Thousands of the Victorian Government's first tranche of the travel voucher scheme have proved to be very 'helpful' to the Grampians region, but there is another challenge waiting for operators.
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Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said further rounds of the tourism vouchers would be vital to help the region fight its next challenge.
"Traditionally we would have international tourists in our region during this time, that is not happening at the moment," he said.
"So we will be down 57,000 visitors in terms of our traditional international visitors, so these vouchers will help fill some of that international gap.
"The next tranche of travel vouchers will help support that gap of international visitors and help continue that strong flow of recovery for our region."
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Mr Sleeman said the early rounds of the voucher incentive had given operators a big boost.
"The travel vouchers have definitely helped and they have been a component of that overall recovery strategy," he said.
"We have seen some operators from around the region, that they have seen some new bookings due to the voucher system, which is really positive.
"Our region has maintained a really strong occupancy level post-COVID, so we are still seeing even after school holidays, really strong visitation levels in the region and the travel vouchers have helped to keep that level quite high and kept the recovery continuing."
Mr Sleeman said the region was now preparing for the next wave of tourists, which will help fill the international shortfall.
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"Easter is traditionally the busiest weekend of the year, and most of our accommodation providers are seeing strong bookings, but there are some gaps there," he said.
"We will be continuing the messaging of come to the Grampians and with a month still to go, our region will be full and ready to go at Easter."
The Northern Grampians ranked just outside the top ten most popular regions in the state to use the first tranche of the vouchers, with the Mornington Peninsula and the Bass Coast the most popular.
According to figures compiled by the Herald Sun, 52,000 vouchers have been used across the state, with $85 million dollars was spent in the first round of vouchers and 1775 used in the Northern Grampians.
The first two rounds of the Regional Travel Voucher Scheme have been exhausted, but a third-round has been opened with the program proving so popular.
Applications for the third round of the vouchers opens on March 30, with an eligible travel period between April 6 and May 31.
Victorians who receive a voucher and spend at least $400 on paid accommodation, experiences, tours or attractions during their stay will be eligible to receive a reimbursement of $200 on the presentation of receipts.
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