TOURISTS hopped, skipped and jumped their way to the South East over the weekend with Easter celebrations and major annual sporting events drawing hundreds into the region.
In addition to regular holiday visitors, the four-day weekend featured a number of drawcard events including the Mount Gambier Easter Showjumping Festival, the Blue Lake Obedience Club Easter trials, the Mount Gambier Easter Dogfest, Good Friday football in Robe, the Easter Sprintcar Trail and the Penola Cup.
Among the region’s tourism hotspots to be inundated was the Umpherston Sinkhole which saw the Princes Highway lined with dozens of vehicles over the weekend as the car park overflowed with people itching to get a glimpse of the natural wonder, with visitation estimated in the tens of thousands.
Umpherston Kiosk and Souvenirs manager Jodie Pudney said the precinct was packed from morning until night over the four days.
“We open at 8.30am and close at 5.30pm, but we could have stayed open much later due to the influx of people,” she said.
“We have been flat out all weekend, it’s been absolutely amazing.
“This time of year is always busy but we had locals coming in asking us what was happening this weekend just due to the sheer number of cars.
“I think the good weather was the real driving force behind it, with the exception of Saturday we had pretty clear skies all weekend.”
Down the road at Blue Lake Sports Park, the showjumping festival – now in its 37th year – brings close to 150 people to the Blue Lake Sports Park and is renowned as one of the premier showjumping events in southern Australia.
Mount Gambier Showjumping Club president David Johnson said each year competitors travelled from across the country to attend the event.
“This year it has tied in really well with the South Australian State Championships and an event in Strathalbyn flowing into each other,” he said.
“It has kind of kept people on a continual tour of the state which I think has been quite positive for the state as a whole.
“There are people who come back every year and it has become quite a close knit family, but we also see new faces each year too which is always positive for the region as well as the competition.
“From all reports everyone loves attending the event – we have a great working relationship with South Gambier Football Club and this means we are able to have meals over in the clubhouse which is always a big highlight, we also have a bit of an annual golf competition – I think overall it’s just a great experience.”
Limestone Coast Local Government Association tourism industry development manager Biddie Shearing said Easter weekend events give people the propensity to travel, but she believes with that comes a thirst to return to the scenic region.
“I think these kind of events definitely attract people to the South East and we are hopeful once they get a taste of what is on offer, they decide to come back for a holiday,” she said.
“I have been in a tourism role in the region for almost 12 years and I think this is the biggest influx of people we have seen in that time.
“The number of people lining up to see the Umpherston Sinkhole over the weekend just shows how much tourism is growing in our region.”
Ms Shearing said the association had worked closely with the South Australian Tourism Commission to promote the region online and believes this has been one of the driving forces behind the boost.
“We are hoping to keep this kind of visitation flowing and with a heavy online presence we are confident things will continue in this fashion,” she said.
“We are really looking forward to catching up with businesses once things have settled from the Easter and Anzac Day breaks and getting a better idea of how this translates in an economic sense but things are all looking positive.”
