City of Greater Bendigo tourism team hopes to attract new international visitors to city

Representatives from council's tourism and major events team are in Perth this week meeting more than 100 international travel agents at the Australian Tourism Exchange.

Hosted by Tourism Australia, the annual event is a chance for international attendees to learn more about Australia's diverse tourist experiences.

Council's Tourism and Major Events marketing manager Glenn Harvey said his team had would speak with a number of overseas travel agencies in an effort to get Bendigo included in more brochures and packages.

"We are hoping to build solid contacts to hopefully get Bendigo into their brochures and recommended, so when people say they want to go Victoria or Melbourne, they up-sell Bendigo," he said.

"Travel agencies are important. When people visit a place like Australia, there is that thought of 'where do I start', so it is important for people planning trips to Australia.

"We have been coming here for the last 10 years and have been getting good impacts from our relationships."

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Mr Harvey said places including China, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have enjoyed touring to Bendigo.

"Based on the statistics we see, it's pleasing to see we are getting the results from effort," he said.

"The international market is long-term growth, so the more effort you put in, the more results you see.

"We see potential for growth for India, Malaysia and Singapore. New Zealand is one we have grown over the years. We are meeting delegates from all those countries."

Figures from Tourism Research Australia show the Bendigo Loddon region had 27,500 international tourists stayed overnight in the region for the period ending December, 2018 - a 50 percent increase compared to the previous 12 months.

Statistics also show 56,700 international visitors made day trips to the Bendigo Loddon region, - a 4.6 per cent increase from 2017.

The region had 84,200 international visitors overall which was a 16.1 per cent growth over the previous 12 months.

The positive Bendigo statistics reflect good news to the rest of the state with Victoria enjoying the tourism industry's biggest year on record.

Data from Tourism Research Australia shows Victoria welcomed three million international visitors who stayed a combined 72.9 million nights in the state.

International visitors also spent an $8.5 billion in 2018 with visitors from Asia largely driving the 12.9 per cent increase for spending.

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