The Queensland The government will hand out 15,000 travel vouchers, valued at up to $ 200 each, to boost domestic tourism and fuel the recovery of the Covid-19 state.

Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the voucher program on Sunday as the state again recorded no new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.

The vouchers can be used for the Easter break in the far north of Queensland – including the Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas and Cairns – until the end of June.

“We know that people in the far north, especially the tourism industry, have a hard time,” she told reporters.

“We decided that we wanted to make sure that people across Queensland can enjoy the tropical north of Queensland. Most importantly, we help people who need it most.”

BREAKING: 15,000 travel vouchers worth up to $ 200 are available for Queenslanders to explore Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Visit from tomorrow https://t.co/RF4sDqn8Hw Register for your special voucher code that you can spend on tourist experiences in the tropical north. pic.twitter.com/acso3FArRr

– Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) March 6, 2021

Residents must cast a ballot to receive one of the vouchers.

The government of Palaszczuk has repeatedly demanded that the federal government support the tourism industry financially beyond the end of the employment relationship at the end of March.

The government has considered providing a targeted support package for the industry but has yet to make an announcement.

Palaszczuk’s call for wage subsidies for tourism companies to be expanded has been criticized by her colleagues in the southern states. NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the state has fallen victim to its own strict border closings.

Queensland’s move to introduce coupons follows similar schemes founded by New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

NSW’s program provides $ 100 per person for meals, movies, zoo visits, and more in certain areas. It has been running since early February and is targeting hard-hit areas where tourism has suffered or business activity has declined.

The NSW system relies on spending by residents in registered locations. At the beginning of the second phase of the program at the end of February, only 3,500 companies had registered.

The South Australian program offers $ 100 vouchers for CBD accommodation in Adelaide and $ 50 vouchers for regional and suburban accommodation. The second round was very popular. About 75,000 coupons were collected in 40 minutes, and South Australian Tourism Commission executive Rodney Harrex said the website received 112,000 requests per minute at peak times.

“In the first hour of the program, Southaustralia.com received 3.1 million requests – a very strong indication that the vouchers were in high demand and that South Australians are keen to support our state’s tourism sector,” he said.

Victoria’s program, which is in its third phase, offers $ 200 for regional holidays.

The program encountered some difficulties early on. When the first vouchers were published in late December, the state government’s website crashed.

The vouchers in the second round – a total of about 40,000 – were allocated within 30 minutes. The next round starts on March 30, 2021 at 10 a.m.

The voucher programs were welcomed by the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the loss of international arrivals and constant border closings.

Mark Olsen, executive director of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, said the program, announced on Sunday, would raise $ 14 million for the region.

“That’s because all of the Australians who have shown up since the borders were closed, these first-time visitors and ‘not long-term workers’, absolutely loved their experience in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef,” said Olsen.

The Queensland program will open to ballot papers between March 8th and 11th. The vouchers can be used from March 15th to June 25th.

The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory also offer voucher programs.

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