The Visitor Centre serviced 25,655 visitors in person, by phone and email during the year. Greater Shepparton City Council Manager Investment Attraction, Geraldine Christou, said whilst visitors that physically entered the Visitor Centre were down by about 2,000 people compared to 2014, email enquiries had increased by 26 per cent.
“What’s a really terrific result is there were a further 264,761 people engaged online via the Discover Shepparton website which is an increase of 11.93 per cent from 2014,” said Ms Christou.
“Social media interactions are continuing to increase with Facebook usage up by 75.29 per cent on the previous year.”
“A new initiative has also seen ‘roving ambassadors’, volunteers on foot, out and about at peak times assisting tourists to the region including at major events like International Dairy week and the Seniors Tennis. This provides a new level of service; when the visitor can’t get to the Visitor Centre, the Visitor Centre comes to them,” said Ms Christou.
“Statistics are kept on every visitor that enters the Visitor Centre from their place origin to the information they are seeking. The most common visitor utilising the Centre are interstate travellers and this is due to Shepparton’s central location, major event destination, close proximity to the boat to Tasmania and position at the base of the Newell Highway.”
“Locals come in a close second with 24 per cent of the total visitations from right here in Shepparton, utilising the services for their own travel research as well as to discover their own backyards when entertaining guests and purchasing from the gift shop” she said.
“Sales from the Visitor Centre increased by 106.5 per cent on the previous year with a very strong focus on local products. Travellers from Victoria and Melbourne make up another 40 per cent of travellers and the rest is from international guests, particularly those who embark on the region during harvest season.”
Out of the 25,655 visitors in person to the Centre, 15,782 of these were seeking information directly on Greater Shepparton whilst 5,303 were looking for other destinations and 4,803 were looking for accommodation services.
The Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre is located in the CBD at 33-35 Nixon Street Shepparton, right opposite the Queens Gardens. The Centre is close to amenities, shops, cafes, restaurants and attractions and was chosen after a fire destroyed the previous building and contents in 2013. This new temporary home has enabled the volunteers and staff to continue to provide personalised visitor services, including tourist and community information, accommodation bookings and referrals, souvenir and local merchandise sales, maps and tour guiding.
