Outbound tour operators, travel wholesalers and inbound tour operators will soon be able to apply for new government grants created to stimulate two-way international travel.
Exclusively available to Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) and Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) members, the payments are designed to help companies invest in rebuilding and bolstering international supply chains as leisure travel continues its post-pandemic comeback.
The $10 million Reviving International Tourism Grant (RITG) program will accept applications from 23 May 2023.
Speaking to Karryon, CATO managing director Brett Jardine said payments would go towards members’ participation in international travel and tourism trade shows until 2025.
Successful CATO member applicants will be in line to receive at least $10,000 in ‘stream one’ payments in the 2022/23 financial year, with ATEC members eligible for $15,000 payments.
‘Stream two’ payments of $2,000 each will be delivered to assist companies’ digital uplift – that is, activities around website design or enhancement to deliver greater visibility to international consumers.
A further stream one grant for the financial year 2023/24 will be paid if funding remains available. These will be capped at $10,000. That means eligible CATO members could receive up to $22,000 in total, Jardine says.
How to qualify
To qualify for stream one funding, applicants must have attended at least one major international travel and tourism trade show between 2017 and 2022. These include some virtual trade shows that were held during the pandemic.
Payments will come in the form of a “virtual credit card”, which can be used on expenses related to attending travel trade shows. All grant funds must be expended before 30 June 2024.
Jardine tells Karryon the program is an investment in the entire travel industry, in that it helps companies at the supply chain level, where a travel product is developed “way in advance of it hitting the [retail] shelves”.
“Because we build the product that [travel] agents actually sell.”
He adds, “it is critical that our members are supported in reconnecting with international markets to ensure a vigorous return of international leisure travel to and from Australia, through specific business development and marketing activities”.
Full details of the tourism program will be available from Thursday afternoon here.
Applications can be made via Austrade’s SmartyGrants portal from 23 May.
This week, CATO revealed its latest board lineup with four newly elected members.