Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum receives tourism boost as border closings sent tourists to regions | The standard

News, latest news,

The recent school holidays brought another boost to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool, with 58 percent more visitors than before the pandemic. Border closings during the pandemic gave the ailing tourist attraction, which has been subject to protracted closings due to COVID restrictions since March last year, a welcome injection of funds. The June-July school holidays were busy for Flagstaff Hill, the city council said – a trend the city was watching over the summer. Peter Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of Warrnambool City Council, said before the introduction of the latest COVID restrictions, people loved to be out and about and the number of visitors to Flagstaff Hill was very encouraging. “Flagstaff Hill, like many tourism companies, had a difficult 2020, but the numbers this year are very cheap compared to the years leading up to the pandemic,” Schneider said. During the two weeks of school holidays, Flagstaff Hill welcomed 3,538 daytime visitors – a 58 percent increase from 2019’s 2,237 visitors, he said. In 2018 there were 2107 visitors. “The Triton Woodworkers were busy helping 1200 children make wooden toys – 907 masterpieces were made in 2019,” said Schneider. The night show, which was 75 percent full, was down slightly with 1122 visitors compared to 1127 in 2019, but well above 2018 with 568 visitors. The number of people using the city’s visitor information center was “impressive,” said Schneider, with 10,009 visitors – a 22 percent increase from the 8,205 in 2019 and 7,923 in 2018. “It’s an honor for Staff and volunteers said they were able to get back into action between closings to ensure Flagstaff Hill has a great visitor experience, “Schneider said.” Locks are tough on everyone and for those who care about interacting with people interests, including visitors to our city, they can be a real challenge. “A record summer between December and January alone brought 11,444 visitors to the village – an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. The number of visitors to the visitor information center in January was 34,912 – more than 1,100 a day, the council said souvenir shop sales have increased given the impact nes the pandemic with sales of $ 150,000 from July 2020 to March 2021. Flagstaff Hill’s finances have been in the spotlight under successive councils, and the COVID-affected facility was expected to make a loss of $ 897,000 for the next fiscal year – but that was before the last lockdown. There are plans for a possible renovation in 2026/27, with the council hoping to secure grants. Cr Ben Blain recently called for a long-term plan on how the Museum of the Sea could be made sustainable. Our journalists work hard to bring local, breaking news to the community. Here’s how you can access our trusted content:

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nB9BrLNgExsfwsLgDBevWP/75cad393-65a7-4f91-aa6f-7906f868d5ec.jpg/r0_267_5244_3230_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

The recent school holidays brought another boost to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool, with 58 percent more visitors than before the pandemic.

Border closings during the pandemic gave the ailing tourist attraction, which has been subject to protracted closings due to COVID restrictions since March last year, a welcome injection of funds.

The June-July school holidays were busy for Flagstaff Hill, the city council said – a trend the city was watching over the summer.

Peter Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of Warrnambool City Council, said before the introduction of the latest COVID restrictions, people loved to be out and about and the number of visitors to Flagstaff Hill was very encouraging.

“Flagstaff Hill, like many tourism companies, had a difficult 2020, but the numbers this year are very cheap compared to the years leading up to the pandemic,” Schneider said.

During the two weeks of school holidays, Flagstaff Hill welcomed 3,538 daytime visitors – a 58 percent increase from 2019’s 2,237 visitors, he said. In 2018 there were 2107 visitors.

“The Triton Woodworkers were busy helping 1200 children make wooden toys – 907 masterpieces were made in 2019,” said Schneider.

The night show, which was 75 percent full, was down slightly with 1122 visitors compared to 1127 in 2019, but well above 2018 with 568 visitors.

The number of people using the city’s visitor information center was “impressive,” Schneider said, with visitors reaching 10,009 – a 22 percent increase from the 8,205 in 2019 and 7,923 in 2018.

“It is an honor for staff and volunteers to be able to get back into action between closings to ensure Flagstaff Hill has a great visitor experience,” said Schneider.

Tough conditions: The night show had to run with reduced capacity due to COVID number restrictions.

“Bans are tough on everyone, and they can be a real challenge for those interested in interacting with people, including visitors to our city.”

A record summer brought 11,444 visitors to the village between December and January alone – an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

The number of visitors to the visitor information center in January was 34,912 – more than 1,100 per day.

The council said gift shop sales performed well with sales of $ 150,000 from July 2020 to March 2021, given the impact of the pandemic.

Flagstaff Hill’s finances have been in constant spotlight under successive councils, and the facility affected by COVID was expected to post a loss of $ 897,000 for the next fiscal year – but that was before the last lockdown.

There are plans for a possible renovation in 2026/27, with the council hoping to secure grants.

Cr Ben Blain recently called for a long-term plan on how the Museum of the Sea could be made sustainable.

Our journalists work hard to bring local, breaking news to the community. Here’s how you can access our trusted content: