A new website that will improve the East Gippsland visitor experience is now live.

Co-funded by East Gippsland Marketing and East Gippsland Shire Council the new Visit East Gippsland website will showcase all that East Gippsland has to offer visitors and locals alike.

The website is mobile friendly and has less text and more images to enhance the user experience.

Every district across East Gippsland has its own page, ensuring that the individual character and unique features of each area are highlighted. It will also give tourism and hospitality businesses, and the visitor experiences within each town greater opportunity to be showcased.

Visitors to the website can add accommodation and experiences to their itinerary, which then automatically creates an itinerary complete with timeline. The benefit, as many locals will know, is that first time visitors to the regional will develop a greater understanding of the distance from Melbourne and the distance between, say, Bairnsdale and Mallacoota.

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Cr Mendy Urie said the website will help drive the promotion of the region as a great holiday destination and maximise visitor spend.

“The visitor economy is extremely important to East Gippsland. The region normally welcomes over 1.5 million domestic and international visitors each year and collectively they spend around $391 million. That’s additional money circulating our economy and supporting thousands of local businesses and jobs across the shire,” Cr Urie said.

“Having this website with all its functionality can have a huge impact. It will be a fantastic resource for locals who are planning visits for family and friends. I encourage everyone to use the new website, make most of our own backyard and support one another.”

The new website incorporates East Gippsland’s adoption of the GIPPS all kinds of wonder LAND destination branding, which is used for all tourism promotion and campaigns into Melbourne and beyond.  

“This is an exciting first example of how this new branding will be used in our regional tourism marketing,” Cr Urie said.

“This long-term strategy is aimed at growing our visitor economy and this website is a great way to start a new era in the promotion of our region and businesses that contribute significantly to local economy and lifestyle we all enjoy and share with others.”

Hayley Hardy, Marketing Manager for East Gippsland Marketing Inc, is also excited about the new website.

“It is much more user friendly than our previous version. It showcases all the hidden gems that we know East Gippsland has on offer, the amazing food, wine and beer and places to explore,” Ms Hardy said.

“Most importantly, it will evolve as the region continues to evolve. With new pages and information added.”

For further information about putting your tourism business on the new website, please contact the East Gippsland Shire Visitor Information Centre on 5152 3444.