Time to travel: Tourists could flock to places like Billabong Ranch, where Jack Acquisto loved his pony ride with Blake Cameron leading.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The popular Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme returns on Wednesday, with 140,000 vouchers up for grabs.
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Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula on Tuesday confirmed the fourth round of the scheme would go live at 2pm Wednesday, March 23. Vouchers will be issued on a first come, first served basis.
The Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme, funded by the Victorian Government, provides successful applicants with a $200 reimbursement when expenses of more than $400 are incurred across accommodation, attraction and experiences.
Kathryn Mackenzie said previous travel voucher schemes prompted many tourists to visit the Echuca-Moama region.
“We do know that it drove visitation to our region because we saw people taking their receipts home,” Ms Mackenzie said.
Pushing for tourists: Community members hope the new Victorian travel voucher scheme can drive tourists to visit popular destinations across Echuca-Moama.
Photo by
Vivienne Duck
She said the incentives behind the scheme would help the community bounce back after the pandemic, but there was still a way to go.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. We would need to have consistent cash flow coming into businesses to build back to where where we were prior to the pandemic,” she said.
She hopes tourists will not be deterred by the cooler weather coming through in the next few months.
“We’re seen as probably more of a summer river destination, but what people don’t understand is that we have some amazing events right throughout the year,” she said.
“We’re a beautiful winter destination.”
Vouchers are limited to one per household. To be eligible, travellers must stay in paid accommodation including hotels, motels, serviced apartments, caravan parks and campsites for a minimum of two consecutive nights.
Those that secure a voucher can claim expenses incurred during the program travel period of April 8 and May 27, 2022.
Ms Mackenzie said there was something for everyone in our region, which she hoped would encourage people to come and visit.
“We are really spoilt for choice in our region. We’ve got wonderful accommodation and we have such a large range of eateries,” she said.
“Every weekend when you look at what’s on, all of the pubs have music gigs and all of our galleries have exhibitions running.”
The 140,000 vouchers to be released are in addition to the 10,000 travel vouchers made available exclusively to eligible seniors via a ballot last week, with 34,047 eligible applications made.
To date, more than $159 million has been spent under the Victorian travel voucher program on accommodation, tours and experiences across the state.
“Our state has some of the best destinations and attractions in the world and we’re encouraging Victorians to discover something new and also support local businesses and jobs,” Mr Pakula said.
“Victorians have embraced travel vouchers, and this fourth round of the program gives them another chance to experience the best our state has to offer.”
To apply for a Victorian travel voucher when applications open, visit vic.gov.au/business-stimulus-package
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