The $30 million Regional Tourism Activation Fund will accelerate the development of new and enhanced tourism infrastructure across regional NSW.
Regional NSW is home to iconic tourist destinations and visitor attractions that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
People visiting these attractions spend important tourist dollars in local restaurants, cafes, shops and accommodation, boosting regional NSW economies and allowing money to flow into local communities.
The NSW Government’s Regional Tourism Activation Fund supports the development of unique and high impact tourism and events infrastructure that helps to boost local economies, create jobs and ensure visitors to regional NSW have unforgettable experiences that encourage repeat visitation. The Regional Tourism Activation Fund is also aiming to boost regional tourism and improve the visitor experience for people with disability in regional NSW by making funding available for:
the development of unique and high impact visitor experiences
visitor accessibility and inclusion enhancements.
Types of projects eligible for funding include:
construction of new tourism infrastructure and / or significant enhancements to existing infrastructure to create unique and high impact visitor experiences
upgrades and extensions to existing infrastructure to improve accessibility and inclusion linked to unique and high impact visitor experiences.
The Regional Tourism Activation Fund will be available through two funding streams:
Stream One: Unique and high impact visitor experiences
Grants between $200,000 and $5 million are available for projects that create unique and high impact visitor experiences for people visiting regional NSW and encourage more people to plan and book holidays in regional areas.
Examples of types of projects eligible for funding include:
construction of a new cliff-top walk and viewing platform
development of a new and unique major event space
development of a new iconic and nationally recognised attraction
construction of infrastructure required to provide new nature-based experiences, such as a pontoon for expedition cruising
creating a mountain bike trail with international appeal.
Stream Two: Visitor accessibility and inclusion enhancements
Grants between $50,000 and $500,000 are available for projects that improve accessibility and inclusion at unique and high impact tourism destinations and visitor experiences.
Examples of types of projects eligible for funding include:
installing a lift in a multi-level venue
construction to allow for clear access pathways from a public space into a venue or tourism business
upgrades to accessible visitor amenity
upgrades to information technology including the provision of captioning and audio description
provision of hearing loops and beacon wayfinding technology.
Applications open: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Information webinar: Thursday, 24 June 2021
Applications close: 12pm on Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Successful projects announced from November 2021