Queensland tourism support package for major iconic operators
A major Cairns tourism player will receive millions to retain its workforce as the state and federal governments reveal a new $70m package to protect the industry from collapse.
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MAJOR players in the tourism industry have been thrown a massive lifeline to ensure they remain afloat during border closures with the announcement of Iconic Tourism Grants.
The joint initiative between the State and Federal Governments draws on the $600m support package to offer a targeted $70m to Queensland’s major tourism and hospitality businesses.
Under the agreed package, $30 million will be targeted at supporting Queensland’s iconic tourism attractions and $40 million will be used to provide a second round of grants to small, medium and large employing tourism and hospitality businesses across the state that received an initial grant from the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program.
Grants of up to $4 million will be available to businesses recognised as nationally significant tourism operators and attractions, key drivers of significant interstate or international tourism as well as major employers. The criteria mean Quicksilver will be eligible for a grant of up to $2 million since it has a turnover that falls between the $50m-$100m threshold.
Tourism businesses within the $100m-$200m turnover mark will qualify for up to $3 million in grants, while $4 million will go to mega-operators that exceed $200m in turnover – assuming they meet the 50 per cent post-Covid profit loss parameters.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said the package had been specifically designed to support big companies like Quicksilver.
“I went to the companies and asked what they needed because this drip-feeding has just not been happening,” he said.
“Because I couldn’t bring the turnover (limit) down to $30m, which I was trying to do to bring in the likes of Skyrail, Capta and others, I asked for a second round of what was announced last week – the grants of $15,000, $25,000 and $50,000 will be available for small, medium and large businesses.”
Mr Entsch said changes still had to be made to allow smaller operators, where owners were often the only employees, to get access to grants.
“That’s something that has to be done through the state,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, what’s going to save these businesses in the longer term is opening the bloody borders.”
Cairns MP Michael Healy said it would be detrimental if the Far North’s major operators fell victim to the pandemic.
“This is about ensuring businesses are still going to be there and ready when borders reopen. It’s taken 30-40 years for Cairns to build this tourism industry and infrastructure and we’ve had a lot of offshore investment.
“To keep that alive we need to make sure the high volume businesses survive because they’re also major contributors to our economy.”
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Originally published as Queensland tourism support package for major iconic operators
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