This program will offer state-based and competitive grants to strengthen wine-based regional tourism and exports by helping to develop exciting wine tourism experiences.
It will complement initiatives under the Tourism 2020 strategy; food and wine experiences are an important plank of this strategy, which aims to grow the overnight spend to more than $115 billion by 2020 (from $97.1 billion at 30 June 2016).
The program’s objective is to help meet increased demand created by Program 1 by building regional wine-based tourism capacity, stimulating innovation and encouraging export activities focused on regions and their wines.
It will include:
• a grants program for state-leveraged activities where a portion of funding will be specifically allocated to each state based on the value of production and the number of international visitors ($1 million for South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, and $500,000 for Tasmania and Queensland); and
• a competitive grants program, where the balance of funds will be contestable. Eligible recipients such as state-based wine associations may choose to lodge a state-based bid or multiple bids for the fixed allocation, and must meet eligibility criteria. Co-contributions will be sought, and applications from groups of stakeholders proposing to work collaboratively are likely to be prioritised. Examples that may be funded include:
• regional wine and wine tourism marketing campaigns to attract international tourists or promote exports; • support for regional wine events that increase cellar door sales; • wine trails connecting wine regions and clusters across borders;
• common user infrastructure that directly supports regional wine tourism (such as booking and central reservation systems) and has a benefit for both individual cellar doors and the region as a whole; and
• innovative products or services that have a broader benefit to multiple wine businesses, which may include new e-commerce or online platforms, improved regional data capture, and use of new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.
Project guidelines, elgibility criteria and application processes will be determined through consultation and will be subject to Ministerial approval.
It is proposed that successful projects will be selected through a competitive, merit-based process and approved by the AGWA Board based on the recommendations of an Expert Assessment Panel.
Potential criteria may include, but not be limited to, the potential economic benefit of a project (applicants will need demonstrate how it will increase international wine tourism and sales), the strategic benefit of a project and its alignment with broader industry and regional objectives, increased collaboration between stakeholders, and the leverage the project receives from other funding sources.
Legislative changes will be required to implement this initiative, so activities may not commence until the first quarter of the 2018 calendar year.
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