Charlotte Varcoe
ROBE District Council has been tracking down in regards to local spending this year by $1.5m when compared to 2023.
A report was tabled to council at its recent meeting and stated the peak spending day this year was March 30 with $852,000 being spent in Robe while January had a decrease of 7.49 per cent in visitor local spend.
This was in comparison to the year prior.
While February was reasonably steady and March had an increase in spending with a 22.04 per cent increase, April had a decrease of 24.14 per cent.
District Council of Robe chief executive Nat Trager said during the pandemic Robe “thrived” as more visitors discovered the town due to restrictions on interstate and international travel.
“This surge in intrastate tourism was a boon for our community, but now, with international travel resuming, we’re seeing a return to more ‘normal’ visitation patterns,” Ms Traeger said.
“”The impact of increased living costs is influencing travel choices, with visitors now more mindful of their spending.
“Despite this, Robe remains a very popular destination, and we are focused on adapting our offerings to meet evolving visitor expectations.”
During her visit to the region, Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said it was unfortunately a “post-Covid-19” experience.
“We had an amazing period of time when 48 cents to the dollar was spent in our regions which is up from Covid times which was 46 cents to the dollar,” Ms Bettison said.
“The key thing for Robe is really to lean into that winter time and attract people back.
“It is not the traditional time to go there but I really like the old English standing around a fire vibe.”
