The government of Queensland will hand out 15,000 travel vouchers

Monday, March 8, 2021

The government of Queensland will hand out 15,000 travel vouchers. They’re worth up to $200 each. It’s an attempt of the government to motivate the domestic tourism sector of Queensland and drive the Covid-19 recovery of the state.

The premier of the state, Annastacia Palaszczuk, declared on Sunday about the voucher scheme, as Queensland once again recorded no new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.

The vouchers will be able to be used in the far north of Queensland including the Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas and Cairns, till the end of June, 2021, covering the Easter holidays.

“We know that the people in the far north, especially the tourism industry, are doing it tough,” she told reporters.

“We have decided that we want to make sure that people across Queensland get to enjoy tropical far north Queensland, but most importantly, let’s help people who need help the most.” The locals will need to enter a ballot to obtain one of the vouchers.

The Palaszczuk government has repeatedly requested the federal government to extend their financial support to tourism beyond the end of jobkeeper at the end of March.

The government has been tossing with many ideas that would provide a targeted support package for the sector, but has to make any declaration yet.

The call of Palaszczuk government for an extension of the wage subsidy for tourism operators was censured by her counterparts in southern states, with NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian explaining that the state had turned a victim of border close downs.

Queensland’s initiation to introduce vouchers follows similar schemes introduced by New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

The scheme of NSW gives $100 per person for meals, zoo visits, movies, and many more. Since early February, it has been running, targeting majorly hit areas, where tourism and related businesses suffered like anything.

The NSW scheme relies on residents spending at registered venues. By the start of the second stage of the program in late February, only 3,500 businesses had registered.

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