Please note: this is an old article
It was published in January 2015, so the information may be out-of-date.
A bumper year for events in Greater Shepparton 2014 has seen Greater Shepparton’s reputation as an events destination further strengthen, with more than 270 events hosted in the region or supported in kind and financially by Council.
The events have been made up of major events, sporting events, cultural events, community events, festivals, celebrations, business and event facility events held at the Shepparton Showgrounds and Tatura Park Events and Equestrian Complex.
Greater Shepparton Mayor Dennis Patterson said there had been more than $31million injected into the local economy through visitation to the region as part of the events calendar.
“This year has seen Greater Shepparton go from strength to strength with hosting a range of different events. Most weekends there have been enjoyable events hosted for our local community as well as visitors,” Cr Patterson said.
Council’s Director Sustainable Development Johann Rajaratnam said hosting significant events had a flow on effect for the wider community.
“We have just come off the back of perhaps the biggest four consecutive visitation weekends in Greater Shepparton history creating a boom for our accommodation, retail and hospitality industries with major events such as Challenge Shepparton Triathlon, World Cup Equestrian Qualifier, Victorian Open Bowls, Australian Football Skools International Championships, Spring Car Nationals and the Greater Shepparton Junior Basketball Tournament packing out the region and flowing onto neighbouring areas,” Mr Rajaratnam said.
“On top of this, we have seen more than 850,000 visitors to the region, both as part of events tourism and wider tourism, such as visiting family and friends.
“We have seen a range of hugely successful new significant major events including the BMX National and Oceania Championships which brought nearly 4,000 visitors to town for a week, Country Week Tennis, Shepparton Squash International, Victorian State Senior Motorcycle and Short Course Swimming Championships and the Vic Sport CEO’s conference.
“This has really complemented our existing portfolio of high profile annual major and cultural events including International Dairy Week, SheppARTon Festival, KidsFest, Australian National Piano Awards and the inaugural St Georges Road Food Festival.
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing these events to town and contributing to their success. We look forward to pursuing Council’s aggressive push in this space to build on our reputation as an events destination in regional Victoria and I look forward to seeing more events here in 2015.”