Minister Kate Jones has today officially launched the $48 million Attracting Tourism Fund

Queensland Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones has today officially launched the $48 million Attracting Tourism Fund designed to position Queensland as Australia’s leading visitor destination.

Minister Jones said the Fund was aimed at capitalising on the record number of visitors coming to Queensland, advising “our $25 billion tourism industry is the state’s third biggest export earner behind coal and food and one in eight businesses in the state are tourist-related.

“This fund – part of our record $180 million investment in tourism industry development in the 2018/19 Budget – will support the industry to push into new markets to provide game-changing attractions in our state.

“This investment is about ensuring we take our tourism industry to the next level by creating new attractions and strengthening our airline partnerships in lucrative international markets.”

Minister Jones said the Attracting Tourism Fund will build on the outstanding achievements of the the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund and the Connecting with Asia Fund.

She said $10 million of the ATF had been earmarked for the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF) to continue to grow strategic aviation services to Queensland, adding “in (the) coming weeks, we’ll continue our direct discussions with industry representatives to ensure we’re investing in projects that create more tourism jobs in our state.”

The program is set to start in the first quarter of 2018/19, with discussions with industry in key destinations to get underway in August 2018.

Key ATF objectives are to:

  • Grow aviation access from priority source markets that offer long-term potential for Queensland through establishing new or expanding existing aviation services
  • Facilitate the development of infrastructure and experiences that will attract, grow and sustain visitation from identified markets with flow-on economic benefits to Queensland’s visitor economy
  • Facilitate planning improvement opportunities to enable tourism growth

She concluded “we’re investing an extra $180 million in tourism in this term and we’re not only creating new jobs but ensuring the industry has a sustainable future.”

Source
Australasian Leisure Management

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