Overview
For much of the past two years, Victorians — and Melburnians in particular — have been asked to stay at home. But when lockdown conditions haven't been in effect, the State Government has taken the exact opposite approach. With the tourism industry doing it tough during the pandemic, a number of initiatives have popped up to encourage folks to head out of the house on local getaways, with free money given away as incentives — and the new Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme is the latest.
As it has done several times before, the Victorian Government is giving away $200 vouchers, this time to folks travelling anywhere in the state. This round was announced back in February, and will open at 2pm AEDT on Wednesday, March 23. And, based on previous voucher drops, and the fact that it's a first in, first served affair, getting in quickly is highly recommended.
A whopping 140,000 vouchers will be made available as part of this $30 million round, all worth $200 each. You'll need to use them for travel this autumn, between Friday, April 8–Friday, May 27 — and, to get the cash back, you'll need to spend $400 on eligible tourism and travel related services, which span paid accommodation, tours and experiences. That means that, at most, half of your expenses will be covered; however, that's still $200 that you won't have to fork out yourself.
You'll also need to book in for a two-night stay at a minimum — again, in paid accommodation. Also, these vouchers are being released per household (not per person), with one available to each across the entire scheme.
Peter Tarasiuk, Visit Victoria
As every initiative like this has since the beginning of the pandemic, the Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme once again has two obvious aims: enticing Victorian residents to go venturing throughout the state, and helping support pubs, hotels, wineries and small businesses.
In the past, the vouchers have been able to be used on holiday parks, camping sites, cottages, farm stays, private holiday rentals, houseboats (yes, houseboats), winery tours, adventure tours and entry fees to regional attractions, such as museums, water parks and adventure parks.
While the full rundown for this drop hasn't yet been released, there is always a hefty list of things that you can't spend these State Government vouchers on, too, including gaming, alcohol, fuel, food and drinks (unless it's part of a winery tour, for example), groceries, personal items (such as clothing) and transport (such as rental cars and public transport).
So, you can't use the voucher just to take a road trip to a pub, for instance. That said, you can use it to book accommodation at the pub, then spend your own money on food and drinks — which will still make your trip away significantly cheaper.
Visit Victoria
Again, getting in asap is recommended — when the first two rounds of vouchers became available, they were snapped up quickly, so much so that another 30,000 were released after the first set to meet demand. The third round also unsurprisingly proved popular, as did a separate batch just for metropolitan Melbourne stays.
As part of a broad stimulus package to encourage Victorians to get out and about, and to pump cash into the local economy, more free money is up for grabs right now if you're eating out in Melbourne — thanks to the Midweek Melbourne Money program.
Also on the way: a new $30 million entertainment voucher scheme for discounted tickets to the cinema, theatre shows, live music gigs and exhibitions, plus conferences and other events. It's currently expected to kick off on Tuesday, March 29.
The Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme opens at 2pm AEDT on Wednesday, March 23, with 140,000 vouchers up for grabs for travel between Friday, April 8–Friday, May 27. For more information, head to the Victorian Government website.
Top image: Visit Victoria.