Labor is calling for the Make Yourself at Home travel vouchers scheme to be extended to include cafes and restaurants.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said with just over a month left for people to spend their vouchers it is vital we support all sectors of the visitor economy, including providers of food and dining experiences.
Limiting the voucher scheme to accommodation and tourism experiences ignores a large part of our visitor economy that has helped to drive the success of tourism in our state, and that’s cafes and restaurants,” Ms White said.
“Labor believes adding food and dining to the range of experiences the vouchers can be applied to would instantly boost their redemption, which was last reported at a very low 20 per cent usage.
“I am sure anyone lucky enough to get a voucher would be excited at the idea they could use it to enjoy some of Tasmania’s finest produce to support our food and hospitality operators.
“The vouchers need to be used by the end of November and with such a low rate of use to this point, adding in restaurants and other food venues would be an effective way of providing stimulus to tourism and hospitality businesses and getting the money circulating in the economy sooner.
“This becomes even more important when you consider the impact being felt from cuts to JobKeeper and JobSeeker.
“Now is the time to get more money into the Tasmanian economy and nothing could be more in keeping with the state’s reputation as a fine food and dining destination than to extend the voucher scheme to our hospitality sector.”
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
