15,000 travel vouchers will be handed out in Queensland

The Queensland government will hand out 15,000 travel vouchers worth up to $200 each in an attempt to stimulate domestic tourism and drive the state’s Covid-19 recovery.

Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced the voucher scheme on Sunday, as the state again recorded no new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.

The vouchers will be able to be used in Queensland’s far north – including the Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas and Cairns – until the end of June, covering the Easter holidays. Residents will need to enter a ballot to obtain one of the vouchers.

The Palaszczuk government has repeatedly demanded the federal government extend financial support to the tourism industry beyond the end of jobkeeper at the end of March. The government has been considering providing a targeted support package for the industry, but has yet to make an announcement.

Palaszczuk’s call for an extension of the wage subsidy for tourism operators was criticised by her counterparts in southern states, with NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian saying the state had been a victim of its own strict border closures.

Queensland’s move to introduce vouchers follows similar schemes set up by New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The voucher schemes have been welcomed by the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the loss of international arrivals and constant border closures.

Mark Olsen, chief executive of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, said the scheme announced on Sunday would inject $14m into the region. The Queensland scheme will open for ballot entries between 8 March and 11 March. The vouchers can be used from 15 March to 25 June.

The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory are also running voucher schemes.