Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres invited event organisers of new and emerging regional events held between January and June 2017 to submit applications for funding in Round One of the 2017 Incubator Event Fund.

Ayres said, “Regional events have an important role in taking visitors on an incredible journey through NSW, showcasing our destinations, our attractions and regional communities, while bringing economic benefit to the regions.

This new fund will extend our calendar of regional events and foster development of events in their infancy to grow attendance beyond their local community, which is a huge boost for our overnight visitor economy.”

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase encouraged event organisers who are staging an event for the first or second time, to review the fund criteria and learn more about the opportunities on offer.

Chipchase said, “We are excited to be offering both new and existing smaller scale events in Regional NSW the chance to apply for the new 2017 Incubator Event Fund.

“The fund will assist with elements including event staging costs such as venue hire, marketing and publicity to drive event awareness and attendance, and research to better understand audience demographics and plan for future growth.”

Applications for Round One of the 2017 Incubator Event Fund are open until Sunday 30 October 2016 with Round Two applications for events held in July – December 2017, set to open in February next year.

The 2017 Incubator Event Fund is managed by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. To lodge an application and to view the 2017 Incubator Event Fund’s key criteria visit http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/rfep