Post-COVID tourism campaign encourages people to stay the night

GREAT Ocean Road Regional Tourism have announced new campaign The Great Sleepover to reinvigorate tourism and support local businesses as COVID-19 restrictions ease.

The campaign implores community members to invite friends and family to stay the night as they reconnect and reunite.

GORRT are sending post card packs to every address in the region to bolster the response. Additionally, they have developed tools for businesses to help reengage past customers with digital invitation kits.

The campaign invites Victorians to ‘wake up to the wonder of our region’ in the hope more people will holiday locally when restrictions ease. Prior to restrictions, Melbournians accounted for 60 per cent of overnight visitors in the region

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“Visitor spend generates over 13,000 jobs or 19% of all jobs in the region. With visitor spend forecast to be down more than 38% this financial year, businesses need all the support they can get,” Wayne Kayler-Thompson, chairman of the regional tourism body, said.

GORRT General Manager Liz Price said recovery needed to be community led.

“Victorians want to reconnect, and our region is the perfect place to do that – invite your friends and loved ones here to stay and head out together and explore more of what our region has to offer, you and your friends and relatives will support recovering our visitor economy and rebuilding our communities,” she said.

The group created a television commercial in support of the campaign to invoke feelings of nostalgia to remind viewers of their past adventures.