Zoe Manderson, co-founder of travel tech start up Alpaca, has launched a social initiative Roadtrip For Good, to help businesses affected by the bushfires get back on their feet.

Utilising mapping technology, businesses will be able to register themselves on the website, making them landmarks ready for visitors when they reopen. This will provide vital cash injections into the communities that need it most.

Manderson said: “In addition to donating, I really wanted to encourage people back to these towns after the dust settles – to buy their coffee, eat their food, stay a night.

“Our little way of showing support is to inspire people to travel back to fire affected communities in the coming weeks and months, to spend their money, and help support local businesses.”

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Businesses are marked with colourful icons which indicate whether they are locations to eat, drink, buy coffee, shop or stay overnight.

Local tourists can use the map to plan their future itineraries of which stops they would like to make.

Manderson said that she envisages this to be a long-term project, hoping that it will take off in time for the Easter long-weekend.

“We envisage this being a long term project, as the longer term support, we believe, is really important in helping these regions get back on their feet,” she said.

“Even if not directly affected by the fires, these communities will be holding heavy hearts. We want people to go with wide smiles and open wallets and show these towns that we care.

“We are hoping that Australians will be inspired to think of their holidays a little differently from now on, to ensure that our regional towns not only survive, but thrive.”

Other initiatives that have launched to aid the bushfire recovery include ‘Creatives For Bushfires’ which aims to match bushfire-affected businesses in need with creatives and agencies to help market their products and services.

If you’d like to assist with bushfire recovery, relief and rescue efforts, please explore the options below: