Warrnambool’s Easter long weekend is shaping up as one of the quietest in recent memory, with rising fuel costs keeping visitors away from one of Victoria’s most popular family holiday destinations.
Local tourism and hospitality operators, who typically brace for a surge of coastal visitors at this time of year are instead reporting a wave of last-minute accommodation cancellations. Sources told South West Local News that many holidaymakers appear to have held out, hoping fuel prices would ease before the weekend before ultimately pulling the plug on their plans.
“If they aren’t coming, it also means they aren’t going,” one local business owner said. This is a reminder that absent visitors means empty cafes, quiet pubs and lost revenue that regional operators traditionally rely on to carry them through winter.
The trend reflects a national picture. Research from the Tourism and Transport Forum found same-state holiday intentions dropped from 27 per cent to 21 per cent in the lead-up to Easter, with road trips bearing the heaviest impact. For a destination sitting two and a half hours from Melbourne, that shift is felt.
The federal government moved to halve the fuel excise from 1 April, saving drivers roughly $19 on a standard tank, but for bookings already cancelled in the weeks prior, the relief arrived too late. In his national address on Wednesday, Prime Minister Albanese urged Australians to enjoy Easter as normal, while cautioning that the economic pressures caused by the war would not disappear overnight.
For those who have stayed local this Easter, the concept of the “staycation”, treating one’s own town or home as a holiday destination, has gained renewed relevance. Visiting a local café, attending a community event, or exploring nearby attractions offers a way to support local businesses without the burden of long-distance travel costs.
Warrnambool’s events calendar still has offerings this weekend, including the Easter Fishing Classic and the Easter Family Fun Day at Lake Pertobe. Whether the town’s hospitality sector will see enough of a crowd to offset what is shaping up as a difficult start to the autumn trading period remains to be seen.
