Situated on the picturesque Gippsland Lakes, Peels Cruises has operated sightseeing tours on the region’s waterways for four generations.
And with Easter approaching, the business is gearing up for its busiest time of year.
But as fuel prices continue to rise, operator Amanda Peel is concerned travellers will stay away.
“People might want to [travel], but they’ve got to balance whether that extra $20, $30, $50 in fuel can be spread around a little bit further,” she said.
“Hopefully people do still come down here but we certainly understand it’s tough.”
The Australian Institute of Petrol has found that over the past week, the national average petrol price has risen 17 cents to $1.98 a litre.
In parts of Victoria, motorists are paying as much as 229.9 cents for a litre of unleaded.
The uncertainty created by the conflict in the Middle East is the latest blow for the regional tourism industry, following years of fires and floods and the pandemic.
“Every blow that you have, especially in tourism, just puts you back a bit,” Ms Peel said.
“So any blow to numbers is really tough. You’ve still got to maintain your boats, you’ve still got to fuel the boats up.”
She said increased petrol prices would hit her business’s margins and could “be a real problem” if the surge continued.
Effects to be felt across Victoria
The pressure on travellers and tourism operators extends beyond Lakes Entrance.
Australian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Erin McLeod said the effects of higher petrol prices would be felt across regional Victoria.
“Drive tourism is really the backbone of many regional destinations,” Ms McLeod said. Â
Erin McLeod says the tourism sector was the “last to recover” from global disruptions. (Supplied: Australian Tourism Industry Council)
“When we see fuel costs rising, that means people are having to make a decision as to what they’re going to do with their travel plans.”
She said while people would still take holidays, their behaviour could change as a result of higher prices.
“Our industry is one of the first to be impacted by global matters and often the last to recover as well,” she said.
“It might not be that they necessarily don’t travel; but what we can see is perhaps shorter trips or they might stay closer to home.”
Caravan industry noticing change
Victoria’s caravan industry agreed higher fuel prices would affect tourism.
But Caravan Industry Victoria chief executive Daniel Salberg said while prices were on travellers’ minds, most people were adjusting their trips rather than cancelling them.
“Regional tourism thrives upon it [caravans], with 91 per cent of all trips going regional but I think people will just adjust their trips and what they do,” Mr Salberg said.
Daniel Sahlberg says caravanners are organising shorter trips, closer to home, due to rising fuel prices. (Supplied: Caravan Industry Victoria)
“The summer period is the highest, so it makes up about 60 per cent over the Christmas period, followed by about 38 per cent over the Easter period.
“People are doing more trips, but shorter trips, so within two hours of their current locations or their home location seems to be the norm now,” he said.