Today, the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, launched a new phase of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia’s National Wine Tourism Strategy, to help create world’s best-practice to wine tourism experiences across Australia.
The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia received $226,500 from the TQUAL Grants program under the 2009 round of funding.
“I congratulate the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia on their successful application for funding the revision of the National Wine Tourism Strategy,” Minister Ferguson said.
“This Strategy is an example of the Australian Government working with industry to deliver outcomes. We are aiming to position Australia as being one of the world’s must-visit wine and food destinations by 2020.”
In addition to the National Wine Tourism Strategy, the project worked to deliver innovative wine tourism experiences across Australia's wine regions. This included developing wine tourism business support materials and a national workshop program to inform and train the industry.
“Support materials and new technology have arisen to meet the challenges of reaching a discerning market. Thanks to workshops, winemakers have been exposed to innovative ways of doing business,” said Minister Ferguson at today’s launch.
“These are tangible measures that make a real difference to the cellar door business. And they bring us closer to realising the strategy’s vision.
“There is a strong economic case for innovation, especially in regional areas where 46 cents in every dollar of tourism spending in Australia changes hands. New investment in wineries sustains local jobs, some of which have very little to do with making wine.
“Cellar-door staff can also be great tour guides, giving their customers useful tips on other attractions nearby. This kind of local expertise on a national scale helps the bottom line for thousands of tourism operators.”
The Australian Government has committed $40 million to TQUAL Grants over four years.
Further information on TQUAL grants can be found at www.ret.gov.au/tqual.