New tourism figures show visitors are staying longer in the Bendigo region

New figures from Tourism Research Australia show that the number of nights domestic visitors spent in the Bendigo Loddon region grew by 15.8% in the past year.

The Bendigo Loddon region - which includes the City of Greater Bendigo, Central Goldfields Shire, Mt Alexander Shire and the Shire of Loddon - attracted 2.5 million domestic visitor nights in the region in the year to September 2017, a rise of 44% over the past 10 years.

The Tourism Research Australia figures also show that 2.4 million people have day tripped to the Bendigo Loddon region in the past year.

Day trip figures experienced 1.4% growth over the past year, and have grown by more than 45% over the past 10 years.

City of Greater Bendigo acting Tourism and Major Events Manager Dawn Holland said the figures showed the region’s tourism industry was experiencing sustainable growth.

Holland advised “over the past 10 years we have been working hard to attract and market our major cultural and sporting events and exclusive Bendigo Art Gallery exhibitions.

“In this time we have seen a significant increase in the number of people coming to Bendigo, both for day trips and for overnight stays.

“More recently we have also been working with our local industry to develop and promote food, wine and other cultural experiences throughout the year to entice people to stay for one night or longer.

“It’s encouraging to see people staying longer in Greater Bendigo and that we are able to offer enough activities and experiences to make it a truly worthwhile visit.

“The figures show stable and sustained growth, without great variances year on year, which shows we are not relying on just on major exhibitions. People want to visit Bendigo for the range of experiences we have to offer all year round.” 

Image: Bendigo Art Gallery.

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