General News
25 February, 2024
Dimboola stars in statewide campaign
The Dimboola Imaginarium is one of two businesses selected statewide to be featured in a Victorian Government tourism video for Experience Victoria 2033.
The campaign video also includes Minister for Tourism Steve Dimopoulos.
Dimboola Imaginarium co-owner Chan Uoy said it would be great exposure for Dimboola and the wider Wimmera region.
Mr Uoy was invited to speak in a webinar campaign last November on the topic 'It's not just a gift shop: activating the regions with clever visitor servicing to create an immersive experience and ignite Dimboola's small-town verve'.
He was told he had an inspiring story to tell through his motivation to bring life back to a less-visited town and create an unexpected repurpose of a heritage building.
Mr Uoy said Dimboola became a classic dying town when the freeway bypass was completed in 1989.
The town had been in decline since then, he said.
"Dimboola became a tourism blackspot," Mr Uoy said.
"The town didn't have any traffic coming through and if people did come through it was to go elsewhere."
Now Dimboola has more traffic, with people wanting to make a journey to the town and leave the freeway.
"Local farmers said they never thought the town would become vibrant again and so many of them now say they're so glad they were wrong," Mr Uoy said.
Saturday has recently become the town's busiest day as visitors spend hours perusing their way through town.
"Dimboola is a quirky shopping destination with traditional shopkeepers," Mr Uoy said.
He said it all linked back to tourism as the town needed this to survive.
"Creating a compelling visitor experience is important to all country towns, especially in the Wimmera," he said.
"It's a way of keeping people here."
A Victorian Government spokesperson said regional communities like Dimboola are the heart of Victoria's visitor economy.
“Experience Victoria 2033 is our roadmap to help government, businesses - like the Imaginarium – and leaders within Victoria’s tourism industry plan for growth," they said.
“This plan helps set up our tourism industry to continue to thrive and that’s why we want to showcase all of Victoria to Victorians and the rest of the world.”
The 10-year tourism strategy sees the Victorian Government supporting experiences in five key pillars: First Nations-led experiences, wellness, arts and culture, nature, and food and drink.