Completed tourism programs

The following programs are now closed and no longer receiving applications.

The following programs are now completed and no longer active. No further rounds will be offered.

For more information or to log in to access individual grant and eligibility requirements visit Grants Connect.

Sydney WorldPride: March Grant

Status: Closed

How the program worked

The Australian Government provided $902,028 to Sydney WorldPride 2023 to support the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pride March on 5 March 2023. The grant aligned with the Australian Government’s work on building markets and attracting visitors. It relates to priorities under the THRIVE 2030 Strategy.

The grant helped:

  • contribute to an increase in international visitor travel to the festival 
  • the event to be delivered with a strong focus in accessibility and environmental sustainability
  • Australia to be showcased as a safe, inclusive and diverse destination for visitors particularly for the LGBTQI+ community.

Funding

Funding was provided as a one-off support to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pride March which was held on 5 March 2023.

More information

Email  visitoreconomy@austrade.gov.au

Recovery for Regional Tourism program

Status: Closed

How the program worked

The Recovery for Regional Tourism program helped Australian regions reliant on international tourism. The program helped fund projects to:

  • keep and create jobs
  • improve tourism product offering
  • increase demand
  • attract visitors.

Eligible applicants

Applicants were a Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) or a State Tourism Organisation (STO) from an eligible region.

Eligible regions

Maximum government contribution by tourism region was:

  • Australia’s South West (Western Australia) - $1,250,000
  • Gold Coast (Queensland) - $10,000,000
  • Kangaroo Island (South Australia) - $3,500,000
  • Lasseter and Alice Springs (Northern Territory) - $3,500,000
  • North Coast (New South Wales) - $1,250,000
  • Phillip Island region (Victoria) - $3,500,000
  • State of Tasmania - $13,500,000
  • Tropical North Queensland (Queensland) - $10,000,000
  • Whitsundays and Mackay region (Queensland) - $3,500,000.

Program dates

Applications opened 30 November 2020 and closed 30 September 2021. The program was announced 27 September 2020.

Funding

The Recovery for Regional Tourism program offered $50 million for eligible applicants. This initiative was part of the $1 billion COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund.

Eligible projects

Mandatory requirements included projects that:

  • created and retained tourism jobs
  • drove interstate tourism, with dependencies on borders being open.

Highly desirable requirements were projects that:

  • met identified regional needs
  • could achieve results quickly, to aid rapid economic recovery in the region
  • encouraged product and market diversification and adaptation.

COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program

Status: Closed

How the program worked

The government provided $75.5 million to support Round Three of the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program (CTSP). Austrade administered the CTSP. It provided grants to eligible travel agents and tours arrangement service providers. This helped businesses rebook travel using existing COVID-related credits.

Program dates

Round three opened 29 March 2022 and closed 20 April 2022.

Grant amounts

Grant payments ranged from $7,500 to $90,000.

Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grants

Status: closed

How the program worked

Austrade administered the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grants program. The program helped regions affected by the 2019-20 bushfires.

Eligible applicants

Two groups of applicants were eligible for funding:

  1. Local government authorities and regional tourism organisations eligible for Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
  2. Local government authorities and regional tourism organisations eligible for DRFA and also declared 'Category D'.

Eligible projects

Stream 1 supported smaller events, including promotion. Applicants could apply for more than one grant each to a total value of $30,000. Stream 2 supported larger events, including promotion. Applicants were asked to include scalable funding proposals.

Program dates

The program opened on 11 February 2020. Applications for stream 1 closed on 18 December 2020. Applications for stream 2 closed on 8 May 2020.

Funding

The $10 million grants program was part of the Australian Government’s $76 million funding package for tourism recovery.

Successful projects

Find approved stream 1 (smaller events) projects on grants.gov.au by searching GO3689. Find approved stream 2 (larger events) projects on grants.gov.au by searching GO3955.

Expert panel

Members of the expert advisory panel were:

  • Ms Sandra Chipchase (Chair), former Chief Executive Officer of Destination NSW and Executive Producer, Vivid Sydney Festival
  • Mr Michael Luchich, South Australian State Director, Optus, and Chairman of Country Arts South Australia
  • Ms Sara Quon, Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Hill Museums Association, Board Member of Visit Victoria and the Committee for Ballarat.

Supporting Australia’s Exhibiting Zoos and Aquariums Program

Status: Closed

How the program worked

The program supported eligible applicants. This included eligible exhibiting zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Program dates

The program ran in 2020. It opened to significant exhibiting zoos and aquariums to:

  • contribute to conservation and presentation of animals
  • drive interstate and international visitation.

Funding

The Supporting Australia’s Exhibiting Zoos and Aquariums Program provided $139.6 million in funding. This was for maintaining animal populations where COVID-19 restrictions affected tourism revenue.

Consultations on the design of the program included:

  • the Zoos and Aquariums Association
  • the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment
  • state and territory tourism organisations.

Success stories

Tourism and Aviation Network Support Program

Status: Closed

How the program worked

The Australian Government’s Tourism and Aviation Network Support Program (TANS) discounted airfares to select tourism regions. Over 800,000 half-price airfares were available.

The program helped:

  • drive tourism demand for interstate travel
  • support economic recovery in regional Australia.

Program dates

The program ran from 1 April 2021 for travel by 30 November 2021.

TANS fact sheet

Read the TANS fact sheet (PDF 156KB) for more information about the program. The TANS program was part of a $1.2 billion government support package. It encouraged Australians to travel to key regions greatly impacted by the loss of international tourism.