New tourism recovery funding to help flood impacted Queensland operators

A $7 million Tourism Recovery and Resilience package jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments is aimed at helping Queensland tourism operators build disaster resilience after the extraordinary flood and cyclone events of 2021-2022.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Senator Murray Watt notes “ensuring our tourism infrastructure is robust and ready for the next inevitable disaster is critical to the ongoing viability of the sector.”

The largest component of the new $7 million Tourism Recovery and Resilience Package is a $5 million Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure (BRTI) fund.

Minister Watt added “this will provide funding for impacted tourism businesses to build their resilience and aid their response to future flooding and natural disasters through innovative solutions, including bespoke engineering solutions and improved business response to disasters.”

Grant funding from $20,000 up to $150,000 will be considered for eligible tourism business resilience projects in 37 declared affected local government areas following natural disaster events in 2021-22 including:

1. Central, Southern and Western Queensland rainfall and flooding

2. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth

3. South-East Queensland rainfall and flooding events.

Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe shared “Queenslanders know it’s not a matter of if extreme weather events occur, but when.

“From Friday, the Australian and Queensland Governments are putting $5 million on the table to help disaster affected tourism operators get back on their feet sooner.

“Small levees, pumps, hoists to reduce the inundation risk to valuable equipment and alternative power supplies are examples of resilience projects we’re looking at.

“Projects could also include improvements to existing tourism infrastructure and resilience training for tourism business staff.  

“We know these are measures that can make a huge difference to tourism business sustainability and reducing the heartache of future extreme weather events.

“By helping tourism operators to reduce business downtime after extreme weather, we hope to see fewer booking cancellations and less impact on visitor economies.”

Minister Hinchliffe also advised that $2 million would also be invested in exploring opportunities to diversify visitor experiences in areas susceptible to natural disasters.

“The dual challenges of the pandemic and extreme weather events have demonstrated the inbuilt resilience of Queensland tourism operators,” he said.

“With the State’s domestic tourism recovery bouncing back better than before Covid-19, now is a perfect time to build back better and stronger to the meet future challenges and grow more good, secure tourism jobs.” 

The $7 million Tourism Recovery and Resilience initiative is funded by the Australian and Queensland Government’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and is part of a larger $177 million Economic Recovery package.

Projects under the Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure (BRTI) fund need to start within three months of approval and be completed by 30th June 2024.        

Applications for eligible tourism operators open this Friday, 23rd September at: www.dtis.qld.gov.au/tourism/funds/resilient-tourism-infrastructure 

Declared affected local government areas can be found here: https://www.qra.qld.gov.au/funding-programs/event-specific-exceptional-circumstances-assistance/2021-22-rainfall-and-flooding 

Image Animal sanctuaries and wildlife rescue services on the Sunshine Coast, including Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue, witnessed their entire properties flood in March 2022, ruining much of their feed and equipment.