The Allan Labor Government has slashed tourism sector funding as Victoria continues to lag behind interstate rivals, yesterday's State Budget has revealed.
Despite the tourism sector's key position in supporting local jobs and economic activity, the 2024-25 State Budget revealed significant cuts to tourism related funding, including:
- A $286 million cut to Tourism and Major Events funding.
- A $17 million cut to the Destination Victoria program.
- A total of $393.9 million cut to the Visitor Economy initiatives, including for industry support, regional tourism, events and infrastructure.
These cuts come as recent visitor survey data from Tourism Research Australia confirmed Victorian international tourism spending is at 73 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, compared to 96 per cent in New South Wales and 94 per cent in Queensland.
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events, Sam Groth, said: "Labor's financial mismanagement has completely hamstrung our ability to sell Victoria to the world.
"It's clear that this government and the Minister for Tourism have no idea how destination marketing works. If they engaged with anyone in the sector, they would know that major events are only a small piece of the puzzle for attracting visitors to the State.
"It's already clear that global visitors are not choosing Victoria as their preferred Australian destination, and with these cuts we will only fall further behind New South Wales and Queensland."
