Two weeks in a row of no new local COVID-19 cases as Melbourne travel vouchers go up for grabs - The Age

Victoria has recorded two straight weeks with no new local coronavirus cases, as eager travellers prepare to snap up a new round of $200 Melbourne travel vouchers on Friday morning.

Just three active coronavirus cases remain in Victoria, with 18,827 test results received across Thursday. No new infections were reported in hotel quarantine.

Victorians are being encouraged to head to Melbourne’s hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes and entertainment venues after the third round of travel vouchers go live on the Victorian government’s website at 10am on Friday.

More than 40,000 vouchers will be available for trips to the capital city during an eight-week window from March 19 to May 16.

Acting Premier James Merlino said the first rounds of travel vouchers had supported businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

“We really do encourage people to spend their money, spend their time, [to] explore Victoria and these vouchers have been a very, very popular move [and] go a long way towards supporting those businesses that really did it tough over the last 12 months,” he said on Thursday.

Victorians can use the next round of travel vouchers on restaurants, accommodation and entertainment in Melbourne.Credit:Getty Images

Victorians claimed a total of 110,000 vouchers, valued at $200 each, in the first two tranches of the regional travel scheme. The first round alone injected an estimated $85 million across the Victorian tourism sector, according to a government statement.

Kiwi travellers can again fly from Auckland into Victoria after border controls changed at midnight on Friday.

Victoria’s borders were closed due to a recent coronavirus outbreak in New Zealand’s largest city.

Passengers arriving from Auckland will need to apply for an “orange zone” permit, must get a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of landing in Victoria and remain isolated until the result is negative.

In another effort to bolster travel with Australia, airline tickets will be sold at half price to 800,000 travellers in a federal bid to help the tourism industry survive the pandemic.

The flights to 14 airports in 13 regions from April to July – including just one in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia but five in Queensland – headlined a $1.2 billion scheme announced by the federal government on Thursday to help the tourism industry recover from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s like they are looking at the Melbourne and Sydney markets and using them as the source for markets across the rest of the country. It is not fair, and we are disappointed,” Mr Merlino said.

“You only have to look at the numbers. Five in Queensland, three in Tassie, two in the Northern Territory, just one in Victoria. This is not a great outcome for tourism operators, other than those who will be serviced by flights to Avalon.”

with Timna Jacks

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Two weeks in a row of no new local COVID-19 cases as Melbourne travel vouchers go up for grabs - The Age
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