It’s been a funny old week on the Prom Coast, with contrasting perspectives and experiences that sit uneasily alongside talk of a looming global downturn - if some forecasters are to be believed.
It started with an ABC article, whose reporter spoke to a variety of Foster business owners and residents. The article outlined “the ripple effects of the fuel crisis” and how they are “starting to crash into one another.”
That ripple effect seemed far away on the Easter Weekend though, with visitors thronging the streets and pavements and tills ringing from Venus Bay to Yarram.
It might not have been an enjoyable experience for those stuck in traffic north of a lunchtime accident at Lang Lang on the South Gippsland Highway on Good Friday, especially given they were likely watching their fuel gauge deplete in their hour-long wait to pass the clear up. But it was a positive sign that not everything was quite fitting the narrative set out in the ABC piece.
“Thursday was strangely busy for us and it’s not stopped since”, Toora deli owner Stephen Scoglio said.
Speaking on Saturday afternoon, Stephen went on, “We’ve actually done really well. There’s people about, there’s people still travelling, the fuel price has dropped a little so maybe that’s helped.”
Stephen explained the 15% holiday weekend surcharge had not seemed to deter anyone. “No one even mentioned it”, he said.
Down the street at the Toora Lions new premises, things were just as positive.
“We had so many people through the new shop”, Lions president Ray Argento said. Record sales for goods, and sausages flying off the outside barbie, all added to the coffers and the good the Lions achieve through their charitable endeavours.
Back up the South Gippy Highway at Foster, Mark Daldy, owner of The Exchange and The Commercial in Yarram reported, “Both Yarram and Foster have had their busiest Easter weekend ever. Both venues are overflowing, with customers who are a mix of local and visitors enjoying their Easter break.”
“All indications suggest it may flow into the first week of the school holidays”, Mark said, “but it will be the second week that will give us a better indication of what’s to come.”
Looking ahead, he was more cautious.
“We would expect winter to be less vibrant, especially for families juggling cars, kids and mortgages. Two out of three, you’re probably OK - all three, and people may have to make some hard choices around discretionary spending.”
At Tidal River, campsites remained available into the first and second weeks of the holidays, although Parks Victoria reported that roofed accommodation and camps at Tidal River and Bear Gully were fully booked over Easter itself.
Across its bookable camping estate, occupancy sat at 86 per cent, slightly down on 91 per cent in 2025 and 89 per cent in 2024, though figures were compiled prior to the weekend and did not include last-minute bookings.
Even so, some locals noted a difference. Residents along the Meeniyan–Promontory Road reported that the usual constant stream of long weekend traffic heading toward the Prom was noticeably lighter.
That trend appeared to carry through to Fish Creek.
At the Fish Creek Hotel, food bookings were reportedly down 30 per cent on a typical Easter, with fewer Melbourne visitors among the mix of locals and international guests. Manager Claire Willcocks said accommodation, usually booked out across the full holiday period, was sitting at around 40 per cent occupancy for the coming fortnight.
For some city visitors, the Prom, and its gateway at Fish Creek, may have felt just a little too far this time.
Back at Toora and Bryan Watterson’s Cropfest+ was a resounding success with around 170 people turning out for 24 short films produced to celebrate all that is great about living on our patch.
Attendees that came in from as far afield as Melbourne’s inner north said they were happy to pay the extra fuel cost for very special occasions but will be wary of further increases. Another said they had already made their Easter travel plans and were quite prepared to make one more long trip out of the city before things got worse.
The Foster market on Sunday added to the positive signs, recording more than $10,000 at the gate - a new record - while stallholders reported some of their strongest takings to date.
Whether media coverage of economic pressures in Foster prompted people to make the trip and spend locally is impossible to say. But for many businesses, the result was welcome all the same.
What happens next remains uncertain. It remains to be seen what the full impact of events overseas has on the Prom Coast economy. The Easter weekend may just have been a blip, a little ray of light before the storm. It can only be hoped that future long weekends and holidays will see our out of town friends return in their droves to see and spend time in our amazing little corner of the world. David Barrett
