VICTORIAN ALPINE RESORTS VISITATION SURVERY REPORT SUMMER ... · Summer 2013/14 Visitation Survey...

VICTORIAN ALPINE RESORTS VISITATION SURVERY REPORT SUMMER 2013/14

Published by the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council, July 2014. An electronic copy of this document is also available on www.arcc.vic.gov.au. For further information on this contact the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council, Phone: (03) 9637 9642.

© The State of Victoria, Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council 2014. This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.

Authorised by Victorian Government, Melbourne.

ISSN 978-1-74287-645-0 (online)

Acknowledgements: Photo Credit: Falls Creek Alpine Resort Management Board.

Report: Prepared by Ben Bunting, Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council.

Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

Summer 2013/14 Visi tation Survey Report

Chairperson’s Foreword

I am pleased to present the seventh Summer Visitation Survey Report produced by the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council.

Summer 2013/14 saw a 7 per cent increase in vehicle numbers and a 4 per cent increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.

It is pleasing to see that visitation growth over the summer period is trending upwards on average, by 1.1 per cent per annum since surveys commenced in 2007/08.

The Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan 2012 includes actions to grow the summer or ‘green season’ market, by capitalising on the competitive strengths of individual alpine resorts.

This survey and the resultant report, providing a consistent measurement and greater understanding of summer visitation, are important for the assessment of the success of actions taken to increase summer use of alpine resorts.

I would like to record the appreciation of the Council to the support provided by the Victorian Alpine Resort Management Boards. Without their assistance to undertake the vehicle and occupancy counts, this report would not have been possible.

I trust you find the extensive statistics, graphs and other data useful in understanding the visitation to the alpine resorts over the 2013/14 summer period.

Michael Marasco Chairperson

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Executive Summary

The 2013/14 summer visitation survey, conducted at all five of Victoria’s Alpine Resorts from Melbourne Cup Weekend until Anzac Day, found that 174,500 vehicles visited the resorts. This was an increase of 7 per cent, or 11,000 vehicles, compared to the previous year’s result.

This is the seventh such study conducted by Council and the Boards and it shows that over the past seven summer seasons, visitation has generally been trending upwards across resorts, despite the fall in visitation in 2012/13 due to bushfires. Over that seven year period, the All Resorts results show an annual trend increase in vehicle numbers of 1.4 per cent. However, this increase is not evenly spread across all resorts.

As with previous years, there is a correlation between vehicle numbers, holiday periods and on-mountain events. The surveys show that for most resorts, peak vehicle counts appear to coincide with school holidays and/or long weekends. The staging of major on-mountain events coincident with these key holiday times results in an additional increase in recorded vehicle numbers. The survey results also show that the staging of events outside of holiday times can result in significant increases in visitation compared to non-event, non-holiday weekends.

Mt Hotham, in particular, saw an additional 8,000 vehicles visiting and/or passing through the resort in 2013/14 compared to 2012/13. This indicates the tourism significance and popularity of the Great Alpine Road as a regional touring route and as a link between north-eastern Victoria and Gippsland.

Physical counts of the number of occupants per vehicle and the purpose of the visit were conducted by Boards on several days during the survey period. From this data it is estimated that 359,000 people visited the resorts in 2013/14. This equates to an increase of 4.1 per cent, or 14,000 visitors compared to the previous year.

This increase can, in part, be attributed to the resort access roads and nearby communities not being affected by fire as has occurred in previous years.

Annual visitation growth has averaged 1.1 per cent since surveys commenced in 2007/08.

Detailed analysis also shows that there is a difference in visitation characteristics between weekend/holiday periods and weekdays, with vehicle occupancy being higher for weekend/holiday periods than for weekdays. Resort staff and resident traffic remains considerable higher on weekdays.

An increasing number of road cyclists are also using the resort access roads, corresponding with an increase in road cycling events in the High Country.

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Contents

Chairperson’s Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................................i

Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................................................iii

1. Background .................................................................................................................................................................. 1

2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................2

3. Vehicle Survey Results – Season Results ................................................................................................................ 4

4. Vehicle Survey Results – Weekly Results................................................................................................................ 6

5. Visitor Survey Results ................................................................................................................................................ 11


1. Background

1.1 The Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council (the ‘Council’) is a statutory body established under the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997. It reports to the Hon Ryan Smith MP, Minister for Environment and Climate Change. Council performs a co-ordinating function across alpine resorts, focused on: strategic positioning, co-ordination, knowledge and understanding, attraction of investment and overall promotion of resorts. It also provides advice to the Minister on a wide range of alpine resort issues.

