In contrast, hotel occupancy in Melbourne, which was normally over 90 percent on the eve of the Australian Open, was now around 40 percent, he said.

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The Regional Travel Voucher Program reimburses Victorians for $ 200 or more when they spend $ 400 or more on country accommodations, experiences, tours, or attractions. The first round was so popular that the website crashed. The third round of the program can be registered on March 30th.

Mr Long said Melbourne’s exclusion from the voucher program was a symptom of “pre-COVID thinking” that made it impossible to imagine the city without tourists.

“The people who need [the government’s] Help has never needed your help, ”Long said.

“It is honorable what the Prime Minister has announced to get people moving again, but … just like he wants us to adapt the way we work to a COVID-normal world, the government needs to recognize that some of the Things that they introduce are necessary to change. “

Coupons or no coupons, Melburnians unable to travel overseas after months of lockdown and desperate for a change of scene have flooded the regions since restrictions were eased.

Ms. Mariani said the regional tourism providers still needed the third round of vouchers, especially just before winter, but it was also time for “two-way traffic”.

“We have done a great job getting Melburnians to travel in their own garden,” she said.

“The problem we have is that the greater Melbourne area has really been left in the cold.

“We have great theater products, great experiences, and our restaurants are ready, ready, and able to attract guests. Let’s use them to encourage people from regional Victoria to come to the city. “

Mr Long said weekend business would soon improve and any voucher program should encourage people to come to Melbourne for the traditionally quieter part of the week, Sunday through Thursday.

Ms. Mariani suggested paying for a new city voucher program from tens of millions of dollars earmarked for undistributed pandemic stimuli, The Age announced last week.

“This is a great opportunity to use some of that money to help support a part of the industry that is absolutely on its knees,” she said. “We need Melbourne to recover because Melbourne has always done everything for our tourist performance in Victoria.”

Chris Shorten, the owner and chief pilot of the hot air balloon company Balloon Man, said business has been slowly improving but is still way down on a normal summer. Much of this was due to the absence of international tourists, especially visiting families of foreign students, he said.

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“There are quite a few days when we don’t have passengers, only nothing happens,” he said.

“I think [vouchers] would be a fantastic thing. Tourism in Melbourne is crying out for it. There are many spaces for a campaign. “

New data from Tourism Research Australia showed Melbourne had 143,000 overnight guests last November, an 85 percent decrease from November 2019.

Cr Capp said the city of Melbourne has been “disproportionately” affected by pandemic shutdowns.

“Accommodation providers and businesses that rely on attractions or offer unique tourist experiences have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” she said.

“We support voucher programs to encourage people to spend that will help these industries recover.”

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Zach is a reporter for The Age. Do you have a story Send me an email at zach.hope@theage.com.au

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