Grants to boost SA heritage tourism offerings

Grants of between $5000 and $15,000 will be made available under a new $150,000 Activating Heritage Tourism Small Grants program, which is a partnership between the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) and the Tourism Industry Council SA (TiCSA).

Grant applications will open on 13 March for businesses offering heritage tourism experiences and products.

Eligible projects can include new tours or experiences, improvements to signage and displays and new physical and digital marketing materials.

DEW’s Tourism and Visitor Experience Manager Meg Barker said in the 12 months to September 2023, tourism contributed $10.3 billion to the South Australian economy, with $1.3 billion of that attributed to heritage tourism.

“Sharing stories about South Australia’s rich heritage enhances people’s enjoyment of visiting our wonderful state, and heritage tourism makes a significant contribution to our economy,” Ms Barker said.

“If you’re looking to boost an existing heritage tourism venture, we highly encouraged you to apply for these grants.”

TiCSA Chief Executive Officer Shaun de Bruyn said South Australia is bursting with natural, cultural and built heritage, which we want to share with locals and visitors alike.

“But this has to be done in an engaging and contemporary way if we want to be on the map,” Mr de Bruyn said.

“TiCSA’s core business is building the capability of our diverse tourism industry. It was clear to us that there is so much opportunity to help our heritage tourism sector to enhance and modernise their tourism products and visitor experiences. So partnering with DEW to deliver this program was a great collaborative fit.”

Two free online educational workshops, aimed at increasing a business’s heritage tourism capabilities, will be held on Wednesday 6 March and Monday 18 March.

Further detail about the workshops, along will all of the grant information and support resources are available here https://ticsa.com.au/activating-heritage-tourism/.