Victorian alpine businesses pinning hopes on strong tourism season

Jake Greaves and some of his 76 huskies at Dinner Plain in Victoria's Gippsland region. (Supplied: Jake Greaves)

As snow falls across Victoria's alpine regions, businesses that haven't had a good season in two years are finally seeing a glimmer of hope. 

It's been a tough time for many operators, including Jake Greaves, who runs Howling Husky Sled Dog Tours at Mt Hotham, Dinner Plain and Mt Baw Baw.

"Two seasons ago was just non-existent so then we pushed our hopes to the following year, but with all the [COVID-19] shutdowns that happened really knocked us about a lot," he said.

It came on the back of bushfires that destroyed the kennels and yards at his property at Swifts Creek near Omeo. Luckily, the dogs had been moved to safety.

Jake Greaves has been busy training his dogs in the warmer months to be ready for winter. (Supplied: Jake Greaves)

"We're pretty excited to have a good year this year so that we can get some funds in the bank to finish rebuilding our kennels and get some better yards," Mr Greaves said.

"That's pretty much our biggest goal for this season: to come out with a few dollars to build new yards for dogs."

Mr Greaves said he has made the difficult decision to scale back operations this year and focus on Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham, which are within driving distance of his property. He also has two shorter visits planned to Mt Baw Baw.

"We've got to really watch our overheads," he said.

"It costs us a lot of money to be [at Mt Baw Baw] because it's over five hours from our home so we have to move there, house all the dogs."

He also has a contingency plan if the snowfalls don't meet expectations.

"We're just hoping to get good visitation and lots of people that are keen to get to the alpine resorts and support small businesses of all kinds up there."

Hope for 'crazy-busy' days to return

While some ski fields are bringing forward their opening, the ski lifts will not start spinning at Mt Baw Baw until June 11.

Mt Baw Baw in Gippsland has seen good snow in recent days. (Supplied: Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort)

At Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort, recruitment of staff has been more challenging than usual but spokesman Amon Bradshaw said the business was ready for a busy season.

"We really miss those crazy-busy days that we've had in seasons like 2019, with a lot of people, at full capacity," he said.

"It's challenging for the staff but it's also really, really fun seeing the village full.

"Then in future seasons we can look at building again and growing, like Mount Baw Baw was in the past."