Boost for tourism in Australia's national landscapes
Visitors to the Australian Alps, the Kimberley, Kangaroo Island and ten other National Landscapes of Australia will benefit from a $1 million funding boost announced last week by the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP.
Minister Ferguson said the funding represents a significant boost to Australia's National Landscapes program to promote nature-based tourism experiences and provide economic and social benefits to participating tourism regions.
"This $1 million grant is another part of the Government's partnership with industry to improve Australia's stock of world class visitor experiences and ensure more visitors can enjoy Australia's natural beauty," Minister Ferguson said.
"Importantly, this grant, follows a destination planning approach to help develop tourism product, infrastructure and strategies in Australia's regional areas where 46 cents in every tourist dollar are spent."
Consultancy firm- TRC Tourism has been awarded the $1 million Strategic Tourism Investment Grant from the Government's T-QUAL Grants program to lead a consortium to prepare and implement Experience Development Strategies (EDS) for Australia's National Landscapes.
Experience Development Strategies identify the unique visitor experiences on offer within National Landscapes from walks, to kayaking, cycling and whale watching and determine how best to package the experience for sale to the domestic and international tourism markets.
TRC Tourism consortium partners include EC3 Global, Dr Claire Ellis, Middlestar, the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operations Council and Hunt Tourism Services which have extensive Australian tourism industry knowledge and experience with National Landscapes.
The STIG program is a merit based program. Applications for the delivery of the Australia's National Landscapes Project were called for on 20 April 2012.
More information about Australia's National Landscapes Program is available on Tourism Australia's website www.tourism.australia.com
Source: Accommodation Association of Australia, 12 July 2012
