Coast to benefit from another round of travel scheme

LOCAL businesses are set to benefit from millions of dollars’ worth of tourism boosts after travellers quickly snapped up the latest release of a travel reimbursement scheme.

The state government released a further round of 140,000 vouchers for $200 reimbursements for Victorians who booked in-state travel between April 8 and May 27.

Keen tourists exhausted the allocation within two days of its release last Wednesday.

The program provides a $200 payback for travellers who spend at least $400 on accommodation, tours, experiences and attractions for minimum stays of two nights.

The state government has released several stages of the scheme since late 2020 when it was introduced to entice more Victorians on holidays to support hard-hit visitor-reliant communities and businesses following COVID-19.

The next travel period will coincide with a bumper period for the region, including the Easter period and Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach surfing event next month.

The latest round of travel vouchers provided more than $3 million in estimated tourism dollars for the Surf Coast, Geelong and Bellarine region.

Surf Coast Shire has been among the most popular destinations under previous rounds of the program, with 1676 claims resulting in an estimated spend of $1.92 million.

The City of Greater Geelong council area has also been a hotspot for Victorian travellers, with 1072 claims encouraging an expected $1.21 million outlay.

The government’s Tourism Minister Martin Pakula said he expected the latest round to deliver similar windfalls for local businesses.

“The previous round of the Victorian travel vouchers delivered significant benefits to tourism and hospitality businesses in the Geelong and Surf Coast region,” he said.

“We expect that the current round of vouchers will again support local businesses in the region.”