Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke is calling for organisers of all new events planned to be held in the Cootamundra electorate from January to June next year to apply for grants of up to $20,000 to help attract more visitors and boost local economies.
Ms Cooke said the 2019 Incubator Event Fund offers annual grants to events in rural and regional NSW to assist in areas such as marketing, public relations, venue hire and attendee research.
“Our rural and regional communities are full of brilliant ideas and the Incubator Event Fund provides a platform to get events off the ground and up and running – events that will help enliven and kick start local economies,” Ms Cooke said.
“We’ve already got such an array of events in our wonderful part of the world, such as Junee’s Rhythm n Rail Festival, the Crooked Mile Show & Shine in West Wyalong or the Jugiong Writer’s Festival, and it would be fantastic to see even more events become a regular fixture in the calendar.
“It’s so important the NSW Government supports more activity across the Cootamundra electorate because when people visit, they stay in local accommodation, buy from local shops and eat at local restaurants and cafes, putting more tourist dollars in the pockets of local businesspeople and creating more jobs,” Ms Cooke said.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said that since announcing the expanded Regional Flagship Events Program in 2016, the NSW Government has provided support to almost 60 events through the Incubator Event Fund.
“The NSW Government is determined to turbocharge our State’s tourism sector so that every part of NSW reaps the benefits of our record $43 million investment in regional tourism, and I encourage eligible events to apply for Round One of the Incubator Event Fund,” he said.
The 2019 Incubator Event Fund is available to organisers staging an event for the first or second time. Applications for Round One close on November 4, 2018.
To lodge an application and view the terms and conditions, visit www.destinationnsw.com.au/rfep
Round Two applications for events held between July and December 2019 will open in March next year.
