The Penola Coonawarra region is ready to welcome tourists with open arms for a busy summer season.
Riddoch Business and Community Association president Nicole Reschke said the Penola Coonawarra region and businesses were poised for a great summer.
“We have been really looking forward to having all the influx of visitors coming through for the Christmas and the summer season,” Ms Reschke said.
“Penola Coonawarra district had a great November and we are really anticipating the lead-up to the arrivals of all the visitors.
“There will be lots of visitors coming into our region and after the anticipation of a great January last year and that being a bit of a fizzer due to COVID we are just really excited to hopefully see the fruits of visitors coming through.
“The start of December has been a little bit quieter than I would have anticipated but we are hoping that it is a little bit of a calm before the storm and that we will see a real influx of visitation and economic activity.”
Ms Reschke said businesses remained positive and optimistic the influx would come and were not apprehensive like this time last year with COVID uncertainty and newly reopened borders.
“As we did see it (COVID) have such a massive impact on business activity and all of that last December and in January,” she said.
“So we are poised to be in a much better position and I think everybody feels that emotionally as well that it will be a good summer.
“I think once we look at the figures over the summer period or from November through to March/April, I think we are going to be really pleasantly pleased with the amount of visitors and activity that has been brought to our region.
“The sentiment around the region is that everyone is going to have a really great summer that should bring a lot of economic activity into the town that will have such further reach going forward for the next year or so for the local community.
“The value of all local businesses that are working together and supporting one another and focusing their efforts in a regional perspective, that helps all of us and benefits all.”
Ms Reschke said the region continued to see many Victorian visitors and believed due to the floods in the Riverland, Central Victoria and New South Wales that tourists would make their way here.
