10th September 2020 By Paul Yandall | paul@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
TIA’s annual TRENZ has secured $2m in funding. Image: TT
Northland and Auckland are the big winners from the Government’s new $50m Regional Events Fund, with the two regions combined securing a total of $19m.
The fund, which was established out of the Government’s Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme, has been allocated to nine regional marketing alliances and Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s TRENZ.
Source: Minister of Tourism
The Northland & Auckland alliance secured the vast bulk of the funding, which the Government said was calculated on the share of international visitor spending prior to Covid-19.
The Southern Lakes alliance – comprised of Wānaka, Queenstown, Central Otago and Fiordland – secured $8.5m. The Canterbury & West Coast grouping – which included Christchurch, Aoraki, Mackenzie, Hurunui, West Coast and Kaikoura – was granted $7m.
“One of the ways we are supporting all regions’ economic recovery, but particularly those who have been impacted by the downturn in international visitors, is by boosting domestic tourism through investment in the New Zealand events sector,” tourism minister Kelvin Davis said today.
“We are supporting the events sector as Tourism New Zealand advice indicates that up to one third of domestic travel is primarily driven by people looking to take part in events.”
The funding would be distributed to the regional tourism organisation groupings along the boundaries of the nine existing international marketing alliances (IMA). This was to encourage collaboration between regions and ensure accountability over how the money was spent, said the Government.
TIA’s annual TRENZ event was also granted $2m.
“This funding will allow the event manager Tourism Industry Aotearoa, in close partnership with Tourism New Zealand, to evolve TRENZ so it can continue to flourish in 2021 and beyond,” Davis said.
Each IMA grouping would need to produce an investment plan prior to funds being released. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, with input from Regional Tourism New Zealand, would oversee the process.
Investment plans were expected by early November with funding agreements to be in place by December.
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