This program is now closed.
Program overview
The Visitor Servicing Fund supports the tourism industry to deliver innovative tools that encourage people to stay longer and spend more across Victoria. The fund will help to connect people to attractions, local businesses and encouraging them to revisit and will further Victoria’s position as a destination of choice for visitors.
The Visitor Servicing Fund is part of the $3 million Visitor Servicing Program, a commitment under the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan.
Grants from the Visitor Servicing Fund are delivered via 2 grant streams:
- Stream A: up to $50,000 (excl. GST) for the creation or updating of visitor servicing strategies.
- Stream B: between $50,001 and $625,000 (excl. GST) to support the delivery of major visitor servicing projects.
Grants of up to $625,000 have been provided to successful Regional Tourism Boards, local councils and other tourism organisations in Stream B. Projects include improved booking and reservation platforms, online itinerary builders, digital visitor kiosks and enhanced wayfinding and storytelling at key visitation sites.
Grants of up to $50,000 via Stream A have also been provided to Regional Tourism Boards and local councils to support the development and coordination of new and better ways to access tourism information to get around our regions.
Grant recipients
Strategies delivered by successful recipients will include an overview of current visitor servicing approaches, roles and stakeholders, analysis of strengths, opportunities and threats, recommendations to improve visitor servicing and a plan for implementation.
Grant recipients
- Daylesford Macedon Tourism
- Greater Bendigo City Council
- Destination Gippsland
- Grampians Tourism
- Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism
- Yarra Ranges Tourism
- Shire of Strathbogie
- Destination Phillip Island
- Mornington Peninsula Regional Tourism Board.
Grampians Tourism
The Grampians and Wimmera Mallee Visitor Inspiration Passport (VIP) Project will increase connectivity, create personalised content, and provide support to industry via digital tools. The project will prioritise integration of Traditional Owner content throughout the region and maximise inclusion of the Victorian Government supported Grampians Peaks Trail.
The project will provide 3 off grid multi-functional kiosks throughout the Grampians and Wimmera Mallee regions. Inspirational content for both regions will be categorised by product and experience to inspire visitors to visit again, stay longer and increase spend. The project will include online maps, curated itineraries and a QR code web-based visitor inspiration tool to promote local content.
Ballarat City Council
Goldfields Gateways will present an integrated physical and digital wayfinding system that captures and informs visitors, inviting them to explore the Victorian Goldfields. The project covers 6 local government areas and the tourism regions of Tourism Midwest Victoria, Daylesford Macedon Ranges Tourism and Bendigo Regional Tourism.
Alpine Resorts Victoria
Victoria’s Alpine Resorts integrated Digital Visitor Servicing Platform (VSP) will provide an innovative, technology-driven solution that will bring the 6 alpine resorts of Victoria together under one digital platform. This will build the capacity of the resorts to provide a coordinated and customer-centric approach to visitor servicing to meet the changing needs of future markets. The platform will integrate with the Visit High Country app, giving guests access to region-wide products, encouraging travel throughout the region.
Western Melbourne Tourism
Namaste Westside is an integrated visitor service program focused on the India visitor market for Melbourne/Victoria and the local Indian diaspora of Melbourne’s west. The project includes the development of customised visitor information platform catering to the unique cultural needs of the India market. The project will be driven by a high level of local Indian community engagement to inform the design and concept development. A key innovation of this program will be the integration of a cultural accreditation scheme.
The project will be led and coordinated through the Western Melbourne Tourism board, centred around a project partnership between the 6 councils of Melbourne’s west and Victoria University.
