Easter economic extravaganza for Loddon Shire
Published on 02 July 2025
What do orienteers, street rodders, woodchoppers and tennis have in common? The answer is they’ve all contributed to a substantial economic boost for Loddon Shire.
Latest data on the economic impact of various events in the Shire over the Easter and Anzac long weekends show record spending for the period.
Spendmapp data shows an additional $116,000 was spent over Easter compared to 2024 while the increase was even higher over the Anzac week with an extra $167,000 spent.
And while a boost was expected, with the 2025 Easter National Orienteering Event attracting 1000 visitors to the shire, 400 people and 200 vehicles coming to Inglewood as part of the 2025 Street Rod Nationals in Bendigo, the time-honoured Rheola Charity Carnival attracting thousands to the hamlet and the Boort Tennis Club Easter Tournament also on, the level of spending was higher than expected.
“Our REMPLAN economic impact estimates indicated we would see an additional $240,000 spent in the Shire, based on the number of visitors we registered,” said Loddon Shire Mayor Dan Straub.
“The actual results, reported by Spendmapp, indicated (an extra) $280,000 was spent by visitors to the Loddon Shire during this period – a great result.
“Apart from the major events, we also know various other associated events were well attended as well, with accommodation and hospitality providers reporting very good trade over the period.”
The Easter/Anzac boost follows on from building economic activity in the first few months of the year.
The latest Tourism and Economic Development quarterly activity report shows that in March, $3.47 million was spent in the Shire, a 21 per cent increase on February, traditionally one of the quieter months of the year as part of the post-Christmas dip.
And while the overall March figure is slightly less than the same month in 2024, long term trends show an upwards trajectory.
About 62 per cent of that local spend, $2.17 million, was by visitors.
Cr Straub said that local residents were also spending slightly more online, emphasising the importance of the Shop Loddon promotion, which saw local spending increase by 1.4 per cent in March, compared to a 0.6 per cent decrease statewide.
Meanwhile data from the Visit Loddon Valley website shows that popular searches for local attractions include Bridgewater on Loddon, the Spanner Man sculpture gardens, Eddington Sprints and gold prospecting.
Gold prospecting continues to be a popular query for visitors to the Visitor Information Centre in Wedderburn, and the Loddon Valley Gold Prospecting Guide has been produced as a result, covering top prospecting locations, local visitor services and the rich history of Loddon goldfields.
It has proved to be a popular guide with visitors, with a reprint looming
Caption: The Spanner Man sculpture gardens at Barraport are a popular search term for Loddon Shire tourism attractions.