Andrew Leigh

30 July 2013

NATIONAL DINOSAUR MUSEUM AND YMCA OF CANBERRA WIN $161,093 TOURISM QUALITY FUNDING

Federal Government tourism quality funding of $76,668 for the National Dinosaur Museum in Nicholls and $84,425 for the YMCA of Canberra was announced today by the Federal Member for Fraser, Dr Andrew Leigh.

Dr Leigh said the National Dinosaur Museum would benefit from new display cabinets and a new waterproof shaded decking area for visitors to rest and enjoy the environment.

“The YMCA of Canberra will also benefit from important redevelopment that involves the construction of additional accommodation rooms, some with ensuite facilities, new bathrooms and additional office space,” said Dr Leigh.

“I congratulate the National Dinosaur Museum and YMCA of Canberra for strongly demonstrating their commitment to improving the tourism experience and thereby winning funding from this highly-competitive grants program,” Dr Leigh said.

This project is one of 89 nationally to share in a total of $8.5 million in funding under the 2013 Round of the Federal Government’s Tourism Quality (T-QUAL) Grants.

Minister Assisting for Tourism, Senator Don Farrell, announced the successful recipients for the 2013 T-QUAL grants round on 26 July 2013 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Senator Farrell said Federal Government investment of $8.5 million in the 89 projects was expected to leverage a total investment of almost $27 million.

“Through this program, the Government continues to demonstrate its commitment to improving the quality, productivity, and capability of the $41 billion tourism sector,” he said.

“T-QUAL Grants provide great support to help tourism operators, many of whom are small businesses, attract more visitors by ensuring products and experiences remain fresh, of a high standard, and support local economies and communities.”

The four-year T-QUAL Grants program aims to stimulate sustainable economic growth in tourism and is an integral part of the Government’s Tourism 2020 strategy to double the value of overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.

In the 2013 round, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia each had 15 successful recipients, with 12 in Victoria, 10 in Tasmania, 5 in the Northern Territory and 2 in the ACT.  Details of grant recipients are at www.ret.gov.au/tqual