 A Message from the CEO
Spring has certainly arrived in the Grampians with amazing bursts of bright flowers in our glorious national park and right across the region, and with the Wildflower Show happening on September 29 & 30 this month is a particularly spectacular time to visit our part of the world.
We certainly kicked off the season with a bang; a region full of people for the Seriously Shiraz Wine Festival and then American Express listing Grampians Grape Escape as one of the top Food & Wine festivals to get to in the world! Their editorial website, AMEX Essentials, offers food, travel and lifestyle inspiration to millions of readers worldwide and this kind of article will provide the festival and region with invaluable publicity.
At the end of August we hosted Carmen Smith - Head of International Markets for Visit Victoria, to experience our region and better understand our unique selling propositions. International tourism is important to the Grampians region as it helps balance out domestic holiday patterns and as international travellers are not focused around weekends will help level out seasonality. In 2018/19 there will be a new focus on China, Japan and India to help continue growth in international visitation.
On that note, it was fantastic to represent Great Southern Touring Route, Grampians region and Victoria at the 16th edition of Tourism Australia’s India Travel Mission (ITM18) in Jaipur last month. Read more about it in the GSTR update below...
With school holidays just around the corner a visit to the Halls Gap Zoo is a must. As the largest regional zoo in Victoria, this Halls Gap attraction is certainly a jewel in our tourism crown! The zoo will be holding a fundraising sausage sizzle to celebrate International Rhino Day on the 22nd of September, the first day of school holidays. This event will assist their efforts to add a rhino to their animal family, which would be a huge asset for this prominent Halls Gap attraction and I encourage everyone to support it.
We've had some great media opportunities recently with TV personality Sam Mac from Channel 7 hosting Sunrise live from Ararat, and Melbourne Age journalist Richard Cornish visiting Wartook. Opportunities like these put the spotlight on our region's unique features and provide great content for us all to share.
So this month get out in the sunshine, be a tourist in your own backyard and make the most of all that's on offer in the Grampians - there's lots!
Marc Sleeman
Chief Executive Officer
Grampians Tourism
|