1.2 Information on visitation to alpine resorts, both during the winter season and outside the winter season, is important for a wide range of planning purposes. Ski lift companies, accommodation providers, retailers, suppliers, Alpine Resort Management Boards (‘Boards’), as well as various service providers and government agencies, all make use of this information.

1.3 Visitation during the winter season has been recorded in a systematic way for many years and is now published by the Council on a regular basis.

1.4 Historically, recording of summer visitation to alpine resorts has proven to be more challenging. Since 2007/08, Council and Boards have conducted a survey of

summer vehicle numbers, with spot occupancy counts introduced during the 2008/09 summer season survey to better estimate the number of visitors introduced.

1.5 Estimates of visitation are also critical in determining the economic significance of the alpine resorts. Whilst in the past, reliable winter visitation numbers have been available, as a result of the summer survey, comparable visitation estimates are available for summer.

1.6 The Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan 2012 includes actions to grow the non-winter or green season market by capitalising on the competitive strengths of individual alpine resorts. Consistent measurement of summer visitation is critical to the assessment of the success of actions taken to increase use of alpine resorts outside of the winter season. Vehicle counts provide the most accurate means of determining visitation.

1.7 The 2013/14 summer survey builds on the consistent methodology and timing used for previous summer surveys.

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2. Methodology

Vehicle Counts

2.1 Since the 2007/08 summer season, automatic counters have been permanently installed on the access roads to each Victorian Alpine Resort. Loops buried in the roads detect passing axles, from which an estimate of vehicles is determined.

2.2 This summer survey is undertaken from early November until late April, i.e. to cover the period from Melbourne Cup Day until Anzac Day. The survey procedures provide for vehicle count information to be collected by Boards on a weekly basis.

2.3 The methodologies employed to analyse the results at each Alpine Resort are set out below.

Falls Creek

2.4 The Board has recorded vehicle count information for all inbound lanes and the outbound lane at Howman’s Gap entry station since 1994. For reports prior to the 2011/12 summer season, the vehicle counts of all inbound lanes were used. Following the completion of the sealing of the Bogong High Plains Road, a greater number of vehicles now enter the resort from the Omeo direction. Consequently, since 2011/12 the outbound lane vehicle counts have been used to better capture vehicles entering the resort from Omeo. The Board intends to review its vehicle counting facilities to ensure that in future years it can better record traffic flow from both Mt Beauty and Omeo. The counters were operational for the whole survey period.

Lake Mountain

2.5 The Board has a counter at the entry gate that has recorded the number of vehicles entering the resort since 1997. The counter was destroyed during the February 2009 bushfires and subsequently re-instated. The counter was operational for the whole of the survey period.

Mount Baw Baw

2.6 The Board has a counter at the entry to the village. Incomplete historical records are available for some years back to 2000. The counter was operational for the whole of the survey period. In contrast to other Resorts, Mt Baw Baw deducts the staff/contractor vehicles from its survey results, prior to submission to Council.

Mount Buller

2.7 The Board has recorded vehicle count information for all inbound and outbound lanes at the Mirimbah entry station since 2001. For the purposes of this report, the vehicle count used is the average of the inbound and outbound counts to better estimate weekly visitation. The counter was operational for the whole of the survey period.

Mount Hotham

2.8 The Board installed permanent counters on the Great Alpine Road on either side of the village in late 2007. During the survey period 51 per cent of recorded vehicle entries were from the Harrietville direction, with 49 per cent from the Omeo direction. The Great Alpine Road is a well-used through road with visitors entering the Resort from both directions, thus the vehicle counts from the inbound lanes of both counters have been summed for this report. As the village straddles the Great Alpine Road and has multiple entry points it is difficult to determine whether visiting vehicles are stopping in, or travelling through, the Resort. For the purposes of this report it is assumed that all vehicles counted visited the Resort. There was a small period in January / February 2014 when the counter was not operational. Estimates for this period only have been calculated and extrapolated based on data from the 2012/13 season.

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Mount Stirling

2.9 The Board recorded vehicle count information for the inbound and outbound lanes of the Mount Stirling Road at the Mirimbah entry station. During the survey period 50 per cent of recorded vehicle movements were on the inbound land of the Mount Stirling Road at the Mirimbah entry station, with 50 per cent on the outbound lane. Some of the vehicles recorded will have passed through the Resort on one-way trips, both to or from destinations beyond the Mount Stirling Alpine Resort, and other vehicles recorded will have entered and exited the Resort through the entry station. For the purposes of this survey the vehicle numbers reported comprise 75 percent of total recorded vehicles. This is based on a 50:50 split between vehicles passing through the Resort on one-way trips and vehicles entering and exiting through the entry station. The counter was operational for the whole of the survey period.

