International tourists will be enticed to return Down Under following two years of restrictions, border closures and strict quarantine control.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce a $60 million tourism investment in the federal budget while visiting Cairns on Tuesday.
The package includes $45 million over two years for Tourism Australia to focus on regional destinations which have been impacted heavily by the loss of international tourists.
Tropical North Queensland, the Gold Coast, NSW north coast, Sunshine Coast, Great Ocean Road, the Whitsundays, and the Hunter will be the main destinations to benefit from the Tourism Australia marketing campaign.
An additional $15 million will go specifically to Tourism Tropical North Queensland in a bid to promote the Great Barrier Reef to visitors.
Mr Morrison says he wants to make sure Australia is at the top of every tourist’s must-visit list.
“The package is about getting people on planes and getting them here. It’s about converting the strong interest in Australia to actual businesses,” he said.
Tourism Minister Dan Tehan flagged the industry could see further support later this year.
“This campaign is just the start of a long-term strategy to restart tourism to Australia, with further investment in tourism marketing campaigns internationally to come in the second half of the year,” he said.
Regional Australia is also the focus of several gas infrastructure projects to be included in the upcoming budget.
The government announced an additional $50.3 million will be invested in seven priority projects as well as carbon capture and storage infrastructure.
The projects are expected to safeguard against potential energy shortages, keep electricity prices stable and create jobs in regional Australia.
Projects include the southwest pipeline expansion project in Victoria and a gas infrastructure hub project in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
Funding will also go towards a feasibility study into the efficient infrastructure needed to deliver natural gas from Beetaloo in the NT to the east coast.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government will back the natural gas and carbon capture and storage industries in the budget.
Elsewhere, the government has also announced it will spend $480 million, alongside another $270 million from NBN Co, to increase internet speeds and allow more people to connect to the NBN’s fixed wireless service in the regions.
“By using the latest 4G and 5G wireless technology, this upgrade will extend the coverage range from a tower, and allow higher speed services to everyone served by the tower,” Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher said.
The fixed wireless footprint coverage will be expanded by up to 50 per cent, giving access to 120,000 additional premises that might have opted for the Sky Muster service, while speeds will increase by up to 100Mbps per second for many.
© AAP 2022
