More international visitors are spending the night in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges, latest figures show.
Results from the National Visitor Survey released on 17 July showed the region received about six million domestic and international visitors for the year to the end of March.
They collectively spent about $756 million.
The survey found daytrip visitors to the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges spent about $379 million, an increase of 9.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
The region attracted about 50,000 international overnight visitors for the 12-month period, an increase of 3.1 per cent year-on-year.
Visit Victoria CEO Peter Bingeman said positive results across the state had been achieved through interstate and intrastate marketing campaigns, alongside major and regional events.
“Visit Victoria has a clear strategy to encourage Melburnians to visit regional Victoria, backed by the Your Happy Space campaign and more the 200 regional events over the past three years,” he said.
“The latest results show our strategy is working with an 11 per cent increase in intrastate visitors, an 11 per cent increase in visitor nights, and intrastate expenditure up by 14 per cent to reach $5.4 billion.”
The survey found the top five international countries for visitors to Melbourne were China, New Zealand, the US, the UK and India.
“These figures show we are on the right track and we’re getting on with attracting even more visitors from Australia and around the world to experience the thrill of our major events, natural wonders, iconic food and wine scene and world-class accommodation,” Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula said.
Tourism supports more than 214,000 jobs in Victoria, including 85,000 in regional areas.