Visitor Counts 2.10 To provide an estimate of the number of visitors to Resorts, Boards were requested to conduct a physical count of the number of visitors per vehicle on four selected days during the survey period. The days were chosen to cover school holiday, non-school holiday and public holiday periods. The intention was to record the number of visitors, purpose of visit and origin of visitors for each vehicle that entered the Resort on the selected days. Falls Creek, Mt Buller and Mt Hotham also recorded the number of road cyclists.

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3. Vehicle Survey– Season Results

3.1 Summary results for vehicle counts during the period November 2013 – April 2014 (Melbourne Cup Weekend – ANZAC Day Weekend), for individual alpine resort and the combined figure for All Resorts, are shown in Table 3.1.

3.2 During the survey period, a total of 174,504 vehicles were recorded visiting all the Resorts.

3.3 The higher figures at Mt Hotham reflect the volume of visitor through traffic using the Great Alpine

Road. To a lesser extent, Falls Creek and Mt Stirling also service through traffic.

3.4 The survey shows that there is a marked variation in the vehicle counts on a weekly basis during the summer season at all alpine resorts. Maximum weekly counts are significantly greater than the weekly average vehicle counts at most resorts, with minimum counts broadly less than half of the average weekly counts.

Table 3.1: 2013/14 Vehicle Count Totals

3.5 Table 3.2 compares the 2013/14 summer vehicle counts at each resort with the previous year’s results.

3.6 The table shows an increase in total vehicles of 7 per cent in 2013/14 compared to the previous

summer when visitation to alpine resorts at Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Mt Stirling was impacted by bushfires in early 2013.

3.7 Lake Mountain saw an additional 6,400 vehicles in 2013/14 compared to 2012/13.

Table 3.2: Vehicle Count Change – Compared to Previous Year

November 2013 - April 2014 Falls Creek

Lake Mountain

Mt Baw Baw

Mt Buller Mt Hotham

Mt Stirling All Resorts

Total Summer Vehicles 33,846 14,817 11,563 34,409 64,264 15,605 174,504

Average Weekly Vehicles 1,302 570 445 1,323 2,472 600 _

Minimum Weekly Vehicles 804 259 245 721 644 341 _

Maximum Weekly Vehicles 2,726 1,091 882 2,737 5,847 1,190 _

Falls Creek

Lake Mountain

Mt Baw Baw

Mt Buller Mt Hotham

Mt Stirling All Resorts

2013/14 (Nov - Apr) 33,846 14,817 11,563 34,409 64,264 15,605 174,504

2012/13 (Nov - Apr) 34,461 12,456 11,452 35,267 55,833 13,543 163,012

Percentage Change 2012/13 - 2013/14 -2% 19% 1% -2% 15% 15% 7%

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3.8 Vehicle counts from 2007/08 to 2013/14 for each alpine resort and for All Resorts are shown in Figures 3.1 and 3.2, below.

3.9 Figure 3.1 shows that there is some variability at individual resorts, with longer-term trends noticeably upward at Lake Mountain, Mt Stirling. Figure 3.1 clearly

shows the impact of bushfires in 2012/13 on visitation traffic to Mt Hotham.

3.10 Importantly, Figure 3.2 shows that, despite the fall in 2012/13, vehicle numbers have generally been trending upwards across resorts, with a 1.4 per cent average annual increase since 2007/08.

Figure 3.1: Vehicle Counts – Individual Alpine Resorts

Figure 3.2: Vehicle Counts – All Resorts

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4. Vehicle Survey– Weekly Results

4.1 Figures 4.1 to 4.6, below, show weekly vehicle numbers to the six Victorian Alpine Resorts during the survey period. Figure 4.7 shows aggregated vehicle counts for the six alpine resorts. The shaded sections represent Victorian school and public holidays. Key events conducted at alpine resorts are listed below each figure.

4.2 As was evident in past surveys, there is a strong correlation between vehicle numbers, holiday periods and on-mountain events. For most resorts, peak vehicle counts appear to coincide with school holidays and/or

long weekends; traditional holiday times in which Victorians travel. There are significant increases in the number of vehicles during Christmas / New Year, Australia Day, Labour Day and Easter periods. The staging of major on-mountain events coincident with these key holiday times, results in an increase in recorded vehicle numbers.

