BUSINESSES in Horsham are reporting that visitor numbers are strong and trade is good as the town hosts two major events this week.
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Wimmera Machinery Field Days, which runs for three days from Tuesday, and Horsham Fishing Competition, which runs for two days from Saturday, have been generating accommodation bookings and sales for local businesses.
The field days, Victoria's longest event of its kind, brings in more than $3 million to the broader Wimmera economy each year.
A total of $200 million in machinery, equipment and materials are displayed and "conservative estimates" put sales generated at more than $50 million.
Wimmera Design and Print director Chris O'Connor said Field Days was the "busiest time of the year" for the business.
He said the day before the event was a bit like Christmas Eve at the studio with exhibitors putting in last minute print jobs for exhibitors needing banners and signage.
Mr O'Connor said while trade had been "pretty strong" this year he did have concerns about a future drop off in business from university clients due to the coronavirus.
Hotels in Horsham have been reporting that accommodation bookings from Field Days attendees have been on par with previous years.
Horsham International Hotel's Peter Matheson said he expected all rooms to be full and that many field days visitors had made bookings up to a year in advance.
Mr Matheson said he didn't expect the trade to have much affect on the hotel's restaurant Baa 3400.
"One year a company booked out a night in the restaurant," he said. "But that company isn't attending anymore."
Cafe Jas manager Sharon Hayden said they didn't expect more business from field days visitors but they would be rostering one extra staff member to assist with customers while the fishing competition was on.
"It's just as busy as a normal long weekend for us," she said.
Wimmera Lakes Caravan Park owner Kirston Johnson said their bookings were comparable with previous years.
"Our cabins are full which they always are and our sites are almost a third full," she said.
Ahead of the fishing competition some attendees have taken advantage of the ability to camp for free along the Wimmera River for the event, with tents pitched on the banks in Horsham since Sunday.
Horsham Fishing Competition committee chairwoman Adele Rohde said about 1700 people attended the event in 2019.
A Horsham Rural City Council spokesman said: "Both of the events were important to the annual events calendar and had a significant economic impact for the municipality".
He said exhibitors for field days come from across southern Australia, while patrons came from across Victoria, South Australia and NSW.
"Most accommodation from Horsham and within a 30 minute drive has been booked," the spokesman said.
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Eliza Berlage
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
