MARTIN FERGUSON
Minister for Resources and Energy
Minister for Tourism
ROB MITCHELL
Member for McEwen
A new survey by Tourism Research Australia shows 52 per cent of visitors to the Yarra Valley are very satisfied with their experience – slightly above the national benchmark.
The Yarra Valley Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report found 79 per cent of visitors to the Yarra Valley expected a food and wine experience, 34 per cent above the national benchmark. They were also more likely to visit a wildlife park, winery or somewhere to eat.
The survey also shows 63 per cent of overnight visitors were very satisfied compared with 48 per cent of day visitors, with greater enthusiasm among overnight visitors a typical finding for such surveys.
The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, thanked Yarra Ranges Regional Marketing and Tourism Victoria for their role in the project.
“This report provides the various partners involved in promoting local tourism with a better understanding of visitors’ motivations for coming to the Yarra Valley, and what they make of their experiences,” Minister Ferguson said.
“The picture reinforces the Yarra Valley’s strengths as a key tourism destination. Just under half of the visitors agreed the Yarra Valley was Australia’s premier food and wine region.”
The main drivers of overall satisfaction were local atmosphere, the friendliness of locals, customer service, a variety of things to see and do, food and beverage and value for money.
Compared with the national benchmark, both day and overnight visitors were less satisfied with information services, signage, variety of things to see and do, roads, local transport, shopping, entertainment and nightlife.
“These findings provide important information to local tourism organisations about what they are doing well, and also, where there is room for improvement,” Minister Ferguson said.
The Federal Labor Member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, welcomed the report.
“There are few surprises in this report but it does have some useful pointers to fine-tune our product development and marketing in the region. For example, improving information services, roads and signage would encourage more visitors to disperse throughout the whole region,” Mr Mitchell said
“Importantly, more than half of overnight visitors used the internet as their only information source and 94 per cent of them booked online – a clear reminder of the value of investing in digital marketing.
“The Government is proud to be supporting more small businesses improve their online presence and this will pay real dividends for tourism operators.”
The Yarra Valley Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report is at www.ret.gov.au/tra