“We're investigating the short break phenomenon that we’re seeing,” Dr Strickland said.
“People want to stay within about three hours of Melbourne because that's roughly half a tank of petrol for most cars.”
Dr Strickland said that due to current economic pressures, families were putting a pause on their usual trips to Bali and instead driving within a few hours and staying for three to five days.
“On these trips, each day people are looking to spend about $140 to $160 per person. This includes accommodation, activities, food and all that sort of stuff,” he said.
With the Echuca-Moama region squarely within that three-hour drive and cost being a major factor for people, Dr Strickland said the community should be looking at things like free kids activities and pet-friendly accommodations.
“You'll notice people are bringing their pets with them now. People acquired one during lockdown and now they’ve got no-one to look after it if they go away,” he said.
“So they're taking the pets and the industry needs to be responding by having a lot more pet-friendly options available.”
Outdoor activities should also be a priority for places that want to attract families.
“During these holidays, most people are trying to keep their kids off screens. So it's normally some sort of active family entertainment that they're going for,” he said.
“That's why national parks we're predicting will be full everywhere because of the fact that you can go hiking and the kids are not on electronics.”
Even doing small things like better promoting award-winning local cafes and bakeries or having electric docking stations for cars can be the things that tips someone’s decision to visit the area.
“They want to go on holidays, which is already a push for people, so now all you need is something to pull them in like an attraction that sets you apart,” Dr Strickland said.
“That can be anything award-winning because people will travel for that. It could be the silo art. There is an active group that will drive around to see silo after silo.”
Dr Strickland believes that visitor information centres are an important piece of the tourism puzzle.
“The information centres in regional areas are still the hub of the town in terms of tourism. People like myself lose out on the internet when we leave major cities,” he said.
“I would lobby your council to have paid, qualified staff that are very knowledgeable about the area and then promote and sell the area as much as possible.”
