THE VICTORIAN government should press for more tourism packages to regional areas after Bendigo missed out on emergency support funding, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry says.
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An upper house inquiry has recommended changes on a number of fronts after delving into COVID-19 support packages for the tourism and events industry.
That included in a $1.2 billion program providing 800,000 half-price airfares to select regions hit hardest by the loss of international tourism.
Visit Victoria's chief executive Brendan McClements told the inquiry that any future funding should go to regional destinations in Victoria.
"Yes, we would like to see Mildura included. We have an airport in Bendigo that could have been included, in addition to Avalon and, importantly, Melbourne," he said.
The Victorian government told the inquiry it had already told the federal government it would like to see more regional destinations included in any future programs.
The report made 22 recommendations at a time when the events and tourism sector was still reeling from multiple states' lockdowns.
On the same day the inquiry released its report, Qantas announced it would stand down 2500 workers as it grappled with ongoing lockdowns across three states.
The company said the stand downs could last for two months for some workers because of coronavirus outbreaks in greater Sydney.
Domestic tourism providers told the committee that their work is often "profitless" even in the domestic market, which has been able to make some recovery despite the collapse of international travel.
The pandemic has also exacerbated long standing problems like skills shortages, the inquiry found.
It also found that there were shortcomings in multiple Victorian and national business packages around eligibility that could be fixed.
The inquiry also recommended the state government consider extending funding for outdoor dining packages that many businesses used to get around indoor density limits to continue through to the end of spring.
It found an industry demand given that lockdown rules keep fluctuating.
The Liberals and Nationals published a minority report that agreed with most recommendations but also pushed for decision makers to stop lumping the events and tourism sector together.
The parties argued they both would have different challenges during the rebuild.
They recommended a new government agency be set up to help events of all sizes and instill confidence, as well as a large increase in funding including for sole traders.
Minority report author David Davies also said it was "unfortunate" that the inquiry had not considered rapid COVID-19 testing techniques to help open economies for the tourism and event sectors.
"[This] is an obvious opportunity for staff in the events and tourism sectors to be tested and perhaps patrons, including where known events are able to manage entry through tickets of other means," he wrote.
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