THE federal government has allocated $40 million to stimulating sustainable economic growth in the tourism industry over the next four years.
The TQUAL grant scheme has been developed to enhance the supply of quality tourism products and experiences to support Australia’s tourism marketing promises.
Canberra hopes to encourage additional private sector investment in the development of the country’s tourism products, services and experiences.
There are two types of grants on offer.
‘Tourism quality projects’ will be for grants up to $100,000 for smaller scale projects that support collaborative community tourism industry development projects that aim to stimulate private sector investment.
The second is ‘strategic tourism investment grants’ of up to $1 million, which will be available to fund a small number of larger scale projects to support indigenous tourism, economic development and tourism employment.
Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson says the program will inject more than $80 million into the tourism sector, as it is a matching-grants scheme.
“Just like hotel rooms, Australia’s tourism experiences need constant refreshing to ensure they offer visitors a high quality experience and that visitors feel compelled to return,” he says. “The grants will help lift Australia’s competitiveness as a tourism destination and stimulate investment in innovative products and services.”