Bellarine electorate
Alison MARCHANT (Bellarine) (14:45): (1195) My question is to the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events. Kay Chan, a parliamentary intern who was with me from Monash University, recently completed a research report on how sustainable tourism growth can be supported in the Bellarine region. The report highlighted the Bellarine’s strong tourism assets, including its natural beauty, its food and wine offerings, signature events, the small businesses that support the tourism industry and strategic geographic locations. However, despite the strong tourism assets, the report also found that seasonality is a challenge for the area, with visitor activity heavily concentrated in summer and school holidays, which has led to some issues around accommodation, infrastructure and connectivity in its off-peak season as well. Minister, how is the Allan Labor government supporting the Bellarine’s tourism industry to achieve year-round tourism growth?