Victoria’s tourism operators are requesting the federal government add four more regional airports, including Tullamarine, to the $1.2 billion federal tourism rescue package.
In a co-signed letter to federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan, the operators said they are “deeply disappointed” with the fact that Avalon remains the only Victorian airport in the rescue package so far and calls on the federal governments to add Tullamarine, Albury, Bendigo, and Mildura airports to the package.
“The vast majority of regional Victoria missed out—and disproportionately—compared with regional areas in other parts of the country,” the tourism operators said.
The operators argued that their businesses were still severely impacted by the loss of both domestic and international tourists due to the border closures, with a 98 percent decline year-on-year of international passengers through Melbourne airport.
“Not only does most of regional Victoria miss out under the current design, but the unintended consequences of this initiative is we become a source market for other states and territories,” they said.
The program will be launched in Cairns this week, with Tourism Australia meeting with local operators and industry to discuss details.
“Every dollar spent on a holiday in Australia is a dollar that supports tourism jobs and businesses, so we want people to book their holiday through a travel agent, stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and try tourism experiences.”
The size of the package has met with criticism from both Flight Centre’s managing director Graham Turner and the tourism industry.
