Boosting Visitors For Geelong’s International Students

Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes today announced the Labor Government will provide $50,000 from the Stronger Regional Communities Plan to Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine to develop the first Geelong-specific marketing and travel packages for people visiting the region’s international students.

Capitalising on the Air Asia flights to Avalon that commenced in late 2018, the project will be delivered in partnership with Study Geelong and will use insights from Geelong’s international students on what will attract their family and friends to visit the area.

The project will create tailored campaigns for key international markets and develop country-specific itineraries to encourage people from across Asia to visit Geelong and the south-west.

With more than 3,400 international students enrolled in the Geelong area, the international student market is growing export sector for Geelong, rising by 20 per cent in 2016-17 alone.

The international student market is Victoria’s largest services export industry, worth almost $10 billion – with the visiting friends and relatives market providing a further boost to Victorian tourism.

The Labor Government’s Stronger Regional Communities Plan invests in community-led projects to make regional Victoria a better place to live and work and help them grow their economies.