He said the state government's announcement on Sunday caught some business off-guard, but he is confident the Grampians can handle the return of metropolitan Melbourne faces.

"The forward bookings for our region are extremely strong right through to Christmas and so the early signs are very positive for the destination," he said.

"It provided a sense of chaos for a lot of our operators and there was a lot of unknowns.

"Because of the changes to a lot of the rules and regulations it has been quite frustrating for some of our operators so we are trying to share the relevant information as it comes to hand.

"The feedback we are getting is that some of our partners weren't prepared for the opening days moving forward and it has got some of the business off-guard a bit.

READ MORE:

"The reality is that there is going to be some business that won't be able to open up and it will be difficult to provide a visitors experience without our full team of businesses open.

"The first couple of weeks are going to be challenging for everyone, but we have got pretty good at being flexible."

Mr Sleeman also said he was confident that the region would continue to record strong visitor numbers as restrictions ease.

"When you compare the first half the year of 2019 to the first half of the year in 2021, the Grampians region had a 40 per cent increase in visitor expenditure and a 11 per cent increase in visitor nights in region," he said.

"We led the state on both of those metrics.

OTHER NEWS:

"History shows us that once Melbourne heads out our occupancy levels go up to about the 80 per cent mark and with our visitors and day-trippers we expect strong numbers from now right up until the end of the summer school holidays in 2022.

"I have full confidence in all our businesses that they will be able to follow the rules and regulations and provide a positive experience, but that doesn't devoid the fact that it is going to be challenging for the first few weeks.

"We are doing everything in our power to make sure everyone is armed with the most up to date information."

Grampians Tourism and a suite of government bodies held an information session earlier in October, with the industry forum focused on reopening the tourism industry to visitors.

As regional Victoria opens to Melbourne and restrictions ease, there is a greater chance of COVID spreading around the state.

Stawell Regional Health chief executive Kate Pryde said her service are prepared for anything that is to come.

"With any reduction in restrictions and increased mingling comes increased risk," she said.

"All the risk mitigation plans that are in place will be key to managing any potential exposures and then it's about testing early if you have any symptoms.

"Of course it's a great thing to see movement again - supporting families and friends coming together- and businesses in the region reopening and showcasing what the region has to offer

"As a health service we remain ever ready to support our community in the event of any exposure sites being identified or local outbreaks."

If you can see this message, you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Stawell Times-News, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and for allowing us to continue telling Stawell's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.