Greater Shepparton City Council launched its 2020 Tourism and Major Events Calendar to more than 100 delegates within the tourism industry at the annual Visitor Economy luncheon today.
The Major Events Calendar provides a great balance of activities across a full 12 months, covering a broad cross section of categories including arts and culture, food and wine, business and sporting events which reflect our region's strengths, community interests and the great lifestyle our region offers.
Each year Greater Shepparton's visitation continues to grow. Last September's National Visitor Survey recorded Greater Shepparton experienced more than 1.293 million visitors come to our region and the expanding Major Events program has been an integral part of that growth.
This year started with one of the most prestigious events in Greater Shepparton history, with the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup, which showcased the city on an international platform and attracted athletes and officials from around 30 countries.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Councillor Seema Abdullah said this year's calendar had a strong focus on, high participation events and further expanding its arts and cultural offerings.
"Council has been working hard at securing events which will attract more visitors from intrastate, interstate and internationally who can extend their stay and experience more of our region," Cr Abdullah said.
"We anticipate the calendar will generate between $40 and $50 million for the economy keeping local business strong across a number of sectors including accommodation, hospitality, retail and tourism."
Council is excited to see some new events come to the region, such as the CFA Championships and Rumbalara Progress Festival in March, Bowls Victoria Regional Sides Championships in April, Hockey Victoria Junior Boys State Championships and Furphy Literacy Awards in July and the Murray Darling Basin Association Conference in August. A real highlight of the calendar will be the inaugural Shepparton Winter Festival a partnership with the Shepparton Festival to now also run an arts based winter themed festival in the July and August period.
The calendar will also see the return of some of the region's iconic events such as the Shepparton Festival in March a revamped Kidsfest in the March and April school holidays, Challenge Shepparton Triathlon in April, Winter Fun Zone in July, Australian Piano Awards in September and the Land of Plenty Music festival in October.
The luncheon also provided updates on events and activities in the central business district, new Shepparton Art Museum, Tourism Greater Shepparton, Great Things Happen Here tourism research project and the upcoming Shepparton Festival.
Pick up a copy of the new 2020 Greater Shepparton Major Events Calendar from the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre or the Think CBD office in the Tower Arcade. Or view it online at the Visit Shepparton website.
