TOURISM numbers are favourable in Millicent this summer with an influx of tourists and holidaymakers travelling through the town.
Close to 700 visitors descended on Millicent from Christmas Eve until New Year’s Day, an increase of 300 from last year’s figures.
“A lot more people have been travelling this year and we’re seeing a lot more international visitors come through,” Wattle Range Council tourism officer Tamara North said.
“Most of our visitors are from Victoria, but we have seen a lot from Western Australia with over 15 people from Western Australia in the information centre on one day.
“We’re finding a lot of people are going to Melbourne via the inland route and are coming back along the coast or are travelling from Adelaide and are making their way down here on a day trip.”
Ms North attributed the high number of visitors to good weather and a strong tourism season.
“The weather has been a lot nicer this season than in previous years,” she said.
“More people seem to be day-tripping rather than staying overnight, but we have seen an increase in overnight stays.
“We have been pretty lucky.”
Ms North said popular tourist destinations in and around Millicent included Lake McIntyre, the Tantanoola Caves and the National Trust Living History Millicent Museum.
“A lot of people love Lake McIntyre, the comments we keep hearing are they have never seen so much bird life in one area,” she
said.
“The Tantanoola Caves is a hit as well, a lot of people have never seen anything like it.
“We recently had someone in the Millicent museum for six hours looking at all the exhibits.
“They enjoyed it so much they did not want to leave.
“People are just loving the casual atmosphere around town.”
