The Victorian Government on 6 June announced a new round of travel vouchers as part of a package of support to boost tourism recovery right across regional Victoria.
Tourism operators in regional areas have been hit particularly hard by the effects of the pandemic. The latest round of regional travel vouchers will encourage Victorians to support attractions and accommodation providers across the state once it is safe to do so, an official press release said.
Victorians will have access to 80,000 regional travel vouchers valued at $200 each to help operators affected by the current restrictions recover strongly.
The $32.2 million Regional Tourism Support Package will also provide accommodation, attraction and experience providers with grant top-ups worth up to $4,500 per business, while alpine businesses will receive up to $15,000 to help them provide a COVIDSafe ski season.
A $16 million investment will fund a fourth release of popular regional travel vouchers—10,000 new vouchers and 70,000 vouchers allocated through previous rounds but not claimed. A release date for the vouchers and travel windows will be advised in due course.
Victorians snapped up 160,000 regional travel vouchers during the first three rounds of the Regional Travel Voucher Scheme and 40,000 for the Melbourne Travel Voucher Scheme. More than 88,000 regional vouchers have been claimed so far, with those travellers injecting an estimated $130 million into local economies.
The travel period for round three of the Regional Travel Voucher Scheme will be extended by three weeks so people whose plans have been affected by the current restrictions can still experience the best of Victoria at a subsidised price.
The Regional Tourism Support Package also provides $11.8 million to support eligible Victorian tourism businesses with grant top-ups for the current Business Costs Assistance Program. This means that all eligible tourism businesses in Victoria will receive a payment of $7,000 under the program.
The Alpine Support Program invests $4.4 million to support Victoria’s alpine resorts as they prepare for the return of skiers and snowboarders. Grants of up to $15,000 will be available for more than 300 businesses including hire outlets, shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and adventure companies at Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller, Mt Stirling, Lake Mountain, Mt Baw Baw and Dinner Plain.
The grants will help businesses cover the costs of re-opening and implementing COVIDSafe measures, including buying equipment and supplies, developing COVIDSafe plans and training staff, as well as defraying everyday costs such as utility bills and rent.
More information about the Regional Tourism Support Package is available at business.vic.gov.au/grants-
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