BALLARAT, Bendigo, Warrnambool and Geelong are giving the much needed bounce to tourism throughout Western Victoria.
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But a fear of the future for events is prompting tourist bodies to look outside the square as a way of keeping people involved with local businesses.
Grampians Tourism has joined up with Ararat Rural City Council and Grampians Winemakers inc to create an online shopping experience highlighting the winemakers of the region.
The new portal, called Made the Grampians Way is offering consumers a selected of mixed cases which have been curated to showcase the versatility of the wine region.
Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said it was a sign of the future as businesses look at creative ways to engage the public.
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"I think these are some of the positive opportunities to come out of COVID-19," Mr Sleeman said.
"Supporting our industry partners online it allows us to target key markets like Ballarat and metro Melbourne, engage those partners that are in lockdown and celebrate the opportunity to support our winemakers."
Chairman Grampians Winemakers Inc, Damian Sheehan said packs will be available for all tastes.
"The winemakers and local producers in The Grampians are an integral part of the region's DNA and revenue has been hit hard due to COVID-19," Mr Sheehan said.
"This project is a collaborative effect to support our producers big and small and give them a platform to adapt and diversify their business, so they can come out the other side."
There remains a real fear that major events will once again have to be cancelled, already the popular Dunkeld Cup is off, as is the Horsham Field Days scheduled for March.
High level discussions will take place in coming weeks for whether Grampians Great Escape can run and there are some serious doubts on even next year's Stawell Gift.
But Mr Sleeman said there was no question that regional Victoria was doing it's best to support the region.
"It's been really rewarding seeing regional people come to the region for the first time," he said. "There's been lots of happy Ballarat people, it's good to see them out and about
"Halls Gap Zoo actually reported its busiest day at the weekend and we are seeing feedback from our partners that they are incredibly busy.
"But with that comes the issues. For example, the helicopter business owner had to turn away $20,000 worth of flights at the weekend because they are not allowed to fly.
"We've also got the issues of only 10 people in restaurants, someone who's driven two hours, then gets turned away from getting a meal, that doesn't help for return business at all."
Meanwhile, in a sign things might be on the improve, Pyrenees Shire Council will move to reopen visitor information centres at both Avoca and Beaufort from Friday.
Council has developed and put in place a COVID-Safe plan to ensure the best protection for our staff and the public, Council chief executive officer Jim Nolan said.
Visitors to the resource centres will be asked to follow a number of conditions upon entry to minimise the potential risk of transmission,
The centres will open: Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm and weekend hours will be 10am - 2pm at both locations.
To learn more about the new wine portal, or to order the wines, go to madethegrampiansway.com.au