygiene measures in place and we will operate with a limited capacity, around 20 per cent of our normal capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch-loved activities like the troopers, the redcoats, panning for gold and horse rides will all be available with small changes for social distancing and hygiene measures and our retail stores will be open and the street will be brought to life by our costume interpreters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although these key activities central to the Sovereign Hill visitor experience are continuing, other demonstrations including the mine tour and the gold pour are unable to go ahead.<\/p>\n
However, Ms Quon said she is hopeful the park will be able to run all operations and indoor experiences as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re confident that it will be a great and familiar visitor experience for everyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 20 square meters per person for everyone coming to visit, it\u2019s an optimistic open air experience that will still be familiar that people love.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re recognising people want to come together to socialise safely and that\u2019s why we\u2019re doing pre-bookings with the limited capacity and checking residential addresses.\u201d<\/p>\n
To coincide with the Melbourne Cup weekend, the park has already begun retailing tickets for the final weekend in October in the hopes of drawing in regional families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reopen on Saturday 31 October and we are treating the Melbourne Cup weekend as a four-day weekend so we\u2019ll then be open until Tuesday 3 November,\u201d Ms Quon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll celebrate our reopening with our regional communities over that weekend before commencing only weekend trading from then until Boxing Day when we will open seven days again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be as accessible as possible financially for our community so we have reset our price point with adult tickets at $39, children at $20 and a family at $99.\u201d<\/p>\n
While visitors, staff and volunteers of the park are excited for its reopening, the wider tourism industry breathes a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n
Ms Quon said she\u2019s conscious that in Ballarat and Western Victoria that Sovereign Hill opening is quite symbolic of regional tourism moving forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s critically important to our accommodation providers and hospitality venues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to working closely as an industry on our recovery and to collaborating with the City of Ballarat to get our industry and our town into recovery mode.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owner of Sovereign Park Motor Inn Tim Canny said seeing the park reopen is a small step in the road to recovery for Ballarat and for all the accommodation providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re only 700 meters away from Sovereign Hill so they are a huge drawcard for us and we\u2019re fortunate to have Sovereign Hill as popular and appealing as it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot because we\u2019re all suffering with very low occupancy and have been for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve already had some inquiries and bookings for people who have tickets to Sovereign Hill and we anticipate that these school holidays will be strong, provided that Melbourne is open, we\u2019re looking forward to being busy again.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the prospect of boosting tourism and accommodation rates in town is exciting for Sovereign Hill\u2019s staff, Ms Quon said that they are most looking forward to reconnecting with visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best possible optimistic step forward for our team who love what they do engaging with visitors and supporting a great visitor experience which they haven\u2019t been able to do for a long time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to continue sharing our collective experiences throughout this time but also being able to help people to have some joy and expression back in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER months of dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic, Ballarat attraction Sovereign Hill, is set to reopen on the last day of October. Having endured financial and operational impacts of COVID-19, CEO of the tourist park Sara Quon said the team are excited to once again deliver a familiar experience to regional. \u201cWe\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n