With the Tasmanian and New South Wales borders set to reopen next week, Victoria could be set for an influx of interstate visitors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said the return of interstate visitors in Victoria is set to be a boost for the state's recovering tourism economy.
She is also hoping Victorians will be keen to explore their own backyard rather than heading interstate for holidays.
More news:
"The key thing is we want to keep Victorians travelling here," she said. "Because there has been so much pent-up demand (for travel), everyone is keen to get out and about.
Ms Mariani said since the easing of travel restrictions between Melbourne and regional Victoria, people had already been keen to travel to all corners of the state.
"Not one tourism board said they are not getting their share," she said. "People getting to all corners and travelling further afield.
"Historically, it has always been (travel) within two hours around Melbourne city halo but people are getting out to Gippsland, the High Country, the Murray River and the Grampians.
"Overnight stays are good. Certainly if you are travelling three to four hours, you'll stay overnight."
NSW is set to reopen its Victorian border on November 23 while Tasmania is expected to deem Victoria low risk and reopen borders on November 27.
Qantas will relaunch Sydney to Bendigo flights from December 7.
Related news:
Ms Mariani said flying into Bendigo from Sydney would be a good option for visitors who want see more of the state.
"That's a huge drawcard. I don't think there is enough awareness of that flight," she said. "I would be flying into Bendigo from Sydney if I wanted to go to the Grampians or cruise along the Great Ocean Road and then fly out of Melbourne.
"Bendigo is a good way to do the western part of the state. There's not enough awareness of how convenient a Bendigo direct service is and it is a great time to pump up the volume for it."
Last week the state government announced a $465 million tourism voucher package that will encourage Victorian's to holiday in regional areas. More details on the scheme are expected to be announced next week.
Ms Mariani was pleased with the announcement but said the tourism sector would need more support to recover fully.
"VTIC pulled together a working group to develop a visitor economy submission to put to the government in June," she said. "In that we asked for $1.3 billion over four years.
"While the announcement of $465 million for regional Victoria was welcome, there is still some work too.
"Significant elements of our plan were not addressed in what was announced. We do need to see the total picture (in the state budget) but there are definitely elements in the recovery plan that remain unaddressed."
Ms Mariani said VTIC would continue to advocate hard for continued investment for the next budget round in May, 2021.
"One of the big omissions was to consider (funding) to focus on airports to help re-attract direct international services at Melbourne an Avalon," she said. "There was also a significant shortfall for business events funding."