Council & Business
1 August, 2025
Official Visitor Guide launched
The Central Goldfields Shire Council launched their Official Visitor Guide this week in an effort to market the region and grow the local economy.
Targeted at locals and tourists alike, the visitor guide turns the spotlight on things to see and do in the region.
Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said tourism is a major economic driver for a region which once focused on industry.
“We’ve got gold here … both gold in the ground and a gold location for people to visit,” she said.
Over 50 pages, across 30,000 copies, the guide aims to entice tourists from Melbourne through the regions to visit the Central Goldfields.
“The traditional guide is our key marketing tool and showcases our region to visitors,” Cr La Vella said.
“In what is a highly competitive tourism market, we know visitors are coming here as a destination of choice to experience arts, culture, nature, heritage, and gold prospecting.”
It’s a focus that became $35.1 million in domestic visitor spending annually, Cr La Vella explained, and 37,000 visitors through the Visitor Centre since its reopening in September 2023.
“Our role is to ensure this number continues to grow,” she said.
It’s a positive sign to Cr La Vella after the downturn COVID caused in tourism.
“We received an enormous blow during the pandemic and that pushed us right back as far as tourism, however, we are bouncing back two-fold now,” she said.
It’s a trend Cr La Vella partially credited to the foundational work of council and their staff over recent years — from the Visitor Centre to the transformed Central Goldfields Art Gallery.
“That’s a feather in the cap of the Central Goldfields Shire,” she said.
Council’s general manager community wellbeing Emma Little said the launch is the next step in the organisation’s tourism strategy.
“We’re moving from a phase, certainly for council, from product development with the Visitor Centre and the gallery to real promotion,” she said.
That promotion is expected to be supported by the new Visitor Economy Partnerships (VEP) council joined this year, Destination Central Victoria, leaving behind Bendigo Regional Tourism (BRT).
“[There’s] new, fresh and exciting challenges and opportunities ahead,” Cr La Vella said.
The Official Visitor Guide is available at the Central Goldfields Visitor Centre, with local tourism operators, or at visitor centres across the state.
The digital version can be accessed via council’s tourism website at www.visitmaryborough.com.au
The guide is complimented by The Maryborough District Advertiser’s seasonal ‘Goldfields Getaway’ publication which provides current, up-to-date information about events and activities happening locally.