Plea to lift restrictions

“WE’VE got all the contact tracing in place, we do the temperature testing; they need to let people go.”

Portarlington Beach Hotel manager Darren Hellmann says the Bellarine needs Melbourne visitors so that local hospitality providers can start seeing a positive future.

Mr Hellmann said the Melbourne travel restrictions and the cancellation of the National Celtic Festival had resulted in a loss of about $20,000 across the past two weekends for the accommodation provider.

“We were fully booked from Friday to Sunday for the Celtic Festival and they were all cancelled,” he said.

Mr Hellmann said he went to social media to promote Portarlington and accommodation availability last week after the cancellations, but just a couple of rooms were booked across the weekend.

He said the hotel offered discounted prices to regional Victorians in the hope of filling its 16 rooms and apartment but without success, and it was “very quiet” despite unusually good weather for the winter holiday weekend.

Mr Hellmann said he had applied for financial support through the state government’s Regional Tourism Support Package but he would have to wait and see how much the business could recoup from the long weekend losses.

“I’m scared to think how much the town has lost; even the footy got cancelled,” he said.

Mr Hellmann said restrictions needed to ease and people needed to be able to make plans.

He said the Bellarine had great wineries and restaurants, and he expected initiatives such as the state government’s Regional Travel Vouchers would provide a welcome boost, provided restrictions lifted

The state government has confirmed a further 80,000 Regional Travel Vouchers, valued at $200 each, will be available after restrictions have eased.

Visitors to the region will be able to use the vouchers for reimbursement for the cost of accommodation, tours and attractions.

“We had a steady influx of people using the vouchers (following the previous release),” Mr Hellmann said.

“And if restrictions ease enough that the ferry can be back operating, that will help the wineries and restaurants.

“That’s another piece of the puzzle. That all needs to happen; it needs to happen soon.”

Mr Hellmann said there had been talk of the Celtic Festival being rescheduled, which would be good for community, and Bellarine tourism businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions could be eligible for the financial support through the Regional Tourism Support Package, which includes a Business Costs Assistance Program Tourism Supplement.

Businesses should head to the Business Victoria website to check eligibility.