Canberra’s tourism sector continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovering this sector in the coming years is a priority for the ACT government and additional support will be provided under the 2020-21 Area Budget to help rebuild the industry.

At its peak in 2019, the industry employed 18,500 people and contributed approximately $ 2.5 billion to the territory’s economy.

The combination of bush fires and COVID-19 wiped out around $ 1.3 billion in overnight tourism spending through September 2020.

Our tourism recovery efforts began in September 2020 with the launch of a new travel destination marketing campaign. More than. The government will invest an additional $ 2 million in the campaign over the next three years. This makes it the largest domestic travel destination marketing campaign in the history of the territory.

This investment will expand our reach in our largest markets of Sydney, Regional NSW, Southeast Queensland, Melbourne and Regional Victoria.

The return of domestic tourism will be an important pillar of our economic recovery. Around 90 percent of Canberra’s visitors come from the domestic market.

The ACT government will also launch an ACT COVID-safe tourism co-investment program of $ 1.5M to help the industry recover.

The COVID-Safe Tourism Investment Program will provide adequate funding for businesses to develop COVID-safe tourism products and infrastructures that support the sector’s recovery and provide opportunities for new job creation.

Through these initiatives, the ACT government aims to rebuild ACT spending on overnight guests by 2030, increasing it to $ 3.5 billion.

The ACT government has already put in place a number of programs to help local tourism and hospitality industries recover from COVID, including:

  • the Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund, which provides the local tourism companies with funds for campaigns aimed at attracting visitors to the ACT
  • Tax relief for the hotel and restaurant industry in Canberra through discounts and fee reductions
  • The ACT Event Fund, which was established to help the festival and events sector develop, market and promote their events
  • Supported a new pilot physical distancing technology to help Canberra attract new business events in the current environment

The ACT government is committed to helping rebuild key industries such as tourism and hospitality as part of our ACT Plan for Employment and Economic Recovery.

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