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Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said 45 events will receive more than $2 million under round 11 of Tourism and Events Queensland’s Destination Events Program (QDEP).

“Events act as a drawcard for visitors and that’s good news for local communities because they deliver an economic boost and support local jobs,” Ms Jones said.

“Since the start of the program in 2015, we’ve invested more than $8 million supporting a total of 256 events, which has delivered strong benefits to Queensland’s $25 billion tourism economy.

“Many of these events have become iconic to Queensland and give visitors a taste of our Queensland destinations and experiences.

“Our aim is to get people to come to the event and then stay on to experience even more of what our regions have to offer.

“Thanks to an increase in funding from $2 million to $3 million from 2018-19 we’ve also been able to support more events this round that demonstrate potential for growth and the ability to continue attracting strong visitor numbers. 

“These range from music and indigenous festivals to marathons and lifestyle events hosted from May to September 2019.

“These events form part of the It’s Live! in Queensland calendar, which is now worth $780 million to the state’s economy.

The funding supports event organisers with marketing costs, strategic plan development, and hiring staff in addition to event infrastructure.

Under QDEP there are three funding rounds per year. The next round is open until 28 February 2019 for events held between September 2019 and September 2020.