A $260 million plan to revitalise Melbourne has been launched. 

The Victorian government says its upcoming budget will include $100 million to revive the CBD, to be matched by the City of Melbourne.

Of that money, $8.4 million has been set aside for a voucher scheme to encourage people to eat at cafes and restaurants in the city.

Diners will be able to claim back 20 per cent of their meals, if they paid between $50 and $500 dollars, and consumed something other than drinks. 

The $200-million joint fund will also be used to support arts, cultural events and small businesses in the CBD. 

Acting Premier James Merlino said it would bring activity back to Melbourne's centre.

“Life is returning to our CBD but we've got to keep that recovery going,” he said.

“It’s been uniquely hit by the challenges of the pandemic, [including] office workers working remotely and having that transition back to working on site.

“And we just haven’t had international students over the course of the past 12 months and that’s had a particular hit.”

He said funds would go towards small-scale infrastructure that will attract workers and residents to the CBD, and “activating hospitality and retail spaces”.

“Our cafes, our bars and our restaurants are the heartbeat of our city,” he said.

The government says all areas within the City of Melbourne will be included in the scheme.

The City of Melbourne will administer the dining voucher scheme, which Lord Mayor Sally Capp says wil “bring the buzz back” to the CBD.

“We have been encouraged to see how many people are returning to the city but we are getting to that crunch point where we need to put in that extra effort to see our city workers return,” she said.

There are no household limits on the vouchers, and they are available to interstate visitors too. The rebates will be limited to $100 per person, and can only be used for meals and drinks, not just drinks.

“Patrons will get their bill, pay that bill in full, upload their invoice into an online system and will receive a 20 per cent rebate,” Ms Capp said.

“This is our chance to shout city patrons 20 per cent of their bill.”

City of Melbourne will provide updates on the uptake of the scheme, which will run until the money is all spent. 

The upcoming state budget also includes $55 million for Visit Victoria to attract interstate and New Zealand tourists.

Tourism minister Martin Pakula says the state will try to attract overseas visitors too, once borders open. 

“We've seen Victorians absolutely fall in love with regional Victoria over the past 12 months,” he said.

“For people who travel to regional Victoria for the first time, an overwhelming majority are expressing the view that they want to go back to those places that they've discovered domestically when they otherwise would have travelled overseas.”