Extra batch of regional Victoria travel vouchers up for grabs

Victorians are eagerly waiting to snap up the extra 30,000 regional travel vouchers set to be released on the Business Victoria website at 12pm.

The website issues, where an “Internal Server Error” surfaced within 30 seconds of when Victorians attempted to log on to the website, meant people struggled to apply all day, until the coupon allocation became exhausted in the mid-evening.

Heavy demand also saw the ‘apply now’ button removed, as the website battled to cope with the onslaught of traffic.

Business Victoria on Saturday said the additional 30,000 vouchers would be made available as a “show of good faith” following the website chaos.

“Vouchers will be made available to Victorians as a show of good faith after heavy demand for the Regional Travel Voucher Scheme … caused long delays for people planning summer trips to regional Victoria,” a government spokesperson said.

There are now 150,000 travel vouchers up for grabs in total across three separate rounds.

The coupons are allocated on a “first come, first serve basis”, so people have been urged to get in quick to avoid missing out.

The vouchers can be used in all of regional Victoria, plus the Yarra Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula, from December 12 until May next year.

In order to be eligible, Victorians must spend $400 or more on accommodation, tourism attractions or tours, and book at least two nights of paid accommodation in the specified periods.

The $28 million scheme is open to Victorian residents aged 18 or over and vouchers are restricted to one per household.

“It is the perfect opportunity to enjoy an extra nights’ accommodation on a weekend getaway or to experience one of our many tours and attractions,” Tourism Minister Martin Pakula said.

“A bit more money in people’s pockets means they can see more and do more in regional Victoria – helping local businesses and the people and communities they support to bounce back.”

The additional batch of the first round of vouchers, available from 12pm today, will cover travel periods from December 12 until January 22.

The second round, available on January 20, will cover travel between January 27 and April 1.

The third round, available on March 30, will apply to travel between April 6 and May 31.

Any vouchers not used in the first two rounds will be added to the third round.