Thirty-one South-West and Great Southern tourism businesses will share in funding from the McGowan Government’s $8.7 million Tourism Business Survival Grants program.
The initiative is providing funding to hundreds of tourism businesses around the State as part of the second round of the McGowan Government’s $14.4 million Tourism Recovery Program.
While much of the State is enjoying a tourism boom as Western Australians holiday at home, some regions and tourism sectors are continuing to be challenged by the impacts of COVID-19.
The program is providing grants of $15,000-$100,000 to help tourism operators sustain and grow their businesses in the current environment – to cover fixed costs and overheads, purchase business materials and services, and shift focus to the domestic market.
A wide range of South-West and Great Southern operators have received assistance from the fund – including tour operators, food and wine experiences and tourism attractions.
The Australia’s South West tourism region stretches from Bunbury to Albany on the south coast, including Margaret River, Stirling Range and the Valley of the Giants.
The $14.4 million Tourism Recovery Program – including the Tourism Business Survival Grants and Tourism Recovery Fund – has now delivered direct financial support to 974 WA tourism businesses, with 70 per cent of all applicants receiving funding.
Leftover funding from the Tourism Recovery Fund has been reallocated to the Tourism Business Survival Grants program – more than doubling the original $4 million allocation.
A full list of successful Tourism Business Survival Grants program recipients can be found at https://www.tourism.wa.gov.au from 8am today (October 5).
As stated by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:
“The Australia’s South West tourism region, like the rest of the State, experienced a significant period of lost business as a result of COVID-19 earlier this year.
“While many businesses are enjoying the benefits of the huge increase in intrastate tourism, many are still dealing with the fallout of COVID-19, including tour and experience operators and those more focused on out-of-State tourists.
“These grants will help tourism businesses maintain their operations while they pivot to the local market to take advantage of huge numbers of Western Australians travelling at home.
“We continue to encourage Western Australians to investigate the huge range of adventures and experiences on offer from professional operators all around the South-West of the State.”
