Monday, August 5, 2019
Mt Buller & Mt Stirling’s Newspaper PH: (03) 5775 2115
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PAGE 4
Cattleman’s Rail Jam
BLUE SKIES IT was almost a perfect morning for skiing the high slopes on Buller last week with blue skies peeping over the thick fog mist. Enjoying her early morning run was Melissa Perathoner. PHOTO: Tony Harrington
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Mountain memories
Ski fields add to tourism boom By PAM ZIERK-MAHONEY
PAGES 10-11
Social photos
INDEX Skier profile...p6 Real Estate...p16
THE value of Victoria’s burgeoning visitor economy has soared to $30 billion with a rise of 20.3 per cent in the High Country. In regional Victoria, spending by all visitors was up by 10.4 per cent to $11 billion, while the total number of visitors increased by 9.5 per cent to 57.1 million.
Regional Victoria’s strongest performers experienced double digit growth in spending, including Victoria’s High Country (20.3 per cent), as well as Gippsland (16.6 per cent), the Murray (14.7 per cent) and the Mornington Peninsula (14.1 per cent). Mt Buller and Mt Stirling chief executive ofďŹ cer Mark Bennetts explained the signiďŹ cance of the Victorian alpine
resorts to regional economies: “There were nearly one million visitors to the six resorts during the 2018 snow season, who spent more than $2 billion on their trips to regional Victoria and resulted in the equivalent of more than 10,000 full time jobs. “Mt Buller and Mt Stirling alone attracted 420,000 visitors last year who spent an estimated $800m within the
resorts, Merrijig, MansďŹ eld, and towns that visitors pass through on their way to and from Melbourne.â€? In Melbourne, total tourism spending grew by 10.3 per cent to reach $19 billion while total visitors grew by 13.6 per cent to reach 34.7 million. These results show the government’s Visitor Economy Strategy with a goal to increase visitor spending to $36.5 bil-
lion by 2025 – is on track. “Tourism is such a growing part of our economy here and we need to focus on it,â€? said MansďŹ eld Shire mayor Harry Westendorp. “We cannot ignore this anymore. “It is a positive thing, but it can cause a lot of problems, and not all people necessarily want the town full of tourists.
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