The Tourism Attraction Programme is a new cross-agency government initiative that aims to boost private investment into New Zealand’s tourism attractions, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today.
Kelvin Davis launched the Programme at the Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Wellington, where he also unveiled a prospectus for potential investors and the supporting New Zealand Visitor Activity Forecast data tool, which provides both international and domestic visitor forecasts for all regions and over 60 visitor activities.
“This Programme will help the Government make progress on our goal to enrich New Zealand through sustainable tourism growth. As our largest export earner, tourism plays a pivotal role in the economy and so it’s important we are committed to attracting high-quality investment in the sector,” Kelvin Davis said.
“This also feeds into our New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy as it helps strengthen our stewardship of the tourism system, supports our investment framework and has a specific focus on tourism attractions.”
Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is leading the cross-agency programme in partnership with MBIE, Tourism New Zealand and DOC.
“Our objective is to professionalise the ability for tourism ventures to raise private capital and accelerate investment in commercial tourism projects across New Zealand. The industry presents many opportunities for the right investors to make a significant impact.
“We want to support the sector to keep developing exceptional attractions that meet the demands of visitors. This type of investment helps lift the value of the industry, provides premium visitor experiences and supports regions to thrive,” Phil Twyford said.
Notes to editors:
- MBIE is the lead government agency for tourism policy and is responsible for coordinating the government’s tourism efforts across the public sector.
- NZTE is leading the investment arm of the New Zealand Government’s tourism strategy, with the aim of accelerating investment in commercial tourism attraction projects in New Zealand.
- The Invest in New Zealand Tourism Prospectus was developed to attract investment and summarises key information and independent forecasts in relation to the tourism sector. It provides a snapshot of international and domestic data, cut by activity and region, to provide a fact base for tourism investment decisions in New Zealand.
- The New Zealand Visitor Activity Forecast data tool was developed to alleviate information gaps and asymmetry in the sector. Major domestic tourism operators and investors were asked to feedback on the output of the data analysis. The data was designed for public use and is now available to support industry development.
