Investment & Funding

Tourism needs investment to sustain its economic contribution and social, cultural, and environmental goals – not govt cuts – writes TIA’s Rebecca Ingram.

Singapore-controlled Queenstown Hotel Investments secures consent for its purchase of the luxury Nugget Point Hotel.

Queenstown Airport is reporting solid support for further investment in upgrades to its airfield, terminal, ground transport links and safety enhancements.

Funding streams for Tourism NZ, the Great Rides, and the tourism innovation programme are affected.

The World Travel & Tourism Council expects investment in global travel and tourism to reach nearly $1tr in 2023.

The major ITO says a strong recovery allows investment to help meet changing customer preferences.

Enterprise Holdings is investing more than $20m to add 500 new vehicles to New Zealand’s rental fleet.

Queenstown Airport Corporation has converted its $100m bank lending facilities to sustainability-linked loans.

Good Spirits Hospitality is selling its portfolio of nine venues for $20.7m to another hospitality operator, Brew On Quay.

The Queenstown-based operator is selling four businesses but also investing in an asset to serve its popular Walter Peak attraction.

Industry stakeholders have welcomed the government’s provision of $128m to support universities, but say it is too early to know what the consequences will be for tourism.

Legislative and policy changes should be made to make it easier for local government to implement bed taxes and visitor levies, according to a new report.

Creditors meet today for a vital vote on the future of RAL’s ski operations.

The government has invested $51m in the hot pools attraction, which is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the region.

The Hauraki Rail Trail will receive $2m from the government to enable the repair, recovery and maintenance of the popular cycle route.

Hey Kiwi plans to use artificial intelligence to transform the way visitors experience NZ.

The final closing date for Stream 2 applications under the Innovation Programme for Tourism Recovery has been extended by just over six weeks to 15 December 2023 from its initial 31 October deadline.

An electric hydrofoil venture targeting tourism is one of four new applicants to receive co-funding from the $44m programme.

Upper Hutt City Council is now accepting applications from local event organisers to support a range of diverse events in the city.

An estimated $35m from the IVL will also be available for tourism projects.

An accelerator programme, a tech expo, and industry workshops to foster innovation will be among the initiatives funded from $18.22m provided to tourism in Budget 2023.

Tourism Holdings Limited and its financial advisor on its Apollo Tourism & Leisure takeover, Jarden, have won the M&A Transaction of the Year accolade at the Institute of Finance Professionals in New Zealand Awards.

The government is investing $500,000 into the redevelopment of Timaru’s Fraser Park to transform the venue into a multi-event arena.

An $8m boost for Māori tourism will help support operators in their recovery from Covid-19 and to cope with increasing demand, says Minister of Māori Development Willie Jackson.

The Mackenzie Regional Events Fund has now opened for applications.

Hospitality New Zealand says the government’s Wellbeing Budget 2023 does not do enough to support small businesses.

Te Puia’s NZMACI receives nearly $6m and the Major Events Fund almost $18m.

Budget 2023 ensures the betterment of the tourism workforce but it also deals a disappointing funding cut to the innovation programme.

Skinks, fairy terms, frogs and other wildlife will benefit from new research and conservation thanks to Auckland Zoo’s 2023 Aotearoa-focused Small Grants programme.

The Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund has received an additional boost, bringing the total 2023/24 grant pool to $900,000.

NZ Māori Tourism, Matariki and Te Matatini also secure funding from Budget 2023.

The agency manages to maintain its budget for the 2023-24 year.

The figure is down on last year’s $288m.

Marlborough District Council has opened applications for its Manawatia te Kahui o Matariki Fund for 2023.

A $1bn cyclone funding recovery package will help rebuild crucial road and rail links wiped out by summer’s extreme weather, as well as install some future flood protection measures.

The airline also indicates potential pricing for its innovative Skynest rest pods.

Auckland International Airport has set an interest rate of $5.29% for its $150m five-and-a-half-year fixed rate bond offer.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has declared Budget 2023 a “wellbeing budget” designed to balance the cost of living with higher-wage jobs and lower emissions and provide further support for regions affected by weather events.

ChristchurchNZ chief executive Ali Adams is confident the region’s destination management plan will be put into action despite no clear method of how it will be funded.

“I think the question around implementation of destination management plans, that’s still to be determined,” said ChristchurchNZ chief executive Ali Adams at TRENZ yesterday.

“The funding to develop the plan was provided by MBIE, and we have tried to make that funding go as far as possible by linking it with our own funding around city identity and doing that as a total package, which makes it much more effective and efficient, and so that’s been very valuable,” said Adams.

ChristchurchNZ was allocated $1.9m for two destination management plans as part of the wider $26.8m Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-Set Plan. These include one for Banks Peninsula with $400,000, and a $1.5m one for Christchurch and the broader surrounding region. Both are expected to be completed next month.

“The key here is that I genuinely believe we have brought our partners along for the journey,” said Adams.

“We can’t implement as an RTO all the things that are going to come out of a destination management plan, they’re going to cover a much broader range, whether it’s [Environment Canterbury] or the [Christchurch] City Council, or whoever else might have a role to play.”

Adams said ChristchurchNZ’s role has been to educate and bring those stakeholders with them on the DMP journey.

“Implementation of the destination management plans, for example, will form part of our long-term plan submission to council… because it’s pointless having a plan if we don’t actually implement it.

“So has it been determined – no, am I confident that it will be in place? Yes, I am actually confident we’ve done that management.”

She said ChristchurchNZ was also “unashamedly looking at attracting tourism here at scale”.
“We do need to do it in a way that absolutely is regenerative and thinks about the other capitals that we have our social capital and our physical and environmental capital – that goes without saying.

“But we do have the infrastructure in place to genuinely be making Christchurch a destination in its own right and looking to increase the length of that stay.”

The government’s $6m investment in the Winter Games will help drive southern tourism during the ski season and showcase New Zealand to the world.

Auckland Airport has launched its retail bond offer of up to $100m of five and a half year fixed rate bonds to New Zealand investors, with an ability to accept up to $50m in oversubscription.

Development West Coast has reopened its Regional Events Fund for application.

Auckland International Airport Limited is considering an offer of fixed-rate bonds to New Zealand retail and institutional investors, maturing in November 2028.

The government is underwriting $4.5m to support a new film studio in Wānaka.

The NZ hotel operator is in a joint venture to acquire a 5-star Sofitel for around $190m.

Distinction Hotels Group’s acquisition of the 253-room Mount Cook Hotel Collection has helped drive deal value past $100m already this year with more on the way, says agent JLL.

The operator says it is not planning a capital raise after the city’s mayor claimed it is about to launch a “major raising to fund the new domestic airport”.

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Air New Zealand has redeemed the remaining $200m of redeemable shares on issue to the Crown.

Up to $10 in govt co-funding is available for individual projects that could help the sector decarbonise and improve productivity and resilience.