The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, has welcomed the launch of the Darling River Run tourism project which received funding of $500,000 from the Australian Government.
The investment from the Australian Tourism Development Program helped to fund marketing, signage, merchandise and a promotional focus on indigenous tourism for outback New South Wales.
Officially launched today at the 2010 Outback Tourism Symposium at Lightning Ridge, the Darling River Run is a driving route from Brewarrina to Wentworth.
Australian Government tourism funding helped to build awareness of the drive including the many towns and attractions along the route which follows the Darling River.
Minister Ferguson said: “Outback Australia offers experiences unlike anywhere in the world.
"By supporting projects like this in regional Australia, the Australian Government recognises the important role tourism plays in local communities and how it provides local jobs, boosts local economies, and supports small business.
"The significance of tourism across Australia is recognised in the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy, which seeks to unlock investment in tourism infrastructure such as hotels, airports, and conference centres."
Alongside the Strategy, governments at all levels continue to invest in promoting tourism. Their combined marketing budget was $537 million last year including $47.3 million in New South Wales.
At the same time, 70 innovative tourism projects are sharing almost $8.3 million in the Australian Government’s new TQUAL Grants funding program which replaces the Australian Tourism Development Program and includes $1.9 million for 19 projects in New South Wales.
Minister Ferguson said: “Tourism directly employs more than 160,000 people in New South Wales and contributes almost $14 billion to the State’s economy in one year.
"The Australian Government is pleased to be helping the tourism industry make an even stronger contribution to our economic prosperity."