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Auckland and Northland will take the lion’s share of the government’s $ 50 million Regional Events Fund, raising $ 19 million, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis said Thursday.
The fund aimed to boost domestic tourism by investing in New Zealand events.
Tourism, which directly employed more than 229,000 people and is one of New Zealand’s main export industries, saw demand drop for the first time in January when Chinese travelers stopped arriving, and border closures compounded the pain.
Funding for the nine regional tourism organizations was based on spending by international visitors prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Davis said.
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Auckland and Northland will take the majority of the Government’s $ 50 million Regional Events Fund.
The Southern Lakes pool, which includes Fiordland and Central Otago, will receive $ 8.5 million; Canterbury and the West Coast (including Kaikōura) will receive $ 7 million; the Thermal Explorer Highway (Waikato, Rotorua, Lake Taupō and Ruapehu) will receive $ 3.75 million; and Wellington and Wairarapa will receive $ 3.5 million.
Other regional organizations will receive $ 1 million or $ 2 million.
To complete the funding, Trenz’s annual tourism conference will receive $ 2 million and $ 250,000 will be allocated to fund management.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Te Anau is just one of the New Zealand tourist cities affected by the disappearance of international visitors.
“We are supporting the events industry as Tourism New Zealand advice indicates that up to a third of domestic travel is driven primarily by people looking to participate in events,” Davis said.
Regions could use the funds to invest in existing events, develop new ones, build capacity or coordination.
“Fundamentally, this is a medium-term fund and is designed to provide funding certainty for the next two to four years, and it will be especially useful for 2021 and beyond,” he said.
The Government would work with the national body Regional Tourism New Zealand and the Regional Tourism Organizations.
In its May Budget, the Government announced a $ 400 million tourism package that included the specific tourism recovery fund and a national tourism campaign, along with an extension of the wage subsidy plan.
