THE Grampians Peaks Trail (GPT) has been attracting a steadily growing influx of tourists and hikers acquainting themselves with the 160-kilometre walking attraction since it opened, and a leading local tourism advocate believes the possibilities with peripheral businesses have barely been tapped.

Grampians Tourism Board Inc chief executive, Marc Sleeman said the popularity of the walk has been phenomenal and were hoping to launch a series of free training sessions soon as part of their Industry Strengthening Program.

“When I spoke with Parks Victoria (earlier this month) … since the opening in December, an additional 6000 bookings have been made on the Grampians Peaks Trail with a net revenue of about a quarter of a million dollars,” he said.

“Those extra people, they’re extra visitors, so (they) inject incremental visitation into our destination that’s flowing into Dunkeld and when you’ve got a start and a finish in Dunkeld, you’re going to see a whole lot of new people connecting with (the) Southern Grampians Shire.

“I think it’s something that we’ve been waiting for and expecting and it’s great to see that people are actually coming and visiting all parts of the GPT.”

Mr Sleeman said he wanted to see businesses taking advantage of the interest being generated and the tourism board have set up several different training programs covering a range of subjects related to the visitor economy.

“As part of the reform and recovery package from the State Government budget back in 2020, there was some additional funding that would support the regional tourism board to provide some industry strengthening activity,” he said.

“As part of that … we identified opportunities to provide some updates for hiking activity, for cycling activity on the back of the Ararat mountain biking as well.

“We’re in the process a series of industry strengthening activities that identify opportunities to provide a better experience and understand the needs of the hiking market.”

The range of topics includes business management, marketing, digital implementation, product development and customer experience.

“This is something that’s open to the whole industry,” Mr Sleeman said.

“I think it’s a really positive news story, that as a regional tourism board, we’ve been able to secure funding to support businesses in developing their own niche hiking products.”

One of his examples was a well-known Dunkeld restaurant seeing the opportunity and developing an experience alongside the GPT.

“I know Royal Mail are looking at new packages and products to combine great food, hiking and that luxury … once you finish the trail,” Mr Sleeman said.

“There’s a whole lot of different range of markets that we’re attracting into the destination on the back of the opening, so (it’s) a really exciting time.

“With this training, it’s going to elevate the whole region, and for us it’s about the rising tide lifts everyone.

“If we’re able to train and educate our operators around opportunities around the hiking market, I think that we’re going to see a much better visitor experience at the end and we’re going to see continued repeat visitation.”

Mr Sleeman said it was important businesses didn’t just see the GPT as a 13-day trek, but recognised people can just experience a few of the sections - so the potential to innovate with that flexibility could lead to some untapped markets and he was happy to brainstorm some examples.

“If we’ve got visitors coming into the southern section of the Grampians Peaks Trail then there’s opportunities to look at a two-night, three-day package that includes pre-and-post-accommodation at the caravan park at Dunkeld.

“These are the (kind of) things that we will highlight as opportunities in the training sessions; is there an opportunity for the accommodation provider in Dunkeld to look at doing transfers at the start, and they’re going to walk into Dunkeld and finish at their property?

“So - what sort of services can they start to introduce or consider as part of a complete GPT package that’s going to see a lot more visitors coming to the region and extending their stays?”

The $30 million investments from the State and Federal Governments were great opportunities and Mr Sleeman said the time was right to get things up and running.

“It’s great to have this Federal and State Government investment in the region but if it’s not drawing increase yield, providing economic benefits for communities right across the region, then we're not fully realising that investment in the National Park asset,” he said.

“Now is a really foundational stage for product development and there’s also the opportunities to connect with the licensed tour operators in the National Park.”

The extremely positive feedback he was hearing from seasoned travellers as they explored the new trail was also part of his thinking, as he expected the area to continue to gather a world-class reputation.

“The reporting I’m getting back from consumers is that the southern section, particularly around Signal Peak and Mt Abrupt campsites (has) some of the most spectacular views in the world,” Mr Sleeman said.

 “We’ve had hikers that have come in and experienced overseas, coming in and seeing this, that understand the value of long-distance hiking and the feedback we’re getting is that it’s rating at a global level, not just a localised level.

“The finished product and the experiences are at an extremely high level.”

Mr Sleeman added that existing operators were “seeing some really big demand in that southern part of the Peaks Trail” and the expansion of opportunities also fit in well with the State Government’s nature-based tourism strategy.

“It’s something that Grampians Tourism has advocated for … and our region is really well-positioned to leverage and benefit from the work that’s going to be done,” he said.

“As one of the most popular national parks in Victoria - located two-and-a-half hours from over five million visitors - we see some massive future opportunities for increased yield in visitation into the region.

“The stories around amazing food, local produce, and connecting with nature and the great outdoors … is a really amazing story for a destination.

“It think it’s going to keep people coming back again and again in the south.”

More information on the training sessions being offered can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/6JGLJD7.