Daily flights may see return of Chinese visitors to Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism (GORRT) general manager Liz Price said international visitors were slowly returning to the Great Ocean Road.

However, Chinese visitors, who once made up 12 per cent of the overnight stays in the region, do not even make up one per cent of the spend on accommodation in recent months.

"Flights - especially direct flights - are critical for building up international markets," Ms Price said.

She said there had been an increase in the number of visitors from North America and Canada in recent months.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors from those areas made up about 10 per cent of overnight stays but now they account for about 21 per cent.

"We've also seen some growth from New Zealand," Ms Price said.

In addition to flights from China to Melbourne, other transport options including flights from Melbourne to Warrnambool would boost tourism in the region, she said.

"It's important to develop transport links to make regional destinations like Warrnambool more accessible to all travellers," Ms Price said.

She said a large number of international visitors came to Australia expecting to take in all the sights in a short period of time.

"Most come to Australia with aspirations to see the whole country in a short period of time without any comprehension of how large Australia is," Ms Price said.

Ms Price said operators along the Great Ocean Road were starting to take bookings from international travellers wanting to travel to the area in six to 12 months.

"We're getting some good feedback from businesses who say they started seeing international bookings come through in June or July," she said.

Ms Price's comments come after Warrnambool mayor Ben Blain said flights from Melbourne to Warrnambool were critical to the city's growth.

Daily flights from China to Melbourne will be introduced by Sichuan Airlines between Chengdu and Melbourne every day by September 2024.

Warrnambool Airport Advisory Committee chairman Stephen Lucas said he hoped this may encourage an airline to again offer flights from Melbourne to Warrnambool.

He said he believed there would be interest from Chinese visitors in a daily service to allow them to take in the sights of Warrnambool and the Great Ocean Road.

"Asian tourists are typically time poor because they come for a short time," Mr Lucas said.

"They want to go to all the spots of interest in a short period of time so I think flying would be an attractive option for them."

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