Better natural disaster resilience for Queensland tourism operators

More than 30 tourism resilience initiatives across Queensland are set to be supported through the $5 million Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

Part of a $7 million Tourism Recovery and Resilience package launched last September, the fund is designed to help local tourism operators build back better from extreme weather events in 2021 and 2022.

The fund is backed by the federal and state governments through joint Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and is part of a larger $177 million economic recovery package.

The successful projects are spread across nine Regional Tourism Organisation areas spanning Gold Coast to the Fraser Coast and west to the outback.

Domestic tourism is a $24.5 billion industry for Queensland, however, the industry has faced significant hardship in recent times off the back of COVID lockdowns and border closures, and monsoon and flooding events over the past two years.

The Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure Fund projects are designed to help operators return to full capacity sooner, as well as reducing the impact of disasters on the tourism industry, especially in towns where tourism is a major employer.

Queensland tourism operators are no strangers to extreme weather events, and the fund is designed to help fast-track longer-term tourism resilience and recovery from extreme weather and disaster events.

The 32 projects were nominated by tourism operators themselves so they can be better prepared for extreme weather, reduce damage, and get their businesses back on top.

And it’s a win-win for Queensland, too. As tourism businesses become more resilient, the impacts of natural disasters on visitor economies are lessened.

Funded projects support a variety of disaster mitigation solutions, including flood resilience and erosion protection, embankment stabilisation, greater use of solar power and battery storage, and more resilient and accessible infrastructure.

For the full list of projects visit www.dtis.qld.gov.au/tourism/funds/resilient-tourism-infrastructure