A $250,000 cheque has been handed over to Mid North Coast Tourism Organisation to fund enhancement of nine regional tourism products in 2012.
This funding, from the Regional Tourism Product Development Funding program is provided by the NSW Government and facilitated by the Forum of Regional Tourism Organisations (FORTO) and Destination NSW.
The cheque was presented by NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell.
MNCTO Chair, Kathy Balodis said,“We are agreed that the enhancement of existing products or the development of new products, creates a compelling reason for more people to visit the MNC and regional NSW.
“64 competitive applications were received from across the MNC under the Stream One program and the nine selected projects will each be allocated funding from $10 000 to $50 000 in value.”
The announcement of those successful Stream One projects will be announced by Minister Souris over the New Year period.
Stream Two of product development funding for large-scale initiatives ranging from $25,000-$200,000 in value, involving multiple destinations and stakeholders and national or state-significant initiatives will also be announced during the New Year period.
In his formal announcement, Minister for Tourism and Major Events George Souris hailed the program as an important step towards the NSW Government’s goal of doubling overnight tourism expenditure in NSW by 2020.
“The overall goal of the additional $5 million funding program is to create, grow and enhance tourism products available across regional NSW, which in turn will help to attract more visitors,” he said.
“Tourism is the lifeblood of many of our regional towns and this additional funding will help to grow tourism, create local jobs and rebuild the state’s economy.”
