The Visitor Economy Luncheon unveils a year of exciting events and tourism growth

By Sharlene Baldo

Apr 1, 2025

City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali addressing the attendees of the Visitor Economy Luncheon. Photo by Contributed

Greater Shepparton City Council presented its 2025 Tourism and Major Events Calendar to industry, locals and tourism providers at the Visitor Economy Luncheon on Monday, March 31.

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Hosted at the Peppermill Inn, the gathering showcased an impressive line-up of festivals and events taking place in Shepparton and Goulburn Valley in 2025.

Shepparton Art Museum artistic director Danny Lacy. Photo by Contributed

Attendees were treated to an exclusive update from Shepparton Art Museum artistic director Danny Lacy, who shared insights into upcoming exhibitions and activities at the museum.

He highlighted figures from SAM’s 2023/24 annual report, which showcased a total of 101,660 visitors, 26 exhibitions and 370 artists featured throughout the year.

In addition, Danny unveiled exciting news, with SAM curator Belinda Briggs being invited to curate a First Peoples Melbourne Art Tram.

The tram, decorated with artwork from SAM’s collection, will be clicking along the tracks of Melbourne as part of the RISING Festival.

Shepparton Festival director Kristen Retallick. Photo by Contributed

Shepparton Festival director Kristen Retallick gave an inside view of the festival’s 29th edition, with this year’s program offering more than 40 free or low-cost events across music, theatre, visual arts and comedy.

She took a moment to invite the audience to participate in some of the events taking place across the festival:

Saturate, an underwater sonic artwork experience that will reimagine Aquamoves as a space for sensory exploration
A Sound like Thunder, a hilarious and experimental show about meteors, UFOs and buried gold by Dopplegangster, written specifically for the festival
Shepparton Festival Closing — Art Bus Tour to Dookie

The luncheon also highlighted some of the current tourism campaigns, such as Home for the Holidays, which offers local businesses marketing and promotion opportunities during the school holiday period.

Team leader visitor economy Ingrid Thomas. Photo by Contributed

Team leader visitor economy Ingrid Thomas shared an update regarding the Goulburn Region Tourism organisation, created to unite and grow the visitor economy across Greater Shepparton, Mitchell Shire and Strathbogie Shire.

She encouraged industry members to join the GRT distribution list to receive information and updates directly from GRT and stay up-to date with the latest details as this “bold, regional brand” takes shape.

Council’s economic development team presented the 2025 Major Events Calendar, featuring a jam-packed event year for Greater Shepparton, including key events in April:

2025 Shepparton Festival
Converge on the Goulburn
Melbourne to MOVE Rally
Round one of the 2025 AusCycling BMX Racing National Series

With much more coming in the year ahead.

Council’s economic development team unveiled the ‘Conference and Event Planning Guide’, a tool containing everything you need to know about services and venues across the region.

Cr Rod Schubert and co-ordinator major events Megan Treacy. Photo by Contributed

City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said the launch of the Major Events Calendar was a wonderful opportunity to plan ahead and get on board with these business opportunities.

“The 2025 calendar is packed with exciting festivals, major sporting events and wonderful exhibitions,” he said.

“Greater Shepparton truly excels at hosting events, and the 2025 calendar showcases how rich and diverse our event landscape is.

“We are really looking forward to seeing our local industry benefiting from these exciting opportunities and leveraging these key events.

“In 2024 our Greater Shepparton events program contributed over $62 million into our economy.

“These events definitely continue to improve the local economy, injecting millions into the municipality through the significantly increased visitation.”