This is up 7.1 per cent on the previous year for visitor stats and 7 per cent for nights spent, contributing to a total of $1.8billion being spent along Murray tourist hotspots from Albury-Wodonga to Mildura-Wentworth.
Murray Regional Tourism chair Wendy Greiner and Visit Victoria chief executive Peter Bingeman visited Echuca on Wednesday, lauding local council co-operation on both sides of the river.
‘‘For Echuca-Moama, there has been the improvement of products across the region and enormous positive changes,’’ Ms Greiner said.
‘‘There has been a focus on a number of new product development initiatives and co-ordinated marketing activity with destinations (along the Murray).’’
Ms Greiner said there were a number of reasons for the increase in tourism numbers, with one being collaboration across 13 local government areas and support from the Victorian and New South Wales governments.
‘‘Despite the distances involved — almost 1700km of river from Albury-Wodonga to Mildura-Wentworth — many people are working together to attract visitors to the region and ensure they have a great time when they visit,’’ Ms Greiner said.
Murray Regional Tourism is currently working through a destination management plan (DMP) to entice more visitors to the region and encourage operators to develop innovative tourism packages.
With more of a focus on local produce, Ms Greiner said local businesses and operators were finding a niche to provide an experience that was truly local.
‘‘Echuca-Moama tourism operators all work very hard and it’s the quality of the experience that brings people,’’ she said.
‘‘And when you’re seeing more use of local produce it adds to that experience — Echuca-Moama has high quality hotels, restaurants and retail experiences with helpful staff.
‘‘It’s a combination of those which add up and make people more willing to hand over their dollars.
‘‘And there are some exciting developments to come locally in the next 12 months.’’