Federal member for Mallee, Anne Webster said travel agents in Mallee would benefit from sharing in additional funding support of $130 million from the Coalition Government.
Dr Webster said local travel agents should apply for funding support in Round 2 of the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program, which opens later this month.
“The Coalition Government has committed $258 million to support our travel agents through the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program,” Dr Webster said.
“Our Government provided $128 million in Round One to support some 3000 travel agents who continued to serve their customers.
“We are now providing additional support via Round 2 and I encourage local travel agents to check their eligibility and apply for funding. Local travel agents will find this release of funding is fairer for smaller operators. This is as a direct push from the National Party who represent regional communities. Mum and dad operators stand to benefit more from this round.
“Our support for travel agents complements the $1.2 billion aviation and tourism support package which was designed to get domestic tourists spending and follows the successful JobKeeper program.
“We can all support our local travel agents in Mallee by using their services when booking a holiday this year.”
Eligible travel agents and tour operators in Mallee who have received a payment under Round One may be entitled to a second payment, ranging between $7,500 and $100,000. To be eligible the business must:

• Have been operating a travel agent, inbound tour operator or tour wholesaler business prior to the announcement of the closure of international borders, and are continuing to operate that business;
• Have a turnover of between $50,000 and $20 million (or between $500,000 and $200 million Total Transaction Value – TTV) for the 2019 calendar year; and

• Have been in receipt of the JobKeeper extension (28 September 2020 to 28 March 2021).

To ensure equity, businesses found to have received a payment based on TTV in Round One that was greater than they would otherwise have received if the payments for Round One and Two were calculated on turnover, will not be eligible for a Round Two payment.
For more information, visit the Austrade website.
https://www.austrade.gov.au/australian/tourism/tourism-and-business/grants/covid-19-consumer-travel-support-program