By Alisdair Valente
As an effort to boost Greater Brisbane’s tourism industry, nine local Ipswich businesses have been granted secured funding and are setting their sights on delivering new visitor experiences.
The Ipswich City Council helped with the formation of the ‘Exceptional Experiences Program’ with its purpose being the uptake of existing facilities, new city tours and supporting the launch of new experiences via business owners.
Ipswich City Mayor, Teresa Harding said that the council is committed to supporting local businesses and ensuring that tourism operators continue to provide local jobs to recover from the pandemic.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the tourism industry, with operators across Australia being forced to hold off on growth plans in 2020,” Mayor Harding said.
“Through this program, council is supporting local businesses to further develop local tourism product offerings which will, in turn, boost visitor numbers and expenditure in our region,” Mayor Harding said.
Mayor Harding is firm on growing the opportunity for jobs in Ipswich to help sustain a growing tourism industry and a significant boost to the Greater Brisbane Economy.
Economic and Industry Development Committee Chairperson Councillor Nicole Jonic, believes this program was identified as a priority in the City of Ipswich Destination Management Plan’.
“In addition to those that applied for the pilot program, we had a number of businesses express interest in applying for a future round if it was offered,” Cr Jonic said.
The nine businesses that secured the funding under the program include: Quest Ipswich, Queensland Raceways, Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway, Tripswich Tours, The Soul Nook Collective, The Llama Farm, Oikos Café, Ghost Tours and Haigslea Ewe Nique Hobby Farm.
If you would like to know more about the proposed tourism projects or even when they will be up and running, please visit ipswichfirst.com.au.