THE state government has allocated an additional $1 million in regional event funding - set to spur new and innovative events and to grow existing events right across the state.
Premier Steven Marshall announced the 50 per cent boost in funding to the Regional Event Fund at Paracombe Wines in the Adelaide Hills on Sunday - one of the participating venues in the Adelaide Hills' iconic food and wine celebration, Crush Festival, an event funded by the Fund.
"We are putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to creating jobs and boosting regional tourism," he said.
"This expanded regional event fund is in direct response to what regional communities need as they recover from the impacts of COVID-19 - boosting spending and jobs right across our great state.
"With the latest data showing 48 cents in every tourism dollar is spent in our regions, regional tourism is playing a key role in the recovery of our state's visitor economy.
"This million-dollar boost for regional events aims to keep that momentum going well into 2021 and beyond and is exactly what the industry has told us they need to attract more visitors across more events throughout the entire year, and importantly - get more people into work."
Other events covered by the Fund include the Bay to Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations in the Limestone Coast, and the state-wide SALA Festival.
The 2021-22 Regional Event Fund has four categories:
Significant Event Funding (from $50,000) - up to three years' funding for new large-scale signature events that have the potential to be nationally or internationally significant and which provide substantial visitation, media and profiling opportunities and economic impact for SA;
Established Event Funding ($20,000 to $50,000) - up to three years' funding for events that can demonstrate a strong track record of growth and a strategy for event innovation;
Development Event Funding ($10,000 to $20,000) - up to three years' funding for events that demonstrate potential for growth and development; and
Emerging Event Funding ($5,000 to $10,000) - up to two years' funding for events that are 1-3 years young, with a focus on smaller community events.
Applications to the Significant Event Funding category will be accepted year-round, with funding available from July 1. All other categories will have two intake rounds, with round one opening on Sunday, January 24, and round two opening in August.
The funding rounds in 2021-22 will support events held from September 1 to August 30, 2022.
- Details: Criteria and funding guidelines are available at tourism.sa.gov.au/support/regional-event-fund
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