Inverloch and Wonthaggi join forces to turn day-trippers into overnight guests

A MAJOR new tourism and business alliance is set to reshape the regional economy, as Inverloch and Wonthaggi officially join forces to encourage visitors to stay longer, explore further, and support more local businesses.

The Business Connect initiative was officially launched at a Business Mixer event at the Wonthaggi Club and represents a strategic partnership driven by the Inverloch Tourism Association (ITA) with key backing from the Bass Coast Shire Council.

The collaboration aims to break down traditional town boundaries to create a unified, highly appealing regional destination. Local business operators at the launch were presented with striking new data highlighting a significant economic gap.

While the Bass Coast attracts a massive 3.25 million visitors each year, a staggering 48 per cent arrive as day-trippers. Industry leaders argue that a single day is simply not enough time for travellers to experience the full depth of the region, resulting in missed revenue for local retail, hospitality, and accommodation providers.

ITA President Glenn Morris highlighted the organisation’s collaborative philosophy, stating that modern tourism does not stop at municipal lines. He emphasised that every connected local experience strengthens the overall appeal of the region, giving visitors multiple compelling reasons to extend their stay.

“It’s an opportunity to introduce a collaborative approach to increase the opportunity for people to come here. The bike path between Inverloch and Wonthaggi physically connects us,” Mr Morris said.

Addressing local structural challenges, Mr Morris noted that the initiative would help fill a representation gap for the regional hub. “The Wonthaggi Business Association was inactive,” he said.

“It’s about using our skills and tools to promote regional collaboration, including Cape Paterson. The benefit of giving Wonthaggi representation is important.”

The joint strategy will leverage the highly successful Visit Inverloch digital platform. In just three years, the portal has scaled rapidly, now attracting more than 70,000 unique website visitors annually and generating over 4 million views across social media channels.

This digital infrastructure will now be deployed to showcase Wonthaggi's unique commercial, historical, and natural assets alongside Inverloch's coastal appeal.

Monique Wilson, a local small business owner and ITA Communications Officer, explained that the new promotional push directly addressed the region's biggest financial opportunity.

“Historically, the Bass Coast has attracted a high proportion of day-trippers rather than lucrative overnight guests,” Ms Wilson said. By cross-promoting experiences across both towns, the initiative aims to shift visitor habits, converting brief stops into multi-day itineraries that directly inject capital into the local economy.

The Bass Coast 2030 Economic Framework recently revealed that increasing overnight visitation numbers could inject an additional $113 million into the local economy.

While peak statutory bodies like Visit Victoria and Destination Gippsland manage broad, state-wide marketing campaigns, the Inverloch Tourism Association is stepping in to fill a highly specific niche role.

ITA Vice President and founder of Offshore Digital Mick Asbury said ITA’s supporting digital platforms were built entirely around experience-led regional discovery.

Asbury explained that because people travel to create lifelong memories rather than simply browse websites, the ITA’s primary job is to make it as seamless as possible for tourists to navigate the region.

By modernising how visitors interact with local businesses, the volunteer group hopes to secure a lucrative financial future for the entire Bass Coast community.