4.3 The survey results also show that the staging of events outside of holiday times can result in significant increases in visitation, compared to non-event non-holiday weekends.

Figure 4.1: Falls Creek Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: Rapid Ascent Adventure Race 15-16 Feb; 3 Peaks Challenge & Labour Day 10 March; Easter Festival 18-20 April.

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Figure 4.2: Lake Mountain Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: 7 Peaks Challenge 11 January; Granite Grind MTB 22-23 February; Marysville Lake Mountain Cycle Event 2 March; Easter and ‘Brainforest’ Festival 18-20 April.

Figure 4.3: Mount Baw Baw Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: Fly Fishing Festival 16-17 November; Tarmac Sprint 22-23 February; Trail Run Festival 9-11 March; Kids Adventure Festival 5-6 April.

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Figure 4.4: Mount Buller Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: Sunset Mountain Challenge 2 November; Targa High Country Event 8-10 November; MTB National Series 7-9 February; Buller MTB Festival 8-10 March; Easter Weekend.

Figure 4.5: Mount Hotham Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: 7 Peaks Challenge 29 December; Audax Hotham Challenge 9 March; Beyond Hotham 4WD Festival 13-23 March; Easter Weekend.

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Figure 4.6: Mount Stirling Summer Vehicles 2013/14

Events: None held during the survey period.

Figure 4.7: All Resorts Summer Vehicles 2013/14

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Events

4.4 Figure 4.8 below, showing summer visitation to Falls Creek for the last three years, as well as the 10-year average, illustrates the correlation between events and summer visitation rates. The positive impact of events such as the Three Peaks Challenge (road cycling) and the timing of public holidays, such as Easter, is clearly evident.

4.5 Other resorts are also placing an increased emphasis on events to increase summer visitation rates. Mt Baw Baw, for example, conducted a diverse program of events during 2013/14, including fly fishing, food and wine, mountain biking, trail running, road cycling, motorsport tarmac sprint, and Kids Adventure Festival events (see Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.8: Falls Creek Vehicles and Events Comparisons

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5. Visitor Survey Results

Visitor Numbers

5.1 To estimate of the number of visitors to resorts, Boards conduct physical counts of the number of occupants per vehicle (‘occupancy’), on several days during the survey period.

5.2 Results for individual Victorian Alpine Resorts are shown in Table 5.1, below.

5.3 Detailed analysis over a number of years shows that there is a distinct difference in visitation characteristics between weekend/holiday and weekday periods, with weekend/holiday vehicle occupancy at individual resorts being approximately 50 per cent higher than weekdays, with the exception of Mt Hotham and Mt

Stirling where occupancy numbers were generally comparable. (Mt Hotham receives considerable through traffic and the Mt Stirling access road is a key entry/exit point for vehicles visiting the surrounding national park.)

5.4 For the purpose of extrapolating visitor numbers for the 2013/14 summer survey period, the average occupancy rates calculated from the 2013/14 survey results for weekend/holiday periods and weekdays were applied on a resort-by-resort basis, where available. This was not possible in the case of Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw where no occupancy counts were undertaken. In these cases, average occupancies from previous years’ surveys have been applied.

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Table 5.1: Visitor Numbers for 2013/14 Survey Period – Individual Resorts

Falls Creek Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days

No. of Vehicles 17,015 16,831 33,846Occupancy 1 2.3 1.6 2.0Total Visitors 2 39,692 27,597 67,289Proportion of Staff/Contractor Vehicles 3% 38% 20%

Lake Mountain Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days

No. of Vehicles 7,449 7,368 14,817Occupancy 1, 3 2.1 1.6 1.9Total Visitors 2 15,628 11,789 27,417Proportion of Staff/Contractor Vehicles 4 --- --- ---

Mt Baw Baw Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days

No. of Vehicles 5,813 5,750 11,563Occupancy 1 3.8 2.9 3.4Total Visitors 2 22,090 16,675 38,764Proportion of Staff/Contractor Vehicles 4 --- --- ---

Mt Buller Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days


Mt Hotham Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days


Mt Stirling Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days

No. of Vehicles 7,845 7,760 15,605Occupancy 1 2.9 3.0 3.0Total Visitors 2 22,807 23,562 46,369Proportion of Staff/Contractor Vehicles 6% 11% 8%Notes:1. The 'occupancy' figure obtained from the selected days physical counts has been applied to the full survey period vehicle count to calculate the number of 'total visitors'.2. Total visitors for the summer survey period (November to April).3. Lake Mountain conducted a stand alone weekends/holidays 'occupancy' count in 2011/12. That result has been combined with multipliers used previously for weekdays to estimate visitors.4. Not collected.


