Vol. No. Vol. 2618No. 3627
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Wednesday, January 13, 2024 2016 Wednesday, March 20,
VIBRANT: Fijian dancers, from left, Koleta Misa, Loxy Cakau and Milly Morrell celebrate the beginning of Cultural Diversity Week with a Harmony Day event in Ararat at the weekend. The showcase was one of many events scheduled this week across the Wimmera and Grampians to share stories and showcase traditions from multicultural communities in the region. Story, page 7. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
Tourism ‘game changer’ F
BY LAUREN HENRY
our accommodation developments to be built at Ararat, Horsham, Halls Gap and Mt Langi Ghiran are set to provide a major boost to the region’s economy. Developer Australian Tourism Group, ATG, has outlined plans to open the Ararat and Horsham hotels within two years. ATG unveiled plans for a new 4.5-star hotel and conference centre at Ararat and a luxury resort at Mt Langi Ghiran at a business breakfast in Ararat on Wednesday last week, with further details about the four developments detailed at a Grampians
Wimmera Mallee Tourism, formerly Grampians Tourism, industry event at Horsham on Thursday. The Horsham accommodation will be built beside Horsham Golf Course – replacing Horsham Fairways Resort, which has been abandoned for the past 15 years. Grampians Wimmera Mallee Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said ATG initially looked at establishing only one development in the region, but saw the opportunity for further investment. “We’ve available land, an amazing growing visitor economy, we’re in the top three in the state for visitor expenditure after COVID and there is
a shortfall of supply – we don’t have any major new accommodation being built at the moment,” he said. Mr Sleeman said Grampians Tourism’s investment prospectus in 2023 detailed visitor demand would outstrip the supply of accommodation by 2026. “We identified then we had two years to fix the supply issue for our region and we’ve been actively working with both state and local government to attract private investment into the region,” he said. “We need to make sure any development that comes to the region is done sustainably and is sensitive to the impacts on nature. ATG tick all of
those boxes. This is one of the largest single investments in tourism outside of Ballarat, so it’s a game-changing investment. “ATG is also investing in worker accommodation, which is critical. What I love about the development and their proposal is their focus on training and educating people. “They also understand this is an opportunity to raise the profile of a career in tourism.” Mr Sleeman said ATG was in talks with major accommodation chains to operate the hotels. “We’re going to be bringing the best of the best to run this accommodation,” he said.
“ATG has plans for other developments, which is also as exciting as the four launched last week.” Mr Sleeman said ATG was a community and family-minded company, with directors living in regional Victoria. “This isn’t the only company either – there are others lining up. We’ve other investors just as hot, who haven’t put planning applications in but it’s going to be an exciting few years in the Grampians,” he said. “There are another 20 tourism projects requesting letters of support from me for planning and development proposals – it’s really exciting.” Continued page 3
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