The Federal Government’s 50 per cent increase to the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) for school kids was welcomed today by Assistant Shadow Minister for Tourism Leanne Castley.

“More than 114,000 students visited Canberra in 2019 under PACER which dropped to just 8,800 in 2020 due to COVID-19 and left many local businesses struggling,” said Ms Castley.

“There are a number of small and local business that rely on these school trips to Canberra and this significant increase to PACER will go a long way to ensuring the number of students visiting the ACT returns to the level seen in 2019.

“We welcome any initiative that is aimed at supporting the many Canberra businesses that have been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those that rely heavily on tourism, such as hotels and restaurants,” Ms Castley concluded.