5.5 Estimated aggregated results for all Victorian Alpine Resorts are shown in Table 5.2, below. It is estimated that total visitation to the Victorian Alpine Resorts over the survey period was approximately 359,000 visitors.

5.6 Table 5.2 also shows that in 2013/14 approximately 55 per cent of total visitation occurring either on weekends or during holiday periods.

5.7 Annual summer visitation to the Victorian Alpine Resorts since 2007/08, split between weekends/holidays and week days since 2008/09, is shown in Table 5.3, below. It shows that both Weekend/Holiday visitation and Weekday visitation are highly variable and increase or decrease independently from each other. This may relate to the timing of public holidays (i.e. the day of the week on which they fall) and variables in the selected four days in which the occupancy surveys were undertaken.

5.8 Table 5.4, below, shows that visitation in 2013/14 has increased by approximately 4 per cent compared to the previous year. This equates to an increase of 14,200 visitors of which 8,400 were at Mt Hotham. Lake Mountain and Mt Stirling also saw increases in visitation of more than 2,000 visitors compared to the previous year.

5.9 Table 5.4 also shows that weekday visitation increased by 10 per cent compared to the previous year, while there was no increase in visitation on weekends/holidays. Again, this may relate to the timing of public holidays (i.e. the day of the week on which they fall) and variables in the selected four days in which the occupancy surveys were undertaken.

Table 5.2: Visitor Numbers for 2013/14 Survey Period – All Resorts (Aggregated Results)

Table 5.3: Annual Visitor Numbers to All Resorts 2007/08 – 2013/14

Table 5.4: Visitor Numbers Change – Compared to Previous Year

All Resorts Weekends/ Holidays

Week days All Days

No. of Vehicles 87,729 86,775 174,504Occupancy 1 2.3 1.8 2.1Total Visitors 2 198,664 160,264 358,927Weekends/Holidays to Week days proportions 55% 45% 100%Notes:1. The 'occupancy' figure obtained from the selected days physical counts has been applied to the full survey period vehicle count to calculate the number of 'total visitors'.2. Total visitors for the summer survey period (November to April).


Week days All Days

No. of Visitors 2013/14 198,664 160,264 358,927No. of Visitors 2012/13 199,262 145,468 344,731No. of Visitors 2011/12 202,159 156,675 358,834No. of Visitors 2010/11 229,340 146,221 375,561No. of Visitors 2009/10 206,840 139,388 346,229No. of Visitors 2008/09 196,735 135,848 332,582No. of Visitors 2007/08 1 --- 2 --- 2 338,000Note:1. Estimate based on occupancy determined from the selected days physical counts in 2008/09.2. Not collected.


Week days All Days

No. of Visitors 2013/14 198,664 160,264 358,927No. of Visitors 2012/13 199,262 145,468 344,730Percentage Change -0.3% 10% 4%

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5.10 Figure 5.1, below, shows annual visitation to All Resorts since surveys commenced in 2007/08. Visitation is seen to be stable at around 350,000

visitors per annum. Annual visitation growth has averaged 1.1 per cent since surveys commenced.

Figure 5.1: Summer Visitation – All Resorts

Visitor Characteristics 5.11 Table 5.1 shows that for Falls Creek, Mt Buller and Mt Hotham the proportions of staff/contractor vehicles entering the Resorts varies significantly between weekends/holidays (1 - 3 per cent) and weekdays (approximately 17 - 37 per cent). This difference could be expected as during summer, staff/contractors are most likely to visit for work-related purposes on weekdays, whereas people visiting for recreation and other purposes are considered more likely to visit during weekend/holiday periods.

5.12 The survey data also shows that large numbers (approximately 60-70 per cent) of vehicles pass through the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort. This is likely to be a result of the important role the Great Alpine Road plays as a regional touring route and as a link between north-eastern Victoria and Gippsland.

5.13 Compared the previous year, 2013/14 saw an increasing number of road cyclists recorded at Falls Creek and Mt Hotham. Whilst it is now well-recognised that organised cycling events, such as the Three Peaks Challenge attract large numbers, the numbers recorded

on non-event days suggest that high country road cycling is increasing in popularity.

5.14 Significant numbers of motorcycles were also recorded at both Falls Creek and Mt Hotham. This reinforces the significance and popularity of the resort access roads as touring routes for motorcyclists.

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VICTORIAN ALPINE RESORTS VISITATION SURVERY REPORT SUMMER ... · Summer 2013/14 Visitation Survey...

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