Tourism boom a success story

REGIONAL tourism has benefitted from a successful school holiday period as the Mary Quant exhibition officially closed and Awaken sold out a second time.

Manager of tourism and major events with the City of Greater Bendigo, Terry Karamaloudis, said when Awaken finishes on Saturday over 60,000 people will have gone to the light and sensory experience, while early estimates suggest more than 40,000 people visited the Bendigo Art Gallery for the Mary Quant exhibition.

“COVID or no COVID, to have 40,000 people visit an exhibition at a gallery and a significant number of those from outside our region, it’s very valuable to our city from an economic impact perspective,” he said.

“It supports the art and creative industry very well, it activates volunteers. All of those things are achieved when you have successful exhibitions.”

Mr Karamaloudis said while a closed border meant no international tourists could see the exhibition, the majority of visitors to the region come from Melbourne or interstate.

The trend is not surprising, however, as 2019 saw just 70,000 overseas visitors from a total of 2.4 million tourists to the Greater Bendigo region.

“Certainly, lockdown four was challenging because it shut Melbourne off again, but despite that we’ve been able to have a very successful Mary Quant exhibition,” he said.

“The quality of the show, the brand of Bendigo art gallery is arguably second to none. People are now realising that if the Bendigo Art Gallery has got something on, it’s going to be good.”

With thousands of people attending Rosalind Park each night for Awaken, Mr Karamaloudis said the City of Greater Bendigo was “quietly confident” the event was going to be a success, based on the community reception of White Night 2018.

“In the dead of winter when it’s been cold, raining some nights, people have still managed to come out it has really provided a significant boost to vibrancy in the city centre,” Mr Karamaloudis said.

Successful tourism events have played a key role in higher numbers of visitors to local hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes.

“I noticed a lot of people were eating out which is great they’re supporting our business community, which is one of the key reasons we play in the major events and tourism sector,” Mr Karamaloudis said.

Parts to success for tourism in Bendigo, including weather patterns and transport accessibility including highways, rail, and flights to and from Sydney.

“Add to that, Bendigo is a very welcoming place, the community generally understands the value of tourism and visitation,” Mr Karamaloudis said.

“When people are here, they’re greeted warmly, they’re looked after in accommodation and hospitality, it all comes together as a total Bendigo offering.”