Australian travel agents, inbound tour operators and tour wholesalers can now apply to access an additional $130 million in support from the Morrison Government.
The second round of the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program opens today, which brings to $258 million the total direct support for travel agents. This is in addition to around $700 million in support already provided through measures such as JobKeeper, PAYG cash flow boosts, and loss carry back provisions.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the extra assistance was part of the Morrison Government's $1.2 billion tourism and aviation package to support Australia's tourism businesses and 660,000 workers.
"More than 2800 travel agents have already received almost $95 million in payments to help them trade, provide refunds and hold credits for Australians unable to travel due to COVID-19," Mr Tehan said.
"We want Australians to book a holiday in Australia this year to support our tourism industry and to book that holiday through a travel agent."
The COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program provides eligible travel agents, inbound tour operators and tour wholesalers with a one-off payment up to $100,000. Key changes under Round Two of the program include:
- Simplifying the assessment and payment process for businesses eligible for a second payment under the program extension
- Increasing the minimum grant amount from $1,500 to $7,500
- Reducing the number of turnover tiers used to calculate payments from 41 to nine.
The changes were adopted after widespread consultation with industry stakeholders, including The Australian Federation of Travel Agents, Council of Australian Tour Operators and Australian Tourism Export Council.
