On July 8, 2004 Senator for Victoria Judith Troeth launched the ‘Building A Better Business’ bbbonline pilot at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. The launch was attended by a range of tourism industry representatives and tourism operators from across the Goldfields region.

The pilot is a capacity building and business skills development program for small and micro tourism operators to enhance their business skills and become accredited. The program aims to create tourism businesses that are professional in their approach and generate consumer confidence.

The pilot was developed by the Centre for Regional Innovation & Competitiveness (CRIC) at the University of Ballarat in conjunction with the Better Business Tourism Accreditation Program (BBTAP) administered by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria