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Members of Bendigo’s hospitality and retail scenes have declared the Labour Day long weekend a success for business, but wish events could be spread throughout the year and shared across the municipality.
The central Victorian city was a hive of activity from Friday to Monday, with a pre-season meet between AFL clubs Essendon and Geelong drawing crowds to the Queen Elizabeth Oval, and world-class talent on show in the Bendigo International Madison at nearby Tom Flood sports centre.
Senior State Urban Fire Brigade Championships caught the attention of passers-by at Weeroona Oval and the Bendigo Colour Ya World run had Eaglehawk residents seeing red – and every other hue in the rainbow.
Big4 Caravan Park manager Karen Williams said her park was packed out by visiting CFA crews from Pakenham, Euroa, Ararat, Pyramid Hill and Moe.
“And there were a few people who just wanted a family break,” Ms Williams said.
The site rented almost 100 sites, including cabins, and would build more facilities this year to cater for Bendigo’s tourist market.
A Bendigo Pottery spokeswoman said the Epsom business was inundated with visitors over the weekend, many of whom were in town for the fire brigade competition and the AFL exhibition match.
Asked if more events could be staged outside of the Bendigo CBD, the spokeswoman said: “Anything that makes them get out of the central city is good for us, because we're not in the central city.
“Then they go away from Bendigo with a whole perspective of the city.”
Both she and Ms Williams believed events could be spread out so crowds were attracted to Bendigo throughout the year.
While Ms Williams’ park saw a downturn in visitor numbers during May and June, the city’s events calendar would keep her occupied until then. Basketball and soccer competitions in coming weeks kept business turning over, and were quickly followed by Easter events and school holidays.
”We've been booked out (for Easter) for 10 to 12 months,” Ms Williams said.
\“Bendigo’s Easter Festival is fantastic in its own right, but there's also the street rod nationals and the Australian National Square Dance [Convention].”
The Bendigo region welcomes about 2.5 million tourists annually and was last year the most searched regional city on TripAdvisor.