1 May, 2018

Victoria’s big boost to tourism and events

Today the Victorian Government announced its support for tourism and events with a significant investment from the 2018/19 Victorian State Budget that will continue to strengthen the rapidly growing visitor economy.

Since Visit Victoria was established on 1 July 2016 the company has worked tirelessly to shift the dial on the visitor economy by renewing critical marketing activity internationally, nationally and within the State, as well as embarking on an ambitious strategy to acquire the world’s best events and with the latest results showing double-digit visitor growth rates outpacing every other State – it’s clear that the strategy is working.

Building on the previous funding received, which provided a significant and ongoing boost for major events, the Victorian Budget 2018/19 provides essential support to sustain focus across priority markets with an additional $51.1 million for marketing and major events, including $21.8 million over two years to ensure Visit Victoria continues to draw lucrative business events to Melbourne.

The commitment by the Victorian Government reflects the enormous effort of the tourism and events industry and is a reminder of the pivotal economic role that the visitor economy plays as a substantial job creator for the State.

Since 2016, Visit Victoria has successfully added more than 50 major events to Victoria’s enviable calendar from 2017 to 2025, more than 320 business events, provided funding for more than 130 regional events, delivered a dedicated regional marketing campaign and delivered the first interstate and international marketing campaigns in six years.

These achievements would not have been possible without the strong partnerships that have been formed by the hard-working tourism and events sector.

Visit Victoria works closely with the Victorian Government to deliver on the Visitor Economy Strategy released in 2016, with the aim to increase visitor spending to $36.5 billion and to create more than 320,000 jobs by 2025.

Victoria is well on track to achieving these ambitious targets with results showing that since 2015/16 visitor expenditure increased from $22.8 billion to $26.4 billion and more than 15,000 new jobs were created, increasing from 199,300 to 214,500.

Visit Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Peter Bingeman welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement to continue to grow tourism and events in Victoria.

“We have a strong vision for the future of this industry, and the role it plays in our economy, and the Victorian Government’s continued support is making this a reality,” said Bingeman.

“With more and more businesses and major events choosing Victoria, we know that delivering the best visitor experience is the key to attracting and encouraging repeat visitation to the State.”

“We can only deliver the best visitor experiences through continued funding initiatives and strong industry partnerships. We look forward to growing from strength to strength as we continue working hand-in-hand with the tourism and events sector.”

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