Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Beltana Farm owner Alice O’Mara in the restaurant. The business will now be able to open a truffle shop. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
A $100,000 tourism grant from the ACT Government is no trifling matter for truffle farm owner Alice O’Mara.
In a sector where experience is key, the money will go towards diversifying what’s on offer at Beltana Farm in the rural enclave of Pialligo and providing a greater range of activities for visitors.
Beltana Farm offers truffle hunting, fine dining and accommodation and the funding, which it has to match, means projects that would have taken years to come to fruition can get done now.
That’s great for Ms O’Mara’s business but it also means more visitors generally to the ACT.
The funding will allow Ms O’Mara to add a shop selling truffle products and other local produce to the site on Beltana Road, as well as a tasting room to try truffle treats from the restaurant.
There are also plans to develop gardens and beekeeping so the business can be expanded to operate all year round.
“It really allows us to get people here for a couple of hours as opposed to just for an hour for something to eat, and offer different experiences at different price points,” Ms O’Mara said.
“So you’ve got the option of now coming in for a smaller experience.
“Everyone’s got different budgets, or families want to have a different experience than someone who wants fine dining.”
The Tourism Product Development Fund will distribute $500,000 in grants to 15 local businesses for large and small projects.
The fund is designed to encourage co-investment in tourism-related infrastructure, products and experiences that can drive economic growth in the ACT and deliver improved visitor experiences while also enhancing Canberra’s reputation as a tourism destination.
Over three years, more than $4 million has gone to projects in the tourism, hospitality and events sectors.
Mr Barr and Ms O’Mara inspect the new shop space, which will add another dimension to the Beltana Farm experience.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the grants played an important role in developing a sector that was increasingly vital to the ACT economy.
Mr Barr said the tourism spend was approaching $3.75 billion in the Territory economy from 5.5 million visitors, and the sector had more than 20,000 jobs of the 270,000 jobs in the ACT.
“When you look at private sector economic drivers in Canberra, tourism and hospitality are very strong contributors,” he said.
“And so we are really pleased with the success of this program because it has facilitated extra private sector development, made sure that projects that may have taken years to come forward can be accelerated at a time that will support the next steps in our tourism economy.”
Mr Barr said it was important to note that the grants needed to be matched by the business, “so everyone’s got a bit of skin in the game”.
“These sorts of partnerships are proving to be very successful.”
Ms O’Mara said she would spend over and above Beltana Farm’s required contribution because “we really want to deliver a long-standing product”.
The restaurant opened in mid-February, and clientele to the farm had expanded from locals to interstate to international, with visitors from India and Southeast Asia.
“We want it here in 30 years, even bigger and better and and even a brand now with our amazing kitchen, creating truffle products and things we can sell in the shop,” Ms O’Mara said.
“We want to take that national and international, so it really puts us on the map if you come to Australia to visit.”
Other recipients from this round of the fund are:
- $10,000 to Canberra Glassworks to upgrade their public sound system
- $50,000 to the National Capital Educational Tourism project for the addition of The Dinosaur Museum and Canberra Glassworks to the Book Canberra Excursions booking platform
- $11,000 to High Country Hikes to buy a vehicle to establish a new walking tour
- $38,659 to the Gang Gang Cafe upgraded outdoor dining infrastructure to host live music and cultural events
- $25,000 to Abode – The Apartment Hotel Murrumbateman to develop a conference space
- $30,000 to the Yarralumla Play Station to build The Canberra Maze
- $35,000 to Share-A-Bike to establish a Lakeside Bike Hire pop-up bicycle rental facility
- $20,000 to Wilma to establish a new Canberra Region Wine Room
- $10,000 to the Australian Outward-Bound Foundation to buy a larger bus for transportation
- $25,000 to Capital Brewing Co. to enhance outdoor seating structure
- $25,000 to Canberra Racing Club to install Wi-Fi at Thoroughbred Park
- $20,000 to Lunetta Trattoria to establish a Red Hill lookout, ground floor wine bar
- $20,000 to Midnight Hotel to establish the Mark brand art hub
- $80,000 to The Truffle Farm to construct an additional luxury cabin.
The fund was introduced in 2021 to assist the recovery of Canberra’s tourism sector after the pandemic.
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