Tourism Marketing Support Grants

Ipswich City Council’s Ipswich Tourism Operator Partner Program (ITOPP) supports businesses providing leisure tourism experiences to visitors to Ipswich with funding support for marketing campaigns that target external (out-of-Ipswich) markets.

Funding Available

Eligible tourism businesses can access up to $3,000 per quarter of matched (dollar-for-dollar) funding for eligible marketing campaigns.

Program Objectives

The objectives of ITOPP are to fund targeted and innovative marketing campaigns that directly generate awareness, interest and tourism revenues for the City of Ipswich. The Program aims to:

• Support Ipswich tourism amplify their presence via consumer marketing campaigns.
• Strengthen the dissemination of Ipswich destination messaging to key target markets/audiences.
• Encourage collaborative partnerships within the Ipswich tourism industry.
• Recognise and reward Ipswich tourism businesses offering a high standard of services and experiences to visitors.
• Support the economic stimulation and jobs growth that increases in visitation brings to the City of Ipswich.

Funding Rounds and When to Apply

ITOPP funding is currently available for campaigns in market between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2019. Applications for this 12 month period are not being assessed in rounds. Applications are being assessed as they are received.

Applications open on 1 September 2018 and close on 31 August 2019. Eligible businesses can apply at anytime during this period for funding for each quarter that they have eligible campaigns in market. For the purposes of ITOPP 2018-19, a quarter refers to the following periods:

• 1 October to 31 December 2018
• 1 January to 31 March 2019
• 1 April to 30 June 2019
• 1 July to 30 September 2019

Applications can only be lodged for prospective, future campaigns and can not be lodged retrospectively.

How to Apply

In 2018-19, applying for ITOPP Funding Support, will be a 2-step process involving a simplified initial eligibility self-assessment, followed by the official funding application.

Step 1 – Eligibility Self-Assessment:

This online form allows you to quickly assess if the campaign you are seeking funding for is eligible, without the need for lodging a full application. If your proposed campaign is provisionally assessed as eligible, move on to step 2.

Step 2 – Official ITOPP Funding Support Application:

Applications for ITOPP funding support are lodged and managed via Ipswich City Council’s SmartyGrants system.

Application Processing Timelines

Once your application has been submitted via the SmartyGrants system and all the relevant documentation supplied, representatives from Ipswich City Council’s Tourism Branch will assess the application against the ITOPP Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria. Applicants should receive a response or request for further information within 5 business days.

Acquitting ITOPP Funding

Successful applicants are required to submit a post-campaign report before they receive their approved funding amount. Post-campaign reports are required for each quarter that funding has been granted for. These post-campaign reports form the funding acquittals for ITOPP.

Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria

Download the ITOPP Application Guidelines (PDF, 387KB) for detailed information on the program, eligibility and application/evaluation process.

Contact and Support

How can we help you? If you have any questions or comments about the Ipswich Tourism Operator Partner Program, please contact us at:

Michael Williams
Industry Development Officer
Tourism Branch | Economic Development and Marketing Department
Ipswich City Council
Tel: (07) 3810 7448
Email: [email protected]