The dollar, which was sitting at US77¢ on Tuesday, makes Australia an attractive destination for international visitors. 

Ballarat Regional Tourism chief executive George Sossi said it was too early to tell whether the tourism sector had benefited from the situation.

“It makes us a lot more attractive for international visitors, and that’s a plus,” he said. 

“International visits (to Ballarat) are running at 7.5 per cent growth and are up on last year.” 

Mr Sossi said the low fuel price also made regional destinations such as Ballarat more attractive for tourists. 

“Fuel prices are down and this makes drive destinations much more affordable,” he said. 

The number of overnight domestic stays in Ballarat was up on last year.

“We are well up on last year, but that’s for the year ending in September 2014, so it will not take into effect the change in the dollar,” he said. 

Mr Sossi said European, North American and Asian markets would benefit from the changes. 

Sovereign Hill chief executive Jeremy Johnson agreed. 

“It stimulates the inbound international market, as it makes Australian products much cheaper,” he said. 

“We have a very strong Chinese market, and with the World Cup coming up, it makes it cheaper for Commonwealth countries to travel.” 

Mr Johnson said a combination of market factors would influence local tourism. 

“It’s a combination of the Aussie dollar, price of oil and aviation costs,” he said. 

“These things are cyclical and when they rebound, not in your favour, it can hurt.”

Ballarat Travel and Cruise owner Alan Valpied said Australians would still travel overseas.

“A lot of people plan a year or more in advance and they have already made their mind up,” he said.

Mr Valpied said the Australian dollar was returning to where it was five years ago. 

“While we had the mining boom it was at an inflated level and now it’s coming back to something more realistic,” he said. 

“Our dollar has not dropped so much against the euro or yen.”

kara.irving@fairfaxmedia.com.au