By Renee Wood
The Yarra Valley is shining bright on the national stage for tourism offerings, being named as number four in Wotif’s top ten Aussie towns for 2022.
Yarra Ranges Tourism CEO Simon O’Callaghan said it’s a great accolade to receive for the region, especially after a tiring time due to the pandemic.
“The Wotif announcement was a fantastic surprise and I think it vindicates the hard work that our tourism operators do to deliver an excellent visitor experience for those that come here,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
The finalists are generated using the accommodation website’s data by how much user traffic is going towards searches and bookings in the area.
The Wotif list states that the Yarra Valley is ‘full of character and charm’ with plenty on offer less than an hours drive from Melbourne.
Mr O’Callaghan agrees that the proximity to the CBD is helping to promote the area as a must stop visitor hotspot.
“Our accessibility to Melbourne is absolutely one of our strengths, we’re well serviced for a whole breadth of experiences,” he said.
“From our hero world class wine to our nature based experiences across national parks and state forests to our merging cycling culture.
“There’s just a lot for people to be able to connect with nature here, and I think now more than ever, that’s what people are looking for.”
Yarra Valley Lodge was profiled in the announcement linked as a provider for people to stay with.
Kate Cooper from the Lodge said it’s very encouraging for her and the team.
“Off the back of pretty hard couple of years for tourism and hospitality to have this type of accolade within the region and for us to be linked is a great feeling,” Ms Cooper said.
Ms Cooper said the lodge is starting to see booking confidence increase for the year ahead.
“We’re seeing a definite pickup in people traveling over the weekend and people booking events and almost just getting on with their life and events,” she said.
This follows on previous increases in visitation from Melbourne residents and regional Victoria when lockdowns ended.
“To have a region that’s within Victoria that’s not that far from the CBD it just gives that extra encouragement and motivation for people to stick still within Victoria and spend their money here after the last couple of years.”
Operators are anticipating more interstate and international travellers will be visiting as borders open up and major events are also helpful in driving tourists into the area.
“We’ve seen even through things like the Australian Open in January, that the role of events and dispersing people from major events will continue to be important,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
“The wide ranging tour and transport options that we had pre-Covid will be also another thing that we’re looking forward to getting back to a stage of regular trade.”
Mr O’Callaghan said before the pandemic around 7300 jobs were linked to the visitor economy, which generated $800 million dollars’ worth of expenditure to local businesses.
“That’s a lot of money and when you remove that from the environment, I think a lot of businesses have realised whether they’re absolutely in the game of tourism with what they do.
“Because when we weren’t able to travel further than five kilometres, it was pretty obvious that many businesses were reliant on tourism for their livelihoods.”
It’s hoped more confidence among travellers, borders reopening and accolades like the Wotif top four acknowledgement will all contribute to rejuvenate the sector to previous standards.
“Hopefully it gives our operators a real sense of civic pride that the job they do to give great service and experience is well appreciated by those that come to you,” he said.
The full list of Wotif’s Aussie Town of Year for 2022 is…
1. Launceston, TAS
2. Caloundra, QLD
3. Tamworth, NSW
4. Yarra Valley, VIC
5. Adelaide Hills, SA
6. Bright, VIC
7. Hervey Bay, QLD
8. Halls Gap, VIC
9. Batemans Bay, NSW
10. Busselton, WA
