The National Indigenous Australian Agency (NIAA) has released a discussion paper to encourage community consultation on the policies and procedures to be adopted for the $40 million Indigenous Tourism Fund.
The Fund aims to encourage the development of new and expanding Indigenous owned and operated tourism enterprises.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt said tourism was one of the largest employers in the Australian economy, particularly in regional and remote Australia, and there would be extensive consultation with Indigenous stakeholders with a focus on both tourism start-ups and expansion of existing businesses.
“The tourism sector is growing faster than the rest of the economy and we want to ensure the Indigenous tourism sector can capture its share of the market, including the economic and employment benefits it provides,” Mr Wyatt said.
“We want the fund to provide value, focus on the gaps and barriers to success and increase opportunities for businesses in the sector.”
He said targeted consultations had already been completed with a number of Indigenous tourism bodies, peak tourism groups and State and Territory Governments, to inform the discussion paper.
“We want to find out what is important to the community and reflect that feedback in the final design of the fund, with a view to launching next year,” Mr Wyatt said.
Submissions will be accepted until Friday 22 November.
The 10-page discussion paper can be accessed at this PS News link.