Yahoo Finance Aussies gifted 30,000 more $200 travel vouchers amid website crash
The Victorian Government has announced it will hand out an extra 30,000 regional tourism vouchers to its residents after the Business Victoria website crashed on Friday.
The state’s $28 million Regional Travel Voucher Scheme provides $200 to 120,000 Victorians to spend on accommodation, tourism attractions, or tours in regional Victoria in a bid to boost the local economy.
The first 40,000 vouchers were set to be released on Friday at 10am – but the website buckled as keen holidaymakers flocked to the site. Instead, they saw an error message and the removal of the “apply now” button.
According to ABC, only half of the vouchers had been claimed by 4:45pm. It wasn’t until “mid-evening on Friday” that all 40,000 had been claimed.
In order to make up for the website crash, Business Victoria confirmed it would hand out an additional 30,000 vouchers, bringing the scheme’s cost up by $6 million.
"Vouchers will be made available to Victorians as a show of good faith after heavy demand for the Regional Travel Voucher Scheme yesterday caused long delays for people planning summer trips to regional Victoria,” a spokesperson told ABC.
At the time of publishing, Business Victoria’s website had yet to reflect the updates, with its key dates table showing only three rounds of 40,000 vouchers.
How to claim your $200 voucher
The extra 30,000 vouchers can be claimed on Monday 14 December through the same method of applying on the Business Victoria website.
On Monday 10am, head to business.vic.gov.au/travelvouchers to apply. Applicants should see an ‘apply now’ button on the page.
You’ll have to be over 18, and each household is limited to one voucher only.
The voucher gives you a right to claim for a reimbursement of $200 if you can provide receipts to prove you spent at least $400 on certain travel costs in regional Victoria, including the Yarra Ranges or the Mornington Peninsula.
You can spend it on paid accommodation (two nights minimum); paid tours and experiences; and entry fees to regional attraction.
You won’t be able to reimburse any money spent on gaming, alcohol (unless it’s part of an wine, brewery or distillery tasting tour), fuel, food and drinks (unless it’s part of a winery tour), groceries, personal items like clothing and transport costs.
These are the key dates of the scheme:
Note that the chart has not been updated to reflect the additional 30,000 vouchers.
Yahoo Finance has contacted Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ office for comment.
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