And visitor number continue to grow
By PAM ZIERK-MAHONEY
Victoria’s alpine resorts are taking centre stage this winter, with snow featuring more prominently than ever in Visit Victoria’s new winter campaign, Come Winter in Victoria.
As part of Victoria’s Every bit different brand platform, it highlights the experiences that make a Victorian winter unlike anywhere else.
For the alpine resorts, it is some of the strongest snow exposure the sector has seen, helping create awareness and showcase the mountains as a must-visit part of Victoria’s winter story.
Mt Buller has been featured on television, showing the great times to be had when visiting the mountain for either day trips or longer stays.
And with more fresh snow over the past week, Mt Buller and Mt Stirling visitor numbers have continued to rise.
At the conclusion of week nine on Sunday 2 August, Mt Buller saw 28,516 visitors for the week, bringing the year-to-date figure to 164,473, down by only five per cent from the previous year.
The increase in numbers has seen mountain staff and stakeholders much happier than earlier in the season, when visitor numbers were down by some 44 per cent.
Mt Stirling visitors also increased to 1266 for the week, with 3026 recorded for the 2026 season so far.
However, with snowfalls mainly on the higher slopes, Mt Stirling statistics are still down by about 50 per cent compared with the 2025 season due to poor snow coverage.
Visitor-day figures show that many of the visitors arriving at Buller are staying longer, with more than 247,500 visitor days recorded from 41,936 visitors, many staying for more than one night.
Compared with the other five Victorian ski resorts, Mt Buller and Mt Stirling are still faring well.
Mt Hotham statistics show that some 3000 fewer visitors arrived there, with 25,012 recorded, while Falls Creek is about 10,000 below Mt Buller, sitting at 18,513.
Lake Mountain has recorded only 6562 visitors, while Mt Baw Baw has recorded 3941.
All resorts are recording lower numbers than the 2025 season, which is expected due to the low snowfalls, with the exception of Mt Hotham, which has bucked this season’s trend, recording an increase of some 54 per cent compared with the same time the previous year.
With the Interschools now underway and more events still coming to Mt Buller, visitors are expected to flock to the mountain over the next few weeks as snowfalls continue to boost the depth of coverage and more lifts open as the terrain gains better coverage.
The 2026 snow season is expected to continue through until the first week in October.
