Australia Weather News

Winter Wonderlights delivered a Christmas in July present to Ballarat tourism, with a 50 per cent increase in visitors to the region during the coldest month of the year.

Tourists flocked to the regional city in record numbers in July — seemingly ignoring its chilly reputation during the winter months — with Business Industry Monitor figures estimating 100,000 visitors for July alone.

Sovereign Hill claimed credit for the increase on the strength of its Winter Wonderlights display, which bathed buildings within the tourist attraction in a kaleidoscope of colours.

"Sovereign Hill has had an amazing success with its Christmas in July Winter Wonderlights event this year," the theme park's chief executive officer Jeremy Johnson said.

"We extended the program out to 30 days, up from 16 last year, to help capture more interstate and international guests."

"Over 95,0000 visitors came to Sovereign Hill for the month. The event broke all records for visitation at what has been a traditionally low period in our annual operations."

The Winter Wonderlights attraction was one element of Ballarat's Winterlude program, which also included participation by Kryal Castle, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (MADE) and the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Visit Ballarat chief executive Noel Dempsey said, far from being frozen out by the city's icy image, visitors seemed to embrace the idea of Ballarat as a winter wonderland.

"These results serve to show us what can be achieved when we think innovatively and combine unique, high-quality events to create something spectacular," Mr Dempsey said.

"Winterlude was about embracing the winter season and inviting others across the country to join us in our celebrations, and it worked," he said.

"This was despite some inclement weather, highlighting the notion that visitors are happy to celebrate the cold."