Mayoral Matters | Cr Karen Hyslop, April 10, 2026
Published on 10 April 2026
Easter is always a fantastic time to visit Northern Grampians Shire, with so much to see and do – and this year’s Easter certainly did not disappoint. Our population swells at this time of year, with hundreds of people making the journey to our shire for the plethora of events and activities on offer.
Everywhere I went over the weekend there were crowds of people enjoying the magnificent weather, soaking up the sun and the great atmosphere.
I thought I would take this opportunity to share a summary for the Northern Grampians Local Government Area (LGA) for the period of January 1 to March 20, 2026:
Overall, accommodation occupancy in the Northern Grampians LGA averaged 45.2% during this period, a strong increase of 47.4% compared with the same period last year (30.7%). The average booking window also shortened by 12.5%, indicating more last-minute bookings.
The forward outlook is positive, but increasingly last‑minute. Forward bookings show improved occupancy forecasts for April–June 2026 compared with last year, but with shorter booking windows, highlighting the need for agile marketing, strong digital visibility and continued collaboration with tourism partners.
Total consumer spend for this period was $118.44 million, an increase of 8.6% compared with the same period last year.
International visitors contributed $8.79 million in spend, marking a 22.2% increase compared with last year's $7.2 million.
Overall, the Northern Grampians LGA is anticipating a stronger performance in the coming months compared with last year, with significant boosts expected around public holidays and major events.
Easter events and the Grampians Grape Escape weekend are clearly lifting occupancy and spend, reinforcing the importance of event-led visitation and coordinated destination promotion.
Northern Grampians Shire Council realises the importance of events in increasing visitation to our municipality.
To support tourism events, council has adopted a Tourism Event Strategy, Event Policy and Tourism Events Grants Guidelines, which establish funding and policy frameworks to support events that contribute to local visitation.
You can click here for more information, including how to apply for grants to support events that attract people to our region.
To ensure you are up to date with events and activities on offer in our shire, make sure you are following Discover Northern Grampians on Facebook or Instagram.
Our region has faced many challenges during the past few years; it has never been more important for our community to support regional tourism and jobs to help strengthen our local communities, so our shire continues to grow and prosper.