Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
Starting from Harley Davidson tours, food and wine tours, coffee tours to ‘chocoholics tours’, Melbourne has a lot to offer for the tourists. Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill brings to life the excitement of Australia’s great 1850s gold rushes. Situated at about one and a half hour drive from Melbourne, it has been named Australia’s ‘Major Tourist Attraction’ three times in a row. Sovereign Hill received about 165,000 international visitors in 2015, of which, Indian tourists accounted for over 10,000. The place organises ‘Christmas in July’, celebrating the festival and making it a major tourist attraction. Talking to Express TravelWorld about this relatively novel concept, Garry Burns, director, marketing, The Sovereign Hill Museums Association, explained, “We have invested AU$ 1.2 million on this project and expect around 80,000-200,000 tourists this year, 10 per cent of which would be international. This year we have extended Christmas in July from two weeks to one month to showcase the place to a wider audience. During the day, the street is brimming with Christmas decorations and people singing carols. There is snowfall in the evening and a live demonstration of wonder lights adding to the experience.”
“India ranks ninth on our inbound list, but we expect a growth of over 20 per cent in the coming years. We are targeting groups and families for a day trip to the hill. Christmas in July is a relatively new concept that we have brought along and we hope that we will attract more tourists. Apart from this, Sovereign Hill is a major attraction throughout the year, with Pan for Gold as a major attraction. There is a sound and light show, one of the best in the world, that the guests can enjoy in the evening. We have introduced several packages including day trips and overnight stays,” he added.