Dolphin Swim Australia wins Tourism funding

17-February-2012

Member for Port Stephens, Craig Baumann today announced $40,000 in funding for local tourism operator, Dolphin Swim Australia, on behalf of Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, as part of the NSW Government’s $5 million Regional Tourism Product Development Funding Program.

Mr Baumann said the new funding will enable Dolphin Swim Australia to upgrade technology on board the tour boats, to enable underwater video recording of the movement of dolphins. The grant will also be used to improve boat access and facilities for disabled visitors.

“I am delighted to announce that Destination NSW has awarded Dolphin Swim Australia funding of $40,000 to upgrade their boats with the latest technology to offer visitors an even better dolphin encounter experience.

“This is great for tourism to Port Stephens and it confirms that Port Stephens also offers some great activities for tourists as well as outstanding natural beauty.

“This is another great boost for our community as it is in addition to the $101,000 awarded by the NSW Government in January for local tourism projects in the Port Stephens area,” Mr Baumann said.

Minister Souris said Destination NSW has awarded a total of $1.75 million under Stream 2 of the Program which will see funding provided to sixteen tourism businesses across NSW to expand their visitor attractions.

“Supporting great ideas from local tourism businesses is important to the NSW Government’s mission of growing regional tourism and increasing the numbers of overnight visitors to the State.

“The value of tourism in regional NSW is more than $8.7 billion in overnight visitor expenditure – and is critical for boosting the NSW economy. The aim of the Regional Tourism Product Development Program is to improve the visitor experience and encourage tourism spending in regional NSW,” Mr Souris said.