Applications open for $10m of international wine tourism grants

State wine associations, eligible consortia and entities can now apply for funding through the Australian Government’s International Wine Tourism State Grants and International Wine Tourism Competitive Grants.

The two grant programs each have $5 million in funding for exciting wine tourism experiences that will build a stronger pull for Australia’s food, wine and tourism and attract more international visitors to our regions.

Administered by Wine Australia, the grants are a component of the $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (the $50m Package), which aims to grow the Australian wine sector, showcase the nation’s wine tourism and drive demand for Australia’s wine exports.

‘The $10 million available through the state and competitive grants offers a big boost to our wine sector, Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said.

‘Attracting visitors to spend their tourism dollars in our wine regions, and reconnect with the wines when back home, is really important for the success of Australian wine and our regional economies.

‘Australia offers diverse and unique wine experiences and the onus is on us to maintain our competitive edge, thinking bigger, bolder and better than ever before’, Mr Clark said.

Across its four programs, the $50m Package aims to attract an additional 40,000 international tourists to Australian wine regions by 2019-20, worth around $170 million to the economy.

The state grants program provides state wine associations with access to pre-determined funding allocations for eligible international wine tourism research, planning and implementation activities.

The competitive grants program provides a broader range of stakeholders with access to small and medium grants for initiatives that will grow the number of and/or spend by international tourists visiting Australia’s wine regions.

Eligible competitive grant activities include wine tourism marketing campaigns, wine events, infrastructure and innovative products, which are focused on attracting international wine tourists.

Wine Australia has appointed an independent Expert Assessment Panel to assist with the assessment of the grant applications. The Panel members have relevant experience in regional tourism, wine tourism and/or regional economic development. The panel members are: 

Andrew McEvoy – Chair

Andrew has extensive experience across tourism and media being a past Managing Director at Fairfax Media - life media and events, Managing Director of Tourism Australia and past Chief Executive of the South Australian Tourism Commission.

Howard Cearns

Howard is the founder of Braincells, a brand and creative development company specialising in food and beverage marketing. He has been Deputy Chair of Tourism WA and Chair of Events Tourism WA. Commercially he was a co-founder of Little Creatures Brewery, Stormflower Wines, and the Alex Hotel/Shadow Wine Bar which has provided extensive experience across premium beverages, hospitality and hotel accommodation.

Sally Cope

Sally is the Executive Officer of Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia and has extensive tourism experience across a variety of sales, marketing and product development roles.

Simon Currant AM

Simon is a successful tourism consultant, developer, owner and operator. He is immediate past long-term chairman of the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania and was inaugural chair of the Tourism Quality Council of Australia. He has extensive experience in wine industry tourism developments.

Michael East

Michael is formerly the CEO of Accolade Wines, Managing Director of Fine Wine Partners and Managing Director of Southcorp Wines Australia.He has also served previously as a board member of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA). Michael brings strong experience across the wine sector including export.

Read more about the state and competitive grants – including guidelines and instructions on how to apply. Applications close 5pm, Friday, 2 March 2018 ACDT and late applications may not be accepted.