In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with micenet this week, Damien Cerantonio, director of the Great Ocean Road Resort, said the road, which runs the 243km between Torquay and Allansford in regional Victoria, offered a range of venues and experiences “but how do we increase the spend in our region?”
Cerantonio, who is also chair of Business Events Victoria, continued: “At the moment, going down the Great Ocean Road is free, going to the Twelve Apostles is free.
“What we want to encourage is that increased investment in our communities. And not just in Port Campbell, where the Twelve Apostles are, in communities such as Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, Apollo Bay, all those stops along [the way] and that’s achieved through increased length of stay.”
Last year, 6.8 million tourists visited the Great Ocean Road. Asked whether he was saying a toll should be applied to the famous road Cerantonio said: “I’m open-minded.”
“I’m not against a toll for the Great Ocean Road. Now, how that looks, whether locals are included or not. But at the end of the day, the Great Ocean Road requires significant investment to maintain it as a world-class driving destination.”
Popular experiences with incentives programs in the region include Harley Davidson sidecar drives along the Great Ocean Road, helicopter circuits of the Twelve Apostles, wildlife encounters, surfing and water-based programs, as well as venues designed for small corporate retreats to full conference programs.
Cerantonio’s Great Ocean Road Resort at Anglesea can host up to 150 delegates in five dedicated meeting rooms and is ideally suited to residential conferences for up to 50. But he says a report prepared by Deloitte identified that the region needed more commercial-sized accommodation venues, such as the RACV Torquay, which has 92 guest rooms and 10 function areas for up to 410 people, including a 340-seat pillarless ballroom.
Cerantonio said the $126 million Twelve Apostles precinct redevelopment, funded through the Geelong City Deal, would see a world-class visitor experience centre built that is hoped to drive longer stays in the region.
And already there are moves to increase local investment, with approval granted to build a 58-key eco lodge on 48ha about 6km down the road from the Twelve Apostles.
Cerantonio is also looking towards the completion of Geelong’s new convention centre in mid-2026.
“Nyaal Banyul in Geelong, that’s really going to put regional Victoria as a business events destination on the map.
“And so as an extension of Geelong and [the] Bellarine, I think there’s also a lot of opportunity for the Great Ocean Road to build on what’s happening in Geelong as well.”
Having presided over Business Events Victoria’s AGM on Tuesday evening, Cerantonio reported that BEV referred 237 events to members over the last year and that 144 of those leads were confirmed.
“That generated $8.9 million in economic impact to our regional communities, really highlighting the importance of business events to regional Victoria,” he said.
