By NOEL MURPHY
OVERSEAS tourists are shunning the Surf Coast, according to new statistics.
Overall international visitor numbers fell from 28,731 in 2012 to 25,833 last year – a fall of 10 per cent, according to a Surf Coast Shire Visitor Insights report.
But international visitors to Torquay climbed from 10,736 to 11,558, a rise of 7.6 per cent, while the Lorne-Anglesea area suffered a 22 per cent drop from 19,317 to 14,996.
The Visitors Insights report said the Surf Coast had 1.67 million visitors last year.
They spent an estimated $410.6 million, which rose to a total of more than $602 million with indirect spending.
The report did not provide a total figure for spending in the previous year but it noted that a domestic day-visit rise of 19 per cent had injected an additional $14.8 million in spending.
Overseas visitors spent almost $14 million, underscoring the importance of Aussie visitors to the Surf Coast economy.
Tourism is the Surf Coast’s largest employment sector, at 15.6 per cent of the workforce, generating $84 million a year and more than $40 million in wages and salaries, the report saidt.
Data within the report was sourced from Tourism Research Australia, a branch of Austrade, and Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The report said accommodation and food services generated spending of around $290 million last year.
The most common activities of visitors was going to the beach and eating at restaurants.
The report said Surf Coast’s population rose from 28,282 to more than 85,000 during the peak holiday season.
