GAME changers for the Bellarine\u2019s tourism industry include AirAsia\u2019s move to Avalon, a proposed major convention and exhibition facility in Geelong and Portarlington\u2019s passenger ferry, Roger Grant says.<\/p>\n
The executive director of Tourism Geelong and the Bellarine, who spoke at a Portarlington Business Development Association meeting last week, said he was looking forward to the impact of international flights coming into Avalon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re constantly working with Avalon and the airlines to make sure we make the most of this opportunity, and we believe those flights will commence by the end of October this year,\u201d Mr Grant said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that\u2019s an ambitious target, as they are yet to build a terminal, but Linfox are pretty good at building big sheds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Grant is looking forward to the new flights not just from a visitation point of view, but also from a freight point of view, which was important for the Bellarine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose aircraft that will be leaving twice a day \u2013 and that\u2019s just to start \u2013 and have big bellies, so opportunities to put freight directly into Asia is indeed an intriguing and exciting possibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Grant said another game changer for the Bellarine was a proposed major convention and exhibition facility in Geelong.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo give you an idea, we have more than 210,000 delegates who already come to Geelong and the Bellarine for what we call business events \u2013 meetings, expos and incentive travel \u2013 and we are achieving this without a dedicated convention centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are getting a lot of major events in Geelong but we can\u2019t capitalise on them fully because we don\u2019t have the exhibition space and the meeting space to go alongside that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe international air show, all those businesses involved in that have to hold their meetings and exhibitions in Melbourne; why? We simply don\u2019t have the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Grant said the ripple effect of benefit certainly extended well beyond Geelong to the Bellarine.<\/p>\n
PBDA president John Rae said tourism was a massive market, which not everyone understood just how much it was worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe the Bellarine and Geelong are in a golden era at the moment and part of that is the ferry and safe harbour.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GAME changers for the Bellarine\u2019s tourism industry include AirAsia\u2019s move to Avalon, a proposed major convention and exhibition facility in Geelong and Portarlington\u2019s passenger ferry, Roger Grant says. The executive director of Tourism Geelong and the Bellarine, who spoke at a Portarlington Business Development Association meeting last week, said he was looking forward to the […]<\/p>\n