Thousands expected to visit for Kings Birthday weekend

The King's Birthday long weekend in Ballarat has been labelled the biggest for the calendar, with accommodation providers and hospitality venues expecting a huge boost through visitor numbers.

Two major sporting competitions - the Junior Basketball Tournament and the Victorian Country Soccer Championships - will be hosted in the city this weekend.

The junior basketball competition has long been a staple of the Ballarat calendar, now in its 50th year.A record number of participants are expected to attend, with entries up more than 30 per cent compared to last year.

Games will be played on 25 courts across the city with a number of Ballarat schools utilised; four additional courts at Phoenix College were added to the line-up to meet the increased demand.

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City of Ballarat council said in a statement the tournament was Ballarat's biggest single sporting event in terms of mass participation and total number of attendees. This year the council anticipated the event would attract 7500 overnight visitors, 1500 day-trip visitors and 1000 locals, and is set to generate a forecast economic impact of $3.6 million.

The soccer is anticipated to draw under-11 to under-18 teams from Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Geelong, Gippsland, Latrobe, Shepparton and Warrnambool regions.

Council has forecast the event will attract 4000 overnight visitors, 600 day-trip visitors and 400 locals, generating a forecast economic impact of $1.84 million.

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Sovereign Park Motor Inn owner Tim Canny said some of his larger rooms had been booked six months in advance. He said the demand was "through the roof".

Other accommodation outlets, including Kryal Castle's new Big Four, and Ballarat Quest hotels are fully booked.

Kryal Castle chief executive Bart Hamilton said most spaces were "snapped up" as soon as the bookings were open.

Mr Canny said the weekend was always marked on the calendar as one of the busiest, and the addition of the soccer tournament had boosted the numbers.

"These events are great for casual staff because they get more hours. It's not just tourism businesses that benefit from these events - it's the whole city through increased spend from the locals."

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Councillor Ben Taylor said in a statement Ballarat had been highlighted as a destination of choice for sporting events.

"Attracting these major events shows exactly why we have put so much focus on enhancing our sporting facilities in Ballarat," he said.

"Aside from the huge economic impact, the great aspect of these tournaments is young people playing sport for three action-packed days.

"The benefits of increased activity can be felt in so many different ways, so the more we as a council can encourage our young people to get moving, the better off they will be." The accommodation squeeze could be marked as a test for the city ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games where a large number of visitors will descend on Ballarat.

Improving accommodation offerings in the regions has been a priority for the new statewide tourism recovery plan released in 2021.

The state is also implementing new visitor economy partnerships to consolidate tourism resources.

Tourism Midwest Victoria presents Ballarat, Hepburn, Pyrenees, Golden Plains and Moorabool councils and is the first of the VEPs to get up and running next month.

Increasing the number of overnight tourist stays is expected to be a focus.

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