Eden of the East
For a Latrobe business, the opportunity begins after someone decides to visit.
A garden in flower or a nursery worth travelling for may give them the first reason to come. Lunch can extend the day. A local shop can put something of the region in their hands. A museum, event or overnight stay can turn one stop into a fuller experience. Each choice can open another local door.
A New Chapter for Latrobe will bring four regional initiatives together to show how those choices could connect—and how local operators could help shape what visitors discover next.
There is already a substantial market to work with. Tourism Research Australia recorded 18.5 million trips within Australia that included an agritourism activity in 2024. Travellers spent $20.3 billion across those whole trips, including accommodation, meals, transport, shopping and experiences. Almost three in four reached regional Australia.
Victoria received 30 per cent of the country’s trips involving agritourism, the largest state share reported for 2024. These travellers also stayed longer, spent more per trip and took part in more activities than the average traveller.
The agritourism measure covers farms and farm gates, wineries, breweries, distilleries, food markets and Aboriginal food experiences. Botanic and public gardens are measured separately, and visits to them grew 85 per cent between 2014 and 2023. Taken together, the figures point to a clear opening: people are already travelling for food, farms, gardens and regional experiences, and Latrobe can give them a distinctive horticultural reason to choose this region.
The national numbers matter because visitor spending rarely ends at the first stop. Among travellers whose trip included a farm-gate visit, 74 per cent ate at a café or restaurant, 44 per cent shopped for pleasure and 24 per cent visited a botanic or public garden.
Those percentages describe farm-gate trips rather than garden visitors, but the behaviour is useful: one strong experience can lead to several other customer decisions.
Power of Colour is implementing a plan to position Latrobe as a flower, plant and horticultural destination. It aims to connect gardens, growers, nurseries, florists, local products, hospitality, events and regional stories in a way visitors can understand and use.
The Yallourn Botanic Garden and Raising Eden Plant Nursery strategies give the plan a practical centre. The Garden is intended to strengthen the reason to visit. The Nursery explores how that interest can continue through plant discovery, purchases, learning and an ongoing relationship with Latrobe.
From there, the possibilities become tangible. A café can become the place for lunch. A florist, grower or retailer can offer something connected to the season. A museum or event can extend the day. Accommodation can give the visitor another morning in the region. Each worthwhile stop can deepen their familiarity with Latrobe and give them something to return for with someone else.
For that local offer to work in practice, visitors need accurate information, worthwhile choices and simple ways to move from one stop to the next. Businesses need a realistic view of the opportunity and the preparation participation would require.
Local operators understand those conditions. They know what customers ask, which products they can deliver well, where a referral would help and which barriers make participation unrealistic. A nursery might develop a demonstration or seasonal plant offer. A grower or florist might connect a product with an event. A café might become part of a recommended route. Complementary businesses might refer visitors to one another and make the next decision easier.
Early involvement gives those operators a chance to influence the experience before its expectations become fixed. It also leaves every business free to make its own commercial judgement with a clearer understanding of the proposed market and its possible place within it.
The four initiatives being launched at the dinner support that sequence in different ways. Power of Colour supplies the horticultural focus and the reasons to participate. Eden of the East website Version 2 is intended to connect stories, gardens, events and businesses so people can move from interest to a practical next step. Open House Latrobe opens access to places, heritage and regional capability. More Life. It’s Here. places those experiences within a wider regional-development direction.
Together, they can give people a reason to choose Latrobe, make the region easier to discover, connect one worthwhile experience with another and help local businesses decide where they fit.
The dinner will give local operators an early view of the Power of Colour strategy, including the intended roles of Yallourn Botanic Garden and Raising Eden Plant Nursery. Around the shared table, businesses can hear how the plan is designed to work, ask practical questions and consider whether it creates a relevant opportunity for them.
A New Chapter for Latrobe will be held in Yallourn on Thursday 8 October 2026. Arrival begins at 6 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. The $39 ticket includes dinner by That Charcoal Meat Guy and non-alcoholic drinks. Bookings are essential.
The market is already visible. The next task is local: give people a reason to choose Latrobe, make their next stop easy to find and ensure each worthwhile experience points to another. The businesses that enter the conversation now can help shape that sequence—and decide, with clearer evidence, whether and how it could work for them.
Read the current event details and booking information.
Power of Colour
Power of Colour Awards 2026
Power of Colour celebrates Latrobe’s gardens, gardeners and shared creativity through garden visits, awards and community and industry showcases across 14–15 November 2026.
Explore the Power of Colour AwardsSources
- A New Chapter for Latrobe fact ledger
- Owner-reviewed continuous Article page