Grampians Tourism will be working with Beyond Melbourne to attract thousands of newly arrived international students every year to connect them to authentic nature-based and cultural tourism experiences in Grampians.
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The program is aimed to enhance students' study experience whilst they spend four to five years learning in universities. This means unique visitors and unique visitor experiences to the Grampians region.
Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said in April he had the privilege of welcoming the first international student group back to the Grampians region since March 2020 over the weekend and celebrated a partnership with Joel Thompson and Beyond Melbourne.
"This visit included 50 International University aged students from 16 different nationalities and languages, representing 14 different university campuses across Victoria," he said.
"This amazing program was made possible by the Victorian Governments International Education short term recovery fund and was fully delivered and facilitated by Beyond Melbourne with a focus on connecting to nature and our important cultural experience.
"It was wonderful to have Paul Kelly deliver a Welcome to Country and help educate our international visitors about our important Aboriginal history.
"It was an important recovery milestone for our destination and every student thoroughly enjoyed learning about our amazing First Nations "Gariwerd" Culture."
Mr Sleeman said Beyond Melbourne's international programs were innovative and student-led.
"They bring together international students and regional tourism organisations to plan and participate in cultural explorations in regional Victoria," he said.
"The programs boost student confidence, cultural competence and promote the development of key employability skills such as leadership, communication, creativity and collaboration."
In 2019, Grampians Tourism teamed up with OutBeyond in a new initiative to grow visitation to the region.
OutBeyond's Beyond Melbourne Ambassadors Project is designed to bring hundreds of international students studying in Melbourne universities to the region to participate in outdoor, nature-based, cultural explorations.