- Applications open for $9 million grants to improve accessibility for tourism experiences as part of $12 million Accessible Tourism Queensland Fund.
- 2023 Year of Accessible Tourism recognises the untapped potential surrounding accessible tourism of $1.8 billion per annum when including the travel party.
- Palaszczuk Government announced as major sponsor for Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference on the Gold Coast on 28 April.
Applications are now open for $8 million Accessible Tourism Infrastructure grants of between $25,000 to $500,000 to support small to medium sized tourism and events businesses to improve accessibility through infrastructure upgrades, assistive equipment and technology.
Applications are also now open for the new $1 million Accessible Tourism Enablers grants providing between $50,000 to $250,000 to support not-for-profit peak and disability services organisations to make products that make visitor experiences more inclusive.
Minister for Tourism and Sport Stirling Hinchliffe joined Paralympian Rachael Watson AOM at Brisbane’s Riverlife kayaking adventures this morning to open the grants ahead of tomorrow’s Brisbane 2032 Legacy Forum.
The new grants are part of the Palaszczuk Government’s $12 million investment in the 2023 Year of Accessible Tourism, an exciting opportunity to demonstrate Queensland’s commitment to making Brisbane 2032 the world’s most accessible and inclusive sporting event.
The strategy recognises the enormous untapped potential surrounding accessible tourism of $735 million per annum or $1.8 billion per annum when including the travel party.
The Palaszczuk Government has also signed on as a major sponsor for the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference on the Gold Coast on 28 April run by GetAboutAble.
Queensland’s Year of Accessible Tourism kicked-off with the release of a free online accessible tourism toolkit earlier this year developed by Get Skilled Access (GSA) and TravAbility in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport.
As part of the project, GSA and TravAbility worked with Regional Tourism Organisations in Greater Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Fraser Coast, Townsville, Outback Queensland and Cairns to assess tourist infrastructure accessibility and tourism business capability.
Throughout this year, six more tourist destinations will be assessed – Bundaberg, Capricorn, Gladstone, Mackay, the Whitsundays, and Southern Queensland.
