Mr Ayres said the funds available for the 2015-16 financial year total $7.2 million,
which is part of the $21.6 million record funding commitment announced by the NSW
Government in 2012.

“Applications for the 2015-16 RVEF are now open to industry, Local Government and
Regional Tourism Organisations and I encourage our NSW regions to apply for this
development opportunity which supports regional tourism in NSW,” Mr Ayres said.

“The RVEF, administered by our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW,
provides investment into the regional visitor economy on a matched dollar-for-dollar
basis, and supports projects that contribute to achieving our goal of doubling overnight
visitor expenditure to NSW by 2020.”

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said the RVEF includes
two funds, a Contestable Fund and a Quarantined Fund, and applications can be
submitted for product development and marketing activities.

“Of the $7.2 million available, $3.7 million will be quarantined for Regional Tourism
Organisations’ applications and $3.5 million will be available for industry, Local
Government and Regional Tourism Organisations to contest,” Ms Chipchase said.

“This initiative provides the regional tourism industry with a sustainable platform to
help boost economic growth within their communities and I encourage all NSW
tourism operators and organisations to submit their applications as soon as they can
so they don’t miss out.”

Further information on the Regional Visitor Economy Fund, including Program
Guidelines, Application Examples, Frequently Asked Questions and the RVEF
Application Form, are available on the Destination NSW website:
http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/rvef

Applications for round one of the 2015-16 Contestable Fund will close COB Friday 12
June 2015. Applications for the Quarantined Fund will close COB Friday 30 November
2015. All applications must be submitted using the online application form.

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