International visitors are spending more money and staying longer in the Bendigo Loddon region, according to the latest figures from Tourism Australia.
New data for the year ending 2024 shows the region is almost back to pre-pandemic international tourist numbers and smashing international visitor spend records.
There were 27,000 overnight international visitors compared to 16,000 in 2023. This is a 68 per cent increase. International visitor spending has significantly increased to $37 million, compared to $14 million ten years ago.
City of Greater Bendigo Manager Economy & Experience James Myatt said the Bendigo Loddon region was a key destination of choice for international tourists visiting Victoria.
"It is fantastic to see more people from overseas coming to the region and spending a lot more time here," Mr Myatt said.
"We know that international visitors are drawn to our Gold Rush heritage, arts and cultural experiences, farm stays, beautiful natural landscapes, and food and wine offerings.
"Popular attractions amongst international visitors include Bendigo Tramways, Central Deborah Gold Mine, The Great Stupa, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo Pottery, Dumawul Tours, and the Golden Dragon Museum.
"Greater Bendigo is also a key destination on the Sydney Melbourne Inland Discovery drive, a self-drive touring route promoted primarily in the United States, UK, Europe, and New Zealand tourism markets throughout the year.
"Over the past ten years, the City has focused on attracting and marketing major events and developing highly engaging destination marketing and activation campaigns.
"The figures show strong growth in the international market and people want to visit Greater Bendigo for the range of experiences we offer all year round.
"The survey results prove our strategies are working. The passion and commitment from many tourism operators contribute to this very positive trend."
The City has hosted over 50 travel agents from across the world over the past nine months, giving them the opportunity to experience attractions firsthand. That knowledge is shared with their teams and potential visitors from their countries.
The City held a training session with Visit Victoria earlier this year to guide local tourism and service operators on how to attract international visitors.
Key destination campaigns, such as the tulip displays during Bloom and major events like the Bendigo Easter Festival are promoted to Melbourne's Indian and Chinese communities, attracting families and their visiting friends and relatives from overseas.
The Greater Bendigo region is being represented at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) this week in Brisbane, the largest international trade show hosted by Tourism Australia. Over 100 meetings are organised with media and travel agents from around the world to promote Greater Bendigo's unique visitor destination offerings. For the first time, representatives from Greater Bendigo have also been invited to showcase Agri-tourism experiences in the region.
"We see some great opportunities to build business at ATE with key decision makers who promote Australia across the world. In particular, our focus is on attracting visitation from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, India, China and South East Asia markets," Mr Myatt said.
Tourism Research Australia is the country's leading provider of quality tourism intelligence across both international and domestic markets. Their data underpins government tourism policy and helps improve the performance of the tourism industry for the benefit of the Australian community.
