The Federal Government is subsiding flights to safe and marginal seats. 

In a new tourism-boosting initiative, the Commonwealth will pay for half the fare of nearly 800,000 airline tickets, in a $1.2 billion scheme to get more Australians to go on domestic holidays.

The package to assist the tourism sector will see discounts offered for flights to and from 13 regions. 

The government says it picked regions that rely heavily on international visitors. However, analysis shows that eight of the 13 destinations are in marginal seats (where there have been swings of over 6 per cent), while four of the five others are in safe Coalition electorates.

Destinations include the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays region, the Sunshine Coast, the Lasseter region which includes Uluru, Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport, Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula and Kangaroo Island. 

The package falls short of the $7.7 billion that the Tourism and Transport Forum says is required to save an estimated 318,000 jobs.

Reports say there will be an average of 46,000 half-price fares offered each week, mostly with Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar, from April 1.

The Government is also providing funds to Qantas and Virgin to keep 8,600 international flight workers employed. Money will be provided for maintenance too, so that planes can resume service when borders reopen.

The package includes subsidies for training and accreditation for ground crew until the end of September, while existing support, including waivers for airport security charges, a pause on Airservices Australia fees, money for regional routes and international freight assistance have been extended to September.

Financial support for zoos and aquariums is being extended for another six months, and loans worth up to $5 million over a 10-year period will be offered to struggling small and medium businesses.

The scheme has already been criticised for leaving out major population centres, with  Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of Australia CEO Wes Lambert saying cafes and restaurants in downtown Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne have all been devastated by a lack of tourists and office workers too.

It also misses certain types of tourism that will not be affected by state-based lockdowns, such as Queenslanders holidaying in different parts of Queensland.