![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/GreatOceanRoad-NYAHB_24981.jpg\")
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In response, tourism operators are focusing on attracting people who can travel outside peak school holiday seasons including retirees, local visitors and international travellers.<\/p>\n
“We’re very responsive to what happens,” she said.<\/p>\n
Price said for many towns the answer is to encourage shorter, local getaways and slower travel, with visitors picking one base and exploring from there, instead of trying to drive along the whole road.<\/p>\n
She encouraged travellers not to think of the Great Ocean Road as a “linear journey” that must be done as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
She also urged locals to holiday in their own backyard.<\/p>\n
“There’s lots of amazing places that I think you know are there but often as a local you don’t explore what’s in your own backyard,” Price said.<\/p>\n
She said Lorne and other coastal towns need visitors back as quickly as possible, particularly as the off-peak months approach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RISING fuel prices and ongoing cost-of-living pressures are adding fresh strain to tourism along the Great Ocean Road, with coastal towns such as Lorne among the most vulnerable. Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism general manager Liz Price said the impact varies significantly from town to town, with some places depending heavily on visitor spending to […]<\/p>\n