20 January 2020
The Victorian Government has released details of a new initiative that will see more than 115 major organisations hold multi-day stays in bushfire affected areas in regional Victoria.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula today released details of the `Business & Sport for Bushfire Recovery’ program, which has won enthusiastic backing from business chiefs who have pledged to hold meetings, events or conferences in a bushfire-affected region over the next six months and then through the rest of 2020.
More than 115 organisations have already backed the initiative, including the AFL, NAB, Herald & Weekly Times, Collingwood Football Club, Cricket Australia, Crown, Tennis Australia, Alibaba, Swisse, PWC, Bosch Australia and AustralianSuper.
The Government expects more organisations from the corporate, sports and government sectors to take the pledge in coming days to invest their time and money in regional Victoria.
Individuals can also support regional tourism businesses which have suffered a massive hit to their trade in what would normally be their busiest months by exploring a part of Victoria impacted by these fires.
The Government’s tourism and events company, Visit Victoria, will also put in place a range of marketing activities to promote the experiences on offer for visitors to regional Victoria.
High-profile Victorians including Rachel Griffiths, Dave Hughes, Andy Lee and Nick Dal Santo will lead the charge to help regional communities by recording video messages to share with their followers on social media.
In further Government support for tourism operators, Tourism North East and Destination Gippsland will each receive a $200,000 grant to assist with their immediate recovery efforts. This includes support for a dedicated staff member to work directly with operators and coordinate marketing and campaign activities.
For details on how companies can get involved in `Business & Sport for Bushfire Recovery’, go to businesseventsvictoria.com/bushfirepledge. Companies enrolled in the program will be listed on the same page.
Quote attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“These bushfires have devastated communities, with businesses taking a massive hit during what is normally their busiest time of the year – I encourage everyone to follow the lead of these organisations and visit and spend money in these bushfire affected communities.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula
“The days and nights that these groups spend in regional communities will be warmly welcomed and the money that they spend will make a massive difference to the economies of those towns.”
Quote attributable to Bushfire Recovery Victoria chair Ken Lay
“These initiatives are a great start to what will be a long and difficult recovery process for regional tourism businesses.”
