ITA Mixer Aug 2026

The biggest opportunity isn't necessarily more visitors. It's getting more from the visitors we already have. Just like any local business we need different strategies to attract new customers as well as aiming to increase the average $ spend of existing customers.

3.25M*
visitors to Bass Coast

48% **
day visitors

35% **
overnight visitors who stay just one night

Bass Coast is already attracting enormous numbers of visitors. The opportunity isn't simply to get more people here. It's to give the people who are already coming more reasons to STAY LONGER and EXPLORE FURTHER.

An extra night, another meal, another activity, another shop or another experience can make a meaningful difference. If Bass Coast was to hit Gippsland average over night stay rates versus day trippers $113 million* could be added to the Bass Coast economy. (Source : 2030 Bass Coast Shire Business and economic framework, ** Bass Coast Shire Accommodation Needs Assessment May 2022)

Visitors don't see/ think in our town boundaries; Inverloch and Wonthaggi are regional partners, not competitors. Visitors to Melbourne may head out to Brunswick, Camberwell etc- looking for eat/drink/ recreation experiences markets, shows etc.

We can encourage our visitors to STAY IN INVERLOCH and Explore/ Experience further.

Breakfast → coastal walk → beach → Wonthaggi State Coal Mine → Wonthaggi café → shopping → back to Inverloch for dinner

One visitor. Multiple businesses. Multiple towns. One stronger region. Key objective is to show there is so much to experience visitors are encouraged to stay overnight…. or longer.

They're looking for things to do, places to eat, places to stay and experiences to build into their trip.

And this isn't just about tourism businesses. Visitors spend money on retail, professional services, trades, groceries, fuel and all the other businesses that make our towns work. A strong visitor economy creates demand across the local economy.

If people can't find you/ us (Inverloch, Wonthaggi, your business), they can't choose you.

Being here isn't enough. Being visible matters. Visitors are searching digital platforms; scrolling, reading, being influenced, FOMO - looking for places to go and things to experience. They want experiences and they want to get as much out of every trip as possible. It is the collection of experiences they are seeking from a destination. Many book in advance - if they cant find you/ us; they can’t book. The more experiences we can show the more chance we will be found.

Three years ago, Visit Inverloch was essentially an idea. No Inverloch digital footprint existed. Volunteers built it, developed the content, promoted the destination and kept improving it. It's now on track for around 90,000 to 100,000 unique website visitors this year. Social Media views will top 4 million. It’s been voted Top Ten Coastal getaway town by Traveller Australia, Air BnB voted top ten week end getaway. Inverloch is coming up in search algorithms impacting these travel lists and guides- Wonthaggi can achieve the same.

Visit Wonthaggi isn't starting from scratch. We're taking what we've learnt and applying it to Wonthaggi.

People are already searching online for where to stay, where to eat, what to do and what's happening. The question is: when they search, do they find us?

More businesses online → more content → more reasons to visit → more opportunities for everyone.

Did you know - Bass Coast Shire residents spend a higher share of their income outside Bass Coast and is growing at a faster rate than Gippsland and Victori. Resident online spending is growing significantly higher in Bass Coast than Gippsland and Victoria as well. This is why this project is not just about what could be defined as “traditional” Tourism Businesses- we need residents to know about the extensive range of services and products they can purchase/ experience locally. According to Bass Coast Shire 2030 Business Framework $37 million could be added to the Bass Coast Shire economy per annum if this rate was reduced to the Gippsland average.

The stronger our local economy becomes, the more opportunity there is to keep spending, jobs and business activity here.

Promoting events and What’s on (big or small) across our region brings people to town and encourages them to stay. Traditionally Bass Coast visitor local spend is extremely dynamic $20 million monthly compared to peaks in Dec and January of $55-$70 million. Working together developing and promoting a strong on line calendar of activities; targeting off season as well as encouraging extended stays can positively impact these significant fluctuations; keeping peak levels and increasing off peak.

Visit Inverloch website traffic was initially built from strong link backs from social media (2023 was 40%) as no one knew it was there and Inverloch was not digitally active. Social media count traffic has significantly increased BUT as a percentage of hit rates has now reduced to 15%. The highest number of website hits are people SEARCHING the word Inverloch!!! As a destination marketing KPI this is a significant achievement.

The most popular pages are the What’s on and Inverloch’s Best Bits for kids. People are searching hoping to broaden their Inverloch experience.

The single biggest hit on social media and the website has been traffic to posts and blogs referencing the Inverloch- Wonthaggi Trail.

The trail joining the two towns is smashing digital numbers. Surely this is a sign for an Inverloch/ Wonthaggi connectivity project.

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This only works if we build it together. The platform is ours. What we build on it is up to us.

LIST
Put your business on Visit Inverloch or Visit Wonthaggi

JOIN
Become an ITA member and access additional benefits

SHARE
Collaborate on social content and amplify your business

CONTRIBUTE
Photos, stories, What's On, things to do and local knowledge

GET INVOLVED
Volunteer, join a project, committee, advocacy group or simply share an idea.

We're a volunteer-run organisation. We don't have a giant marketing department sitting behind us. What we do have is people who care about this region, the skills to build these platforms and a growing audience.

You don't have to do everything. We all just need you to do something.

List your business. Share an idea. Give us a photo. Collaborate on a post. Join the ITA. Come along to a project. Help us tell the story of this region. The more reasons we give people to stay longer and explore further, the more opportunities we create for businesses in Inverloch, Wonthaggi and across the region.

We're trying to make the region more discoverable.

Inverloch needs reasons for visitors to stay longer.
Wonthaggi needs more people discovering its businesses and experiences.
Visitors need more things to do.
Local businesses need more customers.
And the region needs people spending more time and money locally.

Those aren't competing objectives. They're the same objective viewed from different angles.

That's the message we want every Inverloch and Wonthaggi business owner to walk away with.