Victorian Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said regional communities had been hit hard by drought, bushfire and now the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Walsh said if bold steps were not taken to restore Victoria’s tourism sector, regional tourism businesses — which employ an estimated 86 000 Victorians — would never recover.
“Events such as the Shepparton Festival, which was cancelled this year, could apply for a grant to help stage next year's event or promote it,” he said.
“With places like the Murray River and Nagambie down the road, there’s a lot of people that come here, so there's a lot opportunity to increase visitation.”
The proposed fund would do three main things: assist operators to get back on their feet, promote Victorian tourism destinations and upgrade tourism infrastructure.
To gain access to the fund, Mr Walsh said organisations would need to be able to demonstrate their idea would increase visitation and overnight accommodation bookings.
Mr Walsh said with international and domestic travel restrictions in place, people would be itching to get away, and Northern Victoria would be an ideal place for them to visit.
“We need promotional activity to make sure the people of Melbourne in particular travel to the Greater Shepparton region,” he said.
Mr Walsh and Opposition leader Michael O’Brien said the call was part of the Nationals’ plan to get Victorians back to work and back in business.
“With restrictions being eased, now is the time to take bold action to restore confidence and jobs to our regional economies,” they said in a statement.
Mr Walsh added that in 2019 the Victorian Government spent more than $100 million on self-promotional advertising, such as its multi-million-dollar ‘Big Build’ campaign.
“All Andrews Government self-promotional advertising must be immediately scrapped and redirected into promoting regional Victorian tourism,” he said.
“The Andrews Government should also complete projects, including the Grampians Peaks Trail, reopen the iconic Mt Buffalo Chalet and upgrade nature-based facilities to get people back to bushfire-impacted north-east Victoria and Gippsland.
“Our country communities and small businesses are in a lot of pain, and tens of thousands of regional Victorians who rely on their jobs in the tourism sector to pay the bills and put food on the table are counting on the Andrews Government to get them back to work and back in business.”
Victorian Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula said the government had unveiled funding for regional tourism on Wednesday, and more support for the industry would be announced in the future.
“We’re backing regional tourism with immediate support, including $11 million for visitor attractions and bodies including regional tourism boards announced (on Wednesday),” he said.
“We'll have more to say about further support for businesses, jobs and our economy — including the tourism sector — in due course.”
The funding for regional tourism announced on Wednesday is part of the Victorian Government's $150 million Experience Economy Support Package, aimed at supporting sporting clubs, major tourist attractions, galleries and museums, and the racing industry.
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