THE beaches and a “change of scenery” have drawn tourists with a desire to fish and four-wheel drive to the Limestone Coast region over the summer holiday season.
Wattle Range Council tourism events officer Tamara North said although numbers in Beachport were slightly down in comparison to previous years, the township remained a hive of activity.
“Beachport has been very steady,” she said.
“Compared to December 2017 and 2018 we are slightly down, but not by any more than 100 people.
“This is generally normal because people that do stay in Beachport are the ones that have done so in previous years.
“Just because the visitor centre is slightly down it does not mean the township has been.
“It just means the centre has not seen new people as much this year, but instead a lot of return visitors.”
Despite the minor increase in numbers, the services of Visitor Information Centre staff at Beachport have been in high demand with just over 150 people visiting most days.
Meanwhile, Millicent has also been slightly down in figures, however Ms North said this meant the region was “on the right track”.
“Millicent is only 50 people down compared to last year,” she said.
“That’s normal and those numbers are really good, especially because Mount Gambier and other region’s information centres are down a lot more than what we are.
“About 5pc of tourists who stop at the centre are staying in Millicent and are using the town as a base to go to other places across the region.
“That’s what we aim to promote Millicent as – a base for people to stay and day trip out of because we are so central to everything.”
Records show a majority of people visiting Millicent this year had travelled interstate from New South Wales and Victoria.
There were also a number of international guests from New Zealand, China, Japan, India, America and Europe.
Ms North said Switzerland was one of the areas producing a significant amount of international tourism.
“Visitors from New South Wales have been increasing over the last few years and Victorians are coming across not just for four-wheel driving, but also the beaches, fishing and a complete change of scenery.
“Generally people comment on how clean and well-kept Millicent is.”
