Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa Anston Fivaz Food and Beverage Manager and Executive Chef, Rosanna Barthelot Marketing Executive and Joost Heymeijer General Manager

Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa NSW Australia

Five star Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in NSW’s Blue Mountains says inbound visitors are down 30%.

The resort’s General Manager Joost Heymeijer remarked, at a recent Sydney function, "45% of Wolgan’s business should be international but by the end of this financial year it’ll be as little as 15%.

"The resort now solely relies on the domestic market. 85% of our business is local and the largest chunk of that comes out of Sydney," he said.

Wolgan has always been a long term vision of the Emirates-Airline owned resort. The airline has a 50 year commitment to Wolgan with the potential to position it as a top 100 hotel in the world.

"When we wrote the business plan in 2005 we could buy an Australian dollar for 60-65 cents. Now it’s $1.08 and our airports have never been busier with Australians going overseas," Mr Heymeijer said.

This is having a massive impact on the hotel. "In 2004, ‘05 and ‘06 the GFC was nowhere to be seen. When we opened in 2009 we were smack bang in the middle of it. Not only the GFC but the US credit crunch plus European woes will have an ongoing effect on what we do" Mr Heymeijer added.

It will be a challenge, at an all-inclusive $1500 per night, to convince guests to choose the resort over discounted international destinations. Mr Heymeijer explained "a top hotel would cost you $800 or $900 a night, a five star dinner, touring, a show and if you add that all up we are actually cheaper."

People question the value for money, but Mr Heymeijer commented "if you come to Wolgan we’ll prove that to you every single day."

Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa opened in 2009 on what was a 200 year old cattle grazing acreage. Set on 4000 acres the 40 all suite resort, re-certified 100% carbon neutral, is the culmination of USD$130 million investment by Emirates.

"Wolgan’s about engaging in the regions culinary delights, history; stepping in the footsteps of Charles Darwin and 35,000 years Aboriginal culture which we can all celebrate.

"It’s a three dimensional layered product, an intuitive luxury holiday, where guests leave feeling enriched after their stay," said Mr Heymeijer.

Bookings for the resort are available through Leading Hotels of the World, Virtuoso, travel agents or direct.

Reservations: +61 2 9290 9733 Email or visit www.wolganvalley.com