Aussie tourism businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will get a $30 million shot in the arm thanks to travel experience company Travello.
The company is funding more than 600,000 vouchers worth $50 each as part of its Holiday Cash Giveaway tourism stimulus initiative to encourage people to support local tourism operators.
The campaign is focused on youth travellers (18 to 35 years old), and Travello estimates the stimulus will put $100 million directly into the pockets of tourism operators receiving bookings under the initiative, in addition to funds flowing to local communities, accommodation providers and transport services.
Aussies can choose from over 1,000 travel experiences from around the country including skydives, food and wine tours and bridge climbs, as well as ‘bucket list’ adventures like diving with whale sharks in WA’s Ningaloo Reef, tours of Kakadu National Park, and scenic flights over Australian icons like the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru.
“With borders closed and stop-start lockdowns interrupting business, tourism operators are doing it tough,” Travello CEO and co-founder Ryan Hanly said.
“The lack of international tourists and the Australian tendency to ‘fly and flop’, rather than jump on tours and activities, has made recovery difficult for the local tourism industry.
“Further to that, the recent Federal Budget did little to help smaller operators and many are now very close to closing down and have very little voice in the recovery discussion. The Holiday Cash Giveaway is our contribution to change that.”
Hanly said Travello is covering the entire cost of the voucher scheme so that participating tourism operators can gain maximum benefit from the campaign. Aussies will have one month to book their experience; however, there are no restrictions when they can travel.
The new initiative comes not long after Travello raised more than $6.5 million to fuel further growth and capture “pent-up Millennial demand for travel experiences”.
