The visitor economy is much more than simply the tourism industry. It extends to interactions between visitors and the city, and all of the direct and indirect effects triggered by visitors. Visitors are conventional guests who come to Melbourne for a holiday, as well as “daytrippers” who spend the day shopping or going to a show. The term also applies to business travellers and conference participants. Visitors are also all of the interim residents who are studying in Melbourne for the time being, or working or living in the city for a limited time as employees of international companies or organisations. Conversely, local residents often use Melbourne in similar ways to visitors, when they go and see the sights or simply head into the city to walk around.

Visitors are always leaving some form of trace in the process, whether it takes the shape of economic effects, their view of the city from an outsiders’ perspective, or through the wealth of influences, ideas and skills that they bring to Melbourne and are consequently making an active contribution to the city’s identity.

In 2020-21 the state's tourism industry generated $10.7 billion (directly and indirectly) in Gross State Product, accounting for 2.3 per cent of Victoria’s economy. This represents a decline of 63.7 per cent compared to pre-COVID estimates from 2018-19 and reflects the devastating impacts of the pandemic on the sector in this period.

Destination Management Planning, also known as Tourism Master Planning, brings together the insights and ambitions of the breadth of our industry and community to describe clearly what we, together, want Melbourne’s tourism to look like.

Fundamentally, it goes to the heart of the type of city we want Melbourne to be. We want it to be resilient, inclusive and sustainable. We want it to be a place Melburnians are proud of, and that welcomes people from across Australia and beyond. And we want it to continue to be a world-leading, global city whose history, culture, diversity and innovation are showcased.

The project is part of Council’s Experience Melbourne initiative, which drives a city-focused approach to tourism and events to support Melbourne’s recovery and reaffirm the city as a world-class visitor destination. Experience Melbourne is responsible for leading a range of business functions including destination marketing, visitor servicing and the delivery of events. Experience Melbourne works closely with other tourism agencies including Tourism Australia and Visit Victoria to position Melbourne on a national and global stage.

Melbourne is competing with an ever-growing list of destinations for attention, visitors, and investment. By developing a comprehensive and holistic destination management plan for the city, and working collaboratively with residents and stakeholders, City of Melbourne will increase competitiveness while prioritising community benefits through an intentional approach to sustainable tourism development.

Your input will feed into the development of a vision for the future of the city’s visitor economy. It will help us identify Melbourne’s strengths and weaknesses as a visitor destination, opportunities to enhance the visitor experience and better understand the impacts of tourism, both positive and negative.