Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan
The Victorian Government will help revitalise and grow Victorian tourism after the impacts of bushfires and the global pandemic, with a roadmap outlined in the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan.
The Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan is underpinned by an investment of $633 million and serves as a whole-of-state strategy, with a goal of achieving $35 billion in annual visitor expenditure supporting 300,000 jobs by June 2024.
Informed by the findings of the Regional Tourism Review, the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan will strengthen the state’s nation-leading tourism offering through the development of new experiences, products and infrastructure.
The plan outlines strategies to attract more international, interstate and intrastate visitors by making the most of marketing expenditure, transforming Regional Tourism Boards and ensuring state-wide collaboration. The Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan can be viewed in the document below:
- Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan Visitor Economy Recovery Reform Plan (PDF 3238.43 KB)
- Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan - accessible version Visitor Economy Recovery Reform Plan (DOCX 500.85 KB)
Experience Victoria 2033
Experience Victoria 2033 is a strategic plan that aims to shape the future of Victoria’s visitor economy over the next 10 years.
Continuing the successful delivery of the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan, it aims to stimulate private and public investment, to ensure Victoria continues to offer visitors spectacular experiences.
Informed by extensive consultation with tourism industry and stakeholders, the plan reflects the sector’s experience and ambitions for the future.
The plan will strengthen Victoria’s enviable tourism offering by leveraging the state’s competitive advantages, which are defined through the plan’s product priorities:
- Wellness
- Arts and Culture
- First Peoples-led experiences
- Food and Drink
- Nature
The plan provides long-term direction to industry and tourism investors to keep our visitor economy competitive and resilient.
It also focuses on key priorities that will support the tourism industry to deliver service excellence including workforce and skills shortages, investing in new and innovative tourism products, and engaging local communities.
The Experience Victoria 2033 strategic plan can be viewed in the documents below.
- Experience Victoria 2033 Experience Victoria 2033 web (PDF 6950.47 KB)
- Experience Victoria 2033 - accessible version Experience Victoria 2033.docx (DOCX 419.11 KB)
Small and Medium Events Program
A massive line-up of events is coming to Greater Melbourne, set to attract more visitors, boost employment, and support local businesses.
As part of the Small and Medium Events Program, 122 event organisers have been approved to share in almost $3 million funding to deliver events between 1 June and 31 December.
The line-up will appeal to music, sport, culture and arts fans, ensuring that our suburbs are buzzing, and our events industry workers are busy.
For a list of events visit: Small and Medium Events Program grant recipients.
Greater Melbourne Tourism Recovery Forum - Workshop Report
The Report outlines a future vision that will help guide the recovery of local tourism businesses and communities across greater Melbourne. Following extensive consultation through industry workshops and interviews, the report was developed to reflect the experiences of the greater Melbourne tourism industry.
The Report identifies opportunities and contains recommendations that government and industry can work together to implement to support a thriving greater Melbourne.
Click below to view the full report.
- Greater Melbourne Tourism Recovery Forum Workshop Report Greater_Melbourne_Tourism_Recovery_Forum_Workshop_Report.pdf (PDF 206.65 KB)
- Greater Melbourne Tourism Recovery Forum Workshop Report - accessible version Greater_Melbourne_Tourism_Recovery_Forum_Workshop_Report_accessible_version.docx (DOCX 58.01 KB)
Regional Tourism Review
The Regional Tourism Review was commissioned to ensure our regions get the support and opportunities they need to grow tourism across regional Victoria.
The findings and recommendations of the Regional Tourism Review were provided in December 2019. The findings were reviewed to ensure they remained current following the 2019-20 summer bushfires and then later incorporated in the development of the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the visitor economy across the state.
The complete findings of the Regional Tourism Review are detailed in the document below:
Enabling Tourism Fund
The Enabling Tourism Fund supports regional and rural Victorian tourism projects to reach investment-ready status.
Thirty-three new tourism projects have received more than $7.4 million to carry out activities that will advance planning for new attractions around the state. Activities include feasibility studies, master planning and business case development.
The projects will strengthen Victoria’s tourism offering and boost private investment by enticing more visitors to the region, employing more people and accelerating the recovery of the tourism sector.
The Enabling Tourism Fund is helping revitalise and grow Victoria’s tourism industry and is a key part of the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan.
Regional Tourism Investment Fund
Applications for the Regional Tourism Investment Fund are now closed.
The Fund will support new and innovative tourism infrastructure projects that will increase visitation, drive private investment, and deliver more jobs.
This investment will help revitalise and grow Victoria’s visitor economy and is a key part of the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan. The fund provides grants up to $10 million per project, with a minimum funding amount of $150,000 per project, focussing on four growth sectors identified in the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan – nature, epicurean, arts and culture, and First Peoples’ led experiences.
Visit the Business Victoria website for more information.
Flagship tourism projects
Ten projects in regional Victoria have been identified as iconic projects, receiving dedicated funding to improve visitor experiences at these locations via the Victorian Budget 2020-21.
The projects are:
- Wilsons Promontory Revitalisation
- Great Ocean Road Revitalisation
- Mallee Silo Art Trail
- Maximising investment in the Grampians Peaks Trail
- Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing: Stage 1
- Murray River Adventure Trail
- Gippsland Tourism Recovery Package
- Brambuk Cultural Centre Revitalisation
- Ballarat Centre for Photography
- Prosecco Road – Early Works.
Regional Tourism Investment Fund - Stimulus Round
Many of the funds and initiatives outlined in the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan are already in the early stages of delivery and generating immediate economic benefits.
The $46 million Regional Tourism Investment Fund - Stimulus Round focuses on 30 key local projects that will create immediate jobs in construction and drive visitation and ongoing employment.
A complete list of projects supported by the Fund’s stimulus round is detailed in the document below:
Page last updated: 20 September 2023