The federal government has launched its $130 million support package for Australian travel agents, inbound tour operators and tour wholesalers as part of Round Two of the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program.
Eligible travel agents can receive a one-off payment of between $7,500 and $100,000 through the Consumer Travel Support Program to help them facilitate customer refunds and follow up further travel credits.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the funding was part of the federal government’s $1.2 billion tourism and aviation package which would support Australia’s tourism businesses and 660,000 workers.
“More than 2,800 travel agents have already received almost $95 million in payments to help them trade, provide refunds and hold credits for Australians unable to travel due to COVID-19,” Mr Tehan said.
“We want Australians to book a holiday in Australia this year to support our tourism industry and to book that holiday through a travel agent.”
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The new round of funding is in addition to the $128 million already provided under Round One, which was announced in December 2020 and sought to assist travel agents and tour wholesalers who had been badly impacted by the pandemic.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents, Council of Australian Tour Operators, and Australian Tourism Export Council were among the key industry stakeholders to provide feedback on what to improve for the second round of funding.
Key changes include simplifying the assessment and payment process for eligible businesses, increasing the minimum grant amount from $1,500 to $7,500, and reducing the number of turnover tiers used to calculate payments from 41 to nine.
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Applications for Round Two close on June 12. For more information about the application process and eligibility, visit the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program website.
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