New strategy to build international wine tourism in Queensland

Queensland wineries are behind a new five-year strategy to develop high-quality wine tourism experiences and attract more international tourists to the state’s wine regions.

Developed with Australian and State Government funding, the strategy released yesterday by the Queensland Wine Industry Association (QWIA) signals an exciting new era for Queensland wine and tourism businesses.

Minister for Agriculture Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said ‘Australia produces fantastic wine, and we want to share that with the world. Our wineries are set amongst idyllic landscapes with friendly communities ready to roll out the red carpet.

‘This strategy will help boost tourism throughout our wine regions, while also promoting Australian wine to international tourists’, she said.

Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark said, ‘we want people to choose Queensland’s wine tourism experiences when they think about what to do when visiting Queensland.

‘I look forward to seeing local wine businesses embrace this strategy, which is focused on building the resilience and competitiveness of Queensland’s wine sector and growing its contribution to the state’s economy’, he said.

Wine tourism visitors to Queensland spend more than $800 million on average each year, which is 3 per cent of the state’s total visitor expenditure.

The strategy highlights opportunities to raise awareness of wine tourism experiences as part of Queensland’s overall lifestyle offering, as well as targeting the niche ‘wine tourists’ who actively choose trips based on wine and food experiences.

Implementing the strategy is the next step in QWIA’s International Wine Tourism State Grants project, which is supported by $230,000 in funding from the Australian Government and $230,000 in matching funds through the Queensland Government and QWIA.

Queensland’s International Wine Tourism Strategy can be viewed at https://queenslandwine.com.au/qwia-strategy/

Background

The International Wine Tourism State Grants program is an initiative of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (the $50m Package). Its core objective is to support stakeholders to implement initiatives, which will grow the number of and/or spend by international tourists visiting Australia’s wine regions. Applications closed 2 March 2018 and project delivery is currently underway.