ACT election 2020: Canberra Liberals promise events attraction fund

But Labor Chief Minister and Tourism Minister Andrew Barr said the fund already existed, and would be expanded to $1.5 million if Labor was re-elected on October 17.

"The Canberra Liberals claim they have a fresh vision to promote the city, but are merely copying and rebranding ACT Labor policy," Mr Barr said.

Leader Alistair Coe and Liberal business and employment spokesman Andrew Wall unveiled the package at Pialligo Estate on Saturday morning, marking the party's third business-related policy announcement in as many days.

Mr Coe and Mr Wall committed a future Liberal government to freezing commercial rates for two years on Thursday, before announcing a $5 million fund to support businesses ravaged by coronavirus restrictions on Friday.

The ACT's tourism industry had grown into an economic powerhouse in recent years, employing some 20,000 people and pumping $2.5 billion into the territory economy.

But the sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw attractions forced to temporarily close and visitor numbers dry up amid border closures and other restrictions.

As part of a plan to reboot the sector, a Coe Liberal government would use a $1 million fund to bid for events.

Mr Wall said the fund would be used to attract both small and big-ticket events, such as Test cricket matches and other national and international sporting events.

The Liberals have been pushing for the ACT to host matches at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, after Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he couldn't justify spending $1 million to stage a single fixture.

The Canberra Times reported Football Federation Australia sources were adamant that it was prepared to offer three matches for a total of $1 million, although the ACT government has insisted that it was never made aware of the cheaper deal.

Given the reported price tags of premier events, the Liberals' proposed $1 million would appear to be insufficient to lure multiple major attractions.

The Liberals' package would also include $5 million for a domestic tourism marketing campaign, which would be launched once the pandemic has eased. They would also offer $10,000 grants to encourage "innovative" tourism ventures, such as luxury camping, food and wine, 4WD tours, astronomy and nature tours.

"We not only want to keep existing jobs in tourism but create new jobs to expand tourism's contribution to our economy," Mr Coe said.

"Our plan will be a game-changer for the ACT's tourism industry, opening up the bush capital to a world of new opportunities for growth and deliver a significant return on investment."

Mr Barr said the government's existing major events fund had supported 35 events and exhibitions, attracting more than 4.4 million attendees and pumping $870 million into the ACT economy.

Growing the fund to $1.5 million a year would help to "supercharge" Canberra's coronavirus recovery, he said.

"Under Labor, we have consistently delivered for the tourism sector - we grew our overnight visitor expenditure to $2.5 billion at the end of 2019, a year ahead of schedule," Mr Barr said.

"Only Labor can be trusted to work with industry to rebuild the sector, and grow the value of our visitors economy to $3.5 billion by the end of the decade."