The Allan Labor Government is backing the state's tourism industry to drive more visitors to Victoria, create more jobs and boost the visitor economy - unveiling a new five-year strategy, Visit Victoria 2030.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos, alongside Visit Victoria, announced the new strategy at Destination Victoria 2025, which aims to grow Victoria's visitor economy to $53.4 billion by 2030 as forecast by Tourism Research Australia.
The strategy outlines growth through demand-driving activities and is built on insights from more than 1,000 industry stakeholders in the state's largest visitor economy consultation in more than a decade.
The strategy unites government, industry and communities to create a more inclusive, resilient and globally competitive visitor economy.
Underpinned by Victoria's 'Every bit different' brand platform, the strategy is anchored by three key focuses - creating demand, converting demand and connecting demand for the visitor economy to thrive.
It is also supported by four key pillars that will accelerate growth - strong industry collaboration, sustainable growth, increasing First Peoples tourism and creating a strong and capable tourism industry for all.
Programs unveiled under the strategy include a new Touring Victoria initiative to grow regional travel, the launch of a redeveloped content hub to provide access to up-to-date, state-wide image and video content, and expanded industry capability training programs to boost access to international markets.
Supported by the Labor Government's recently announced $43.7 million domestic and international marketing investment over the next two years, the strategy positions Victoria to continue backing our tourism industry, which supports almost 300,000 jobs, and capture a share of the two billion international trips forecast globally by 2030.
This significant investment enables Victoria to build on its strong track record of attracting visitors through campaigns that showcase Melbourne and regional Victoria, and securing blockbuster major, regional and business events.
Visit Victoria 2030 aligns with the Labor Government's Experience Victoria 2033 strategy which supports businesses and investors within the tourism industry, encourages new tourism products and engages with local communities.
The Visit Victoria 2030 strategy is available on corporate.visitvictoria.com/about/visit-victoria-2030.
As stated by Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
"Tourism and major events are part of the fabric of Victoria - they bring people together, create jobs and support local businesses across every corner of the state."
"Victoria's visitor economy is one of the strongest in the country and this strategy is about making sure we build on this success and create even more opportunities for Victorians."
As stated by Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements
"Our new strategy is built on deep industry engagement and puts us in a strong position to deliver for Victoria both domestically and internationally. It recognises the existing capacity for Victoria to accommodate strong growth and the opportunity for Visit Victoria to work closely with our industry to drive this growth."
"This has been an energising process and we look forward to getting to work to put this strategy in action."