– A message from Tourism Midwest Victoria Chair Hon. John Pandazopoulos
This week’s announcement to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games has motivated Tourism Midwest Victoria to ensure our region gets its fair share of support.
While disappointed, we understand the necessity of the state government’s decision to cancel the Commonwealth Games due to excessive costs.
The Commonwealth Games were to deliver a much-needed boost to our region’s visitor economy, which is still recovering from the challenges of the past three years.
While we appreciate that the community still benefits from Tuesday’s announcement, including giving locals access to new and upgraded venues, we don’t want to see this confused with the visitor economy benefits now at risk.
The injection of $3 billion into Victoria’s economy and the spotlight from the worldwide broadcast delivered tangible benefits to our industry partners and local businesses. These benefits extended far beyond the 12-day event, amplifying the value and impact of the games in our community.
It ensured our region was promoted to a global audience, that accommodation was fully booked, the region’s restaurants and cafes were abuzz, and that our attractions were at capacity in the lead-up to and post the games themselves.
The cancellation of the games is a massive blow, adding to the challenges our industry is already experiencing – including continued workforce shortages and increased cost of living pressures impacting the budget of potential visitors.
The Commonwealth Games allowed us to stimulate confidence in an industry longing for a boost. So, to get the best we can out of this situation, we must continue to advocate for investment into our region and ensure the state government’s $2 billion package compensates for the loss of this significant event.
What we’re advocating for
Support to improve visitor economy products in our region:
The Commonwealth Games was a mechanism to trigger significant tourism product development for our region. To seed the creation of compelling visitation driving product and reinvigorate the region’s visitor economy, the new $150 million Regional Tourism and Events Fund needs to focus on Ballarat and the regions missing out on the promised economic uplift – noting these regions have spent considerable time, money and effort preparing for this major event.
Tourism Midwest Victoria seek an infrastructure investment priority for Ballarat to sit alongside the funded Geelong Convention Centre and Bendigo Art Gallery expansion and drive new reasons to visit. A state-wide funding opportunity will not deliver the game-changing infrastructure projects the region desperately needs.
Tourism Midwest Victoria also seeks a further commitment for funding to support other major events that bring new visitors to the region. We must ensure regional city hubs receive major funded events, equal to opportunities that have now been lost.
State government funding is critical to the future attraction of private investment funding. Whilst local businesses continue to invest in the region, the Commonwealth Games gave impetus for private sector funding, which is now at risk.
Put Ballarat and Midwest Victoria on the map:
Tourism Midwest Victoria seeks commitment from the state government to re-allocate the marketing budget for the Commonwealth Games to promote tourism to the affected regions.
The budget earmarked for marketing the Commonwealth Games should be reallocated to a significant campaign for each regional city hub to deliver equivalent support to boost awareness of regional Victoria and its offerings.
By removing the games as a reason to visit, we must ensure our region stays top-of-mind among interstate and intrastate visitors.
The games offered an opportunity to demonstrate to the recovering international market what regional Victoria has to offer, and this needs to be considered. This is critical to building our brand, changing perceptions and feelings about the region and boosting visitation leading up to and long after the games would have been held here.
Continued opportunities for our region’s First Peoples:
Tourism Midwest Victoria seeks the commitment from the state government to honour its capacity-building funding for the region’s First Nation communities.
One of the games’ great opportunities was to be First Nations-led, providing us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for meaningful, tangible reconciliation action.
We must continue to recognise and fund the capacity building of the region’s First Nations communities to help them on their cultural journey and bring their priorities to life through appropriate tourism offerings.