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Aussie tourism businesses hit by the Covid pandemic will get a $30 million shot in the arm thanks to travel experience company Travello.

The company is funding more than 600,000 $50 vouchers as part of its Holiday Cash Giveaway tourism stimulus initiative to encourage people to support local tourism operators. The campaign is focused on youth travellers (18-35) and Travello estimates the stimulus will put $100 million directly into the pockets of tourism operators receiving bookings under the initiative, in addition to funds flowing to local communities, accommodation providers and transport services.

The vouchers will be made available at 8:00 am AEST on Wednesday, June 16 as part of the Holiday Cash Giveaway initiative. Aussies can choose from over 1000 travel experiences from around the country including Skydives, Food and Wine tours and Bridgeclimbs, but also ‘bucket list’ adventures like diving with Whale Sharks in Ningaloo Reef Western Australia, tours of Kakadu National Park and scenic flights over Australian icons like the Barrier Reef and Uluru.

“With borders closed and stop-start lockdowns interrupting business, tourism operators are doing it tough. The lack of international tourists and the Australian tendency to ‘fly and flop’, rather than jump on tours and activities, has made recovery difficult for the local tourism industry. Further to that, the recent Federal Budget did little to help smaller operators and many are now very close to closing down and have very little voice in the recovery discussion. The Holiday Cash Giveaway is our contribution to change that”, said Travello CEO and co-founder Ryan Hanly.

A recent survey shows that young Australians in the 20- to 35-year-old age bracket are reluctant to travel in their own country – with expensive travel and a perceived lack of exciting activities or locations being the main contributors.

At the same time, Aussies have a record-breaking 174.9 million days of annual leave accrued. And with notable health and happiness benefits to reap from a holiday, as found in the Annual (Leave) Report by Tourism Australia, young Australians have all the reason to take Travello up on the Holiday Cash Giveaway initiative.

Tourism operators are still heavily impacted by the Covid pandemic and the recent Victorian circuit breaker lockdown affected small businesses not just in Victoria but nationally.

Jayde Edwards who operates Skypark in Cairns says uncertainty in the industry is delaying recovery: “From the outside looking in, it may appear that travel is booming because you can’t get a hotel room during the school holidays, but perception isn’t reality and many tourism operators are still heavily impacted and many businesses haven’t survived. Travello’s Holiday Cash Giveaway initiative is exactly what’s needed right now to encourage people to spend on local tourism activities and not just with accommodation providers or airlines. There are many amazing things to do in Australia and this incentive will really help Aussies get out there and try tours, activities and attractions that people usually travel around the world to do”.

Paul Beames CEO and Founder of Autopia tours said: “Pre-Covid, youth travellers formed a big part of our business, so this initiative by Travello to get Australians travelling and even exploring their own backyards is exactly what the industry needs to put much-needed spend directly into the pockets of operators. If we can encourage young Australian travellers to explore Australia now, it may also lead to more young Australians exploring next year and the year after – even with international borders open again. This is a great opportunity to engage young people and expose them to the amazing things they can do right here in Australia”.

Travello is covering the entire cost of the voucher scheme so that participating tourism operators can gain maximum benefit from the campaign. Australians will have one month to book their experience, however, there are no restrictions when you can travel. To take advantage of Travello’s range of experiences visit travelloapp.com.