{"id":121758,"date":"2025-10-03T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=121758"},"modified":"2025-10-07T09:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T22:37:14","slug":"tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/living\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourism director Tracy Carter on Geelong&#8217;s comeback and the power of small steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THE FIRST thing Tracy Carter wants you to know is that tourism isn&#8217;t just about attracting visitors. It&#8217;s about building a place people want to live.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/2FCDxHVOViSBJQaNRpKtQg?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>As executive director of Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, Tracy&#8217;s role is equal parts strategy, storytelling and support.<\/p>\n<p>From major events and long-term infrastructure planning to one-on-one mentoring for struggling venues, her remit stretches wide. But it always circles back to the local industry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A big part of our job is stimulating demand,&#8221; she explained on The Local Palate podcast.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We run marketing campaigns to attract new visitors, but we&#8217;re also helping local businesses reach their full potential. That supply side matters just as much.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a job that requires both a big-picture lens and a deeply personal touch.<\/p>\n<p>As Tracy puts it, &#8220;We&#8217;re working with really small businesses, and they&#8217;re people I would count among my friends. When they&#8217;re doing it tough, you feel that pretty deeply.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That was especially true in the aftermath of the pandemic, which devastated the region&#8217;s hospitality sector. But Tracy believes the path to recovery is underway, even if it&#8217;s happening in quieter, more incremental ways.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/f01b015eed3e0ea15aa3_34070.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tracy says its the region&#8217;s proximity &#8211; to beaches, national parks, heritage hotels, wineries &#8211; that is its greatest asset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s still some challenge around discretionary spending,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One operator described it well: people still want to go out for brekkie, but they might just get raisin toast and a coffee, not the full spread. That spend-per-head metric is a real issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To support the sector, Tracy and her team have introduced targeted programs, including one-on-one mentoring with industry experts.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every business was dealing with something different. For some it was staffing, for others it was menu structure or margins. So we tailored the advice. It wasn&#8217;t just one-size-fits-all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the challenges, she remains steadfastly optimistic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I love this industry because it&#8217;s so positive. People believe things will get better. And honestly, they are.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Visitor numbers have returned to pre-COVID levels, she said, and spend is up 58 percent. While some of that reflects inflation, there&#8217;s also a shift in behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Day trippers used to come and flop on the beach. Now they&#8217;re booking winery lunches and spending hundreds. We&#8217;re seeing a different calibre of experience being sought out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/2_34034.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitor numbers have returned to pre-COVID levels and spend is up 58 percent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A big part of the strategy now is tackling seasonality, and finding ways to draw people in midweek and outside of summer.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s where the soon-to-open Geelong Convention Centre comes in. With a 2026 launch date, the centre is expected to attract large-scale events and conferences, many of them midweek, and expose new visitors to what the region has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s game-changing infrastructure,&#8221; Tracy said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve already been pitching for business. These aren&#8217;t public-facing events, but if you&#8217;ve got 800 delegates in town for four nights, that&#8217;s huge for our economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s not just about big-ticket projects. Tracy still lights up when talking about small operators, local produce and the venues she loves.<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s a fan of Lonsdale tomatoes, pizzas from Caruggi or Brunenzo&#8217;s, and the new upstairs space at Bellarine Smokehouse: &#8220;Just two 10-seat tables and a Filipino chef creating something really special.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So what would she say if she had to pitch Geelong to the world?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the variety,&#8221; Tracy said. &#8220;From Geelong, half an hour in any direction takes you somewhere completely different. Beaches, national parks, heritage hotels, wineries. You get all these unique experiences without going far.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That proximity, she believes, is one of the region&#8217;s greatest assets. And the secret to its next chapter.<\/p>\n<p>To hear the full conversation with Tracy Carter, listen to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2i0NHwiTJminDVnL49PM3q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Local Palate podcast<\/a>, available on all major platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE FIRST thing Tracy Carter wants you to know is that tourism isn&#8217;t just about attracting visitors. It&#8217;s about building a place people want to live. As executive director of Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, Tracy&#8217;s role is equal parts strategy, storytelling and support. From major events and long-term infrastructure planning to one-on-one mentoring [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/living\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":121759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-121758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tourism director Tracy Carter on Geelong&#039;s comeback and the power of small steps - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tourism leader Tracy Carter on Geelong&#039;s comeback, local business support, and why small steps are driving big change post-pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/living\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tourism director Tracy Carter on Geelong&#039;s comeback and the power of small steps - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tourism leader Tracy Carter on Geelong&#039;s comeback, local business support, and why small steps are driving big change post-pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/living\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-02T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T22:37:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-2025-10-01T131140.246.png?_t=1759790235\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cam O&#039;Keefe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cam O&#039;Keefe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cam O'Keefe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bec1e710b4bb1b75c8ad45eecae2954\"},\"headline\":\"Tourism director Tracy Carter on Geelong&#8217;s comeback and the power of small steps\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-02T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T22:37:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":678,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/Untitled-design-2025-10-01T131140.246.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/living\\\/tourism-director-tracy-carter-on-geelongs-comeback-and-the-power-of-small-steps\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tourism director Tracy Carter on Geelong's comeback and the power of small steps - 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