Tasmania’s world-class tourism industry will continue to be a major focus of our Government, ensuring businesses in every part of our State are open to welcome visitors, while supporting and securing local jobs.
We have had an incredibly tough year but the future is bright – we have a strong plan to secure Tasmania’s future, which includes support our vital tourism industry.
We will provide the industry with $8 million in innovation and development grants to enable key projects across the State to be realised. This will be vital to ensuring we have the right attractions and opportunities for visitors to continue enhancing our world-class experience reputation.
We are also committing $4 million to provide direct financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses that are identified as critical to regional visitor attraction. Final eligibility criteria assessment will be conducted by a panel including Tourism Tasmania and industry representatives, with grants of up to $100,000 available per business.
Importantly, the industry will set a target to become a Carbon Neutral Destination by 2025, to appeal to both domestic and international travellers. We will provide $1.5 million to assist tourism operators to undertake the first step and complete a carbon audit and formulate a pathway for them to achieve a standard of operation that will be globally recognised.
Our tourism industry is leading the way, with travellers from around the country keen to ensure they are travelling responsibly.
The Government is providing $3 million to attract and support the production and filming in Tasmania of works that showcase the State that builds on the marketing efforts of our tourism industry and brand.
We are also assisting travel agents who have been hit hard through COVID-19 with a $1 million support program, and we are providing $500,000 to extend the business planning support program to assist with advice in a post-pandemic environment.
To shine a light on our State and further assist recovery, Tourism Tasmania will launch our most aggressive winter season campaign ever, which, along with the Australian Government’s discounted flights initiative, will set us up for a bumper season.
A strong and resilient tourism industry will play a key role in our plan to secure Tasmania’s future.