REGION REVIVED: Geelong, Bellarine tourism spend rebounds two years early

GEELONG and the Bellarine’s tourism sector is once again a billion-dollar industry after bouncing back from the pandemic two years ahead of schedule.

Latest economic figures from Tourism Australia indicate the region’s visitor economy was worth $1.1 billion in the year to June – the same figure from March 2020 before COVID-19 devastated the tourism industry.

Early modelling during the pandemic had predicted that tourism expenditure would not recover until 2024.

Geelong and the Bellarine was also the most visited destination in regional Victoria in 2021-22. Its 9 per cent share of regional visitation was ahead of Mornington Peninsula (8 per cent) and Great Ocean Road (7 per cent).

Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine (TGGB) executive director Brett Ince praised local tourism industry figures for their combined effort to produce the results.

“To achieve this result well ahead of predictions is a testament to the hard work of our industry, and the many events, experiences, projects and initiatives that are bringing people to our region,” he said.

The new data shows the region is already ahead of schedule in its 10-year growth plan, which TGGB is finalising this year.

The Sustainable Destination Masterplan predicted the region wouldn’t return to its $1.1 billion valuation until 2024-25, on its way to becoming a potential $2 billion industry by 2032.

Despite the return of cash flow to the region, it remains down on other key metrics compared with early-2020 figures.

Overall visitation and visitor nights are about one-third lower the pre-pandemic figures, though are showing signs of rapid improvement.

Greater Geelong and the Bellarine had 4.3 million total visitors in the year to June – up 25 per cent on the previous year but still well behind the earlier figure of 6.4 million.

Visitor nights is similarly down to 3.8 million a year from 5.7 million, though grew by 34 per cent from the year to June 2021.

Mr Ince said the regional was still performing ahead of the rest of the state and expected figures to recover in coming years.

“While we may not be back to pre-pandemic visitation levels across the board, our region’s recovery is performing incredibly well in the state and regional Victoria.

“The data also shows that the visitors we have been attracting are spending more and staying longer, which has helped our visitor economy to bounce back the way it has.”