MURTOA's Stick Shed will reopen on Monday, following over three months of being closed to the public.
It comes as the head of Grampians Tourism says it will be hard for local businesses to take full advantage of the return of Melbourne tourists under current restriction levels.
Stick Shed Committee of Management Secretary David Grigg said the decision was made following Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' announcement relating to easing restrictions on November 1.
He said the shed would open from Monday to Saturday from 10.00am to 12.30pm and on Sunday from 10.00am to 2.00pm.
"The Committee and staff are excited with the relaxing of the rules which related to the Stick Shed. Since the previous relaxing of rules for Regional Victorians, there has been 10 to 20 inquiries a day from people wanting to visit the shed," he said.
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"The current coronavirus regulations relating to visits will be strictly enforced including , the wearing of masks, temperature checks, sanitising, registration of names and addresses and restrictions on the numbers entering the shed and other indoor spaces.
"We will be able to accomodate up 20 in the shed at one time."
It comes as the border between Melbourne and the rest of Victoria is no more.
With Victorians now able to travel between regional Victoria and Melbourne, the state government has begun a tourism advertising campaign known as "Stay Close, Go Further".
The campaign showcases regional Victorian makers and creators with the aim of increasing visitor numbers.
It begins by focusing on some of the regions hit hardest by the summer bushfires and global pandemic, including Gippsland and the High Country.
A government spokeswoman said other locations, including the Grampians, would be featured in coming weeks.
Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman welcomed the return of Melburnian visitors, saying visitor numbers to the region - which includes Horsham, Stawell and Ararat - were down by nearly 25 per cent in the year to June compared to the previous year.
"We are down about 20 per cent on visitor spend too. We don't have a final figure on the impact of the pandemic, but we have never experienced anything like this before," he said.
"I think we are in for a very busy Christmas period. The region is running at capcity on regional Victorian visitors, so when you add Melbourne on top of that there will be a major influx. The challenge we face moving forward is being able to disperse visitors around the region.
"With the current restrictions around indoor dining - restaurants and cafe with the current square metre rules - it is extremely difficult for us to manage. It makes it hard to deliver a positive visitor experience, and we are certainly looking for that next annoucnement later this month about further restrictions easing.
"And in the back of everyone's mind is the fear of potentially going back into lockdown."
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
