Work on the project will start at the Sovereign Hill Comfort Inn on July 29. 

The project won $250,000 funding from the federal government’s Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund.

Sovereign Hill chief executive officer Jeremy Johnson said the tourism resort would have gone ahead with the upgrade without government support but the TIRDF grant allowed it to fast-forward the improvements.

“The Sovereign Hill accommodation complex was built in 1985 so it is in line for a refit and a refurbishment,” Mr Johnson said. 

“We’re doing it in two parts. We’re refitting and refurbishing the reception, conferencing and breakfast facilities to provide a new level of service and infrastructure to support the regional market. This is for people coming out of Melbourne or other parts of Victoria or Australia coming here for conferences and accommodation. 

“We’re also refitting six of our rooms from one wing of a building that we constructed in 1995 for full accessibility and inclusion, which includes people with disability or people who don’t have a disability but might have a walking frame.

“We’d like to think we could drive into that market. I think it is about 11 per cent of

the population fit into that category. If that were the case we could have between 10,000 and 20,000 extra visitors at who could stay overnight who presently couldn’t. 

“We would have done it (the refit) without the grant but it would have been on a five-year schedule. What we’ve been able to do is bring it forward into this financial year.”

The government grant matched Sovereign Hill’s own contribution of $100,000 and a further $150,000 from Sovereign Hill’s catering contractor Delaware North Companies Australia.

Ballarat MP Catherine King said partnerships between government and tourism operators was necessary to improve what is on offer for tourists and to generate jobs.

“This investment isn’t just about building jobs and construction jobs in the initial phase, it’s actually about growing the tourism product here so more people can be employed in tourism in Ballarat,” Ms King said.

“People are being far more discerning about where they spend their tourism dollar. They want high-quality products and they are getting on the internet and looking at what the experience is going to be like. If regions are going to compete with new city-based tourism products come on line, regions also have to upgrade their products. 

“What you are doing here is turning a fantastic asset that is a bit dated into a more modern facility that when people do get online for conferences they will say ‘actually that will work well for us’.”

gavin.mcgrath@fairfaxmedia.com.au