Victorian tourism sector calls on Allan government to overturn massive cuts

The Victorian Tourism Industry Council wants the state government to reinvest in destination marketing to help the state compete with its biggest rivals Queensland and New South Wales.

The Allan government is facing calls to immediately overturn its massive cuts to Victoria’s tourism budget and recognise the sector as an economic powerhouse.

The Victorian Tourism Industry Council on Thursday unveiled its new framework of six key pillars to supercharge the sector, which was pummelled during Covid.

The framework has been modelled off the government’s own Economic Growth Statement as the benchmark to measure how much cash is brought in through domestic and international travellers.

The Economic Growth Statement, released last year, identified advanced manufacturing as the powerhouse to drive the state’s financial future, contributing $39.2bn to the economy.

Jacinta Allan is being urged to immediately overturn the massive cuts to the tourism sector. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Speaking at the 2025 Vision Summit on Thursday night, VTIC chief executive Felicia Mariani said it was time for the government to respect tourism as an economic powerhouse in its own right.

“When you consider that spend by visitors to this state contributed $39.7bn to the economy … and we employ nearly 260,000 people in our industry … it becomes hard to substantiate how manufacturing gets a guernsey in the Economic Statement, but somehow the visitor economy is nowhere to be seen,” she said.

Ms Mariani called for the upcoming state budget to reinvest in destination marketing to ensure Victoria, particularly the regions, can be advertised across the world.

Victorian Tourism industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said it was time for the government to respect tourism as an economic powerhouse.

In last year’s budget, Visit Victoria’s destination marketing budget was cut by 82 per cent – from $32.5m to just $6m this financial year.

Victoria is being outspent by its biggest rivals – NSW and Queensland – who are each allocating upwards of $100m.

The framework called for a Visitor Economy Strategy by 2035 that established clear targets and actions, and a Tourism Cabinet Committee to bring together key ministers.

Originally published as Victorian tourism sector calls on Allan government to overturn massive cuts