TOURISM in the Grampians has bounced back after the COVID-19 pandemic with the region currently experiencing some of the “highest levels of visitation on record”.

Grampians Tourism chief executive, Marc Sleeman said the industry went from one extreme to the other over the school holidays, with businesses now being challenged by the huge number of visitors flocking to the region.

“It is a challenge, but I see it as a great opportunity,” he told The Spectator.

“The peak periods were initially Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but now they are all week.”

It comes after a tough period which forced many locals to close their businesses for extended periods.

“It’s now about managing the challenge of labour shortages and working closely with all our government partners, particularly in getting new to residents to the region,” he said.

“The labour shortage was an issue prior to COVID, coming out of lockdown our focus is supporting businesses with this.

“There are no international visitors, so there will be a $20 million hole that we need to fill.”