Almost 24,000 international visitors stayed overnight in Ballarat in the year ending June 2018, compared to 32,000 in the year ending June 2017, according to the latest International Visitor Survey. 

But Visit Ballarat head of marketing Lucy Ibrahim said 2018 statistic was in line with a longer term growth trend, with the number of international overnight visitors up 6.8 per cent from 2014.

“Last year was an abnormally high level of international visitation. What we are seeing this year with international visitation is it is back to the normal trend,” Ms Ibrahim said. 

Data shows 2017 was Ballarat’s biggest year for international visitors staying overnight but Visit Ballarat could not pinpoint the reasons for this spike. 

Visit Ballarat chief executive Noel Dempsey said it was a harsh reality for regional Victoria, including Ballarat, that a low number of international tourists stay overnight. 

“When internationals come to Australia their stay may be 10 days to two weeks and go to Sydney, Melbourne, and Gold Coast. They are rarely in Victoria more than two or three days,” he said. 

“Keeping them here is the challenge. International visitors are high yielding customers when you can get them to stay. The Pyrenees Wine District is something we want to continue to invest in and push.”

Creswick Woollen Mills executive director Boaz Herszfeld said the current challenge is to attract self driving international tourists to the region as the number of organised tour groups is dropping. 

“Creswick Woollen Mills has seen a growth in international tourists. But we have found there has been a drop in organised tour groups from Asia and a significant increase in self drivers,” he said. 

“There is a great opportunity for Ballarat with self drive tourists from Asia. The priority for Ballarat is for the tourism operators to work together to show off the world class itinerary of Ballarat and its villages.

“Better collaboration will create an itinerary of attractions around Ballarat and its villages and the better placed we will be among competitors. We need to improve our itineraries and make it really clear what you can do in a two day stay.” 

Creswick Woollen Mills staff have been working to market the attraction on Asian social media platforms like WeChat and with relevant tourism authorities. 

The total number of visitors to Ballarat, both international and domestic, has increased by 4 per cent from 2017 and almost 25 per cent since 2014, to almost 2.9 million in the year ending June 2018. 

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Ms Ibrahim said international overnight travel was a small market for Ballarat compared to domestic day and domestic overnight travel, but remains important. 

“The Great Southern Touring Route really is our big play into the international market,” she said.

“For Visit Ballarat it is about how do we give people enough reason to stay in Ballarat longer and do more while they are here. Our position on the Great Southern Touring Route supports that as well.

“Sovereign Hill remains a huge attraction for international visitors... Ballarat Wildlife Park has brought in new attractions appealing to international visitors and have done great marketing. The penguins and meerkats have resonated with an international audience.”

Air Asia announced earlier this year it will begin flying into Avalon Airport from December, a change Ms Ibrahim said was an ‘exciting opportunity’ for Ballarat. 

“We have already met with car hire companies to help encourage South East Asian visitors to start their trip in Victoria on the Great Southern Touring Route or in Ballarat,” she said. 

International overnight visitation to Ballarat has increased by 17.5 per cent since 2009, but Ballarat’s share of international visitors to regional Victoria has dropped 1.7 percentage points since 2009. 

The number of domestic overnight visitors has also dropped after a spike in 2017.

719,000 domestic visitors stayed overnight in Ballarat in the year ending June 2018, a drop of 8.9 per cent from the previous year.