Tourism on road
with new funding

A new fund to develop regional tourism has been launched by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
   Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson said the $48.5 million Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund would assist businesses to upgrade their accommodation and build new tourism attractions.
   Mr Ferguson said the merits-based grants were open for applications for amounts of between $50,000 and $250,000, matched dollar-for-dollar, taking the total spending to almost $100 million.
   He said the program would help boost innovation and quality in Australia’s tourism industry.
Big boost for regions
   “This fund is about bringing the beauty of Australia’s outdoors indoors with a major focus of this program being on improving the quality of accommodation and attractions in regional areas so that the tourism facilities match the beauty of Australia’s regions,” Mr Ferguson said.
   “Tourism is a vital part of Australia’s economy as Australia’s largest services export, employing almost one million Australians.”
   He said that boosting the quality of tourism products would help ensure Australia remained a competitive destination for both domestic and international visitors.
   “This fund builds on the Government’s T-QUAL Grants program which has delivered more than $20 million to tourism operators, and Australia’s first national tourism accreditation scheme, the T-QUAL Tick,” Mr Ferguson said.
   He said tourism operators outside Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne metropolitan areas were eligible to apply for grants up to 14 December.
   Application forms, program guidelines, frequently asked questions and YouTube videos can be accessed at this PS News link.
Edition 337, 30 October 2012
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