Firstly…WAHOOO!!! We’re open baby!!! OK, only region to region but it still feels great.
We’ve been pushing for greater clarity around what the easing of restrictions means. No doubt you’ve found these links yourself, but if not, they’re handy:
Further to my email yesterday, I am working on a coordinated response to the Premier’s Roadmap. I have spoken to a number of you over the last 48 hours, and here is a summary of the key issues for me to raise, loosely broken down by the accommodation and hospitality sectors, with some broader needs noted further down.
No doubt you’ll have seen the ‘Roadmap’ to reopening announced by the Premier yesterday. While it’s always good to have a plan, like many of you who have been in touch with me today, I believe that greater clarity on a few points is required.
You’ll have probably seen the recent announcement of Visit Victoria’s ’Click for Vic’ campaign. The Premier announced the campaign on Sunday; this is an activity that is heavily backed by the State government and supported by a $2m marketing spend.
The campaign aims to support businesses in the tourism sector, who offer their products online. Producers, bakers, makers, wineries, distilleries, breweries, restaurants, fashion retailers, book stores (and more) can take advantage of this campaign.
Let’s hope that this 6+ weeks of restrictions does the job of eliminating this damn virus from the community. If we’re going to lock down, let’s do it properly. A ‘stop/start’ approach to reopening is, in many ways, more challenging than one extended ‘hard lockdown’.
If you feel like a laugh, check this out. I was a huge fan of the program Blackadder and thought it might give you a smile. Some jokes age better than others. I don’t recommend printing it out and sticking on your window, but there are useful resources you can print and use further down the email.
As promised on Friday, here are further details of support packages available to tourism operators.
The return to Stage 3 lockdown for Melbourne, and Mitchell Shire, was a kick in the bum that none of us needed. It’s a shame that it has got to this point, but here we are. Again.
Some good news today, with an announcement of further business support packages. There’s a fair bit of detail to come, and we should be able to provide this early next week. We also have a useful Q&A link below that answers many of the questions that have been raised over the last few days. Read on…
Trust you’re all well and have had a good few weeks of business. It’s certainly been very busy in the region, and with that has come some interesting stories in the media. I’m confident that businesses are doing the right thing and Councils and emergency services have reacted appropriately.
Daylesford Macedon Tourism has supported our region’s tourism industry during this incredibly tough year and we are now moving into the recovery phase over the next few months, safely and sensibly driving a return of visitation to the region. In 2019, the DMT region was a standout performer in terms of visitation growth and our hard work will see this strength continue.