Crowded night market

Andrew Mathieson
ORGANISERS are bracing for crowds to double just two years since first launching the Geelong night markets.
The inaugural market in 2008 attracted an average close to 5000 visitors each night.
But Geelong night market’s Misti Dullard said early market research indicated that 40,000 would pack into the Johnstone Park site this month.
Estimates from stallholders had crowd numbers reach 6000 for last week’s opening.
“What we find is a lot of people are away at this time so we would expect the numbers would increase by each week now,” she said.
Ms Dullard said Queen Victoria market staff, who run the Geelong event, have been working to “get the word out” through Tourism Victoria marketing campaigns.
“So we would envisage the event would now have an equal attraction both to tourists and locals,” she said.
She believed the Geelong night markets were now a “recognised” top event on the region’s calendar.
Feedback and further market research from both traders and visitors would be the catalyst for more dates next summer, she said.
A further increase this year on 80 stalls would include the largest number of Geelong traders.
The first year attracted only 50 stallholders.