South Island areas prioritised in New Zealand regional tourism funding

South Island tourism regions most impacted by the absence of international tourists during the COVID pandemic are to be support in their preparations for the return of visitors with a special ‘kick-start’ fund from the New Zealand Government.

Created last year as part of the $200 million Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-set Plan, New Zealand Tourism Minister Stuart Nash advised today that the confirmation of dates for reopened borders allows the fund to open for applications.

Minister Nash explained “the accelerated re-opening of our borders is a moment to celebrate for our tourism sector.

“Businesses, workers and whole communities can now look forward to April and beyond, and start planning for a new buzz of activity.

“The $49 million kick-start fund is now available for those businesses who are ready to scale up operations or come out of hibernation to prepare for the return of international visitors, starting with vaccinated Australian travellers.

“Applications to the fund will formally open on 1st April, and will then be assessed and processed by local agencies in each region. Payments are expected as soon as possible.

“Tourism operators in five key South Island tourism regions have worked extraordinarily hard to stay connected with the visitor economy and the travel, culture, hospitality and recreation sectors.

“Nevertheless some had to reduce opening hours, scale-down activities, go into temporary hibernation, or switch their energies into other projects like Jobs for Nature schemes to improve facilities on conservation, council, iwi or private land.

“Operators in Fiordland; Queenstown and Wanaka; Kaikōura; the glacier region of Westland; and Mackenzie District-Aoraki Mt Cook are potentially eligible for the new support.

“Businesses can now start preparing their applications, and will need time to obtain verified financial records that show their pre-COVID income.

“Tourism businesses that existed prior to the global pandemic are eligible for grants worth two weeks of pre-COVID revenue, between $10,000 and $50,000 each, if they had a fifty percent drop in annual revenue compared to 2019/20 levels.

“The grants could be used to refresh facilities or marketing, train and hire new staff, or source new stock in readiness for opening. It will take time and money, and is exactly what the tourism kick-start fund is for.

“The kick-start fund will be administered on the government’s behalf by local agencies, or lead entities, in each of the regions. The organisations are well-placed to connect tourism operators with the support they need locally, and work with them to help scale up."

The agencies are:

• Development West Coast for Westland District, focussing on tourism around the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier areas

• Queenstown Lakes District Council for businesses in Wanaka, Queenstown and surrounding areas

• Great South for businesses in Southland District, focussing around Te Anau and Fiordland

• ChristchurchNZ for businesses in Kaikōura and Mackenzie Districts.

The Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) has cautiously welcomed the funding but says it should be extended across the nation.

TIA Communications Manager, Ann-Marie Johnson advises that tourism businesses need investment to scale up their operations, hire new staff, refresh their facilities and marketing their offerings.

TIA is advocating that a further $100 million of kick-start grants be made available to tourism operators across New Zealand. One potential source of funds is for the Government to reallocate any as yet unspent funds from its $200m Tourism Communities Support, Recovery and Re-set Plan. 

Johnson noted “tourism businesses that are still trading today are our most resilient operators who have navigated the COVID journey so far. They are the core of our tourism offering and worth investing in. Further investment now supports the DNA of the tourism industry, enabling the industry’s ability to build back better with the high quality, regenerative tourism economy that we are all aspiring to

“An investment in the industry by the Government at this point will be amply repaid in tourism’s renewed contribution to our economy and our communities.”

Images: Helicopter landing on Franz Josef Glacier (top, credit: Glacier Helicopters) and New Zealand Tourism Minister Stuart Nash (below).