With the increase in self-drive holidays across the State, the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) has today announced an exciting new partnership with Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to extend their popular Pause Stop program across the Visitor Information Centres (VIC’s) throughout Victoria to be a permanent year-round resource for travellers on our roads.

The new initiative will utilise the already highly recognisable yellow i system along key regional travel routes, encouraging drivers to 'press pause' on their road trip to combat drowsy driving and help people stay safe when travelling across the state.

The joint TAC and VTIC campaign, aptly named Pause Stop, will encourage motorists to plan their road trips ahead of time and take a regular break at one of the VICs on their route, with activities for the kids and a range of resources available for a safe journey.

The current program will be undertaken as a six-month pilot that will commence from today and will run until December 2022. The pilot will include activating 11 Accredited VIC’s that have been selected to gather insights for the pilot with the aim of expanding the program beyond December.

The pilot program VICs will include – Benalla, Bendigo, Dunkeld and Grampians, Echuca/Moama, Frankston, Geelong & Bellarine, Hamilton & Grampians, Heathcote, Melbourne – Visitor Hub Town Hall, Phillip Island, and Prom Country in Foster.

CEO of VTIC, Felicia Mariani said this is such an exciting partnership that makes perfect sense when you consider that driving holidays in Victoria are becoming such a huge part of the state’s visitation in a post-Covid environment.

“With drive holidays on the rise across our state, it seemed a natural fit for TAC to align with the tourism industry and activating our incredibly connected VIC network is a likely engagement point with travellers to deliver safe driving messages while they help visitors plan to get the most out of their stay in the regions.

“Activating the VIC network provides TAC a platform to deliver critical road safety messages, while encouraging drivers to take stops at useful and engaging centres, connect with the local community, learn more about what to do in the region, and get tips on what to see along the way to their destination.”