The Northern Territory government announced the recipients of the Aboriginal Tourism Grant Program's fourth round on Tuesday.
Ten organisations will each receive between $30,000 to $100,000 to support their tourism venture.
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Nicole Manison said the Territory government is "a proud supporter of our Aboriginal tourism sector".
"We know the authentic Aboriginal cultural experience brings tourists to the Territory and we want to keep boosting our products," she said.
"In the year ending June 2022, 31% of interstate visitors participated in Aboriginal cultural activities during their Territory holiday, and through investment in developing and marketing the breadth of cultural tourism experiences available, domestic and international demand is set to grow.
"This round of funding will see the development and expansion of exciting cultural experiences right across the Territory, which is good for our economy and it's good for local and remote jobs."
The Round 4 recipients are:
Standley Chasm – Upgrades to the existing cultural centre building
Arltunga Bush Pub and Eco Retreat – Delivery of new infrastructure to create a new visitor entrance
Watjan Guided Tours – Establishing a sustainable off-grid power system
Tarntipi Homelands Aboriginal Corporation – Water infrastructure for Tiwi cultural tourism experience
Gong-Dal Aboriginal Corporation – Gurrambalk self-catering accommodation
Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation – Development of event space
Luwungunji – Construction of new five room accommodation facility at Seven Emu Station
Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation – Delivery of Bawinanga homelands
Kurt Tipungwuti – Develop new Aboriginal cultural tours in Ranku, Tiwi Islands
Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation – An automated booking system for Welcome to Country, cultural awareness services, and to support future cultural tourism activities.
The National Indigneous Times spoke with Michael from Watjan Tours, who are putting the funding towards sustainable electricity like solar to reduce the businesses' overall carbon footprint.
He noted that guests have expressed interest in more sustainable electricity options on their campsites.
"This grant will be having a huge impact to our guests as we can show them that we are working on sustainable options for electricity," he said.
"We often hear from our guests how they would love to see more solutions to solar power due to our weather in the NT. They often wonder why we don't have all solar on our houses and so on.
"We believe this great opportunity to have solar power for our guests will show visitors to our region that we care about our footprint."
Michael believes there is still room for more support due to the fact that the tourism industy in Territory contributes greatly to the local economy.
"Best example is our current issue... obtaining a touring vehicle. Even though we are growing and have plenty of future bookings, we are a small business and can't just buy a car. Even if we were able to see a 50/50 loan/grant, we could be continuing to grow our business," he said.
"NT tourism has become really big in recent times and we appreciate their efforts to make this industry bigger, however for small tour operators a better offer on grants for specific assets such as vehicles or trailers would help," Michael added.
