Tourism operators are reporting their busiest Easter weekend in three years as another round of travel vouchers are being offered to senior Victorians.
A further 10,000 vouchers worth $200 each are being issued to senior travellers who spend at least $400 on accommodation, tours and experiences across the state.
The Victorian government scheme aims to help the entertainment, dining, and travel industries recover from two years of COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures.
The vouchers will be given to senior Victorians who applied for the last round of the scheme.
Regional Development Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said there were more than 35,000 applications under the first round of the Seniors Travel Voucher scheme in March.
"I would recommend that any senior Victorian who made application through our ballot process for a travel voucher check their email today and see if they are indeed a recipient of these additional vouchers that have been made available," Ms Thomas said.
The government said the Victorian and Seniors Travel Voucher Scheme had so far injected $159 million dollars into the state's economy.
"It's a really great time with school holidays upon us to take the opportunity perhaps to get out with grandchildren and spend some time with them and, importantly, take the opportunity to have a couple of nights away," Ms Thomas said.
Victoria Tourism Industry chief executive Felicia Mariani said offering another round of vouchers to seniors would be particularly helpful as the industry entered the quieter, post-Easter period and headed into winter.
"These vouchers at this point in time are incredibly useful because they really do help to encourage visitation when the industry needs it the most," Ms Mariani said.
Bumper Easter weekend but staff shortages continue to plague the tourism industry
While figures are yet to be official collated, Ms Mariani said Victorian tourism operators were reporting their busiest Easter since the pandemic began.
She attributed the recovery to Victorians wanting to travel "in their own backyard" and an influx of interstate visitors attracted by the return of major events.
"But everyone is a bit wary that we are heading into winter and we all know that winter is the hardest time when it comes to what we've experienced with COVID."
Ms Mariani said demand was not an issue for the industry now that there was no longer a threat of lockdowns or snap border closures.
She said finding enough staff continued to be the main hurdle to recording a full recovery.
"We've seen that manifested over the last week with the scenes at both Sydney Airport and Melbourne Airport and this is a chronic problem across the whole country. This is not endemic to Victoria," she said.
Ms Mariani called for the formation of an industry body involving operators who could work with state and federal governments on solutions.
"A lot of the issues to resolve this matter are not levers that the state government can pull," she said.
"They are levers relating to federal government ruling over immigration, over skilled migration visas, over international students, over backpackers and the numbers of those cohorts that are able to enter the country."
