As restrictions loosen after Victoria's fifth lockdown, the state's visitor economy will be hoping for a swift recovery.
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The Murtoa Stick Shed will be one of many attractions across the Wimmera, including the Silo Art Trail, welcoming the return of visitors.
Stick Shed's management secretary David Grigg said that the Shed had seen "brilliant" figures after previous lockdowns ended.
"After the February lockdown, we just went gangbusters. Our March, April and May figures were brilliant," he said.
"We were averaging over 2,000 people a month. We got to almost 2,000 in June before another lockdown came in."
"We're very happy with (the figures so far this year)... of course it was Easter and the school holidays, which would have had an effect,"
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In the 2018-19 financial year, well before the COVID pandemic, the Stick Shed saw 10,000 visitors pass through.
While the Stick Shed had visitors as soon as the lockdown ended on Tuesday, July 27, the Mail-Times understands other providers in the Grampians have reported fewer bookings.
However, Mr Grigg said that numbers could vary for several reasons, with one being a reluctance to make plans amid the uncertainty of a Delta outbreak.
"People might wait for a few days before they start getting to their caravans again and get out on the road."
"It also depends on what's happening in the Grampians, whether or not people can get out and do their walks.
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"If the weather's not a hundred per cent, people will come up and look for things to do north of the Grampians. They'll do the Silo Art Trail and visit the Stick Shed."
"We're hopeful that they can pick up now the current lockdown is finished. As long as people are restricted to the state they're going to keep on coming out."
"Metropolitan people will get their caravans out and get on the road again."
Similarly, Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman told Australian Community Media that the Grampians was ideally placed to rebound from the current lockdown.
The Victorian government is set to release a fourth round of its Regional Travel Voucher Scheme, releasing a further 80,000 vouchers to encourage travel to regional areas like the Wimmera and the Grampians.
Across the first three rounds of the scheme, $4.3 million was spent in the region according to the Victorian government, with the bulk of that - $3.64 million - being spent in the Northern Grampians Shire, with $424,000 spent in Horsham Rural City.
The Silo Art Trail is one attraction that has been highlighted by the government.
The Victorian government's $465 million Tourism Recovery Package unveiled in November 2020 included $4.9 million for works along the Silo Art Trail.
"We're backing infrastructure to boost visitation at attractions such as the Silo Art Trail and strongly promoting the appeal of regional Victoria within the state and around the country," a Victorian government spokesperson said.
The Victorian budget also includes continued funding for the Visit Victoria tourism campaign, which intends to position the state as a hotspot for tourism.
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