Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris has announced that that the NSW government has come through on its election promise to offer financial support to tourism.

Mr Souris said Destination NSW received a positive response from the tourism industry for tourism development proposals, as part of the AUD$5 million Regional Tourism Product Development Funding Program.

“I am pleased to confirm that the NSW Government has delivered on its election promise of greater support to Regional Tourism Organisations and tourism operators across NSW," Mr Souris said.

“Since the beginning of this year, this Government has delivered a total of $5 million of extra funding across 129 projects to develop new experiences and improve existing visitor attractions - to ensure NSW remains the number one state in Australia for tourism.”

Mr Souris explained that the purpose of the Regional Tourism Product Development Program is to stimulate industry development and increase spending in regional NSW.

“Tourism in regional NSW is worth AUD8.7 billion to our State’s economy and jobs in this sector account for one in every twenty one jobs in NSW.”

Mr Souris added that once these projects are completed across the next 12 months, overseas travellers to NSW will greatly benefit.

Some of the plans projects include the new heritage and nature touring tails, indigenous cultural tours, upgraded conference and event facilities, new overnight wildlife encounters plus extensions to popular festivals and improvements to existing attractions across the state.